ClevelandClassical.com Header
Ad
Ad
Ad

ChamberFest Cleveland: catching up with pianist & rising star Evren Ozel

by

by Daniel Hathaway

Born in Minneapolis in 1999, pianist Evren Ozel has established a stellar reputation in Northeast Ohio.

He has competed twice in the Thomas and Evon Cooper International Competition at Oberlin, making it into the finals in 2013, when he also won the Audience Prize. He finished second in 2016, when photographer Roger Mastroianni captured him here in the heat of collaboration with Jahja Ling and The Cleveland Orchestra. We were impressed:

17-year-old Evren Ozel, from Minneapolis, learned Beethoven’s fourth concerto expressly for this competition, and the results of his preparation were impressive. His interpretation shone both with technical poise and poetry — basking in the moment of performing on the Severance Hall stage with his excellent colleagues. [Read more…]

DIARY: Wednesday, June 8, 2022

by

by Daniel Hathaway

TODAY’S ENTRIES:

. Catalyst Quartet at the Aronson Cello Festival, Bristow’s Mass finally debuts

. Oberlin Global offers a continuing ed class, “The Racial Politics of Classical Music”

. Anniversaries of a German, a Czech, and a Pole in music history today

TODAY’S EVENTS:

Tonight at 7, the Lev Aronson Cello Festival features a recital by The Catalyst Quartet, Karla Donehew-Perez & Abi Fayette, violins, Paul Laraia, viola, Karlos Rodriguez, cello. [Read more…]

DIARY: Monday, June 6, 2022

by

by Daniel Hathaway

TODAY’S ENTRIES:

. Continuing: Not Your Grandmother’s Classical Music. Launching: The Cleveland edition of the Lev Aronson Cello Festival with Haimovitz recital

. Birthday candles and listening suggestions for the anniversaries of Sir John Stainer, Aram Khachaturian, and Vincent Persichetti

TODAY’S EVENTS:

At 2:00 pm, tune into the radio broadcast, “Not Your Grandmother’s Classical Music” with host Eric Charnofsky. Today’s focus is on “Classical One-Hit Wonders and Their Neglected Gems,” including music by Pachelbel, Lehar, Dukas, Humperdinck, Satie, and Orff, as well as music by Aram Khachaturian in celebration of his 119th birthday. WRUW, Case Western Reserve University. Click here to listen to the internet feed.

At 7:00 pm the Lev Aronson Cello Festival — usually held in Dallas, this year in Cleveland — will present a recital by Matt Haimovitz (pictured), with pianist Elizabeth DeMio. The program in Mixon Hall of the Cleveland Institute of Music features works by female composers including a premiere, along with film clips by Emmy Award-winning storyteller Ty Kim. You’ll need tickets. [Read more…]

Stephanie Manning named as Rubin Institute Fellow for 2022

by

by Daniel Hathaway

Third-year Oberlin bassoon major Stephanie Manning is among 18 aspiring music writers to be named Fellows of the Fifth Biennial Stephen and Cynthia Rubin Institute for Music Criticism, which will convene at the San Francisco Conservatory from June 16-20.

Founded at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in 2011 by book publishing executive Stephen Rubin, the Institute is designed to further the art and craft of critical writing about music. Keynote addresses are given by the nation’s top music critics and public concerts are reviewed by the fellows and critiqued by professional journalists in private workshops.

The Institute will culminate in the awarding of the $10,000 Rubin Prize in Music Criticism to the fellow who demonstrates exceptional promise in music criticism. [Read more…]

DIARY: Weekend, June 3-5, 2022

by

by Daniel Hathaway

IN THIS WEEKEND’S EDITION:

.Three days packed with concerts sure to satisfy every classical musical taste

. Orchestra openings at Ohio Light Opera

. Training songs that make Music Theory and Aural Skills fun

. Anniversaries of entrances and exits by Daniel Pinkham, Martha Argerich, Victoria Bond, Louis Andriessen, Serge Koussevitzky, Orlando Gibbons, and Carl Maria von Weber [Read more…]

Choral Arts Cleveland to premiere George Bristow’s Mass in C

by

by Daniel Hathaway

After writing his doctoral dissertation for the University of Iowa on the subject of American composer George Frederick Bristow’s Mass in C, CSU’s director of choirs Brian Bailey decided that this previously unperformed work needed a full, formal premiere as well as the critical edition he created for the degree.

