by Daniel Hathaway
HAPPENING TODAY:
Today at 12 Noon, organist Daesean Lawson (pictured) plays a varied program on the Tuesday Organ Plus series at the Church of the Covenant in University Circle. (Click here to view the program), and Piano Cleveland presents Chaeyoung Park in the Atrium of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
For details of these and other classical music events, please visit the ClevelandClassical.com concert listings.
NEWS BRIEFS:
From the New York Times’ The Morning: “A cigarette tax has generated $270 million for cultural organizations in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, which includes Cleveland. It has also led to declining smoking rates in the region. Which is a win-win — except the arts organizations now need to replace what they’re losing as people buy fewer smokes. “It’s a double-edged sword,” one arts leader told The Times.”
TODAY’S ALMANAC:
by Jarrett Hoffman
The Amati are one of the most important families of luthiers in the history of the violin, and on this date in 1684, the greatest instrument maker in that family, Nicola Amati, died in Cremona, Italy. Some say that his instruments, particularly the larger and wider “Grand Pattern” ones, were known for producing more power in their tone. On the other hand, the Smithsonian Institution describes the instruments as beautiful and penetrating in their sound, though not powerful. Have a look at one of the instruments in the possession of the National Museum of American History here, and watch a short demonstration of both an authentic Amati and a copy on YouTube.
And Spanish soprano Montserrat Caballé was born on this date in 1933. A beautiful summary of her life and career can be found in her 2018 obituary by Margalit Fox in The New York Times, in which Fox describes her as “among the last of the old-time prima donnas for the transcendent purity of her voice, the sweeping breadth of her repertory and the delirious adulation of her fans…” Here’s a pairing to show off her beautiful voice in two very different contexts: “O mio babbino caro” from Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, and the single “Barcelona” from the album of the same name, a collaboration with Freddie Mercury.
