by Jarrett Hoffman
IN THIS EDITION:
•Bop Stop names next director
•Books about saxophone and bomba by local musicians and authors
•Almanac: Christoph von Dohnányi, the “Szell Shell,” and a problem with the organ
DIARY: Wednesday, September 7, 2022
by Daniel Hathaway
IN THIS EDITION:
. How did Brahms remember to cue the horns?
. Box offices get busy, Lars Vogt leaves us at 51, Putin’s war threatens future of Russian classical music
. Almanac: visiting Cleveland to compete in the Casadesus Competition (forerunner of the Cleveland International Piano Competition)
. The European Orchestra Bowl Review: Who would win?
TODAY’S EVENTS:
At 7:00 pm in Fynes Hall at Baldwin Wallace Conservatory, Dr. Laurie McManus of Shenandoah University will discuss Brahms’ German Requiem, the composer’s famous setting of the Lutheran mass for the dead. The Riemenschneider Bach Institute’s unique orchestra score of the Requiem, with conducting markings in Brahms’ hand, will also be on display. The event is free. [Read more…]
DIARY: Tuesday, September 6, 2022
by Jarrett Hoffman
IN THIS EDITION:
•Today: a teaching workshop from the trio 1N2ATIV3 with hip-hop dancer and choreographer Christian Townsend
•News briefs: Suburban Symphony announces 2022-23 season, Cleveland Chamber Choir to be featured at an important choral conference, Carl Topilow re-ups with Firelands Symphony
•Almanac: Joan Tower turns 84
HAPPENING TODAY:
Although there are no concerts on the schedule today, there is a free teaching workshop to check out, particularly recommended for those in grades 3-7. It’s titled “Get Your Groove On,” and it’s about the rhythms that tie together music, poetry, and dance.
Kimberly Zaleski (flute, vocals), Trevor Kazarian (cello, vocals, beatbox), and Dylan Moffitt (percussion, mixed media) of the Cleveland-based group 1N2ATIV3 will be joined by hip-hop dancer and choreographer Christian Townsend, who freestyles to the beats and improvisations of the ensemble. Get a taste of their collaboration here.
The workshop is presented by CityMusic Cleveland, and is held on Tuesday evenings in September from 6-7 pm at the Woodland Rec Center.
DIARY: Labor Day Weekend, September 2- 5, 2022
by Daniel Hathaway with Jarrett Hoffman.
IN THIS EDITION:
. Farewell to clarinetist Theodore Johnson
. An interesting handful of classical music events this weekend
. Anniversaries and ideas for a holiday playlist
R.I.P. THEODORE JOHNSON
Theodore Johnson, who began his career with his hometown orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, continued with the Kansas City Philharmonic, and then played clarinet with The Cleveland Orchestra for 36 years, passed away in Cleveland on August 30 at the age of 92.
His longtime orchestral partner Franklin Cohen has written on Facebook, “An amazing musician and extraordinary person has just sadly left us. Theodore Johnson was one of the main reasons for my seamless transition into the Cleveland Orchestra in 1976. [Read more…]
DIARY: Thursday, September 1, 2022
by Jarrett Hoffman
IN THIS EDITION:
•Tonight’s lone (and sold-out) event — but more to come on the horizon
•Voting for Cleveland Scene’s “Best of Cleveland 2022”
•Part-time openings from Piano Cleveland
•Almanac: Seiji Ozawa, Leonard Slatkin, the St. Louis Symphony, and Dennis Brain in a web of connections
DIARY: Wednesday, August 31, 2022
by Daniel Hathaway
IN THIS EDITION:
. Farewells to Miss Olga (pictured) and Joey DeFrancsco
. Following orchestras on tour in Europe
. Musicology — dangerous profession?
TODAY’S EVENTS:
Ho-hum — there are no live events to note in Northeast Ohio on this, the last day of August.
