by Jarrett Hoffman

HAPPENING TODAY:

Buckle up and be sure to charge that computer, there’s plenty to catch today — all online.

At 11:30 am, hear the poetry of Langston Hughes and music of the Harlem Renaissance in a presentation by Prester Pickett, Coordinator of Cleveland State’s Howard A. Mims African-American Cultural Center.

Along with that celebration of Black artists, we recommend a 7pm webinar devoted to issues and perspectives around race in music. “Black Reflections: Three Conversations on Racial Justice in Concert Music — Experiences of Black Artists” will be moderated by saxophonist and former Baldwin Wallace faculty member Steven Banks.

For live music delivered via stream, look no further than Trinity Cathedral’s Brownbag Concert at noon featuring the Decho Ensemble. Saxophonists Jake Swanson and Sarah Marchitelli play works by J.S. Bach, Jean-Baptiste Singelée, and Brahms.

Another live-streamed event comes at 7: organist Christopher Houlihan continues honoring “Vierne at 150” with a lecture, demonstration, and Q&A in advance of tomorrow’s performance to cap off the festival.

And for the best in re-broadcasts of past performances, you have two options: “Lunchtime with The Cleveland Orchestra” at noon (von Suppé, Mendelssohn, and Mozart) and the Met Opera’s HD Archives (Wagner’s Das Rheingold).

See our Concert Listings for links and details.

TODAY’S ALMANAC:

Even people who want nothing to do with classical music have at least heard of cellist Yo-Yo Ma, who was born on this date in 1955 in Paris. He’s a household name — perhaps the most famous classical musician of his time? And there are many ways to give a snapshot of his career, from his earliest days as a child prodigy, to his bounty of awards and honors, and his remarkable flexibility of genre, from the classics to contemporary music, bluegrass, tango, and more.

But for once, the clearest picture of who a musician is might actually come from the first line of their own bio: “Yo-Yo Ma’s multi-faceted career is testament to his enduring belief in culture’s power to generate trust and understanding.” I’ll point out two examples of that statement: his Silk Road Ensemble, devoted in large part to cross-cultural collaboration, and his Bach Project, which he famously brought to the sister cities of Laredo, Texas, and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico last year.

Here’s just one performance to remember: Yo-Yo Ma joins violinist Itzhak Perlman, clarinetist Anthony McGill, and pianist Gabriela Montero in John Williams’ Air And Simple Gifts at President Obama’s Inauguration in January 2009.

by Jarrett Hoffman

TODAY ON THE WEB:

Two virtual events tonight are built at least in part around conversation. The virtual “Vierne at 150” festival begins at 7 with an interview with Phillip Truckenbrod, author of the recent memoir Organists and Me about his half-century career as organists’ manager.

And at 7:30, Les Délices continues SalonEra with “Strike the Viol.” That series combines music and conversation — and perhaps as soon as tonight’s episode, some interesting visuals as well. (Nagy hinted during our recent conversation that interpretation will be one focus of the evening — audiences might see manuscript pages that require “some decoding” from the episode’s featured musicians, including Arnie Tanimoto, pictured above.)

See our Concert Listings for details and links.

LISTENING CHOICES DURING THE PANDEMIC:

When classical music organizations began to venture online in mid to late March, the editors of ClevelandClassical.com held a roundtable discussing different questions around that transition. One issue we brought up: what repertoire is appropriate for this moment? Josh Terry explores a similar topic in his article “Is Pandemic Brain Changing Your Taste in Music? You’re Not Alone” in Vice.

TODAY’S ALMANAC:

German-born French composer Jacques Offenbach died on this date in 1880 in Paris. His most famous work was his last one, the opera Tales of Hoffmann, which he left unfinished — he died four months before the premiere. But providing a better snapshot of his career are his nearly 100 operettas, which would go on to influence composers such as Johann Strauss Jr., Arthur Sullivan, and Franz Lehar.

