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Les Délices closes its season this weekend with “Fated Lovers”

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by Mike Telin

Rottsalk-Les-DelicesWhether it’s Pyramus and Thisbe in Ovid’s Metamorphoses, the Greek myth of Hero and Leander, or William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the quest for true love often ends in tragedy. This weekend Les Délices will bring the timeless tails of star-crossed lovers to life with a program titled “Fated Lovers.”

Performances will be held on Saturday, April 8 at 8:00 pm in the Galleries at Cleveland State University, and on Sunday, April 9 at 4:00 pm in Plymouth Church. The concerts will feature works by Rebel, Clérambault, Senaillé, and Rameau.

“What I always find challenging with these types of settings is the question of whether it is the original version of the myth or a poet’s take on it,” soprano Clara Rottsolk said during a telephone conversation from New York, where she was performing with the early music ensemble Artek. [Read more…]

Oberlin Artist Recital Series:
Richard Goode to perform on April 9

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by Mike Telin

GOODE-RIchardAmerican Pianist Richard Goode is a celebrated interpreter of the music of Beethoven, and was the first American-born pianist to record all 32 sonatas (for Nonesuch in 1991). Earlier, he won the Young Concert Artists International Auditions in 1961, took first prize in the Clara Haskil Competition in 1973, and won the Avery Fisher Prize in 1980. He recently completed a 14-year tenure as co-director (with Mitsuko Uchida) of the Marlboro Music School and Festival, the Vermont summer retreat where he spent a total of 22 summers beginning at the age of 14.

On Sunday, April 9 at 4:00 pm in Finney Chapel, Richard Goode will return to Northeast Ohio as part of the Oberlin Artist Recital Series. His program will include J.S. Bach’s Partita in e, BWV 830, Beethoven’s Sonata No. 28 in A, Op. 101 and Sonata No. 31 in A-flat, Op. 110, as well as Chopin’s Nocturne in B, Op. 62, No. 1, Polonaise in f-sharp, Op. 44 and three Mazurkas: Op. 41 No. 2 in B, No. 3 in A-flat and Op. 50 No. 3 in c-sharp. [Read more…]

The Border Woods at CMA:
a conversation with Frode Haltli
& Emilia Amper

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By Mike Telin

Frode-Amper-et-alWhen the Osa Festival in Voss, Norway commissioned Norwegian composer and accordionist Frode Haltli to write a full concert-length work, he knew he wanted to compose a piece that would combine the improvised qualities of traditional Scandinavian folk music with classical, notated music. “From Edvard Grieg on, a lot of Norwegian composers have been interested in traditional music, and used it as a source of inspiration,” Haltli said during a telephone conversation from Norway.

On Wednesday, March 29 at 7:30 pm in Gartner Auditorium, the Cleveland Museum of Art will present Frode Haltli’s The Border Woods (Grenseskogen). The performance will feature Frode Haltli (accordion), Emilia Amper (nyckelharpa), and Eirik Raude (percussion).

“I love the sound of the nyckelharpa,” Haltli said, “and Emilia is one of the great folk musicians in Scandinavia. [Read more…]

NEOSonicFest continues with four new music concerts this week

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by Mike Telin

ccs-yec-040614NEOSonicFest 2017 continues this week with  four concerts that celebrate the breadth of Cleveland’s new music scene.

On Wednesday, March 22 at 7:00 pm in Baldwin Wallace Conservatory’s Gamble Auditorium, the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, under the direction of Steven Smith, will present its annual Young and Emerging Composers concert.

Coordinated by composer and BW faculty member Clint Needham, the Young and Emerging program has been part of CCS’s mission since its founding in 1980. In an interview with this publication, Smith told Jeremy Reynolds, “It’s rare for young composers to have the opportunity for a professional orchestra to perform their works. The seven pieces are all very different in their ideas about sound — some are more traditional, while others are more experimental.” [Read more…]

Cleveland POPS: a conversation with pianist/singer/composer Tony DeSare

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by Mike Telin

DE-SARE-Tony“I fell in love with the piano when I was ten years old,” pianist/singer/composer Tony DeSare said during a telephone conversation from his home in New York City. “Of course back then I didn’t know that I would be a musician — I was just obsessed with playing the piano — and this show is for people who have a passion for this amazing instrument, whether they play it or not.” On Saturday, March 25 at 8:00 pm in Severance Hall, Tony DeSare will join Carl Topilow and the Cleveland Pops Orchestra for I Love a Piano.

