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Archives for June 2022

ChamberFest Cleveland: genre-hopping with Kings Return

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by Jarrett Hoffman

There’s a beloved type of small ensemble that is rarely heard in programs of chamber music: the a cappella group. For that reason, the appearance of Dallas-based Kings Return on this year’s roster for ChamberFest Cleveland is one of the most unique elements of the Festival’s 10th season.

Formed almost by accident in 2016 when Gabe Kunda gathered singers for his college graduation recital, the group has found fame through viral videos of their music-making, which spans a variety of genres. Their versatility is quite clear in their ChamberFest setlist — part of a program that pairs a cappella and instrumental music on Friday, June 17 at 7:30 pm in the Cultural Arts Center at Disciples Church. Tickets are available here. [Read more…]

Ohio Light Opera returns to Freedlander Theatre

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by Mike Telin

For over four decades Ohio Light Opera has enthralled audiences with performances of the complete Gilbert & Sullivan catalog as well as American and European operettas and titles from the Golden Age of musical theater. Performed in the intimate Freedlander Theatre located on the campus of Wooster College, Ohio Light Opera offers fully-staged, entertaining productions in the midst of a charming college-town atmosphere.

Like nearly every performing arts organization in the world — especially those reliant on vocalists — OLO had to “improvise” during the pandemic. Now the company is ready to launch its 2022 season on Saturday, June 18 at 7:30 pm with Rodgers & Hammerstein’s enchanting Cinderella. Tickets are available online. Click here to view a season calendar. [Read more…]

DIARY: Wednesday, June 8, 2022

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by Daniel Hathaway

TODAY’S ENTRIES:

. Catalyst Quartet at the Aronson Cello Festival, Bristow’s Mass finally debuts

. Oberlin Global offers a continuing ed class, “The Racial Politics of Classical Music”

. Anniversaries of a German, a Czech, and a Pole in music history today

TODAY’S EVENTS:

Tonight at 7, the Lev Aronson Cello Festival features a recital by The Catalyst Quartet, Karla Donehew-Perez & Abi Fayette, violins, Paul Laraia, viola, Karlos Rodriguez, cello. [Read more…]

The Sparks Fly Upward at the Maltz

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by Mike Telin

When Cathy Lesser Mansfield was asked to write a piece for the youth theater program at the Jewish Community Center in Cleveland Heights in 1977, little did she know that her creation would mark the beginning of her journey to compose an opera.

“That was around the time that Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat was popular. So after we did  ‘Joseph’ there was nothing left, so they commissioned young people to write some things,” Mansfield recalled during a Zoom conversation from her office at the Case Western Reserve School of Law where she is a senior instructor. “So I wrote this 45-minute piece with a guitar, piano, and little ensemble. That was The Job Story.”

On Thursday, June 9 at 7:30 pm, The Sparks Fly Upward will receive its Cleveland premiere at the Maltz Performing Arts Center. [Read more…]

DIARY: Tuesday, June 7, 2022

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by Jarrett Hoffman

IN THIS EDITION:

•Happening today: two organists help the Church of the Covenant conclude the season for the Tuesday Noon series, and the Lev Aronson Cello Festival pairs music with film

•Interesting read: a profile of Cleveland Orchestra principal horn Nathaniel Silberschlag in The New York Times

•Almanac: George Szell, Jaime Laredo, and Prince

[Read more…]

ENCORE Festival of Music and Ideas: It’s all about “Storytelling” 

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by Mike Telin

“Everyone has a story, and we are all storytellers,” ENCORE Chamber Music founder and artistic director Jinjoo Cho noted during a telephone conversation. “Storytelling is our craft, it’s at the core of everything we do.”

On Friday, June 10, at 7:00 pm, the ENCORE Festival of Music and Ideas will launch its 7th season with a program titled “Tales of War & Grief.” The concert features music by Schubert, Erkki-Sven Tüür, Matthijs van Dijk, Radiohead and Led Zeppelin performed by the Signum Quartet — Florian Donderer & Annette Walther (violins), Xandi van Dijk (viola), and Thomas Schmitz (cello).

At 6:00 pm, the Cologne, Germany-based musicians will become panelists to discuss war, grief, and how current events are impacting our mental health around the world. [Read more…]

RE:Sound 2022— “New Music” for everyone

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by Mike Telin

Since its founding, Cleveland Uncommon Sound Project (CUSP) has engaged the Northeast Ohio community by championing the creation and performance of new music. One of the ways it does that is through its annual Re:Sound Festival of New and Experimental Music.

Judging from the stellar lineup of musicians the organizers have assembled, the 2022 edition of Re:Sound — which runs from June 9 through June 12 — promises to once again deliver a musically adventurous experience.

“More than ever the phrase ‘new music’ is becoming a broad umbrella term that encapsulates all kinds of styles. So we wanted this year’s festival to reflect that as best as we could.” CUSP’s managing director Stephen Haluska (above) said during a recent Zoom call. [Read more…]

DIARY: Monday, June 6, 2022

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by Daniel Hathaway

TODAY’S ENTRIES:

. Continuing: Not Your Grandmother’s Classical Music. Launching: The Cleveland edition of the Lev Aronson Cello Festival with Haimovitz recital

. Birthday candles and listening suggestions for the anniversaries of Sir John Stainer, Aram Khachaturian, and Vincent Persichetti

TODAY’S EVENTS:

At 2:00 pm, tune into the radio broadcast, “Not Your Grandmother’s Classical Music” with host Eric Charnofsky. Today’s focus is on “Classical One-Hit Wonders and Their Neglected Gems,” including music by Pachelbel, Lehar, Dukas, Humperdinck, Satie, and Orff, as well as music by Aram Khachaturian in celebration of his 119th birthday. WRUW, Case Western Reserve University. Click here to listen to the internet feed.

At 7:00 pm the Lev Aronson Cello Festival — usually held in Dallas, this year in Cleveland — will present a recital by Matt Haimovitz (pictured), with pianist Elizabeth DeMio. The program in Mixon Hall of the Cleveland Institute of Music features works by female composers including a premiere, along with film clips by Emmy Award-winning storyteller Ty Kim. You’ll need tickets. [Read more…]

Stephanie Manning named as Rubin Institute Fellow for 2022

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by Daniel Hathaway

Third-year Oberlin bassoon major Stephanie Manning is among 18 aspiring music writers to be named Fellows of the Fifth Biennial Stephen and Cynthia Rubin Institute for Music Criticism, which will convene at the San Francisco Conservatory from June 16-20.

Founded at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in 2011 by book publishing executive Stephen Rubin, the Institute is designed to further the art and craft of critical writing about music. Keynote addresses are given by the nation’s top music critics and public concerts are reviewed by the fellows and critiqued by professional journalists in private workshops.

The Institute will culminate in the awarding of the $10,000 Rubin Prize in Music Criticism to the fellow who demonstrates exceptional promise in music criticism. [Read more…]

DIARY: Weekend, June 3-5, 2022

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by Daniel Hathaway

IN THIS WEEKEND’S EDITION:

.Three days packed with concerts sure to satisfy every classical musical taste

. Orchestra openings at Ohio Light Opera

. Training songs that make Music Theory and Aural Skills fun

. Anniversaries of entrances and exits by Daniel Pinkham, Martha Argerich, Victoria Bond, Louis Andriessen, Serge Koussevitzky, Orlando Gibbons, and Carl Maria von Weber [Read more…]

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