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DIARY: Wednesday, September 18, 2024

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by Stephanie Manning

HAPPENING TODAY: 

At 12 noon, Trinity Cathedral’s Brownbag Concerts presents Sororii, a female-led band featuring Afro-Colombian cellist Carolina Borja and bassoonist Arleigh Savage. Formed during the pandemic, the duo use the project to explore sisterhood and feminine voices across cultures.

For details on more upcoming concerts, visit our Concert Listings.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

The opening two weeks of The Cleveland Orchestra’s season will no longer include Franz Welser-Möst.

Doctors advised the music director to rest following the group’s European tour. “His ongoing cancer treatment is going well,” the Orchestra said in a press release, “but the side effects remain challenging.”

Osmo Vänskä (pictured, left) will now lead the opening week performances with violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann, making no music changes. In the second week, Elim Chan (pictured, right) will take to the podium, swapping out Stravinsky’s Pétrouchka for Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances. Pianist Yefim Bronfman will perform Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto as scheduled.

The Orchestra’s annual gala concert on September 21 will be led by Associate Conductor Daniel Reith.

TODAY’S ALMANAC:

by Jarrett Hoffman

Francesca Caccini — the Italian composer, singer, lutenist, and poet whose opera La liberazione di Ruggiero is believed to be the first entry in that genre by a woman, and possibly the first Italian opera to be performed outside of Italy — was born on September 18, 1587 in Florence. [Read more…]

DIARY: Tuesday, September 17, 2024

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by Stephanie Manning

HAPPENING TODAY: 

At 7:30 pm, the trio Biribá Union (pictured) performs in the Cleveland Institute of Music’s Mixon Hall. Cellist Mike Block, percussionist/vocalist Christylez Bacon, and electric bassist Patricia Ligia blend original music with global influences. Reserve your free ticket and find the livestream link here.

For those wanting to hear some keyboard instruments, there are two options for you:

• At 12 noon, organist and Oberlin associate professor Jonathan W. Moyer performs on the Tuesdays at the Covenant series. This freewill offering takes place at the Church of the Covenant in University Circle.

• And 5:30 pm marks ​​Fairmount Presbyterian Church’s first Rush Hour Concert of the season, “It Takes Two.” Jim Riggs and Dillon Shipman combine their organ and piano skills in this free program, which features Clifford Demarest’s Fantasia for organ and piano.

For details on these and more upcoming concerts, visit our Concert Listings.

NEWS BRIEFS:

After a years-long search, the Seattle Symphony recently announced Xian Zhang as the group’s new music director. Her contract begins in the 2025-26 season. Zhang, who currently leads the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, made her Cleveland Orchestra debut in 2017. She will become the first woman and person of color to lead the Seattle Symphony, and one of only a few women in the country to lead a major orchestra. Read more here.

[Read more…]

DIARY: Monday, September 16, 2024

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by Stephanie Manning

HAPPENING TODAY: 

It’s a slow Monday, with nothing on the calendar. But don’t be fooled — the rest of the week has plenty in store.

Season opening concerts from The Cleveland Orchestra, CIM, Oberlin, and the Akron Symphony await, plus more. For details, visit our Concert Listings.

NEWS BRIEFS:

Composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate (pictured, above) has announced his 2024-25 season, which includes the first opera composed entirely in an American Indian language. Loksi’ Shaali’ (“Shell Shaker”) will receive its world premiere in October from the Oklahoma City Philharmonic and Canterbury Voices. Tate is a 2022 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he earned a Masters in piano performance and composition.

And more news with a CIM connection: the Canton Symphony Orchestra announced current CIM composition student Alexander Moiseev as the group’s next Composer Fellow. Moiseev will write a new work to be premiered by the Canton Youth Symphony Advanced Orchestra in May 2025. [Read more…]

Stars in the Classics cabaret: a melting pot of music, visual art, and dance

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by Stephanie Manning

If you’ve driven past the Cleveland History Center, you’ve likely spotted a memento from Euclid Beach Park. The large, colorful carousel visible through the glass windows entertained visitors at the lakefront amusement park until its closure in 1969.

Jodi Kanter has fond memories of visiting as a child. “My grandfather and my father worked there as teenagers,” she said. “And I think my father ran the carousel at one time.”

For the past year, Kanter has been helping memorialize the Park through music, via a commission from composer Chris Neiner. And on Saturday, September 28 at 4:00 pm, M.U.S.i.C. – Stars in the Classics will present the world premiere of the final movement at Praxis Fiber Workshop. [Read more…]

Cheers, gasps, and laughter fill Blossom as “Cirque Goes Broadway” (Aug. 31)

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by Stephanie Manning

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com.

CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio — “Cirque Goes Broadway” takes its song titles literally.

Acrobats soar high above the stage during “Defying Gravity.” A vocalist belts “I must not fall” while a contortionist carefully balances on one hand. And the opening orchestral number, “That’s Entertainment!” lets the audience know what it’s in for.

On August 31, conductor Lucas Waldin led the Akron Symphony Orchestra at Blossom Music Center in an evening of Broadway hits combined with acrobatics from the Big Top.

[Read more…]

Cleveland Orchestra weathers the storm with Tchaikovsky’s Fifth at Blossom (Aug. 17)

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by Stephanie Manning

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com.

CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio — The Cleveland Orchestra hasn’t had much luck with the weather lately.

Last week’s performance with John Legend started late, got put on pause, and was eventually canceled after strong storms moved over Blossom Music Center. August 17 presented another uncertain forecast, but the Orchestra was determined to forge ahead if possible. And this time, they weathered the storm.

The turbulent weather — which delayed the concert by 30 minutes — made the marquee work feel especially fitting for the occasion. Written during a tempestuous period in Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s life, his Symphony No. 5 explores the composer’s inner turmoil and his struggles against the forces of Fate.

[Read more…]

DIARY: Weekend, August 16-18, 2024

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by Stephanie Manning

HAPPENING THIS WEEKEND:

Continuing to preview their European tour, The Cleveland Orchestra presents a program anchored by Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony at Blossom Music Center (Saturday at 7:00 pm). Music director Franz Welser-Möst leads, and pianist Víkingur Ólafsson (pictured) joins for Robert Schumann’s Piano Concerto. Tickets available online.

This is a sneak peak at the group’s programs on tour — Ólafsson will appear with them again in Finland, Switzerland, Slovakia, and Austria.

For details on this and all other classical events, visit our Concert Listings.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

The Canton Symphony Chorus has announced audition openings starting September 9. They rehearse Monday evenings and vocalists of all skill levels are welcome (though they must have graduated from at least high school). Those interested can fill out the audition form here.

On September 14, Severance Music Center will host its annual Hispanic Heritage Month concert. Sammy DeLeon y su Orquesta returns from last year, with Mariachi Sirenas as the opening act. The event is free but does require general admission tickets — reserve them here. [Read more…]

The Concert Truck brings CIPC talent to Edgewater Beach (July 23)

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by Stephanie Manning

’Tis the season for outdoor concerts, and after a beautifully mild weather pattern swept in last weekend, this may be one of the best weeks this year to enjoy them. In other words: July 23 was the perfect day for a concert on the beach.

To be fair, the Concert Truck wasn’t actually on the sand at Edgewater Beach, but it was close — parked right outside the Beach House and facing the water. Beachgoers and locals gathered on a bright sunny day for the lunchtime concert, presented by the Cleveland International Piano Competition. [Read more…]

Kent Blossom closes out Faculty Concert Series with two classics (July 17)

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by Stephanie Manning

With a program of only two pieces, both of them staples in chamber music repertoire, creating the conditions for a standout performance might be more difficult than usual. But the musicians in Kent Blossom Music Festival’s final entry in this year’s Faculty Concert Series knew what to do.

“Friendship is a requirement to open up and enjoy this piece,” clarinetist Afendi Yusuf said of the opener, Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet — though this sentiment could equally apply to Schubert’s Octet that followed. The July 17 performance in Kent State University’s Ludwig Recital Hall proved that the group had the friendship element in spades. [Read more…]

Leslie Odom Jr. blends jazz, R&B, and Broadway with The Cleveland Orchestra at Blossom (July 21)

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This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

by Stephanie Manning | ClevelandClassical.com

CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio — When Leslie Odom Jr. emerged at Blossom Music Center midway through “Fly Me To The Moon,” which he had started offstage, the ensuing medley immediately set the tone for the evening. Preferring to let his vocals do all the talking, on Sunday, July 21, the singer’s concert with The Cleveland Orchestra was two almost-nonstop hours of musical delight.

Odom may be best-known for his Broadway pursuits, particularly for originating the role of Aaron Burr in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s smash-hit Hamilton. But he’s a true, multi-hyphenated artist who has made forays into Hollywood, television, and solo recordings. His Blossom setlist attested to his versatility, bringing together arrangements of jazz standards, pop hits, and his original material.

[Read more…]

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