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Cleveland Orchestra, conductor Dalia Stasevska celebrate music of North America (Nov. 20)

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by Stephanie Manning

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Although written by a European composer, Antonín Dvořák’s beloved “New World” Symphony represents a particularly “American” idea of music to many.

An audience favorite ever since its premiere in New York in 1893, this symphony is often performed together with works by American composers — an approach taken by The Cleveland Orchestra the last time they played it here in 2023.

This time around, the program expanded its scope to encompass the North American continent, pairing the Dvořák with a piece by Mexican composer Silvestre Revueltas. Conductor Dalia Stasevska led a memorable performance of both works on Thursday, Nov. 20 at Severance Music Center.

[Read more…]

Pianist Antonio Pompa-Baldi shows his support for Ukraine with a performance in Kyiv

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by Stephanie Manning

Pianist Antonio Pompa-Baldi is no stranger to the life of a traveling musician. When I spoke with the pianist via Zoom earlier this month, he was wrapping up performances in his home country of Italy and preparing for a few days in Germany and then Cleveland, where he is Distinguished Professor of Piano at the Cleveland Institute of Music.

But his next destination will bring some new challenges — and new rewards. On Saturday, November 29, Pompa-Baldi will perform Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto with the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Ukraine, conducted by Theodore Kuchar. The concert takes place in Kyiv’s historic Lysenko Hall, and getting there requires the pianist to fly to Warsaw before taking a 16-hour train ride across the border.

[Read more…]

Takács Quartet return to Cleveland Chamber Music Society (Nov. 11)

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by Stephanie Manning

“At 50, The Takács Quartet Remains As Essential as Ever,” The New York Times declared earlier this year in an article celebrating the group’s semicentennial. We Northeast Ohioans can consider ourselves lucky that the ensemble visits the area regularly — typically as guests of the Cleveland Chamber Music Society.

David Allen’s Times profile highlighted the Quartet’s increased interest in contemporary composers, an attribute quickly confirmed when looking at their recent touring programs. This month, for example, they have been premiering Clarice Assad’s Clash all over the country.

Clash was sadly missing from the Takács’s November 11 appearance at Disciples Church in Cleveland Heights, where they presented a more standard combination of Haydn, Dvořák, and Bartók. But no matter the repertoire, the Quartet’s playing maintained that engaging quality of a group unafraid to take risks and fully express themselves.

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Danish String Quartet Finds the Human Connection

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by Stephanie Manning

Reposted with the permission of Oberlin Conservatory

These days, the Danish String Quartet keep their touring schedule simple. Arrive in a new city in the morning, play a concert in the evening, and repeat. That’s not because the group doesn’t like exploring new places — it’s because they’ve got little ones waiting at home.

“ Back before we had kids, we did three-week tours, four-week tours in the States,” violinist Frederik Øland says. “Now we’re down to two weeks at a time, because anything more than that is just too much.”

A lot has changed since the early 2000s, when the newly-formed quartet were all teenagers at Copenhagen’s Royal Danish Academy of Music. But what’s stayed constant is the critical acclaim that follows wherever they go. On Friday, November 21, the celebrated ensemble — comprised of violinists Øland and Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen, violist Asbjørn Nørgaard, and cellist Fredrik Schøyen Sjölin — will make their Oberlin debut as part of the Artist Recital Series. [Read more…]

[VIDEO] Les Délices debuts The Aesop Project

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by Stephanie Manning

This isn’t the first time Les Délices has brought puppets to the party. Following up on their 2022 Baroque opera The White Cat, the ensemble will present The Aesop Project in Cleveland and Akron on November 22.

The free, family-friendly program features puppets created by Ian Petroni, who talks about the design process in the video below. Soprano Elena Mullins Bailey also shares her thoughts on the new narration, written by local Ohio poet laureate Dave Lucas.

The Aesop Project will be presented at 11:30 am on November 22 at the CMA Community Arts Center, 2937 W. 25th St, Cleveland. Arrive at 10:30 am to join the art-making activities. Les Délices will then repeat the program at 3:30 pm that same day at the Akron Public Library Main Branch, 60 S. High St., Akron.

