by Stephanie Manning

HAPPENING TODAY:

At 12:00 noon, Trinity Lutheran Church will host organist Florence Mustric again for Music Near the Market. On the Beckerath organ, she will perform a program of “simply perfect” music by composers ranging from Pachelbel to Mendelssohn and Grigny to Demessieux.

For more details, visit our Concert Listings.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

The Cleveland Arts Prize awards ceremony (coming up on October 24) will honor composer Clint Needham with the Mid-Career Artist Prize. Needham (pictured) is a professor of composition and the current composer-in-residence at the Baldwin Wallace Conservatory. His latest work, Mustang Gallop, will be premiered at BW on Friday by the Strongsville Community Band. Read more about the Arts Prize here.

TODAY’S ALMANAC:

by Daniel Hathaway

Meet, if you haven’t already, two composers with Cleveland connections who were born on October 9 in 1869 and 1922 respectively.

Hearing a performance of Tannhäuser at the age of 18 inspired Cleveland-born Henry Lawrence Freeman to compose opera, and by his death in 1954, he had written scores for at least 23 titles, 21 of which are preserved in manuscript at Columbia University. He also founded two opera companies — one at the age of 22 in Denver that bore his name, and the Negro Grand Opera in 1920 in New York. The Martyr — the first opera to be produced by an all-black company, was staged in Chicago in 1893 and in Cleveland in 1894. [Read more…]

by Stephanie Manning

HAPPENING TODAY:

That’s a wrap on September concerts, with no more concerts on the docket today to end the month.

Looking ahead, we will welcome in October this week with groups like Les Délices, the Cleveland Pops, The Singers’ Club, and of course The Cleveland Orchestra. For more details, visit our Concert Listings.

INTERESTING READ:

How can we get more kids interested in classical music? Kwamé Ryan (pictured), the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra’s music director, offers his thoughts in an opinion piece for The Guardian.

Ryan discusses the importance of the “power of wow,” edutainment programming, and financial accessibility when it comes to inspiring the next generation. Read the full article here.

TODAY’S ALMANAC:

by Jarrett Hoffman

Today marks the anniversaries of the birth of Irish composer and organist Charles Villiers Stanford (1852) and Russian violinist David Oistrakh (pictured, 1908), and the death of American composer and music critic Virgil Thomson (1989). [Read more…]

by Stephanie Manning

HAPPENING THIS WEEKEND: 

Lots of ground to cover this weekend, with programs from ensembles small and large — including an early music debut and concerts for the whole family.

Following up yesterday’s concert, Elim Chan will continue to lead The Cleveland Orchestra in a Rachmaninoff-focused program on Friday at 7:30 pm, Saturday at 8:00 pm, and Sunday at 3:00 pm. Tickets available online.

For more large ensemble music, hear the BW Symphony Orchestra play Tchaikovsky’s Fifth on Friday at 7:00 pm (free, live stream available), or the Oberlin Chamber Orchestra play Robert Schumann’s Fourth on Friday at 7:30 pm (also free and live streamed.)

Friday also marks the debut performance of the early music ensemble CLEConcierto (pictured) with a program exploring Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre and her musical circle. Tickets available online.

For more small ensemble music, check out M.U.S.i.C. – Stars in the Classics at their free Classical Cabaret in Collinwood (Saturday at 4:00 pm); the string quartet/bandoneon program at the Oberlin Artist Recital Series (pictured, Saturday at 4:30 pm, tickets here); or CityMusic Cleveland’s September Chamber Concert on Sunday at 7:00 pm.

Students from CIM will be featured on Friday at noon during the weekly CIM Museum Melodies, and again Sunday at 4:00 pm when the CIM New Music Ensemble performs works by Charles Ives and Curtis Stewart (tickets and livestream here). Or, head down the street to the Cleveland Cinemathéque for Silent Movie Day with live accompaniment by pianist Dr. Philip Carli. Tickets available here for the showings at 4:00 and 6:30 pm.

Finally, this weekend offers plenty of options to share the love of music with the young ones in your family. The Cleveland Orchestra’s Music Explorers Series: Vibrant Violin introduces 3-6 year olds to the instrument on Friday at 10:00 am and Saturday at 11:00 am (tickets available online). And Apollo’s Fire Family Concert: Fiddle Fiesta will tour sunny Spain, Italy, Greece & Egypt with performances on Saturday at 11:00 am and 3:30 pm, and Sunday at 3:30 pm. Free admission with pre-registration encouraged.

For more details on all these events, visit our Concert Listings. [Read more…]

by Stephanie Manning

HAPPENING TODAY: 

At 12 noon, hear some “Minor Delights” from Bach, Pachebel and others at Music Near the Market, courtesy of organist Robert Myers. This freewill offering takes place at Trinity Lutheran Church in Ohio City.

And this evening, have your pick between traditional and contemporary. At 7:30 pm, the Music Box Supper Club hosts Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino, a group revitalizing Southern Italy’s musical and dance traditions — tickets here. And at 8:00 pm, the Cleveland Uncommon Sound Project (CUSP) presents Claire Rousay (pictured) and the Powers / Rolin Duo at Calicchia Gallery Studio — tickets here.

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

PRESS RELEASE:

The Cleveland Orchestra announced that it raised $1.1 million dollars for its programming during its annual gala last weekend. In place of Franz Welser-Möst, Associate Conductor Daniel Reith led the Orchestra in a French-inspired performance for the guests at Severance Music Center. This event is the organization’s biggest fundraiser of the year.

TODAY’S ALMANAC:

by Daniel Hathaway

On this date in 1932, Canadian pianist Glenn Gould was born in Toronto. One of the great keyboard personalities of the 20th century, Gould was also among the most eccentric, demanding special conditions for his recitals and recordings and eventually giving up live performances entirely in favor of studio recordings over which he could exercise precise control. [Read more…]

by Stephanie Manning

HAPPENING TODAY: 

Like last week, Monday’s schedule stands empty. But there’s plenty of exciting things coming up, including concerts from the Cleveland Chamber Music Society, Nightingale Opera, and the Oberlin Artist Recital Series.

For more details, visit our Concert Listings.

INTERESTING READ:

American opera director Yuval Sharon (pictured) has published his first book, A New Philosophy of Opera, which lays out his vision for innovative productions that challenge opera’s status quo.

From the Wall Street Journal’s review: “‘Rebirth is opera’s true power,’ Mr. Sharon writes, and suggests that the art form is infinitely richer and more welcoming than that tired old image suggests.” Read more here.

NEWS BRIEFS:

Multiple large orchestras have recently announced new bargaining agreements with their musicians, though not without some speed bumps. The New York Philharmonic, for example, will give its players a 30% raise over the next three years. [Read more…]