by Daniel Hathaway

HAPPENING TODAY:

Tonight at 7 in Tri-C’s Metro Auditorium, Kristopher Morron leads the Contemporary Youth Orchestra in a program including Dana Hall’s When Still, which recounts the story of the nine souls who lost their lives in the 2015 shooting at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina.

At the same hour at Bath Church UCC, Wit’s Folly presents Émigré: French Refugees in the Early United States and the Music They Brought with Them, while Federated Church in Chagrin Falls hosts the Factory Seconds Brass Trio (Cleveland Orchestra second-chair players Jack Sutte, trumpet, Jesse McCormick, horn, and Richard Stout, trombone.

Then at 7:30 in Reinberger Chamber Hall at Severance, the Cleveland Orchestra’s Mandel Opera and Humanities Festival continues with pianist Conrad Tao in Recital: Power and Influence, joined by cellist Dane Johansen, “a fascinating dialogue between Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Russian and American homes, discussing the power of old world and new, tradition and innovation.”

And tonight at 7:30, the Cleveland Uncommon Sound Project launches its Re:Sound 2024 festival — new & experimental music in concert, workshop & installation — at Convivium 33 Gallery (click here for program details).

Visit our Concert Listings for details of these and other events. [Read more…]

by Daniel Hathaway

HAPPENING TODAY:

Tonight at 7, The Cleveland Orchestra continues its Mandel Opera and Humanities Festival with the first of four performances of Mozart’s The Magic Flute in Mandel Concert Hall at Severance Music Center, conducted by Franz Welser-Möst, and staged by Nikolaus Habjan. The production makes use of giant puppets (pictured, the Queen of the Night), and featured singers include Julian Prégardien (Tamino), Ludwig Mittelhammer (Papageno), and Christina Landshamer (Pamina)., 11001 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland. Tickets available online.

Visit our Concert Listings for details of these and other events.

NEWS  BRIEFS:

Obituary: “David Sanborn, influential saxophonist whose work spanned genres, dies at 78.” Read the L.A. Times article here.

Concertgebouw cancels Jerusalem Quartet Concerts. Due to planned demonstrations, the music hall said on Tuesday, two performances scheduled for this week by the Jerusalem Quartet, who were to have played music by Felix Mendelssohn, Claude Debussy and Israeli composer Paul Ben-Haim, have been canceled. Read the story in the NL Times here. [Read more…]

by Daniel Hathaway

HAPPENING TODAY:

At Noon, Wit’s Folly features historical clarinetist Dominic Giardino in movements from works by Michel Yost, Ignacio Pleyel, and Wolfgang Amadé Mozart on the Tuesday Organ Plus Series at the Church of the Covenant.

And tonight at 7:30,  The Bowerbird Collective — cellist Anthony Albrecht & violinist Simone Slattery,  — present their program Where Song Began, “a cinematic concert celebrating songbirds” at Disciples Church.

Visit our Concert Listings for details of these and other events.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

On Monday, the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University announced the appointment of Annie Fullard (pictured above) as its new Chair of Chamber Music. Read the press release here.

Another feather in their cap: The Poiesis Quartet are among the winners of the 2024 Concert Artists Guild Competition. Read more here. [Read more…]

by Daniel Hathaway

HAPPENING THIS WEEKEND:

On Saturday at 2 at the Main Cleveland Public Library, Les Délices will perform music composed and published by Charles Ignatius Sancho, a man of letters, merchant, abolitionist, and theater lover who lived from 1729-1780, and made history as the first British man of African descent to vote in a general election.

Saturday evening at 7:30, the Akron Symphony will bring its 70th anniversary season to a close with Mozart’s “Great Mass in c minor.” Written to be performed at the composer’s wedding but never completed, its torso still makes for an impressive work that features magnificent writing for double chorus. Christopher Wilkins conducts at E.J. Thomas Hall.

And on Sunday at 2:30 in Warner Concert Hall, Oberlin Conservatory will celebrate piano professor Peter Takács’ 48 years on the faculty with a concert by alumni from his studio over the past six decades, culminating in the world premiere of Robert Spano’s Benediction for piano four hands, performed by Takács (pictured) and the composer. Click here for livestream. [Read more…]

by Daniel Hathaway

HAPPENING TODAY:

At 12:15 Noon, in an outdoor concert that can scoff at rainy conditions, guest carillonneur David Osburn will play a concert celebrating Mother’s Day Weekend on the McGaffin Carillon in University Circle. Click here to view the complete program and watch the livestream.

Tonight’s program of short silent films at Transformer Station reflecting The Many Moods of Melodrama: Sentiment, Satire, Horror, and Noir with original scores performed by students from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music is sold out.

And at 7:30 in Finney Chapel, Raphael Jiménez conducts the Oberlin Orchestra in Shulamit Ran’s Violin Concerto with soloist Maya Irizarry Lambright, and Rimsky-Korsakov’s  Scheherazade. Click here to watch a livestream. [Read more…]

by Daniel Hathaway

HAPPENING TODAY:

Oberlin Opera Theater will present two concerts of opera scenes in Oberlin’s Finney Chapel. The 4:30 performance will feature Act I from Wolfgang Amadé Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, and the 7:30 program will include selections from Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito, Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore, Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress, Verdi’s Don Carlo, and Copland’s The Tender Land, both available via livestream.

NEWS BRIEFS:

The Cleveland Orchestra has announced that tickets are now on sale for the final dress rehearsal of director Nikolaus Habjan’s production of The Magic Flute on Monday, May 13. All tickets are general admission seats in the Mandel Concert Hall balcony and dress circle. As part of the evening, Habjan will talk about the giant puppets that appear in the opera (pictured above: the Queen of the Night). [Read more…]

by Daniel Hathaway

HAPPENING TODAY:

At 7 tonight at the Rocky River Public Library, Les Délices presents “Sounds of Sancho’s London,” featuring music composed and published by Charles Ignatius Sancho, a man of letters, merchant, abolitionist, and theater lover who lived from 1729-1780 & made history as the first British man of African descent to vote in a general election.

At 7:30 at Disciples Church, Cleveland Chamber Music Society welcomes pianist Garrick Ohlsson for a recital of music by Beethoven, Schubert, Thomas Misson & Chopin. Read a preview article here.

NEWS BRIEFS:

The Lang Lang International Music Foundation will donate the 50 Roland electronic pianos used last Friday for the “101 Pianists” concert at Cuyahoga Community College to the Cleveland Metropolitan School District as part of the Keys of Inspiration program to support music education within the community. [Read more…]