R.I.P., MISS OLGA:
We note the passing of longtime Cleveland Institute of Music piano faculty Olga Radosavljevich-Gradojevich, who retired in 2019 after teaching at the Institute for 59 years. In 2017 on the occasion of her 80th birthday, Youngstown State piano professor Cicilia Yudha — one of her many devoted students — wrote an appreciation for ClevelandClassical.com. Read the article here. [Read more…]
DIARY: Tuesday, August 30, 2022
by Jarrett Hoffman
IN THIS EDITION:
•Firelands Symphony Chorale auditions
•Season announcements from Apollo’s Fire and Cleveland Composers Guild
•Charlotte Symphony new contract: a raise, an extended season, and audition adjustments to broaden diversity
•Almanac: the “Schwencke” measure, a Civil War song, a noted improviser, the Musicians Emergency Fund co-founder, and more
DIARY: Monday August 29, 2020
by Daniel Hathaway
IN THIS EDITION:
. All quiet on the concert front
. Charnofsky spins Górecki, Beach, Chávez, Reiprich & Hilton Jones on WRUW
. Signups for Summit Choral Society children’s programs, Bolcom revisits the piano concerto
. Anniversaries of the Longy School and why John Cage chose 4 minutes and 33 seconds as the duration for the most famous work nobody’s ever heard
TODAY’S EVENTS:
From 2:00 –4:00 pm today, hop on the WRUB feed from Case to hear Eric Charnofsky host music by Henryk Górecki, Douglas Anderson, Amy Beach, Carlos Chávez, Bruce Reiprich and Hilton Jones.
NEWS BRIEFS:
Summit Choral Society announces open registration for its children’s programs K-12. Follow this link. [Read more…]
DIARY: Weekend August 26 -28, 2022
by Daniel Hathaway
IN THIS EDITION:
. Events: Cleveland Orchestra, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra with Vadim Gluzman (pictured), Stars of Summer, Tuesday Musical Passport series, Tailgating with Cleveland Opera Theater
. CityMusic announces 2022-23 season
. Arthur Loesser, Eric Coates, and Aspen Music Festival celebrate birthdays
WEEKEND EVENTS:
The Cleveland Orchestra is off to Europe for its first European tour since 2018. Friday night at 7:30 pm you can catch the second sendoff concert at Severance Music Center, when Franz Welser-Möst will lead Richard Strauss’ Macbeth, Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks & Suite from Der Rosenkavalier (compiled by Welser-Möst) & Alban Berg’s Three Pieces from Lyric Suite. Tickets can be ordered online.
On Saturday, August 27 at 7:30 pm, New York’s celebrated Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, “a radical experiment in musical democracy” that plays without a conductor, will make a guest appearance at Blossom with violinist Vadim Gluzman as soloist. [Read more…]
DIARY: Thursday, August 25, 2022
by Jarrett Hoffman
IN THIS EDITION:
•Tonight’s schedule: a Cleveland Orchestra send-off concert, and an Arts & Culture Network Night
•New video: the All-Ohio Virtual Guitar Orchestra (pictured) makes its debut
•A feature on Native composers, including the experimental writing of Raven Chacon, and Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate’s impressionistic approach to referencing tribal music
•Almanac: Leonard Bernstein (in the words of his daughter Jamie Bernstein), and Undine Smith Moore, the “Dean of Black Women Composers”
HAPPENING TODAY:
At 7:30 pm, The Cleveland Orchestra gives the first of two send-off concerts before embarking on a three-week tour of Europe. This evening’s program at Mandel Hall includes Wolfgang Rihm’s Verwandlung II & III and Bruckner’s Symphony No. 9. (Tomorrow’s program swaps out those works for music by Richard Strauss and Alban Berg.) Get your tickets here.
Not so much a concert, but another event of interest on the calendar today is a free Arts & Culture Network Night at the LGBT Center in Gordon Square from 6-8 pm, hosted by Neighborhood Connections and Cuyahoga Arts & Culture. It’s aimed at artists, art supporters, and anyone who works at an arts-related organization, and there will be a performance by flamenco dancer Alice Blumenthal, founder of Northeast Ohio-based dance company ABREPASO. Register here.