Archives for October 2024

by Daniel Hathaway

HAPPENING TODAY: 

At 12 Noon, organist Sol Rizzato plays a program on the Church of the Covenant’s Tuesday Series that includes Peter Sykes’ transcriptions of two movements from Gustav Holst’s The Planets.

Tonight at 7:30 on the Tuesday Musical series in Akron’s E.J. Thomas Hall, vocalist and pianist Michael Feinstein joins the Carnegie Hall Big Band to celebrate the legacy of Tony Bennett.

And tonight at 7:30 is your last opportunity to hear Apollo’s Fire perform four of J.S. Bach’s “Brandenburg” Concertos as the Baroque orchestra’s current tour concludes at Rocky River Presbyterian Church.

For details of these and other upcoming events, go to our Concert Listings.

HONORED:

During its November 1 concert at the Maltz Performing Arts Center, Cleveland Jazz Orchestra will induct trumpeter and former artistic director (1992-2009) Jack Schantz into its CJO Preservation Circle. [Read more…]

by Stephanie Manning

HAPPENING TODAY:

It’s a rare Monday with some concert options — one each on the west and east side.

At West Shore Unitarian Universalist Church, the Rocky River Chamber Music Society presents the Gropius String Quartet (pictured) in a free program of Mendelssohn, Haydn, and Dvořák. That’s at 7:30 pm. At the same time and across town, Apollo’s Fire continues their run of Brandenburg Concerto concerts at Harkness Chapel. Note that tonight’s performance replaces Brandenburg No. 2 with Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 3. Tickets available online.

For more details and to check out what the rest of the week holds, visit our Concert Listings.

INTERESTING READ:

If you keep up with Deutsche Grammophon, you might recognize the name María Dueñas. The Spanish violinist’s debut album, Beethoven and Beyond, made waves in 2023, and her Paganini: 24 Caprices recording arrives next year. The New York Times recently profiled Dueñas, talking with her collaborators about what makes this young musician stand out. She’ll join the Cleveland Orchestra during their Miami residency in January — so maybe we’ll see her at Severance Hall sometime soon? Read the NYT article here.

TODAY’S ALMANAC:

by Daniel Hathaway

On October 21, 1896 American composer and conductor Howard Hanson was born in Wahoo, Nebraska, 26 years after its founding by Czech, German, and Scandinavian settlers (and named after the eastern wahoo, a shrub indigenous to the area). [Read more…]

by Daniel Hathaway

HAPPENING THIS WEEKEND: 

The schedule is packed.

On Saturday, Les Délices presents Arcadian Dreams (2 pm at Hudson Library), Klaus Mäkelä leads The Cleveland Orchestra and choruses in the last of three performances of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 (8 pm at Severance Music Center), No Exit New Music continues its new season with a triptych of concerts and a trio of world premieres (7 pm at SPACES), the Akron Symphony plays Charles Ives — pictured — and Gustav Holst (7:30 in E.J. Thomas Hall), Apollo’s Fire plays four of J.S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos (7:30 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Cleveland Heights), the Cleveland Philharmonic plays Liszt with Halida Dinova; The Cleveland Opera presents Puccini’s L’amico Fritz (7:30 at First Baptist, Shaker Hts., and Wit’s Folly plays early Iberian music (7:30 at St. Noel Church, Willoughby Hills).

On Sunday, stand-alone events include Cleveland Composers Guild (organ works at 3 pm in Morley Hall, Painesville), and Lakeland Civic Chorus (4 pm at Lakeland Community College, Kirtland). Repeated programs include the Cleveland Philharmonic (3 pm at CSU), Wit’s Folly (4 pm at Bath Church), The Cleveland Opera (4 pm at First Baptist, Shaker Hts.), Apollo’s Fire (5 pm at First Methodist Church, Akron) and Les Délices (7:30 in Harkness Chapel, CWRU).

For details of these and other upcoming events, go to our Concert Listings.

INTERESTING READS:

Writing for VAN Magazine, Hannah Edgar updates the situation at the Cleveland Institute of Music since the faculty voted to unionize, and reports on the effect the turmoil of the last year has had on student enrollment. Read her reporting here. (Note: the article is behind a paywall, but inexpensive subscriptions to the Berlin-based magazine are available).

Jeremy Denk on Charles Ives. In an essay this weekend in The New York Times, the pianist considers the thorny composer’s legacy on the 150th anniversary of his birth. Read At 150, Charles Ives Still Reflects the Darkness and Hope of America here. [Read more…]

by Daniel Hathaway

HAPPENING TODAY: 

Klaus Mäkelä leads the Cleveland Orchestra and choruses with mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnson in the second of three performances of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 (7:30 at Severance Music Center, repeated Saturday at 8).

No Exit New Music (pictured) continues its new season with a triptych of concerts and a trio of world premieres (7 pm at Waterloo Arts).

And Apollo’s Fire plays J.S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos Nos. 2, 3, 4, and 6 (7:30 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Cleveland Heights.)

TODAY’S ALMANAC:

by Jarrett Hoffman

Wish a happy birthday to the legendary Wynton Marsalis, who turns 63. [Read more…]

by Daniel Hathaway

HAPPENING TODAY: 

Finnish conductor Klaus Mäkelä (pictured) flies in to lead the Cleveland Orchestra and choruses with mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnson in Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 (7:30 at Severance Music Center, repeated Friday at 7:30 and Saturday at 8).

No Exit New Music begins its new season with a triptych of concerts and a trio of world premieres tonight at 7 pm in CSU’s Drinko Recital Hall (repeated Friday at Waterloo Arts, and Saturday at SPACES Gallery, both at 7:30.)

The Oberlin College Choir and Musical Union sing a joint concert directed by Brian Bailey and Jami Lercher (7:30 in Warner Concert Hall), and Cleveland Uncommon Sound Project presents James Ilgenfritz & Matthew Goodheart/Heather Mease (8 pm in Calicchia Gallery Studio, Cleveland).

For details of these and other concerts, visit our Concert Listings page.

TODAY’S ALMANAC:

On October 17, 1849 Frederic Chopin died in Paris. [Read more…]