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Archives for August 2025

DIARY: Labor Day Weekend, 
Friday, August 29—Monday, September 1, 2025

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HAPPENING THIS WEEKEND:

The Concert Truck with pianists Susan Zhang, Maxim Lando, Saya Uejima, & Luca Rozo parks at Akron’s Mustill Store Museum & Barder House | Keiran Cantilina plays traditional tunes from the British Isles on the McGaffin Carillon in University Circle | Sarah Hicks conducts The Cleveland Orchestra in three live-to-picture screenings of Disney’s The Lion King at Blossom | and the Hingetown Jazz Festival (pictured) takes over The Bop Stop, Saucy Brew Works & Jukebox.

WEEKEND ALMANAC: 

by Jarrett Hoffman

One challenge in our almanac is balancing between musicians who are already well-known, and those who deserve better when it comes to legacy.

Today, in an effort to “open the floor,” I decided to simply reach into the bowl of August-30th-music-history and scoop out a handful of names. Several of these musicians I had never heard of, but all proved impressive or delightful to learn about. [Read more…]

Karen Holtkamp Memorial at Trinity Cathedral September 19 to feature many musical tributes

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by Daniel Hathaway

In addition to the funeral service held at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Cleveland Heights marking the passing of Karen McFarlane Holtkamp early in June at the age of 83, a memorial service has been scheduled for Friday, September 19 at 2 pm at Trinity Cathedral.

In a special invitation, John McElliott, president of Karen McFarlane Artists, Inc. writes, “It will be quite a musical event. The music will include the Duruflé Requiem — mostly complete — with James O’Donnell, formerly of Westminster Abbey and now at Yale University, conducting, and Todd Wilson accompanying.The choir will be a hand-picked group of local singers from various churches and ensembles plus a couple of our artists.

“Todd will play the hymns and service music. The Cathedral’s Dean, BJ Owens, will officiate. Eulogies will be offered by Karen’s daughter, Sarah Polly, and David Higgs. Voluntaries will be played by George Baker, Ken Cowan, David Higgs, Alan Morrison, Nathan Laube, and Todd Wilson. [Read more…]

DIARY: Thursday, August 28, 2025

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HAPPENING TODAY:

12:30 pm – The Concert Truck appears at the Akron Urban League. Presented by Tuesday Musical, pianists Susan Zhang and Maxim Lando will play classical, jazz, world music, Broadway show tunes, and more.

[POSTPONED] 5:30 pm – M.U.S.i.C. at The Van Aken District. Young musicians perform duets, string quartets, solos and vocal works by Boccherini, Beethoven, Shostakovich, Bernstein, and Piazzolla.

6:30 pm – Canton Symphony Summer Serenades brings a brass quintet to Tam O’Shanter Park.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Two string quartets have announced changes in personnel. The Jerusalem Quartet, which performed all of Dmitri Shostakovich’s quartets in April for the Cleveland Chamber Music Society, has announced the departure of violist Ori Kam after 15 years with the ensemble. And The Callisto Quartet, founded at the Cleveland Institute of Music in 2016, has named Eric Tsai as its new first violinist, replacing Cameron Daly, who has left the ensemble to play with the Seattle Symphony.

Arts Renaissance Tremont has announced that it will return to Pilgrim Church for its 34th season after relocating following the death of founder Christine Haff Paluck. Feza Zweifel has been named artistic director of the organization. Read more here. [Read more…]

Cleveland Orchestra dazzles with Chopin and Rachmaninoff (Aug. 21)

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by Stephanie Manning

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Works by pianist-composers Frédéric Chopin and Sergei Rachmaninoff offered some dazzling displays of virtuosity on The Cleveland Orchestra’s final Summers at Severance concert on August 21 at Severance Music Center.

Chopin’s Second Piano Concerto gave soloist Nobuyuki Tsujii multiple opportunities to shine, and Rachmaninoff’s Second Symphony provided guest conductor Dima Slobodeniouk with a rich palette of orchestral colors to paint with, even without a soloist at the Steinway.

Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2 was first performed in Cleveland by the Boston Symphony in 1911 and first played by The Cleveland Orchestra under the direction of Nikolai Sokoloff in March of 1920 as part of the newly formed ensemble’s second season.

