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Cuarteto Casals returns to Cleveland Chamber Music Society

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by Mike Telin

Founded in 1997 at the Escuela Reina Sofía in Madrid, Cuarteto Casals quickly garnered international attention by winning first prize at the London International String Quartet Competition and the International Brahms Competition. The Quartet is also the recipient of a prize from the Borletti-Buitoni Trust.

On Tuesday, November 12 at 7:30 pm at The Cultural Arts Center at Disciples Church, Cuarteto Casals — violinists Abel Tomàs and Vera Martínez, violist Cristina Cordero, and cellist Arneau Tomàs —  will return to the Cleveland Chamber Music Society stage with a program that features works by Mozart, Gubaidulina, and Brahms. Tickets are  available online.

I caught up with Cristina Cordero and Arneau Tomàs by Zoom in California, where the Quartet was about to begin a U.S. tour. I began our lively conversation by asking for their thoughts on Mozart’s String Quartet in D, “Hoffmeister.”

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No Exit welcomes Meridian Arts Ensemble back to Cleveland for three concerts

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by Mike Telin

For over three decades the Meridian Arts Ensemble has been enthralling audiences with their virtuosic performances of envelope pushing repertoire. This week the Meridian — Jon Nelson and Matthew Onstad (trumpets), Daniel Grabois (horn), Faustino Díaz Mendez (trombone), and Tom Curry (tuba) — will return to Cleveland courtesy of No Exit.

Performances are on Thursday, November 7 at Trinity Cathedral, Friday, November 8 at The Bop Stop, and Saturday, November 9 at Baldwin Wallace University’s Kulas Music Hall. The program will include Daniel Grabois’ Drift (2021), Moshe Shulman’s Subito (2009), George Lewis’s Tightrope (2023), Franz Joseph Haydn’s Feldpartie (1780), and David Sanford’s Credo (2021). All performances begin at 7:00 pm and are free.

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Oberlin Opera Theater to stage Massenet’s Cendrillon

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by Mike Telin

“This is one of those stories that just lingers through one’s life,” conductor James Feddeck said during a telephone conversation. “And I think in this particular telling of the story what is so interesting is how absolutely human and relatable these characters are.”

Whether you know her as Cendrillon, Aschenbrödel, La Cenerentola, La Cenicienta, Soluschka, or, most likely, Cinderella, the story of that downtrodden stepchild is an irresistible fairy tale. It’s been turned into many operas, but perhaps most magically by Jules Massenet.

On Thursday, November 7 at 8:00 pm, Oberlin Opera Theater will present Massenet’s Cendrillon in Hall Auditorium. Stephanie Havey directs and James Feddeck conducts the Oberlin Chamber Orchestra. Performances continue on Friday and Saturday at 8:00 pm and Sunday at 2:00 pm. Tickets are available online.

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Cellist Julia Hagen to make Cleveland Orchestra debut in Beethoven’s Triple Concerto

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by Mike Telin

“When I think about playing with the Cleveland Orchestra, it still sounds like a dream,” cellist Julia Hagen said during a recent Zoom conversation. “It still feels surreal, but it’s going to be such an honor to share the stage with an orchestra that has so much history —  and I’m very excited to get to meet them and to work with them.”

On Wednesday, November 6 at 7:30 pm, Hagen will make her Cleveland Orchestra debut at Severance Music Center when she joins pianist Orion Weiss and violinist Augustin Hadelich for a performance of Beethoven’s Triple Concerto.

Under the direction of Daniel Reith, the evening will also include Sir Stephen Hough as soloist in the composer’s Piano Concerto No. 3. The program, which will be repeated on November 7 at 7:30 pm, is the first of three that feature all six of Beethoven’s concertos for the instrument. The series runs through November 17. Tickets are available online.

Hagen, the 2024 winner of the UBS Young Artist Award, said that although she has not previously worked with Hadelich, she is a huge fan of his playing. “I can’t wait to meet him and because the two string parts in the Triple Concerto have so many things to work on before we meet with the orchestra, I’m very curious to see how that process will go.”

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Cleveland Orchestra begins Beethoven Piano Concerto Cycle with Triple Concerto

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by Mike Telin

Since making his Cleveland Orchestra debut at Blossom Music Center in 2009, Augustin Hadelich has gone on to become a Cleveland audience favorite. Last November, the violinist was greeted with a standing ovation when he walked on stage to play the Tchaikovsky Concerto.