That style is right up the alley of Ohio Light Opera, which in recent years has put on Offenbach’s La Vie Parisienne and La Périchole, which Kelly Ferjutz described as “a screwball comedy disguised as an operetta” in her review of the production for ClevelandClassical.com. More recently, during OLO’s 2020 online season, members of the company came together virtually for performances of “Ne’er for a Trip” and “Love the Deceiver” from Offenbach’s Voyage to the Moon.

by Jarrett Hoffman

TODAY ON THE WEB AND AIRWAVES:

After shining a spotlight on violinist Ariel Clayton Karas last week, the Maltz’s Silver Hall Series will continue tonight at 8 with a live stream featuring the ensemble Karas founded, the stylistically diverse and shape-shifting Opus 216.

And at noon, hear The Cleveland Orchestra in past performances of works by Johannes Brahms and J.S. Bach, including the Finale from Brahms’ Violin Concerto with Julia Fischer as soloist.

See our Concert Listings for details and links.

AKRON SYMPHONY’S INTERLUDE SEASON:

Members of the ASO will head to Hale Farm & Village the next two Saturdays: October 3 (a low brass quartet and a violin-viola duo) and October 10 (harpist Jody Guinn), both from 12-2 pm. Masks and social distancing are required for all guests. 

Those performances are part of the Farm’s ticketed Harvest Days, which also include access to the heritage gardens, and demonstrations of both the culinary variety and of early American craft and trade (including glassblowing, pottery, and home crafts). Two other recommendations while you’re at Hale Farm: Café 1810 (serving a seasonal menu, including apple cider) and the MarketPlace (with its popular handmade glass pumpkins). Click the links above for details.

The ASO has also shared a video of this past weekend’s performance at Jilly’s Music Room by flutists Barbara O’Brien, Kyra Kester, and Jenny Robinson (with their instruments pointed into plexiglass panels). And there’s just something soothing right now about the sound of three flutes.

VIDEOS FROM AROUND THE REGION:

A few recent live performances have been brought to YouTube. Hear Caroline Oltmanns’ recent outing on the Silver Hall Series, and selections from two Summer Garden Concerts presented by M.U.S.i.C. – Stars in the Classics.

Episode 2 of Cleveland Opera Theater’s Explorer Series features the company’s 2019 production of Verdi’s La Traviata. Download interactive, age-specific booklets here, and watch the performance here.

And musicians of The Cleveland Orchestra help the Browns celebrate the city’s front-line workers in this gameday scoreboard video (just note that it gets pretty sports-y).

TODAY’S ALMANAC:

Today marks the anniversaries of the birth of Irish composer and organist Charles Villiers Stanford (1852) and Russian violinist David Oistrakh (1908), and the death of American composer and music critic Virgil Thomson (1989).

Here are a couple of local performances to celebrate those musicians. Here, Quire Cleveland sings Stanford’s motet Beati quorum via under guest conductor Tim Brown at Trinity Cathedral in 2011. And here, Oistrakh joins George Szell and The Cleveland Orchestra in a 1969 recording of Brahms’ Violin Concerto.

by Jarrett Hoffman

NEWS BRIEFS:

The Sixth Annual Northeast Ohio Keyboard Festival, hosted by Youngstown State University and the University of Akron, continues through Wednesday in this year’s online edition, which includes workshops, master classes, and lessons. Jeanette Louise Yaryan and Ralitsa Georgieva-Smith serve as guest artists. Check out Piano Cleveland’s Facebook page to read more and to receive an observer’s pass.

Speaking of Piano Cleveland, that presenting organization of the Cleveland International Piano Competition has also started a new series offering a glimpse of “what music is inspiring some of our past competitors these days.” Listen to 2015 CIPC For Young Artists medalist Chaeyoung Park’s playlist on Spotify, and read about how she curated it on Facebook.

