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Archives for March 2026

DIARY: Thursday, March 19, 2026

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by Daniel Hathaway

HAPPENING TODAY:

7:00 pm – Trobár at West Shore Church, Rocky River. Songbook for a King. Sacred and secular selections from the lavish thirteenth-century anthology of French music known as the “Manuscrit du Roi.”

7:00 pm – Cleveland Composers Guild. 1776-2026: An American Mosaic. Music faculty at John Carroll University present a program of CCG music that celebrates the United States’ 250th birthday. Saint Francis Chapel, JCU.

7:30 pm – The Cleveland Orchestra at Severance. Elim Chan, conductor, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, violin (pictured). Daniel Kidane’s Sun Poem, Bartók’s Violin Concerto No. 1 & Dance Suite, and Scriabin’s The Poem of Ecstasy. Repeated on Friday at 11 (partly) & Saturday at 7:30 pm.

7:30 pm – Oberlin Artist Recital Series. Linda May Han Oh: “The Glass Hours. Linda May Han Oh, composer, Greg Ward, alto saxophone; Sara Serpa, voice, Fabian Almazan, piano/effects, and Mark Whitfield, Jr., drums. Works based on themes of the fragility of time and life. Finney Chapel, Oberlin.

TODAY’S ALMANAC:

By Mike Telin

On March 18, 1927, legendary composer of musical theater John Kander was born in Kansas City, Missouri. [Read more…]

Apollo’s Fire and Alan Choo find riches in “Palace of Versailles” (Mar. 6)

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by Peter Feher

In 1715, the French composer Jean-Féry Rebel had the shrewd idea of combining the most popular Baroque dances of his day into a single crowd-pleasing piece. Les Caractères de la Danse was a hit with Parisian audiences, thanks in large part to the thrill that accompanies recognition.

Modern listeners can surely relate, even if they might struggle to tell a minuet from a musette or a gigue from a gavotte. Take Rebel’s concept, but swap in the music and moves of “Y.M.C.A.” or “Kung Fu Fighting,” and you have “Evolution of Dance,” one of the first viral videos in internet history.

[Read more…]

Pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason stuns at Severance Music Center (Mar. 17)

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by Daniel Hathaway

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Isata Kanneh-Mason, at 29, the eldest of the seven siblings who constitute one of England’s most distinguished musical families, walked onstage at Mandel Concert Hall at Severance Music Center promptly at 7:30 on Tuesday evening to begin her Cleveland solo recital with an immaculate performance of Beethoven’s “Moonlight” Sonata.

Like the program’s theme of darkness moving into light — an attractive forward motion coursed just underneath the surface in everything she played. She began Sonata No. 14 deliberately, with hauntingly beautiful long lines, well-balanced voicing, and subtle dynamics, all of which contributed to a hypnotic effect.

[Read more…]

Cleveland Orchestra tackles Beethoven’s ‘Fateful Fifth’ with conductor Elim Chan, trumpeter Michael Sachs (Mar. 12)

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by Kevin McLaughlin

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The art of conducting is a kind of alchemy — the transformation of inert notes on a page into something vividly alive. A conductor absorbs a composer’s intentions, reimagines them, and releases them again through that remarkable instrument, the symphony orchestra. On a good night the music feels less reproduced than re-created, and the listener senses the thrill of discovery.

In her appearance with The Cleveland Orchestra at Severance Music Center Thursday, March 12, conductor Elim Chan provided such an evening. She honored the distinct language of each score — Stravinsky’s refashioning of Baroque style in Pulcinella, Haydn’s elegant Trumpet Concerto with Michael Sachs as the eloquent soloist, and Beethoven’s enduring Fifth Symphony. But fidelity did not mean routine.

[Read more…]

Leonkoro Quartet traces lineage in Cleveland Chamber Music Society debut (Mar. 3)

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by Peter Feher

Out of Vienna is the title of the Leonkoro Quartet’s latest album, but that phrase could easily stand in for all of the ensemble’s recent performances.

