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Conductor Susanna Mälkki returns to Severance Hall 

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by Mike Telin 

When Susanna Mälkki made her Cleveland Orchestra debut in April of 2015, the Finnish conductor was well on her way to becoming a star in the international conducting firmament. Since that time Mälkki has clearly established herself as one of the leading conductors of our time.

Mälkki is currently in her fourth season as Chief Conductor of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and her third season as Principal Guest Conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. In December of 2016 she made her debut at The Metropolitan Opera leading the premiere of Kaija Saariaho’s L’Amour de loin. A recipient of the Pro Finlandia Medal of the Order of the Lion of Finland in 2016, the following year she was named Musical America’s Conductor of the Year.

On Thursday, February 6 at 7:30 pm, Mälkki will return to the Severance Hall podium to lead The Cleveland Orchestra in Sibelius’ En Saga and Symphony No. 1.

[Read more…]

Moon in the Mirror comes to Cleveland State

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by Mike Telin

The moon has inspired creativity from the beginning of time. In popular music, this object that orbits the earth has served as fodder for Fly Me to the Moon, made famous by Frank Sinatra, and Pink Floyd’s 1973 album The Dark Side Of The Moon. Classical music references include Arnold Schoenberg’s groundbreaking composition Pierrot lunaire.

On Friday, January 31 at 7:30 pm in Waetjen Auditorium, the Cleveland Contemporary Players Series in collaboration with the Confucius Institute at Cleveland State University will present Moon in the Mirror, with mezzo-soprano Hai-Ting Chinn and pianist Shuai Wang. Produced by Andrew Rindfleisch, the 40-minute operatic monodrama features music by Stephen Dembski, a libretto by Zhang Er and Martine Bellen, stage direction by Christine McBurney, and projection design by Kasumi. The free performance will also include Chen Yi’s Northern Scenes for solo piano.

Moon in the Mirror received a concert version performance by Hai-Ting Chinn and pianist Vicky Chow in October of 2015, and since that time, the creative team has been searching for funding and collaborators to fully stage the 40-minute work. [Read more…]

Oberlin Winter Term Opera to premiere The Wild Beast of the Bungalow

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by Mike Telin

Complicated relationships between children and their parents have often served as inspiration for opera. Most people know the disaster that awaits Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel after they misbehave and their mother sends them to the haunted forest to look for strawberries. In Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortilèges, after being scolded by his mother, a young boy destroys everything in the room — later the objects come to life and show him the error of his ways.

A new addition to opera with a child/parent theme is Rachel J. Peters’ The Wild Beast of the Bungalow with libretto by Royce Vavrek. The work, presented by Oberlin’s Winter Term Opera and directed by Christopher Mirto, will receive its world premiere on Wednesday, January 29 in Warner Concert Hall. Additional performances run from Friday, January 31 through Sunday, February 2. All begin at 7:30 pm and will be followed by a talkback with members of the artistic staff, performers, and the creative team. The event is free, but reservations are required. The Wild Beast of the Bungalow is the inaugural work of the Oberlin Opera Commissioning Project.

With a duration of 90 minutes and a cast of one coloratura soprano with eight additional principals playing multiple roles, the opera is played out in three sections. The plot unfolds in the bedroom of a nameless eleven-year-old Girl, where, over the course of a few days, a mermaid, a family of stuffed prairie dogs, and singing groups of chickenpox and shingles force her to come to terms with what it means to care for others and to allow others to care for you. [Read more…]

No Exit and Zeitgeist present “Here and There 2020” 

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by Mike Telin 

Composers have always turned to works of art, literature, folklore, and music by other composers as sources of inspiration. This week, St. Paul-based Zeitgeist and Cleveland-based No Exit will present “Here and There 2020” featuring music inspired by the art of Auguste Rodin and Paul Klee, the myth of Cupid and Psyche, a poem by Nicolás Guillén, the music of Steve Reich and Andrew Rindfleisch, as well as by stories of a young woman who was buried alive, and of a haunted hotel. The free concerts take place at Kent State on Thursday, January 16 at 7:30 pm, the Bop Stop on Friday, January 17 at 8:00 pm, and Heights Arts on Saturday, January 18 at 7:00 pm.

This week’s concerts also mark the continuation of a collaboration that began over a decade and a half ago — before Tim Beyer had even thought about starting his own ensemble. “I first met Zeitgeist when they came to Cleveland State when I was a student,” Beyer said during a recent telephone call. “Every summer they hold a workshop for composers they want to work with, and about ten or eleven years ago they chose me.”

[Read more…]

Early Music America: Ensembles Meld To Probe Affairs Of The Heart

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by Mike Telin

For centuries, people have wanted the things they cannot have, especially when it comes to love. In their current collaborative program, Lessons in Love, Debra Nagy of Cleveland-based Les Délices and Scott Metcalfe of Boston-based Blue Heron have created a musical and philosophical journey that focuses on the late Medieval attitude toward intimacy. The program draws from the narrative poem Roman da la Rose, in which the allegorical character Hope (Esperance) counsels a courtly lover through his amorous pains, guiding him down the path of turning his suffering into delight.

Lessons in Love features Martin Near (countertenor), Jason McStoots (tenor), Sumner Thompson (baritone), Metcalfe (vielle and harp), Nagy (medieval winds), and Mark Rimple (lute). Performances in Ohio will take place in Akron, Columbus, and Cleveland Jan. 16-19. The program will travel to Massachusetts for concerts in Cambridge and Norwell on Feb. 22 and 23.

Read the article on the website of Early Music America

Ring in the New Year
with Cleveland Pops 

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by Mike Telin

For the past 23 years, one of the best New Year’s Eve parties in Cleveland, if not the best, has been hosted by Carl Topilow and the Cleveland Pops Orchestra. That tradition will continue on Tuesday, December 31 at 9:00 pm at Severance Hall when Topilow and his Orchestra ring in 2020 with music from the past 100 years — 1920 to 2020.

Come in costume and enjoy a Roaring Twenties party after the concert. There will be dancing to The No Name Band and the Pops Jazz ensemble, photo opportunities, cash bars, and the traditional midnight balloon drop. To top it off, a $250 cash prize will be awarded to the person with the best ‘20s costume. Second place will be awarded $100, and third place $75. Tickets are available online. Click here to see a list of hotels offering special room rates to ticket holders.

“Can you believe it? This will be number 24,” Carl Topilow said during a telephone conversation. “We gave the first New Year’s Eve concert the same year we started the orchestra, and I think we knew it would last this long — it was a very popular event from the beginning.”

This year’s special guest artist will be vocalist Connor Bogart O’Brien. “He’s performed with us a lot, and has become a real audience favorite,” Topilow said. [Read more…]

CD Review— La Tanya Hall: Say Yes

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by Mike Telin

If a singer has a beautiful voice, yet doesn’t deliver the lyrics like they’re talking to you, your attention will only be held for so long. But when vocalist La Tanya Hall sings the opening line to the Nat Adderley classic All you need to say, you just want to shout out, ‘that’s right, give me some more advice.’ The song also serves as the perfect opening track for her latest recording, Say Yes, on Blue Canoe Records. [Read more…]

CD Review—  Splinter Reeds: Hypothetical Islands

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by Mike Telin

On their recent recording, Hypothetical Islands, the excellent ensemble Splinter Reeds, offer up a fascinating collection of compositions, embodying a kaleidoscopic world that can only be created by reed instruments. [Read more…]

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