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

CIM Opera’s engaging Puccini double bill prompts both laughs and tears (Nov. 7)

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by Stephanie Manning

The three one-act operas that make up Giacomo Puccini’s Il trittico (The Triptych) are typically connected by theme, rather than location. Although the trio of works take place in 13th-century Paris, 17th-century Siena, and 20th-century Florence respectively, they all deal with keeping someone’s death a secret — whether tragically or comedically.

CIM Opera Theater’s recent production of two-thirds of the triptych brought the action into one particular place and time, as director Dean Southern moved both Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi into 1918’s New York City. What stood out more, however, were the impressive performances from across the large cast, which I heard on November 7 in Kulas Hall.

[Read more…]

VOCES8’s Oberlin debut: a delightful 20th anniversary program (Oct. 28)

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by Stephanie Manning

VOCES8’s 20th anniversary called for plenty of celebration and plenty of humor.

When the British a cappella group visited the Oberlin Artist Recital Series on October 28, they brought a program of audience favorites that delighted the sold-out crowd in Finney Chapel. Known for their ethereal voices and crystal clear harmonies, the octet demonstrated all that and more as they bridged the sacred and secular in “Songs From 20 Years.”

This two-decade milestone gave good reason to celebrate not only the singers, but also their longtime arranger-in-residence, Jim Clements. Responsible for some of the group’s most requested pieces, Clements is like “the secret burger sauce in the Big Mac,” joked tenor Blake Morgan.

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Guitarist Leonela Alejandro makes engaging Cleveland debut at CCGS (Oct. 25)

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by Stephanie Manning

When an artist is on tour for months at a time, it can be hard not to feel homesick. Leonela Alejandro knows that experience well. Her current cross-country tour — celebrating her win at the 2024 Guitar Foundation of America International Concert Artist Competition — began in September and continues through next May.

That’s a lot of time away from Puerto Rico, where the 25-year-old guitarist grew up and began her musical education. So, as she explained to the audience at the Maltz Performing Arts Center on October 25, her Cleveland program brought a little bit of her home country with her. Presented by the Cleveland Classical Guitar Society, Alejandro’s local debut brought out her most engaging abilities as a performer, making the case that she is a young artist to watch. [Read more…]

Cleveland Orchestra, Chorus, and soloists excel with “Ode to Joy” performance (Oct. 23)

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by Stephanie Manning

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Few melodies in the classical canon hold as much name recognition as Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy.” The beloved tune, set to the words of German poet Friedrich Schiller, comes from the composer’s Symphony No. 9 — a revolutionary piece both in its form and in its celebration of the indomitable human spirit.

The desire to witness such joyful music making in person is undoubtedly what drove a large audience to Mandel Hall at Severance Music Center on Thursday, Oct. 23. And it’s safe to say that the Cleveland Orchestra, Chorus and soloists did not disappoint.

[Read more…]

A Little Bit of Everything with VOCES8

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by Stephanie Manning

Reposted with the permission of Oberlin Conservatory

For Barnaby Smith, putting a concert program together is like cooking a three-course meal.

“You want the audience to come and have the starter, the main, and the dessert,” the countertenor says. “It’s like they’re having a nice dinner party while meeting the eight people on stage.”

As the Artistic Director of VOCES8, Smith curates those “dinner parties” for the renowned British vocal ensemble. And he has plenty of music choices to pick from. The a capella group is known for their genre-spanning repertoire — and they’re also celebrating their 20th anniversary this year. Both of those ideas come to the forefront in the program that they’ll bring to Oberlin’s Finney Chapel on October 28 as part of the Artist Recital Series.

“It’s got everything from Renaissance polyphony to jazz and pop songs,” Smith says. “There’s a little bit of something for everyone — Simon and Garfunkel, a few madrigals, and a bit of Bach and Elgar.” [Read more…]

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