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A conversation with Cooper International Piano Competition winner Anna Avramidou

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by Mike Telin

On Thursday, July 24 during the finals of the Cooper International Piano Competition at Severance Music Center, Anna Avramidou made a major statement with her performance of Tchaikovsky’s Concerto No. 1 with The Cleveland Orchestra under the direction of Samy Rachid.

In his review, Daniel Hathaway of ClevelandClassical.com described the 17-year old Cypriot as “a thoughtful player who is well in command of dynamic changes. In the opening movement, she balanced well-rounded phrases with lightning bolts of technical passages and a beautiful cadenza.”

Although she was up against some stiff competition from Anwen Deng (16, Australia) and Sawako Harada (18, Japan), both of whom were awarded second prize, in the end the jury bestowed the $20,000 first prize on Avramidou.

We reached Anna Avramidou by phone in Oxford, England, where she was participating in the annual Oxford Piano Festival. I began our conversation by congratulating her on winning the Cooper Competition.

[Read more…]

Pianist Alessio Bax to make Cleveland Orchestra debut

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by Mike Telin

Although Alessio Bax has performed twice in Cleveland for the Cleveland Chamber Music Society — most recently this past January — on Saturday, August 2 at Blossom Music Center, the Italian pianist will make his Cleveland Orchestra debut.

The 7:00 pm concert, under the direction of guest conductor Daniele Rustioni, will include Richard Wagner’s Tannhäuser Overture, Franz Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1, and Johannes Brahms’ Symphony No. 1. Tickets are available online.

“I’m incredibly excited about it — It’s really a dream come true,” the pianist said during a telephone conversation. “I grew up listening to The Cleveland Orchestra’s recordings and I have friends who play in the orchestra. I’ve never been to Blossom, but I know what a special place it is.”

I began our conversation by asking him about his choice of concertos. [Read more…]

Conductor Christoph Koncz to make Cleveland Orchestra debut

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by Mike Telin

On Thursday, July 31 at 7:00 pm at Severance Music Center, conductor Christoph Koncz will make his debut with The Cleveland Orchestra in a Summers at Severance program featuring the music of Franz Liszt, Ernst von Dohnányi and Bela Bartók. 

Due to his travel schedule we were unable to schedule an interview, but he graciously agreed to answer questions by email.  

What does making your Cleveland Orchestra debut mean to you? 

Of course it is a great honor for me to conduct The Cleveland Orchestra, one of the world’s leading ensembles with its wonderful and distinctive sound. I have been admiring the orchestra for a long time and heard them live on several occasions when they came on tour to the Vienna Musikverein. I remember a particularly touching performance of the Brahms Requiem conducted by Franz Welser-Möst. I’ve already met quite a few musicians of the orchestra and I am very much looking forward to making music with this phenomenal ensemble!

[Read more…]

Cooper International Piano Competition welcomes 21 young pianists to Oberlin

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by Mike Telin

“This year, we had 190 applicants,” Robert Shannon, director of the Cooper International Piano Competition, said during a recent telephone conversation. “I listened to them all, and I can tell you that the level of playing has never been higher.”

This weekend, the Cooper International Competition will welcome 21 pianists between the ages of 13 and 18 who have advanced through the preliminaries of submitted videos to participate in live rounds in Oberlin’s Warner Concert Hall from July 20 to 23.

The 21, who represent eight countries, are vying for the opportunity to play full concertos in a final round with The Cleveland Orchestra under the direction of Samy Rachid at Severance Music Center on Thursday, July 24 at 7:30 pm — and for the $20,000 first prize. Tickets are available online. Click here to view a complete schedule.

[Read more…]

Conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali returns to Severance Music Center

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by Mike Telin

After making his Cleveland Orchestra debut last November by stepping in for Franz Welser-Möst, Finnish conductor Santtu-Mathias Rouvali received a great honor — a return engagement.

On Thursday, July 17 at 7:00 pm, Rouvali will lead the second Summers at Severance concert in Mandel Concert Hall. The program includes Beethoven’s Symphony No. 2, Stravinsky’s Jeu de cartes, and Ravel’s Suite No. 2 from Daphnis et Chloé. Tickets are available online.

“Hello!” Rouvali said enthusiastically, answering his phone from his farm outside of Tampere, Finland. I ask him if it’s still a good time to talk. “Yes, I was just cutting the grass before departing to America, because in one week the grass will be like a jungle if I don’t cut it now.”

