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Cleveland Orchestra: a conversation with principal trumpet Michael Sachs

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by Mike Telin

“It’s always wonderful when I get to stand up front,” Cleveland Orchestra principal trumpet Michael Sachs said during a telephone conversation. “I’m usually at the back, so I’m hearing all these wonderful sounds in front of me. But to have those sounds converging upon you is a completely different perspective that I’m always amazed and humbled by. I have a renewed respect for the people that I am lucky enough to work with.”  

On Thursday, November 21 at 7:30 pm, Friday the 22nd at 7:00 pm, and Saturday the 23rd at 8:00 pm, Michael Sachs will return to the front of the Severance Hall stage playing Hummel’s Concerto in E. The program, under the direction of Nicholas McGegan, also includes Haydn’s Symphony No. 104 (“London”) and selections from Schubert’s Rosamunde.

Friday’s performance is part of the Fridays@7 Series. The straight-through concert will be followed by a royal cocktail party in the Lotus Club with British-themed appetizers and cocktails, including bangers and mash, fish and chips, sticky toffee pudding, and a selection of English beers. Tickets are available online.

[Read more…]

Oberlin Artist Recital Series: Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (first of two articles)

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by Mike Telin

Central to Enlightenment thought were the use and celebration of reason, the power by which humans understand the universe and improve their own condition. The goals of rational humanity were considered to be knowledge, freedom, and happiness. (Encyclopedia Britannica)

On Friday, November 22 at 7:30 pm in Finney Chapel, the Oberlin Artist Recital Series will present the Orchestra and Choir of the Age of Enlightenment. Under the direction of Jonathan Cohen, the program will include Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, Albinoni’s Oboe Concerto No. 2 in d, Op. 9, and Vivaldi’s Gloria. The concert will feature sopranos Katherine Watson and Rowan Pierce, countertenor Iestyn Davies, and oboist Katharina Spreckelsen. Tickets are available online.

Following the performance, you can unwind with members of the OAE during The Night Shift. The free hangout and performance will take place at the Birenbaum club, on the lower level of the Hotel at Oberlin. Capacity is limited, and guests will be admitted on a first-come, first-served basis.

[Read more…]

The Cleveland Orchestra & Chorus: Hrůša, Adams & Mahler this week

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by Mike Telin

After leading The Cleveland Orchestra last week in works by Shostakovich and Beethoven, Jakub Hrůša returns to the Severance Hall podium this week to conduct the Cleveland premiere of John Adams’ On the Transmigration of Souls and Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 4. Performances are on Thursday, November 14 at 7:30 pm, Saturday the 16th at 8:00 pm and Sunday the 17th at 3:00 pm. Tickets are available online.

John Adams’ On the Transmigration of Souls was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic and Lincoln Center to commemorate the first anniversary of the September 11 attacks in 2001. The composer has written that

“Transmigration means ‘the movement from one place to another’ or ‘the transition from one state of being to another.’ But in this case I meant it to imply the movement of the soul from one state to another. And I don’t just mean the transition from living to dead, but also the change that takes place within the souls of those that stay behind, of those who suffer pain and loss and then themselves come away from that experience.”

The single movement, 25-minute work for orchestra, chorus, children’s choir, and pre-recorded tape was awarded the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Music. [Read more…]

fp Creative launches new season at Snap House Studios November 14

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by Mike Telin

After an extraordinary debut concert season, Fresh Perspectives founder Devin Hinzo and program manager Justin Gunter spent the past summer thinking about how to bring to fruition the organization’s goal of creating an incubator for area musicians to develop projects. That thinking was turned into action, and this week audiences can experience what the organization now known as fp Creative is all about.

On Thursday, November 14 beginning at 7:00 pm at Snap House Studios in Cleveland, fp Creative will present “Pretty in Green #galaforthepeople.” Audiences are invited to wear their best green-hued or nature-inspired fashion, with prizes for those “with the freshest cuts.” Enjoy earthly delights, take pictures with interactive installations, and hear fp Creative’s inaugural emerging artists-in-residence, Catharsis Winds, in concert.

The program includes Piazzolla’s Libertango (arr. Jeff Scott), Gabriela Ortiz’ Puzzle-tocas, and David Maslanka’s Quintet No. 1. Installation and performance artist Susie Underwood will be on hand creating something special for the event. General Admission costs zero to fifteen dollars at the door. RSVP here. [Read more…]

Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra: conversations with Vinay Parameswaran & Annie Zhang

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by Mike Telin

When you’re the music director of a youth orchestra, one thing that goes with the territory is turnover in membership. “We had almost 50 students graduate last year,” Vinay Parameswaran said during a telephone conversation. “But the new players are all very talented and the level of commitment is as strong as ever, so I’m excited about our opening concert.”

On Friday, November 15 (note corrected date) at 8:00 pm in Severance Hall, Parameswaran will lead the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra (COYO) in a program featuring Sarah Kirkland Snider’s Something for the Dark, Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2, and Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1 with Annie Zhang as soloist. Tickets are available online.

Parameswaran, who is now in his third season as COYO’s music director, said that he first encountered Sarah Kirkland Snider’s music on the recommendation of some of his colleagues. “Something for the Dark is a wonderfully powerful piece that I was attracted to from the beginning.”

