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Apollo’s Fire revives the beautiful “O Jerusalem!” (Apr. 10)

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by Stephanie Manning

Every performance of “O Jerusalem! Crossroads of Three Faiths” is guaranteed to be a little different. Not only are there plenty of opportunities for the performers to improvise, but Apollo’s Fire has also made tweaks to the music selections in the years since the first performances.

Even so, “much has changed since I created this program in 2018,” artistic director Jeannette Sorrell acknowledged in the program book and onstage on April 10. Music that brings together Israeli and Palestinian performers feels heavier in 2026, two-and-a-half years after war erupted in the Gaza strip.

The concerts presented this April approached this reality with both seriousness and joy, a blend both true to the spirit of the original program and respectful of the current moment. I heard the Friday performance at the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Gartner Auditorium. The two musical and cultural consultants, Daphna Mor (Jewish) and Ronnie Malley (Arab), worked with Sorrell to add some new repertoire for this revival. [Read more…]

Richard Goode’s Musical Short Stories

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by Stephanie Manning

Reposted with the permission of Oberlin Conservatory

In Richard Goode’s mental directory of acoustically great places, Finney Chapel easily makes the list.

“ I think about places partly in terms of how the hall sounds,” he says. So when he finds venues with fabulous acoustics, “I remember them with great affection. The atmosphere was so perfect that when you played, you felt that everything mattered.”

The highly-respected American pianist, known for his interpretation of Mozart and Beethoven, has performed on the Oberlin Artist Recital Series quite a few times. It’s been nine years since his last appearance in Finney. “I don’t remember what I played,” he says. “I just remember how good it felt.”

On Wednesday, April 29 at 7:30 p.m., Goode will return to Finney Chapel and the Artist Recital Series with his program “Fancies and Goodnights.” He will pair that personally curated selection of short works with two sonatas by Mozart and Schubert. [Read more…]

Poiesis Quartet lift up their peers with the beautifully thoughtful “Love Letters” (Mar. 11)

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by Stephanie Manning

Much has already been made of the meaning of “Poiesis,” a Greek word that means “to create,” particularly something new. The Poiesis Quartet, who play new and commissioned works all the time, live up to their name in all sorts of ways. But this idea felt more relevant than usual during their recent visit to the school where they were founded.

On March 18, the Poiesis returned to Oberlin Conservatory to present “Love Letters,” a project that commissioned works from five QTPOC (Queer & Trans People of Color) composers, all either current Oberlin students or alumni.

The resulting collection of deeply personal pieces gave the Quartet — violinists Sarah Ying Ma and Max Ball, violist Jasper de Boor, and cellist Drew Dansby — the opportunity to give back to the communities that shaped and supported them. And it gave the composers the opportunity to hear their music performed by a quartet whose star only continues to rise.

[Read more…]

Elim Chan dials up the intensity in her second week with The Cleveland Orchestra (Mar. 19)

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by Stephanie Manning

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Few guest conductors have the luxury of back-to-back weeks with The Cleveland Orchestra. After setting the tone last week with one of classical music’s most famous pieces — Beethoven’s Fifth —Elim Chan turned up the heat on Thursday, March 19, at Severance Music Center with a program of bold 20th- and 21st-century music.

While some choices landed unevenly, what remained most memorable was the evening’s intensity — not just in emotion, but also in the sheer force of sound.

[Read more…]

An Tran takes a beautiful “risk” in Cleveland Classical Guitar Society debut (Mar. 7)

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by Stephanie Manning

No matter their theme, most classical guitar concerts eventually circle around to a piece by one of the instrument’s most famous composers. Agustín Barrios. Heitor Villa-Lobos. Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco. But none of those names appeared on the Cleveland Classical Guitar Society’s program on March 7.

“As you can see, everybody’s still alive,” An Tran said of the composers he chose for his concert at the Maltz Performing Arts Center. The Chicago-based, Vietnam-born guitarist made his Cleveland debut with a collection of music written almost exclusively for him — much of it drawn from his upcoming album, Illumina.

