by Daniel Hathaway.

HAPPENING TODAY:

At 12:15 Noon, organist Florence Mustric plays a free ‘Music Near the Market’ recital on the 1955 Rudolph von Beckerath organ in Trinity Lutheran Church in Ohio City. And at 6:30 pm, the Canton Symphony’s Summer Serenades presents a Saxophone Quartet in Faircrest Park.

INTERESTING READ:

Musical Manuscripts Are Intimate and Transporting. See Why.

“Franz Welser-Möst, the Cleveland Orchestra’s music director, takes us on a tour through the handwritten score of Mahler’s ‘Resurrection’ Symphony.’”

Click here to read the New York Times article by Joshua Barone (be sure to read the comments thread, and note that the performance of Mahler 2 at Blossom in 1970 — Leonard Bernstein’s only appearance with The Cleveland Orchestra — is available here.)

TODAY’S ALMANAC:

On this date in 1612, Italian composer Giovanni Gabrieli died in Venice. He advanced the tradition of polychoral music at the Basilica of San Marco to the point where northern composers like Heinrich Schütz paid extended visits to study with him and take his techniques back home. [Read more…]

by Daniel Hathaway

COOPER COMPETITION  RESULTS:

Following the final concerto round with David Danzmayr and the Columbus ProMusica Chamber Orchestra Monday evening in Warner Concert Hall at the Oberlin Conservatory, the jury of the Cooper International Violin Competition awarded 16-year-old Mingzhe Ye (USA) first place for her performance of Tchaikovsky’s Concerto.

Elizabeth Poppy Song (16, USA) finished in second place with Prokofiev’s Concerto No. 2 and Minji Choi (16, USA) took third prize with the Tchaikovsky. A total of over $40,000 in cash and prizes was awarded during the competition.

TODAY’S ALMANAC:

On this date in 1873, American composer J. Rosamond Johnson was born in Jacksonville, Florida. Trained at the New England Conservatory and in London, he’s best known for his setting of Lift Every Voice and Sing, the poem by his brother, James Weldon Johnson. During his active career in show business, he produced several Broadway operettas, and edited two volumes of Spirituals in the mid-20s.

Click here to hear three of Johnson’s Spirituals sung by the late Cleveland soprano A. Grace Lee Mims.

And on August 11, 1996, Czech conductor, composer and pianist Rafael Kubelik died in Lucerne, Switzerland. [Read more…]

by Daniel Hathaway

HAPPENING TODAY:

7:30 pm – Cooper International Violin Competition Concerto Finals. Three violinists — Elizabeth Poppy Song, Mingzhe Ye, and Minji Choi — perform complete concertos with the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra and conductor David Danzmayr. Warner Concert Hall, 77 W. College St., Oberlin. Free.

TODAY’S ALMANAC:

On this date in August, Michael Haydn (brother of Joseph) died in Salzburg in 1806, Russian composer Alexander Glazunov was born in St. Petersburg in 1865, French organist Marie-Claire Alain (sister of composer Jehan) was born in St. Germain-en-Laye in 1926, and American-Mexican composer Conlon Nancarrow (known for his player piano works) died in Mexico City in 1997.

But also on August 10 of 1895, the first Henry Wood Promenade Concert was held in London’s Queen’s Hall, an event that blossomed into the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall. Renowned for its often unruly “promenaders” — purchasers of cheap standing-room spots on the main floor of the hall — the series has also given rise to the “Last Night at the Proms,” a traditional blowout that culminates in an effusion of British patriotism. Click here to watch the audience sing Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry’s Jerusalem (words by William Blake) and God save the Queen at Last Night in 2011.

by Daniel Hathaway

HAPPENING TODAY:

At 2:30 and 7:30, the Cooper International Violin Competition gets underway with Round 1, Day 1, Sessions 1 & 2 in the Oberlin Conservatory’s Warner Concert Hall, 77 W. College St. Free and open to the public, the sessions where contestants play 30-minute recitals will be live streamed here.