Never mind the specialized focus of the recording, which centers on Second Viennese School composers Alban Berg and Anton Webern. In a program of entirely standard repertoire — Haydn, Beethoven, and Felix Mendelssohn were on the bill for the Quartet’s Cleveland debut — the influence of a certain city proved just as inescapable.

Of course, classical music in the 21st century thrives on cosmopolitanism. The young Leonkoros are based in Berlin, having formed at conservatory there in 2019, and they’ve cultivated utmost cohesion and top-level technique. Worldwide attention came after they swept London’s Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition in 2022.

[Read more…]

Third Coast Percussion celebrates its 20th anniversary at CIM

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by Mike Telin

On Sunday, March 22 at 3:00 pm at the Cleveland Institute of Music, the Chicago-based Third Coast Percussion — Sean Connors, Robert Dillon, Peter Martin, and David Skidmore — will present “Time Pieces: The New Classical.” The program celebrates two decades of genre-defying, award-winning music, including many of the ensemble’s 20th anniversary commissions. The concert is sold out.

I caught up with David Skidmore on Zoom and began by asking about the group’s 20th anniversary program.

David Skidmore: The first half is highlights from the past 20 years. And the second half is all pieces that we commissioned for our 20th anniversary, which is some of our favorite music to play right now.

[Read more…]

An Tran takes a beautiful “risk” in Cleveland Classical Guitar Society debut (Mar. 7)

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by Stephanie Manning

No matter their theme, most classical guitar concerts eventually circle around to a piece by one of the instrument’s most famous composers. Agustín Barrios. Heitor Villa-Lobos. Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco. But none of those names appeared on the Cleveland Classical Guitar Society’s program on March 7.

“As you can see, everybody’s still alive,” An Tran said of the composers he chose for his concert at the Maltz Performing Arts Center. The Chicago-based, Vietnam-born guitarist made his Cleveland debut with a collection of music written almost exclusively for him — much of it drawn from his upcoming album, Illumina.

In an interview with ClevelandClassical.com’s Mike Telin, Tran said that his manager calls it “risky” to do this kind of programming. If it is a risk, his performance showed exactly why that’s a risk worth taking. [Read more…]

Studio Espressivo’s Piano Portraits traces the history of the piano

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by Mike Telin

When Allison Hillier was starting her graduate studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music, she needed to find a place that was within walking distance of the school. While apartment hunting in nearby neighborhoods, Hillier found herself walking through Little Italy. “I heard opera coming from restaurants, and I thought this is a really vibrant community. There’s a lot going on,” she recalled during a recent Zoom conversation.

After finding an apartment that she loved, she asked if it was alright for her to bring her piano. “They told me: ‘This is a quiet house, so maybe not. Although we have a commercial space available at the Murray Hill Galleries. Would you like to put your piano there?’ I said, ‘Absolutely.’”

[Read more…]

DIARY: Wednesday, March 18, 2026

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by Daniel Hathaway

HAPPENING TODAY:

12:00 pm – Trinity Cathedral Brownbag Concert. CSU Percussion Ensemble. Trinity Cathedral, 2230 Euclid Ave., Cleveland. Free.

7:30 pm – CIM Insiders. Ilya Kaler, violin and Daniel Shapiro, piano. Mozart’s Sonata in A, K. 305, Prokofiev’s Sonata No. 1, and Strauss’ Violin Sonata in E-flat. Mixon Hall, 11021 East Blvd., Cleveland. Free.

TODAY’S ALMANAC:

By Mike Telin

On March 18, 1927, legendary composer of musical theater John Kander was born in Kansas City, Missouri. [Read more…]

Cleveland Cello Society’s i Cellisti! 2026 features “Cello Plus One”

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by Mike Telin

Since its founding, the Cleveland Cello Society has been a valuable community resource for cultivating the appreciation for and enjoyment of all things cello.

On Friday, March 20 at 7:00 pm at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Cleveland Heights, the organization will hold its annual signature event, i Cellisti! This year’s theme, “Cello Plus One,” features eight duos composed for cello plus another instrument.

The program will also include the annual cello ensemble extravaganza. 100% of the proceeds will go to the CCS Scholarship Fund. Click here for tickets and more information.

[Read more…]

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