[Read more…]

The Cleveland Orchestra just gave a most refreshing summer concert (Aug. 23)

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by Kevin McLaughlin

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio – The Cleveland Orchestra sounded far younger Saturday than their 107 years, energized by guest conductor Stephanie Childress, lifted by cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, and buoyed by a program of youthful works by Britten, Saint-Saëns, and Mendelssohn.

Franco-British conductor Stephanie Childress, who debuted with the Orchestra in 2024, returned Saturday to a warm welcome at the Blossom Music Center. From her slight frame and controlled gestures came a striking reserve of power. Whether with baton or without, her long, expressive fingers eloquently shaped phrases with precision and grace throughout the evening.

[Read more…]

Apollo’s Fire: “Fencing Match: Round One” (Aug. 9)

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by Peter Feher

Before the sound of armed conflict came to dominate classical music in the 20th century — think of the skittering strings or machine-gun rattle of snare drums in Dmitri Shostakovich’s symphonies — combat didn’t always mean life or death.

Among the aristocracy of 18th-century Europe, the clinking of swords was a cultivated pastime, an art on par with, say, practicing an instrument.

And that’s the spirit with which Apollo’s Fire took the stage at Case Western Reserve University’s Harkness Chapel on Aug. 9 for “Fencing Match: Round One.” The ensemble plans to reprise the program on tour next year, with this summer’s series of concerts serving to sharpen the players’ skills.

Only a few moments during Saturday afternoon’s performance needed that extra bit of fine-tuning. Much of the repertoire was right in the sweet spot for Cleveland’s Baroque orchestra, centering on well-known classics as well as a couple of signature pieces from the Apollo’s Fire canon. [Read more…]

Cleveland Orchestra honors Rodgers & Hammerstein in dazzling Blossom concert (Aug. 17)

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by Peter Feher

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio – If any industry understands the magic of a marquee, it’s Broadway. And few names in the history of musical theater have lit up the Great White Way as brilliantly as Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II.

Together, the composer and lyricist have been a box-office draw for close to a century, from the smashing success of their first collaboration, “Oklahoma!” (1943) to the packed crowd they drew for The Cleveland Orchestra’s concert at Blossom Music Center on Sunday, Aug. 17.

A versatile trio of vocal soloists shared the spotlight with the ensemble under guest pops conductor Andy Einhorn, but the evening ultimately belonged to the singular duo who transformed the art of songwriting for the stage.

[Read more…]

Cleveland Orchestra delights with homage to Cuyahoga Valley National Park at Blossom Music Center (Aug. 16)

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by Kevin McLaughlin

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio – The Cleveland Orchestra brought together music, nature and friendship in a program as warm and satisfying as a summer night under the trees at Blossom Music Center on Saturday.

Conducted by Daniel Reith — making his final appearance as the ensemble’s associate conductor — the concert offered the regional premiere of Gabriella Smith’s Rewilding, Max Bruch’s seldom-heard Violin Concerto No. 2 and Edward Elgar’s beloved Enigma Variations.

Commissioned in honor of the 50th anniversary of Cuyahoga Valley National Park — where Blossom is situated — Rewilding is Smith’s exuberant tribute to ecological restoration.

[Read more…]

Elim Chan directs Cleveland Orchestra at Blossom Music Center in Maurice Ravel’s Shéhérazade with Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 (Aug. 9)

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by Kevin McLaughlin

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio — The Cleveland Orchestra on Saturday offered a summer evening of musical storytelling that was alluring and colorful without excess.

Under the elegant and incisive direction of Elim Chan at Blossom Music Center, the program paired Maurice Ravel’s Shéhérazade with Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 in performances redolent of perfume and sonic splendor.

Coinciding with the 150th anniversary of Maurice Ravel’s birth, the opener was Shéhérazade, a 1903 song cycle with words by Tristan Klingsor, the pen name of French poet, painter, and composer Léon Leclère.

[Read more…]

DIARY

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NOTE: In order to give our staff a late summer break, The Diary will go on hiatus from Monday, August 18 through Wednesday, August 27, and there will be no Thursday Newsletter on August 21.

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