On Wednesday, November 6 at 7:30 pm, Hadelich will return to Severance Music Center to join pianist Orion Weiss and cellist Julia Hagen for a performance of Beethoven’s Triple Concerto. Under the direction of Daniel Reith, the evening will also include Sir Stephen Hough in the composer’s Piano Concerto No. 3. The program, which will be repeated on November 7 at 7:30 pm, is the first of three that feature all six of Beethoven’s concertos for the instrument. The series runs through November 17. Tickets are available online.

During a recent Zoom call from Stockholm, Hadelich said that he’s excited to return to Cleveland and to collaborate with his colleagues. [Read more…]

Cleveland Chamber Choir begins 10th season with “Meditations and Mysticism”

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by Mike Telin

In a recent Zoom conversation, Gregory Ristow said, “We talk so much about how music heals. And that idea provided me with threads into how composers engaged with the notion of music as a centering device — as a way of finding one’s own place in the world or observing the broader context of the world beyond oneself.”

On Saturday, October 26 at 7:00 pm at Trinity Cathedral, Ristow will lead the Cleveland Chamber Choir in “Meditations and Mysticism.” The program celebrates the healing power of music. The concert, presented in partnership with the award-winning mental health program, Ghetto Therapy, will launch the ensemble’s tenth anniversary season.

The program will be repeated on Sunday at 4:00 pm at First Lutheran Church in Lorain. Oberlin College & Conservatory Professor Charles Edward McGuire will present a pre-concert talk 45 minutes prior to each performance. Click here to register for a “pay what you will” ticket.

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Cleveland Pops Orchestra: Season 28 begins with Broadway’s Best

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by Mike Telin

What do you do when you’re programming a concert and you’re curious to know what your audience wants to hear? “We sent a survey to our subscribers asking them to tell us their favorite Broadway show and favorite song,” Carl Topilow said during a telephone conversation. “People were interested in participating. We had a nice return and came up with a lot of great possibilities.”

On Friday, October 25 at 7:30 pm at Severance Music Center, the Cleveland Pops Orchestra will launch its 28th season when Topilow leads “Broadway’s Best.” The evening will feature music from hit musicals including Hello Dolly, Wicked, Phantom of the Opera, Hamilton, and Les Misérables. Tickets are available online.

Topilow said that he looks forward to having three wonderful guest vocalists join him and the orchestra onstage. [Read more…]

Tuesday Musical launches season with “Because of You,” a tribute to Tony Bennett

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by Mike Telin

For more than three decades, pianist/singer/arranger/educator and historian Michael Feinstein has dedicated himself to bringing the music of the Great American songbook to the world. And of the many interpreters of that musical genre, the name Tony Bennett stands above most others.

On Tuesday, October 22 at 7:30 pm at E.J. Thomas Hall in Akron, Tuesday Musical will launch their new season with Michael Feinstein’s “Because of You,” a tribute to the iconic singer featuring the Carnegie Hall Big Band. Tickets are available online.

I caught up with Feinstein by phone.

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Les Délices to unveil “Arcadian Dreams”

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by Mike Telin

For their latest performance and recording project, Les Délices has turned to the bucolic paradise of Arcadia — a place of pastoral perfection where nature and humanity are in perfect balance  — for inspiration.

“Arcadian Dreams” features works for soprano and chamber ensemble by Jean-Philippe Rameau and a young Georg Frederic Handel, rarely-performed pieces by Louis Lefebvre and Thomas Louis Bourgeois, and music by Arcangelo Corelli and Domenico Scarlatti.

The premiere performances are on Saturday, October 19 at 2:00 pm at the Hudson Library & Historical Society — click here for a seating reservation — and Sunday, October 20 at 7:30 pm at Harkness Chapel. Tickets are available online.

I caught up with Les Délices oboist and artistic director Debra Nagy and soprano Hannah De Priest by Zoom. I began by asking them how the project came about.

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No Exit begins year sixteen with New Season, New Sounds

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by Mike Telin

After celebrating its sixteenth season with a deep dive into the world of Surreality, No Exit begins their 16th concert season on Thursday, October 17 at 7:00 pm at Cleveland State University’s Drinko Recital Hall with  “New Season, New Sounds.”

The evening will feature works by No Exit’s percussionist/composer Katy La Favre as well as Josef Marek, Hannah Kendall, Arthur Hernandez, James Praznik, and Timothy Beyer. The program will be repeated at 7:00 pm on Friday at Waterloo Arts, and Saturday at SPACES Gallery. All performances are free.

“After last season’s Surreality programs, we were so energized because the reception was so great. We want to continue to entertain, maybe enlighten, and even make some people angry,” the group’s artistic director Timothy Beyer said during a recent telephone conversation. He added that this program, which includes three world premieres, is anything but boring.

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