He scheduled that performance at Fairmount Presbyterian Church for mid-March of 2020 with Choral Arts Cleveland, the avocational chorus he has conducted since taking the position over from Martin Kessler. As we now know, due to the advent of COVID-19, most live performances began falling like dominoes around that time. [Read more…]

Cellists swarm to Cleveland for Lev Aronson Festival, June 6-12

by

Aronson Posterby Daniel Hathaway

If you see a sudden influx of cello cases on Cleveland streets and sidewalks this week, it’s because the Lev Aronson Cello Festival, usually held in Dallas, is convening here for a packed schedule of events that will mainly interest those who play the violoncello, but many of which will appeal to a wider audience as well.

The brainchild of founding artistic director and Cleveland Orchestra cellist Brian Thornton, the Festival honors his teacher, Holocaust survivor Lev Aronson, who played principal with the Dallas Symphony. [Read more…]

DIARY: Wednesday, June 1, 2022

by

by Daniel Hathaway

WELCOME TO JUNE and the beginning of Summer in our hemisphere, with much in the way of outdoor chores to accomplish, as illustrated, left, by the Limbourg brothers in the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry (1416). June has also become the month of music festivals in Northeast Ohio. Today’s newsletter features articles about some that begin this week.

Month-long celebrations in the U.S. make June African-American Music Appreciation Month, as well as Great Outdoors Month, LGBTQ+ Awareness and Pride Month, and National Oceans Month (time to do something about all that plastic).

And June is National Smile Month in the U.K., whose subjects also happen to be marking the 70th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II  — a nice coincidence for the first time that any British monarch has celebrated a platinum jubilee.

In recognition of the occasion, the U.K. will create a four-day Jubilee bank holiday from June 2-5 to include a “once-in-a-generation show” that will “mix the best of British ceremonial splendour and pageantry with cutting-edge artistic and technological displays.” [Read more…]

DIARY: Memorial Day Weekend, May 27 – May 30, 2022  

by

by Daniel Hathaway

IN THIS EDITION:

.Cleveland Orchestra appoints Concertmaster

. Vocal music highlights this weekend’s concerts

. Thea Musgrave and Nikoli Sokoloff celebrate birthdays, and our suggestions of music for Memorial Day

THIS WEEKEND’S EVENTS:

A lot of vocal music and related activities are on hand this weekend. Check our Concert Listings page for program details and ticket information.

May 27 – Friday

At 10:30 am and 3:00 pm, the Art Song Festival will hold Master Classes with soprano Tamara Wilson and at 8:00 pm will present a recital by tenor David Portillo and pianist Craig Terry. All three events are in Mixon Hall at Cleveland Institute of Music. [Read more…]

Classical Guitar Festival returns coupled with Stroud Competition: a conversation with Armin Kelly

by

by Daniel Hathaway

When COVID-19 crashed the party in March of 2020, it arrived just as musical organizations were putting final touches on their summer festival plans.

The famously disruptive pathogen caused the Cleveland International Classical Guitar Festival to make major alterations in its annual event at the Cleveland Institute of Music that June. What may look like the most practical solution — taking a whole festival online — poses problems of its own.

“Early on, and learning on the spot, we resorted to videos,” founder and artistic director Armin Kelly said during a recent phone conversation. “We were proud of what we were able to do on such short notice, but nothing beats the camaraderie of a live performance.” [Read more…]

Follow ClevelandClassical.com

Contact us