Written for the Detroit Symphony, the 12-minute piece explores a number of different moods. [Read more…]

TIMARA turns 50, and
there’s going to be a party

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by Mike Telin

There’s going to be a party at Finney Chapel on Saturday, November 16 beginning at 7:30 pm. The grand occasion marks the fiftieth anniversary of Oberlin Conservatory’s TIMARA (Technology in Music and Related Arts) program, the nation’s first conservatory program in electronic music.

“Olly Wilson taught the first electronic music course in 1969 and John Clough taught the first computer music class in the spring of 1970,” associate professor of computer music and digital arts Tom Lopez said during an interview. “We thought that 50 years was cause to celebrate.”

Organized by Lopez, the free Kaleidosonic Music Festival will feature nearly 500 musicians performing a variety of styles — gospel, classical, rock and roll, jazz, early music, marching band, serious, funny, and avant-garde.

“Kaleidosonic will be an epic celebration of music at Oberlin. It includes musicians and ensembles from the Conservatory, the College, and the community,” Lopez said. “We’re calling it a festival because it is more than a concert. It will be many hours long and the music will be non-stop — one big, long, sonic collage of ensembles, groups, and individual musicians. People can come and go as they wish and there will be food trucks available from 7:00 until 10:00.” [Read more…]

Ámà: The Gathering Place at The Cleveland Museum of Art

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by Mike Telin

When Nigerian sound and installation artist Emeka Ogboh first received the invitation from the Cleveland Museum of Art to create a work for the Ames Family Atrium, he didn’t have a notion of what the work would be. But when he made his first site visit to the Museum in February of 2018, the city’s winter weather became a source of inspiration. “It was grey and not so happy looking,” Ogboh said with a chuckle during a Skype conversation from his home in Berlin.

After spending time in the Atrium and observing how it functions as a gathering place for social activities, he began to think, “why don’t I bring something to Cleveland from Nigeria?” adding that if he had made his first visit in the summer “it would have been a different piece.”

If you have not had the opportunity to experience Ámà: The Gathering Place, you have a few more weeks to do so — the exhibit will remain on display through the first of December. Commissioned for the Atrium, the installation uses sound, sculpture, and textiles that capture the sense of a village square reminiscent of Ogboh’s birthplace in Enugu. [Read more…]

Cleveland Classical Guitar Society: a conversation with Pablo Garibay 

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by Mike Telin

The Cleveland Classical Guitar Society will continue its International Series this weekend with a performance by Pablo Garibay on Saturday, November 9 at 7:30 pm in Plymouth Church in Shaker Heights. His program will include works by Leo Brouwer, Simone Iannarelli, Manuel Ponce, Eguardo Angulo, and Antonio José. Tickets are available online.

Garibay has been awarded first prize at numerous competitions including the International Manuel Ponce Guitar Competition (Mexico City), the René Bartoli Competition (Aix en Provence, France) the JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Concerto Competition (Buffalo, USA) and the International Guitar Competition Aachen (Germany).

I reached Pablo Garibay at his home in Morelia, Mexico, and began by asking him if he has ever been to Cleveland.

Pablo Garibay: No, this will be my first time and I am thrilled about it.

Mike Telin: Your program includes names of composers that I’m familiar with, and others that I’m learning about for the first time. Could you please say a few words about each of the works. [Read more…]

Jakub Hrůša returns
to Severance Hall

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by Mike Telin

“There are few steps in the history of music as paramount as was the ‘Eroica’ Symphony,” Czech conductor Jakub Hrůša said during a telephone conversation. “It’s a piece from hundreds of years ago, but it’s still stimulating and sometimes shocking music to hear — it just doesn’t make you tired of listening to it.”

On Thursday, November 7 at 7:30 pm, Jakub Hrůša will return to the Severance Hall stage to lead The Cleveland Orchestra in Beethoven’s monumental Symphony No. 3 (“Eroica”). The evening will also include Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1 with Sergey Khachatryan as soloist. The program will be repeated on Friday and Saturday at 8:00 pm and Sunday at 3:00 pm. Tickets are available online.

Over the past few years, Hrůša has become a wonderful addition to the Orchestra’s guest conductor roster. He said that he never gets tired of conducting the Beethoven Third. “I used to do it a lot, then I took a break from it. Then I did it again and now I’m coming back to it after another break. In my view, I don’t think it’s played too often — it’s a masterpiece with no equal. Within Beethoven’s oeuvre it’s extraordinarily important. Very few symphonies in the history of music caused such a revolutionary shock as this symphony did.”  [Read more…]

Oberlin Opera Theater: 
A Midsummer Night’s Dream

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by Mike Telin

When Oberon and Tytania, the King and Queen of the Fairies, have a public marital spat, Oberon sets his sights on revenge with the help of his mischievous servant Puck. Chaos ensues for everyone involved: the fairies, the royalty, and the rag-tag theater troupe. And like any good fairy tale, everything gets worked out in the end. It all makes you wonder — is this someone’s dream?   

On Wednesday, November 6 at 8:00 pm in Hall Auditorium, Oberlin Opera Theater will present Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Jonathon Field directs, and Christopher Larkin conducts the Oberlin Orchestra. Performances continue November 8 and 9 at 8:00 pm and the 10th at 2:00 pm. Tickets are available online.

“An interesting thing about this piece is the way it’s constructed,” Jonathon Field said during a recent interview. “Shakespeare’s play opens and closes in civilization, so you do feel grounded in our world. But in the opera, it opens and closes in the woods, so the fairies have the first and last word. Britten is almost saying that the irrational and mysterious are going to reign. And that’s where the idea of the dream comes in — that vague difference between reality and illusion.”

[Read more…]

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