by Jarrett Hoffman
IN THIS EDITION:
•Three free events today — from Trinity Cathedral, Les Délices (joined by Contemporary Youth Orchestra members and Cleveland State scholars), and the Oberlin Improvisation and Newmusic Collective
•Saxophone concerto by Tyshawn Sorey (pictured) awarded Pulitzer Prize
•Applications open for Cuyahoga Arts & Culture project support grants
•Almanac: the elder Oscar Hammerstein
By Daniel Hathaway | Cleveland Classical
This article was originally published on Cleveland.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Virtuosity was abundantly on display at Severance Music Center on Thursday evening, May 2, not only in the persona of pianist Lang Lang, but also in the music and orchestrations of 19th-century French composers Camille Saint-Saëns and Hector Berlioz — as well as in performances by their modern interpreters, Franz Welser-Möst and The Cleveland Orchestra.
In general use since the mid-18th century and meaning “a person with great skill, one who is a master of the mechanical part of a fine art,” the term virtuoso only begins to describe Lang Lang. In addition to his skills on the keyboard, he’s the classical equivalent of a rock star, capable of drawing sold-out crowds to his performances, as he did in Cleveland on Thursday. And worthy of both a private audience with the Pope and — just last month — a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. And he’s an international advocate for the piano whose “101 Pianos” extravaganza will visit Cuyahoga Community College on Friday.
by Daniel Hathaway
HAPPENING TODAY:
At 7 tonight at the Rocky River Public Library, Les Délices presents “Sounds of Sancho’s London,” featuring music composed and published by Charles Ignatius Sancho, a man of letters, merchant, abolitionist, and theater lover who lived from 1729-1780 & made history as the first British man of African descent to vote in a general election.
At 7:30 at Disciples Church, Cleveland Chamber Music Society welcomes pianist Garrick Ohlsson for a recital of music by Beethoven, Schubert, Thomas Misson & Chopin. Read a preview article here.
NEWS BRIEFS:
The Lang Lang International Music Foundation will donate the 50 Roland electronic pianos used last Friday for the “101 Pianists” concert at Cuyahoga Community College to the Cleveland Metropolitan School District as part of the Keys of Inspiration program to support music education within the community. [Read more…]
by Max Newman
Cuban-Canadian singer-songwriter Alex Cuba has been described in many ways over the course of his career, from his “sugarcane-sweet melodies” and “pop-soul hooks” to “powerful guitar riffs that relinquish a conventional stereotype that exemplifies much of the Latin music landscape.” When he performed on the Tiny Desk concert series, NPR noted his “undeniable charm as he weaves evocative imagery into musical arrangements that not only call to mind his native Cuba but anywhere [that] an acoustic guitar and engaging voice command attention.”
All of these strengths, and more, were on display when Cuba took the stage at Transformer Station on May 1 as part of the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Performing Arts series.
by Jarrett Hoffman
IN THIS EDITION:
•Today: clarinet-viola-piano trios in Rocky River
•Announcements: Arts Midwest’s GIG Fund, Karamu Summer Arts Intensive, and Cuyahoga Arts & Culture asks County Council to approve cigarette tax increase to fund arts
•Featured video: Jeff Scott’s Nǐ de mìngyùn, wǒ de mìngyùn (“Your Destiny, MyDestiny”) from Cleveland Chamber Choir
•Almanac: Alfred Humphreys Pease, George Perle, and Victoria Bond
by Stephanie Manning
This article was originally published on the Oberlin Conservatory website.
Peter Takács may be retiring from Oberlin, but that doesn’t mean he’ll stop coming to campus anytime soon.
“They can’t get rid of me quite so easily,” the piano professor says, with a knowing smile. After all, he and his wife live in town, and there are still performances and recording sessions to look forward to.
Still, this spring marks the official conclusion of Takács’ tenure, after an incredible 48 years of teaching. Many of his former students from around the world are set to convene— either live or via video—for a celebratory concert in Warner Concert Hall on May 12. A reception and Piano Play-a-thon will round out the festivities that day.
