by Mike Telin
Since making his Cleveland Orchestra debut in July of 2019, visits by Finnish conductor Klaus Mäkelä have become highly anticipated events. Tonight at 8:00 pm Mäkelä returns to Severance Music Center to lead the Orchestra in Andrew Norman’s Sustain (replacing Truls Mørk’s Cello Concerto), Debussy’s Images and Ravel’s Boléro. The program will be repeated on Friday at 7:30, Saturday at 8, and Sunday at 3. Tickets are available online
I caught up with the friendly conductor by phone backstage at Severance for a brief chat.
Mike Telin: You just finished a rehearsal — I trust it went well.
Klaus Mäkelä: It did. I can say that I am absolutely delighted to be here. The way they play all of these pieces, especially Images, which is one of the most complicated. There’s so much detail, but that should never be the point, it needs to become part of the piece. But this orchestra is so wonderful, that is not a problem. [Read more…]
If you were to ask just about any musician why they enjoy playing chamber music, they will tell you that it’s because they get to make music with people they enjoy. Case in point, the Butler Trio — Sandy Yamamoto (violin), Joshua Gindele (cello), and Colette Valentine (piano).
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When we think of the Medieval period, musical variety is usually not the first thing that comes to mind. But Allison Monroe and her Trobár Medieval colleagues would beg to differ with that sentiment. “There’s a lot of variety in the repertoire,” Monroe said during a recent interview.
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