A champion of the Great American Songbook, which he believes did not end in 1965, DeSare is comfortable performing in venues ranging from jazz clubs to Carnegie Hall, as well as with major symphony orchestras. [Read more…]

CMA: Quince to perform at Transformer Station March 22

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by Mike Telin

QuinceHow do you describe a vocal ensemble made up of three sopranos and one mezzo that is dedicated to the commissioning and performance of contemporary vocal music? “If I only had ten seconds I’d say that we’re a string quartet for voices,” Amanda DeBoer said during a telephone interview. On Wednesday, March 22 at 7:30 pm, the Cleveland Museum of Art will present Quince Contemporary Vocal Ensemble (Amanda DeBoer, Elizabeth Pearse, and Carrie Henneman Shaw, sopranos, and Kayleigh Butcher, mezzo-soprano) at Transformer Station.

DeBoer said that when Quince was first formed, it was a battle to differentiate themselves from other a cappella groups. “We realized right away that there was not a lot of repertoire for unaccompanied treble voices. You have a lot of Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque choral traditions, but we weren’t trying to be an early-music ensemble — we wanted to sing contemporary repertoire.” [Read more…]

Carpe Diem String Quartet up next on Rocky River Chamber Music series

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by Mike Telin

Carpe-Diem-SQFounded in 2005 in Columbus, Ohio, the Carpe Diem String Quartet is a shining example of a 21st-century chamber ensemble. Known for its eclectic programming, diverse outreach activities, and forward-thinking definition of “classical” music, Carpe Diem is true to its name, seizing every opportunity no matter what obstacles stand in the way.

On Monday, March 20 at 7:30 pm at West Shore Unitarian Universalist Church, Carpe Diem String Quartet will return to Cleveland for a performance on the Rocky River Chamber Music Society series. The program will include music by Schubert, Taneyev, and the quartet’s own Korine Fujiwara. [Read more…]

Didjeridu virtuoso Stephen Kent to appear on FUZE! Series and at SPACES

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by Mike Telin

Steven-Kent2How does a man born in Britain, raised in East Africa, and trained on the French horn come to play an instrument developed by the Aboriginal people of Northern Australia? “I was inspired to play the didjeridu while working as music director for Circus Oz in Australia in the early 1980s,” Stephen Kent said during a recent telephone conversation.

On Saturday, March 18 at 7:00 pm at the Akron Art Museum, Tuesday Musical will present Stephen Kent and the San Francisco-based Del Sol String Quartet as part of the FUZE! Series. [Read more…]

CityMusic Cleveland to explore “David Bowie’s Playlist” in five concerts

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by Mike Telin

BowieWhen David Robert Jones, a.k.a. David Bowie, passed away in January of 2016, the English singer, songwriter, actor, and popular-culture icon left the world with a prodigious artistic canon. With a career dating back to 1962, Bowie was constantly reinventing himself. That raises the question — what and who were his artistic inspirations?

In the first of five concerts, beginning on Wednesday, March 15 at 7:30 at St. Jerome Church in Cleveland, audiences will be able to discover some answers to that question when Avner Dorman leads CityMusic Cleveland in “What’s on David Bowie’s Playlist?” [Read more…]

Neos Dance Meets Symphony in Akron: a conversation with Robert Wesner

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by Mike Telin

Neos-Dance-TheaterIf you’re looking for a different way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, the Akron Symphony has the answer. On Friday, March 17 at 8:00 pm at E.J. Thomas Hall, Christopher Wilkins will lead the Orchestra in a program titled “Dance Meets Symphony.” The first half of the program will include Irish-themed works by Leroy Anderson as well as Manuel de Falla’s The Three-Cornered Hat.

The second half of the evening will mark the first mainstage collaboration between the ASO and Neos Dance Theatre. [Read more…]

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