Meet the 2026 Cooper contestants in a Violin Channel article, and read our interview with competition director and jury chair Sibbi Bernhardsson here.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

The Cleveland Women’s Orchestra is holding auditions for its upcoming season on August 22 and 29. Planned programming includes the group’s 92nd anniversary performance at Severance Music Center, a collaboration with The Cleveland Opera, and other special performances out in the community. For more information, contact music director Victor Anstine at v@victoranstinemusic.com.

TODAY’S ALMANAC:

On this date in 1619, composer and singer Barbara Strozzi was baptized in Venice. She survived an outbreak of the plague to become the most-published composer of her era, with eight books of mostly secular songs to her credit. [Read more…]

by Daniel Hathaway

INTERESTING READ:

Their Forefather Was a Grocer. And Mozart’s Librettist.

“Generations on, Lorenzo Da Ponte’s family keeps alive the memory of this poet and libertine, who ended up in the middle of Pennsylvania after being booted from Venice and Vienna.” Read the New York Times story here.

TODAY’S ALMANAC:

Franco-Flemish composer Guillaume Du Fay was presumably born on this date in 1397. Associated on and off throughout his career with Cambrai Cathedral, where he was buried, he became the most celebrated composer in Europe while working at different times for the Papal Chapel, noble Italian families, and the Duke of Burgundy, among others. [Read more…]

by Daniel Hathaway

HAPPENING TODAY:

Tonight at 7 pm, Olympic Brass (Amanda Bekeny & Ted Clark, trumpets, Greg Hillis, horn, Devin Roark, trombone, and J.c. Sherman, tuba) play a free concert in Cain Park’s Alma Theater in Cleveland Heights.

TODAY’S ALMANAC:

American composer, educator, and administrator William Schuman was born on this date in 1910 in New York. He served as president of the Juilliard School and of the new arts complex, Lincoln Center, while writing a large catalogue of music in all classical genres. [Read more…]

by Daniel Hathaway

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

The Boston Camerata writes, “It is with profound sadness that The Boston Camerata, its Artistic Director, musicians, staff, and Board announce the death of Joel Cohen (1942–2026) on July 26 in Haverhill, Massachusetts.” He was 84. Read the Violin Channel article here.

“A visionary musician, conductor, composer, and musicologist, Cohen led The Boston Camerata from 1963 to 2008, leading it to international fame. His pioneering work brought Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, and early American music to broad audiences through historically-informed performances, acclaimed recordings, and innovative programming. He collaborated with leading artists, appeared at major festivals worldwide, and released more than fifty recordings.”

Cleveland.com announces that The Video Game Symphony, a Northeast Ohio-based 100-piece orchestra and choir, returns to Severance Music Center on August 23 with “Choose Your Character!” featuring music from Super Mario Odyssey, The Legend of Zelda, Pokémon and other fan-favorite games, Joey Morona shares highlights of the event.

TODAY’S ALMANAC:

English baritone Simon Keenlyside was born on this date in 1959 in London. [Read more…]

by Daniel Hathaway

PIANO CLEVELAND ANNOUNCES WINNERS:

Following the Friday evening Final Concerto Round at CIM, the jury announced the winners of the 2026 Cleveland International Piano Competition for Young Artists:

Junior Division
1st Prize: Ryan Huang (Canada|US)
2nd Prize: Jueon Lee (South Korea)
3rd Prize: Yixin Shen (China)

Senior Division
1st Prize: Chenxu Han (China)
2nd Prize: Guillermo Hernandez Barrocal  (Spain)
3rd Prize: Yurim Kim (South Korea)

Previously announced, Rising Star Division
1st Prize: Wilson Liu (US)

WEEKEND CLASSICAL MUSIC HIGHLIGHTS:

Ohio Light Opera closes its 45th season with The Merry Widow (Saturday at 2 pm), The Yeomen of the Guard (Saturday at 7:30), and My Fair Lady (Sunday at 2 pm) in Freedlander Theatre at the College of Wooster.

And Kazuki Yamada leads The Cleveland Orchestra and Blossom Festival Chorus in Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms at Blossom on Saturday at 7 pm.

For Details of these and other classical music events, please visit the ClevelandClassical.com concert listings.

WEEKEND ALMANAC:

On the last day of July in 1886, Hungarian composer and piano virtuoso Franz Liszt died in Bayreuth, Germany at the age of 74. [Read more…]