Born in Bucharest, Romania, Takács studied piano in France and the United States before accepting his teaching job at Oberlin in 1976. Described by The New York Times as “a marvelous pianist,” he has performed and given master classes around the world.
by Mike Telin
“This is going to sound like a commercial, but coming to Cleveland — and the wider area — is always one of the high points of my artistic life,” Garrick Ohlsson recently said by telephone. And the pianist has performed in Northeast Ohio enough times to make that claim. He has been a regular soloist with The Cleveland Orchestra for some time and has performed on Akron’s Tuesday Musical and Oberlin’s Artist Recital Series. And he has already been to the area twice this calendar year — first making a return engagement with the Canton Symphony, then replacing Igor Levit with The Cleveland Orchestra..
One Tuesday, May 7 at 7:30 pm at Disciples Christian Church, Ohlsson will revisit the Cleveland Chamber Music Society with a program that features the music of Beethoven, Schubert, and Chopin. Tickets are available online.
by Mike Telin
“The thing about this concert is that it’s grounded in friendship and family,” Rocky River Chamber Music Society board member Dan McKelway said during a telephone conversation.
On Monday, May 6 at 7:30 pm at West Shore Unitarian Universalist Church, Rocky River Chamber Music Society will host Cleveland Orchestra principals, clarinetist Afendi Yusuf and violist Wesley Collins, with pianist Dawoon Chung, in a program that will feature trios by Bruch, Mozart, and Robert Schumann. The concert is free. Click here to watch the livestream.
by Daniel Hathaway
HAPPENING THIS WEEKEND:
SATURDAY: BlueWater Chamber Orchestra joins guitarist Jason Vieaux (pictured) in Vivaldi & Daniel Meyer leads Avner Dorman’s How to Love and Beethoven’s 7th (7:30, Church of the Covenant), Victor Liva leads the Cleveland Philharmonic in Mahler’s First & works by Chausson & Sarasate with violinist Odin Rathnam (7:30 in CSU’s Waetjen Auditorium), Oberlin Collegium sings Renaissance music under Steven Plank (7:30 in Fairchild Chapel), & pianist Lang Lang plays Saint-Saëns’ 2nd Concerto with The Cleveland Orchestra, plus Berlioz’ Symphonie fantastique (8 pm at Severance, Franz Welser-Möst, conducting).
SUNDAY: North Coast Winds play Jazz (2 pm at Hudson Library), Tuesday Musical presents its final Scholarship round & winners’ concert (2:30 in Guzzetta Hall, U. of Akron), Oberlin College Choir & Musical Union led by Gregory Ristow sing Duruflé & Lorain County Bicentennial premieres of student compositions (2:30 in Finney Chapel), the Cleveland Philharmonic & Parma Symphony both perform at 3 (the former in Westlake, the latter in Parma Hts.), organist Davis Badaszewski plays early music (3 pm in Painesville), Frank Wiley leads Heights Chamber Orchestra with saxophonist Perry Roth (3:30 at St. Paul’s, Cleveland Hts.), the Verona & Cavani String Quartets come together for Andrew Rindfleisch’s octet Phantasmagoria (4 pm, St. Wendelin Church in Tremont), Oberlin remembers the Holocaust with a Yom HaShoah concert (4:30 in Warner Concert Hall) & the West Shore Chorale sings Haydn & Vivaldi (7:30 at Avon Lake PAC).
For details of these and other performances, visit our Concert Listings.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Cleveland Chamber Music Society has revealed details of its forthcoming 75th Anniversary Season in 2024-2025, which will include performances by Chanticleer, the Imani Winds with pianist Michelle Cann, Cuarteto Casals, flutist Emmanuel Pahud, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and the Jerusalem Quartet (pictured), who will play a complete Shostakovich cycle at the Cleveland Museum of Art from April 21-30. More details here. [Read more…]
by Daniel Hathaway
HAPPENING TODAY:
At noon, the Tri-C Classical Piano Series presents Lang Lang’s “101 Pianists” keyboard extravaganza at its Metro Campus.
This evening’s performances include the Oberlin Chamber Orchestra (7:30 in Finney Chapel), the Oberlin Collegium Musicum (7:30 in Fairchild Chapel), and the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra with competition winner cellist Elena Ziegler (8 pm at Severance).
For details of these and other performances, visit our Concert Listings.
TODAY’S ALMANAC:
On this date in 1844, British impresario and composer Richard D’Oyly Carte was born in London. [Read more…]