by Jarrett Hoffman
IN THIS EDITION:
•Today: organist Linda Kempke at Trinity Lutheran (12:15), and the CIM Orchestra (7:30)
•Announcements: COYO applications open, soprano and Oberlin student Elizabeth Hanje (pictured) named a finalist in the Houston Grand Opera Eleanor McCollum Competition, and limited tickets available this morning at 10 am for Jon Batiste’s February visit to CMA
•Almanac: Schubert, Glass, Lanza, and a peek at next weekend’s double-dip of Schubert symphonies in the area
HAPPENING TODAY:
At 12:15 pm, Trinity Lutheran Church’s Wednesday Noon Organ Concert series will feature Linda Kempke at the Beckerath organ. Program TBA. A freewill offering will be taken up.
And at 7:30 at CIM’s Kulas Hall, guest conductor Kazem Abdullah will lead the CIM Orchestra in George Lewis’ Weathering, Wolfgang Amadé Mozart’s Symphony No. 39, and Alberto Ginastera’s Harp Concerto, featuring Rebekah Hou as soloist. It’s free, but reservations are required.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Interested in joining the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra for its 2024-25 season? Applications are open until March 22. Find out more here.
Soprano Elizabeth Hanje, a student of Salvatore Champagne at Oberlin Conservatory, has been named a finalist in the Houston Grand Opera Eleanor McCollum Competition. With a spot in the Sarah and Ernest Butler Houston Grand Opera Studio on the line, she will sing in the competition’s Concert of Arias, which will be livestreamed on Friday, February 2 at 7:30 pm.
And the Cleveland Museum of Art has announced that the presale for “An Evening of Genius Music Composition and Instrumental Virtuosity with Jon Batiste” (February 25) is sold out, but a limited number of tickets will be available to the public today beginning at 10:00 am — phone sales only (216-421-7350).
TODAY’S ALMANAC:
Franz Schubert was born on this date in 1797 in Vienna, while Philip Glass followed suit in 1937 in Baltimore. The connections don’t stop there: Glass has cited Schubert as an important influence, and in an interview in 2011, he even called Schubert his favorite composer.
Some see a bit of Schubert’s lied Du bist die Ruh in Glass’s solo piano work Mad Rush — both works open with oscillating minor thirds — and even suggest that Glass was making an allusion. Click those links to listen and decide for yourself.
Another pairing for today: Schubert and American tenor Mario Lanza, who was born on this date in 1921 in Philadelphia. A popular actor as well, Lanza sings Schubert’s Ave Maria in a scene from the 1956 film Serenade. Watch here.
Finally, a heads up about next weekend, when two Schubert symphonies will be played in Northeast Ohio: No. 6 with The Cleveland Orchestra (February 9-11) and No. 4 with Heights Chamber Orchestra (February 11). Note that the two programs on Sunday the 11th are only 30 minutes apart — just in case any Schubert fanatics were hoping for a single-day double-dip.
See our Concert Listings for details.