by Jarrett Hoffman
IN THIS EDITION:
•Tonight: “Beatles vs. Stones” at LCCC features Oberlin Senior High String Quartet (pictured)
•Cleveland Orchestra guest artist update: Josefowicz steps in for Frang
•Almanac: Karol Szymanowski, in music and in currency
HAPPENING TODAY:
Whether your preference is classic rock, or up-and-coming string players, tonight’s 7:30 concert at LCCC’s Stocker Arts Center should be of interest.
The classic rock angle is obvious from the title. “Beatles vs. Stones: A Musical Showdown” aims to settle the question of which group is the greatest, with the help of a renowned pair of tribute bands: Abbey Road and Satisfaction.
The other side of it is that the Oberlin Senior High String Quartet — Iliana Bennett, Zenobia Calhoun, Sasha Chen, and Ruby Harrison-Stubbs — has been invited to join the proceedings for a handful of tunes: Eleanor Rigby, A Day in the Life, Hello Goodbye, Hey Jude, Gimme Shelter, and Ruby Tuesday. (That makes four by The Beatles, and two by the Stones, for anyone keeping score…)
Musicians from Abbey Road and Satisfaction
According to an article on the Oberlin City Schools blog, the opportunity for the Quartet came about after the show’s producer reached out to Oberlin High orchestra director Audrey John Melzer: could she possibly recommend a talented group of players who would also be able to “hold their own” on stage with a rock and roll group?
“The show commonly reaches out to local high school orchestras, making donations to their school music programs in exchange for student participation,” the director explained. “We are very excited to showcase our musical talent on a large-scale stage for all to enjoy. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the orchestra musicians.”
The show is appropriate for all ages, and tickets are available here. You can also catch the Quartet’s performances earlier this week on Fox 8’s “Jukebox” — clips here.
CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA UPDATE:
There has been a change of guest artists for this weekend’s performances by The Cleveland Orchestra. The ensemble announced yesterday that travel complications will prevent violinist Vilde Frang from making her appearance, and that Leila Josefowicz will step in to play Stravinsky’s Violin Concerto. The concerts will be led by the previously announced guest conductor, Thierry Fischer.
For some reading on our soloist, check out ClevelandClassical.com‘s reviews of some of her previous visits to Severance, and two of our conversations with her here and here. (Pictured: Josefowicz performing with The Cleveland Orchestra in 2018. Photo by Roger Mastroianni.)
TODAY’S ALMANAC:
On this date in 1882, one of the great Polish composers was born. Beloved in his home country, Karol Szymanowski has received a slew of state honors, both during his life and after.
Among those honors are some fun ones. Thanks to a resolution by the Polish Parliament, 2007 — which marked the 125th anniversary of his birth — was decreed “The Year of Karol Szymanowski.” And later that year he appeared on commemorative currency, including a coin for ten Polish złoty. That’s worth about two dollars, but depending on what you can find on eBay, that special coin might cost you a pretty penny, or two.
Many composers find their appeal among the public slackening towards the end of their life, only for it to spike at some point after their death. But outside of Poland, Szymanowski saw his greatest popularity in his last decades, the 1920s and ‘30s, when his music was performed by such figures as Artur Rubinstein, Robert Casadesus, and Leopold Stokowski. He has also undergone a revival in recent decades, praised and recorded by Charles Dutoit and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, and Simon Rattle and the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.
Perhaps one reason his music found lasting appeal, even toward the end of his life, is its variety: it didn’t occupy a single style that could eventually fall out of fashion. Rather, it evolved greatly over time, moving from the early influence of the late German Romantics, to an impressionistic and somewhat atonal period, to a fascination with the folk music of the Polish Highlanders as part of an ambitious interest in creating a national style.
On that note, enjoy a set menu today containing one piece of music from each of those periods: the Étude Op. 4, No. 3, the First Violin Concerto, and the Fourth Symphony — in essence a piano concerto, for which he was soloist at the premiere.
Performances here by pianist Daniel Pollack; violinist Christian Tetzlaff with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, led by Susanna Mälkki; and pianist Leif Ove Andsnes with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, led by Simon Rattle.