[Read more…]

Conductor Osmo Vänskä returns to Blossom Music Center

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by Mike Telin

“It’s great to come to Cleveland, because the Orchestra is always willing to do their best,” conductor Osmo Vänskä said during a recent interview. “And they expect that if someone is on the podium, that person should have the same attitude and have done their homework.”

On Saturday, July 12 at 7:00 pm, Osmo Vänskä will revisit Blossom Music Center to lead The Cleveland Orchestra in a program that includes Jean Sibelius’ En Saga and Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana. Tickets are available online.

Speaking to him via Zoom from his home in Minneapolis, I began our conversation by asking him if there is a connection between the Sibelius and Orff. “To be honest, I don’t know if they’re connected,” Vänskä said. “There are many ways to come to a final program. Obviously in this case the concert was about Carmina Burana, and we needed another piece to start with.”

[Read more…]

Blind Injustice: a conversation with the stage director, conductor, and chorus master (4th of 4 articles)

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by Mike Telin

This weekend, Chagrin Arts will present the Northeast Ohio premiere of Blind Injustice at Outcalt Theatre in Playhouse Square.

Composed by Scott Davenport Richards with a libretto by David Cote, the opera is based on Ohio Innocence Project co-founder Mark Godsey’s book of the same name and interviews with six people who had their convictions overturned. The 90-minute opera will be presented on Friday, July 11 (sold out), Saturday, July 12 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, July 13 at 3:00 pm. Tickets are available online.

We caught up with director Eric van Baars, conductor Andrew Grams, and chorus master Jay White on Zoom. I began our conversation by asking them how they became involved with the project.

[Read more…]

Blind Injustice: the making of an opera (3rd of 4 articles)

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by Mike Telin

This weekend, Chagrin Arts will present the Northeast Ohio premiere of Blind Injustice at Outcalt Theatre in Playhouse Square.

Based on Ohio Innocence Project co-founder Mark Godsey’s book of the same name and interviews with six people who had their convictions overturned, the 90-minute opera will be presented on Friday, July 11 (sold out), Saturday, July 12 at 7:30 pm, and Sunday, July 13 at 3:00 pm. Tickets are available online.

We caught up with composer Scott Davenport Richards and librettist David Cote on Zoom.

Mike Telin: Who originally approached whom about creating this opera? 

David Cote: The Cincinnati Opera reached out to me because they heard about my work, but the director, Robin Guarino, was already attached to the project. At the time, she was running the opera program at Cincinnati Conservatory, so I flew out there, met her, and we hit it off. We did some initial interviews with the exonerees. So we had a framework, but we needed to find the perfect composer.

[Read more…]

Blind Injustice: Six lives wrongly incarcerated, one story of hope and resilience (1st of 4 articles)

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by Mike Telin

When Karen Prasser started her job as executive director of Chagrin Arts in January of 2019, she found herself going through the files of programs that participants in Chautauqua-in-Chagrin had said they wanted to learn more about. Among them was the University of Cincinnati-based Ohio Innocence Project (OIP) who have a simple goal: to free every innocent person in Ohio who has been convicted of a crime they didn’t commit.

At the same time, Prasser — who had worked in opera for many years — was made aware of Blind Injustice, a work that was to receive its premiere by Cincinnati Opera on July 22, 2019. The 90-minute, one-act opera is based on OIP co-founder Mark Godsey’s book of the same name, and on interviews with six people who had their convictions overturned through the efforts of the Ohio Innocence Project. [Read more…]

Blossom Band: a Northeast Ohio tradition

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by Mike Telin

“I’ve heard about Blossom Music Festival for a long time, so it’s going to be a treat for me to be there,” conductor Michelle Rakers said during a Zoom conversation. “I know it’s a very good band and I have some friends in it — a former Marine Band member is in the trumpet section and one of the percussionists was in the army band in D.C. So it’s going to be nice to connect with them and all these great musicians.”

On Thursday, July 3 at 8:00 pm, Rakers will make her Blossom Festival Band conducting debut during “Salute to America.” The program will feature a mixture of music both new and old. As always, weather permitting, the evening will conclude with a spectacular fireworks display. The program will be repeated on Friday, July 4 at 8:00 pm. Tickets are available online. 

Michelle Rakers was the senior assistant director for “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band and Marine Chamber Orchestra from 2004–18. Her career with the Marine Band began in 1998 after winning a national audition for a trumpet position. Rakers was the first female conductor and first female commissioned officer in the history of “The President’s Own.”

[Read more…]

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