In an interview with ClevelandClassical.com’s Mike Telin, Tran said that his manager calls it “risky” to do this kind of programming. If it is a risk, his performance showed exactly why that’s a risk worth taking. [Read more…]

Jakub Hrůša returns to Cleveland Orchestra with music from Germany, Czech Republic (Mar. 5)

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by Stephanie Manning

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — During Jakub Hrůša’s first decade of Cleveland Orchestra appearances, the Czech conductor programmed a wide range of music, including works from his home country, cornerstones of the orchestral canon, and lesser-known gems. This weekend’s concerts feature all three.

On Thursday, March 5, after more than four years away from the Cleveland podium, Hrůša returned to Severance Music Center with music by Johannes Brahms, Bohuslav Martinů, and Vítězslava Kaprálová. Without a concerto, the program focused instead on the forms of the symphony and sinfonietta — as well as on the synergy between Hrůša and the Orchestra, which produced some very fine playing.

[Read more…]

Trobár returns to its roots with “Songbook for a King”

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by Stephanie Manning

In the medieval era, musicians and poets had a different perspective on the process of creation. “They thought of composing as finding and seeking out words and notes that already exist,” Allison Monroe said in a recent phone interview. That’s why the artistic director named her ensemble Trobár  — an Occitan-language word meaning “to find” or “to seek.”

“ That’s where the word ‘troubadour’ comes from, as well as ‘trouvère,’” she explained. “And that repertoire is really at the root of who we are as an ensemble.”

On March 19 at 7:00 pm, the medieval music ensemble will return to those roots by revisiting a program from Trobár’s earliest days, “Songbook for a King.” This concert draws its pieces from the “Manuscrit du Roi,” a famous thirteenth-century anthology of French music. Pay-what-you-can tickets for the performance at West Shore Unitarian Universalist Church in Rocky River are available online. [Read more…]

[VIDEO] Cleveland Ballet presents Messiah with BlueWater, Cleveland Chamber Choir

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by Stephanie Manning

Handel’s Messiah will come to life at Playhouse Square on March 20-21 in a co-production by Cleveland Ballet, BlueWater Chamber Orchestra, and Cleveland Chamber Choir. Gregory Ristow will conduct the live musical forces as the dancers perform the iconic two-hour oratorio, choreographed by Robert Weiss.

Take a look inside rehearsal and hear how this collaboration came together in the video below, featuring Cleveland Ballet artistic director Timour Bourtasenkov and répétiteur Dameon Nagel.

Messiah will be presented at the KeyBank State Theater on March 20 at 10:30 am & 7:00 pm, March 21 at 7:00 pm, and March 22 at 2:00 pm. Tickets available online.

Watch the video below and find it on Instagram and Facebook. [Read more…]

Wit’s Folly presents a Valentine’s Day “Serenade” (Feb. 14)

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by Stephanie Manning

The warm light spilling out onto the Waterloo Road sidewalk on February 14 came from Praxis Fiber Workshop, which had opened its doors that evening for a concert by Wit’s Folly. Beyond the large windows curtained with vertical string lights lay the open showroom area, with colorful art adorning the walls and even hanging from the ceiling. Quite the dynamic space to hear some 18th-century music.

For this Valentine’s Day program, guest flutist Ellen Sauer Tanyeri joined violinist Guillermo Salas-Suárez, violist Jonathan Goya, and cellist Jane Leggiero in a collection of music featuring the flute, with a Wit’s Folly twist. The group decided to combine movements from two of Beethoven’s Serenades (Op. 8 and Op. 25), to make a serenade of their own.

[Read more…]

‘Frenzied Tangos’ from Adams, Diehl headline Cleveland Orchestra premieres (Feb. 19)

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by Stephanie Manning

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Just like his music, insistent and perpetually in motion, John Adams has little interest in slowing down. At 79, the celebrated composer and conductor is as busy as ever, and he’s never far from his next premiere.

A Cleveland Orchestra regular, Adams returned to the Mandel Concert Hall podium on Thursday, February 19 for “Frenzied Tango,” a program of firsts that reunited him with pianist Aaron Diehl. The performance revealed plenty of gems, both in his own works and those he chose to precede them.

[Read more…]

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