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DIARY: Weekend, Friday-Sunday, September 19-21, 2025

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by Stephanie Manning

HAPPENING THIS WEEKEND:

The fall concert calendar is officially in full swing. Kicking off their seasons on Saturday night: the Cleveland Classical Guitar Society, with their 2025 Showcase Concert (pictured), and the Akron Symphony, with Mahler’s “Titan.”

Also in the orchestral realm, the Oberlin Orchestra presents a Saturday night program anchored by Beethoven’s Sixth. And on Sunday afternoon, the Cleveland Chamber Symphony presents works for small ensembles, as does the Cleveland Chamber Collective.

Meanwhile, the Cleveland Silent Film Festival continues with Friday evening’s showing of Lady Windermere’s Fan (1925), a Saturday afternoon double bill of avant-garde films by René Clair, and a Sunday afternoon showing of Go West (1925). All concerts are accompanied by live music and take place at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

In the mood for new music? On Friday night, the Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble presents works by Samuel Adams (world premiere) and Olly Wilson. Then, the CIM New Music Ensemble celebrates the 100th birthday of Luciano Berio (pictured) on Sunday afternoon.

Also on Sunday, pianist Jeffrey Siegel presents a program all about Beethoven, and Rocky River Presbyterian Church presents chamber music by Vivaldi. And rounding out Saturday’s schedule is an organ recital at Pilgrim Christian Church, a one-night-only presentation of Faust at Opera Western Reserve, and Suburban Symphony’s “epic” outdoor concert. [Read more…]

DIARY: Thursday, September 18, 2025

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by Stephanie Manning

INTERESTING READS:

Jane Austen Loved Music. What Was on Her Playlist?

“The novelist’s sheet music collection reveals new perspectives on her life and work.” Read Eleanor Stanford’s New York Times preview about this year’s Jane Austen Festival here.

He Left the Prejudice of America. But His Music Came Home.

“The centennial of Robert Owens, a composer who worked abroad and assimilated into German culture, is being celebrated with a festival in Nebraska.” Read Hannah Edgar’s New York Times article here.

TODAY’S ALMANAC:

by Daniel Hathaway

On this date in 1818 (or perhaps on September 17), French composer Charles Gounod was born in Paris. Known today principally because of two of his twelve operas (Faust and Romeo et Juliette remain solidly in the repertory), he also wrote much religious music (he thought about becoming a priest). One of his most charming works is the Petite Symphonie for winds, viewable here in a 2017 performance by Camerata Pacifica at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California. [Read more…]

Joe Hisaishi leads Cleveland Orchestra in genre-blending concert at Severance (Sept. 4)

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by Stephanie Manning

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio – If you know the name Joe Hisaishi, it’s likely thanks to Studio Ghibli. Since the 1980s, the Japanese composer has scored many of the animation studio’s most iconic films, including the Oscar-winning “Spirited Away” and the beloved “Howl’s Moving Castle.”

When not writing for the screen, Hisaishi composes contemporary classical music. His distinctly minimalist style sets these works apart from his more tuneful film scores.

On Thursday evening, Sept. 4, he brought examples of both to Severance Music Center for “Hisaishi Conducts Hisaishi,” a program featuring The Cleveland Orchestra and viola soloist Antoine Tamestit in an exploratory journey of texture, tone and rhythm.

[Read more…]

A Musical Patchwork, Rather Than a Melting Pot

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by Stephanie Manning

Reposted with the permission of Oberlin Conservatory

When Clay Ross moved to New York City in 2002, he encountered people from all over the world during jam sessions at the popular jazz clubs.

“It was like a United Nations of talent,” says the South Carolina native, who moved to the city to pursue a jazz career. After learning where he grew up, “people would often say, ‘Oh, you must really know a lot about American folk music and country music,’ because they had this idea about what it means to be from the American South.”

But there’s a lot more to Ross than that first impression. The guitarist and vocalist spent 10 years studying music from Brazil and Latin America, during which he founded the group Matuto. He’s also won two Grammys with his group Ranky Tanky, which focuses on Gullah music of the southeastern Sea Islands.

In 2019, those years of conversations about cultural assumptions and expectations took shape into something new when Ross founded the American Patchwork Quartet. This collective of musicians reinterprets American folk tunes through their varied cultural backgrounds and musical training. And on September 13 at 7:30 pm, the group will perform in Finney Chapel as part of the Oberlin Artist Recital Series. Tickets available online. [Read more…]

Cleveland Orchestra dazzles with Chopin and Rachmaninoff (Aug. 21)

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by Stephanie Manning

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Works by pianist-composers Frédéric Chopin and Sergei Rachmaninoff offered some dazzling displays of virtuosity on The Cleveland Orchestra’s final Summers at Severance concert on August 21 at Severance Music Center.

Chopin’s Second Piano Concerto gave soloist Nobuyuki Tsujii multiple opportunities to shine, and Rachmaninoff’s Second Symphony provided guest conductor Dima Slobodeniouk with a rich palette of orchestral colors to paint with, even without a soloist at the Steinway.

Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2 was first performed in Cleveland by the Boston Symphony in 1911 and first played by The Cleveland Orchestra under the direction of Nikolai Sokoloff in March of 1920 as part of the newly formed ensemble’s second season.

[Read more…]

Laufey crafts a shimmering “Night at the Symphony” (Aug. 7)

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by Stephanie Manning

It was only “A Matter of Time” before Laufey had the Blossom Music Center audience hanging on to her every word. And that was practically no time at all.

The singer-songwriter’s August 7 performance with The Cleveland Orchestra packed the venue with her adoring fans — many of them wearing her trademark items like dresses and hair bows — whose cheers rose up the moment the lights dimmed.

Ahead of the August 22 release of her third album, A Matter of Time, the Icelandic-Chinese artist brought her “A Night at the Symphony” tour to Cuyahoga Falls on a temperate Thursday evening. The sparkling, emotionally vulnerable performance thrived on her star power, bolstered by The Cleveland Orchestra and conductor Ross Jamie Collins.

The orchestral palette is familiar territory for Laufey (pronounced LAY-vay), a classically trained musician who grew up between Reykjavik and Washington, D.C. Her wistful, crooning voice also draws influence from pop and jazz, the latter most identifiable in the daydreaming “Like the Movies” and the layered harmonies of the opening “Dreamer.”

[Read more…]

Cleveland Silent Film Festival double bill features soundtrack by pianist Mike Petrone

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by Stephanie Manning

In 2001, pianist Mike Petrone helped director John Baumgartner create the soundtrack to a silent film called War Story. Then he shelved the recordings and never thought about them again. Until last year.

When a friend directing a show at Clague Playhouse reached out to ask if they could use some of the recordings, Petrone dug them back up and listened to them for the first time in decades.

This summer, he’s found himself studying that score again. That’s all thanks to the Cleveland Silent Film Festival, who decided not only to screen Baumgartner’s film, but also ask Petrone to accompany it.

On Saturday, August 9, War Story and Charlie Chaplin’s Sunnyside (1919) will be presented as a double feature at the main Cleveland Public Library, with Petrone providing a live score from the keyboard. The 3:00 pm concert in the Louis Stokes Wing Auditorium is free. [Read more…]

DIARY, Wednesday, August 6, 2025

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by Stephanie Manning

INTERESTING READ:

Those who attended Oberlin Conservatory’s production of the opera Omar last year may remember the music was co-written by Michael Abels, who also wrote the score for Jordan Peele’s film Get Out.

Anastasia Tsioulcas recently profiled the composer for The New York Times ahead of the performance of his work More Seasons by the Festival Orchestra of Lincoln Center. Check out that article here.

MORE AUDITIONS:

The Cleveland Orchestra Chorus is holding auditions on August 14, and they are looking for more tenors and basses in particular. Chorus members will have the opportunity to join the orchestra at Carnegie Hall and in Florida — and tenors and basses will also be able to audition for small roles in Beethoven’s Fidelio. Learn more and sign up for an audition at this link.

TODAY’S ALMANAC:

Although the weather is thankfully sunny today, the skies were dark and ominous one year ago, when a record-breaking storm system swept through Northeast Ohio. [Read more…]

DIARY, Tuesday, August 5, 2025

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by Stephanie Manning

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

The Board of Trustees of Cleveland Arts Prize has announced that the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation will be awarded the 2025 Barbara S. Robinson Prize for the Advancement of the Arts.

This award acknowledges the Foundation’s investments in Cleveland cultural institutions, including The Cleveland Orchestra and Cleveland Public Theatre. The Discipline and Special Prize winners will be announced on August 10.

AUDITIONS:

The Heights Chamber Orchestra will be holding auditions for violin, viola, and cello players on Monday, August 18. If you are interested, download the excerpts and sign up for a time slot at this link.

TODAY’S ALMANAC:

On this day in 2012, violin virtuoso Ruggiero Ricci died at the age of 94. A child prodigy, Ricci was born in California to Italian immigrants, and he and his six siblings were all expected to play an instrument. [Read more…]

DIARY, Monday, August 4, 2025

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by Stephanie Manning

LOOKING AHEAD:

Today marks the start of a pretty quiet week on the concert calendar. But there are some highlights waiting in the later half, including Laufey’s visit to Blossom on Thursday for “A Night at the Symphony” and the first round of the “Fencing Match” series from Apollo’s Fire.

For more details and to check out what else is coming up, visit our Concert Listings.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

After Barbara Bachtell’s retirement earlier this year, the Broadway School of Music and the Arts has named its new executive director. Christopher Kaboth will now lead the organization, which is based in the Slavic Village neighborhood and provides arts education to the residents of southeast Cleveland. Read the full press release here.

TODAY’S ALMANAC:

While not a major day for classical music anniversaries, August 4 marks a notable day in world history. [Read more…]

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