Last week, the Cleveland Chamber Choir announced its all-virtual sixth season, including a video concert scheduled for November 14 that will mix themes of “time and timelessness, plague and pestilence, and prayer and consolation.” In a message on the ensemble’s website, safety for both audience and musicians was the point of emphasis: “In our desire to create music together, safety will not be sacrificed.” Read more and watch the season-six trailer here.

Earlier this month, we shared the news that No Exit will begin its season on Friday, October 2. Now, the new music ensemble has added another feature to the calendar: they’ll present Boston-based marimba and bass clarinet duo Transient Canvas on Saturday, October 3. That will be the start of a year-long collaboration in which the duo will work with Northeast Ohio’s student composers, “culminating in a concert of their music (January 29) written for the ensemble.” Read more here.

Cleveland Opera Theater is partnering with arts and youth development organization Refresh Collective to expand their after-school program “Stories of Struggle and Success” into a four-week, virtual intensive, free for ages 13-18. The focus will be on music history, “with an emphasis on storytelling through music, highlighting the similarities between opera and hip-hop.” The program runs from September 29 through October 22. Read more and register here.

And for anyone looking to spice up their mask wardrobe, the Canton Symphony Orchestra is selling face coverings to help protect you from “wayward hacking, ludicrous sneezing, and enthusiastic talkers who may have more than words escape their mouths” (props on that colorful copy, CSO). Check out those masks and more in the Orchestra’s merch store.

[Read more…]

by Jarrett Hoffman

KARAS & KERZE ON THE SILVER HALL SERIES:

Filling your appetite for live music today are violinist Ariel Clayton Karas and pianist Marina Kerze, who will perform a program of French, Spanish, and Armenian music tonight at 8 on the Silver Hall Series from the Maltz — streamed, with no audience present.

Local audiences might be familiar with Karas as director of Classical Revolution Cleveland and founder of Opus 216. That ensemble is known for its stylistic versatility — classical, jazz, improvisations, and all kinds of pop, from The Beatles to The Legend of Zelda and Game of Thrones.

Right up their alley was a recent project with vocalist Ashley Nemeh: “Elvis Presley Sessions.” Head to Opus 216’s Facebook page for a fun music-video medley of Jailhouse Rock, Can’t Help Falling In Love, and of course, Hound Dog. (Facebook is also a good resource to look out for Opus 216’s Front Yard Concerts.)

Check out this 2017 Q&A from Cleveland.com to learn more about Karas, including her background in Mesquite, Texas (she was “the orchestra geek” and editor-in-chief of her high school paper, while many of her classmates, she said, were more into squirrel hunting). On a more serious note, she spoke to Ideastream in March about the start of the pandemic and its effect on her work as a freelancer.

Also on the docket today: re-broadcasts from The Cleveland Orchestra (a collage of movements from the symphonies of Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky, and Brahms) and the Met Opera (Manon Lescaut). Check our Concert Listings for more details.

TODAY’S ALMANAC:

Several big names share anniversaries on September 23. Those who died on this date include Italian composer Vincenzo Bellini (1801-35) and English composer Malcolm Arnold (1921-2006). On the less grim end of the spectrum, pioneering jazz saxophonist John Coltrane (1926-67) shares a birthday with a giant of the flute, Julius Baker (1915-2003), who was born in Cleveland.

Soon after completing his studies at Eastman and then at Curtis, Baker took up post as second flute in The Cleveland Orchestra from 1937-41. Short stints as principal flute with the Pittsburgh and Chicago Symphonies followed before he found a home for eighteen years in that position with the New York Philharmonic.

His powerful legacy extends from the orchestral side of the field to chamber music — he was a founding member of the Bach Aria Group — and pedagogy. He taught at Curtis, Juilliard, and Carnegie Mellon, and his many famous students include The Cleveland Orchestra’s own Joshua Smith and Mary Kay Fink. Baker’s dedication to teaching continued until the week he died at age 87 in 2003. [Read more…]