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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…]

The 5 Browns: five pianos, 440 keys, and a visit to “The Edge of The World” (July 20)

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by Stephanie Manning

Music for five pianos is rare enough — so The 5 Browns knew that if they wanted to play a concerto together, they’d need to create their own. That’s exactly what the sibling quintet achieved in 2011, when the Ravinia Festival commissioned composer Nico Muhly to write The Edge of the World.

For their visit to Cleveland, the group gave their program the same title, with the theme of exploring uncharted territory. On July 20, they treated the audience at Playhouse Square’s Mimi Ohio Theatre to plenty of familiar tunes. But the visual and auditory spectacle of their performance, which opened Piano Cleveland’s 2025 Piano Days series, was the real draw.

Although they have kept their name the same, the group is technically now The 5 ‘B’s — four Browns and a Beus. Stephen Beus joined the Brown siblings Desirae, Deondra, Gregory, and Melody after Ryan Brown’s departure in 2023. But just by watching them play together, it’s impossible to tell Beus isn’t a Brown himself. The quintet’s synchronization never faltered during the almost two-hour program, even during Muhly’s challenging concerto.

[Read more…]

Kotaro Fukuma makes long-awaited return to Cleveland for Piano Days

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by Stephanie Manning

Right after Kotaro Fukuma became the First Prize winner of the Cleveland International Piano Competition, the then 20-year-old pianist went through a rollercoaster of emotions.

“ Of course, I was overjoyed,” he said in a recent interview, remembering how he called his parents to celebrate. But when he woke up the next morning, the review in The Plain Dealer told a different story. The first line: “Did the wrong pianist win the 2003 Cleveland International Piano Competition?”

“I was so shocked,” Fukuma said. “The night before I was congratulated by many, many people, and the next day I read this newspaper and think, ‘Oh my gosh, how can I leave my hotel?’”

More than 20 years later, the pianist views that experience as an important turning point. After that bittersweet victory, “I accepted all kinds of engagements and I forced myself to study harder. And I think that was the right attitude.”

Today, Fukuma has curated a healthy international career, splitting his time between Berlin, Leiden, and Tokyo. And on Thursday, July 31, he will return to Cleveland after a long absence to perform on Piano Cleveland’s 2025 Piano Days series. Tickets for the 7:30 pm performance at the Cleveland Institute of Music are available online. [Read more…]

Cleveland Orchestra: Finnish conductor Rouvali dazzles in return performance (July 17)

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by Stephanie Manning

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Santtu-Matias Rouvali has only led the Cleveland Orchestra twice, but he’s already established a formula that works. The Finnish conductor skillfully matches his programs to his conducting style — whimsical, sparkling, and humorous, while remaining precise and rhythmic.

The approach meshes well with the orchestra, who easily responded to Rouvali, just as they did during his debut last fall. On Thursday, July 17, a trio of works by Beethoven, Stravinsky, and Ravel made for a lighthearted evening on the Summers at Severance series.

Nowhere was Rouvali’s magic more evident than in Igor Stravinsky’s Jeu de cartes. The wild card of the program in more ways than one, this lesser-known ballet by the Russian composer depicts an actual card game, where the mischievous Joker is eventually defeated at the end of three rounds. The conductor kept things moving briskly during the brass fanfare that opens each “Deal,” symbolizing the shuffling of the cards.

[Read more…]

Kent Blossom Music Festival: Imani Winds return (July 2)

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by Stephanie Manning

Already no strangers to Northeast Ohio, Imani Winds are quickly turning last summer’s debut at the Kent Blossom Music Festival into an annual event. For the second year in a row, the wind quintet visited Kent State University’s Ludwig Recital Hall on July 2 to perform on the Festival’s Faculty Concert Series.

Their program, “Grooves and Meditations,” included some familiar names from their 2024 outing, including Paquito D’Rivera and Andy Akiho. But there were also plenty of new additions, like composer Fazıl Say and his piece Alevi Dedeler rakı masasında. The four-movement work is essentially about “old grandpas getting drunk at the bar,” bassoonist Monica Ellis said with a grin. [Read more…]

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