by Daniel Hathaway

HAPPENING TODAY:

Apollo’s Fire begins its run of  “Hope and Solitude,” with countertenor Reginald Mobley (pictured), oboist Debra Nagy, and violinist Alan Choo performing music by Henry Purcell and J.S. Bach at 7:30 in Akron’s First United Methodist Church

And at 8 at Cleveland’s Calicchia Gallery, Cleveland Uncommon Sound Project hosts Dani Dobkin & Matt Sargent, who are traveling in support of their new album, Bend.

For details of these and other upcoming events, visit our Concert Listings.

DEPARTURES:

“Born in 1925 in Warren, Ohio, Walfrid Kujala served as flute and piccolo of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from 1954 until 2001 and was a professor of flute at the Northwestern University Bienen School of Music from 1962 to 2012.” He passed away at the age of 99. Read a Bienen School obituary here.

REINVENTIONS:

In today’s print edition of The New York Times, Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim writes, “When the soprano Lucy Shelton opened a recital at Merkin Hall in 2019 with Adieu à la vie, a song by Rossini, she was about to turn 75. And though she was not bidding farewell to life as the song’s title suggests, she felt she was done with performing. [Read more…]

by Stephanie Manning

HAPPENING TODAY:

Two options from local conservatories round out this evening at 7:30.

For the CIM Insiders Series, violinist Ilya Kaler and pianist Michelle Bushkova perform works by Szymanowski, Ravel, and Enescu in Mixon Hall. And the Oberlin Historical Performance Department presents a faculty concert from violinist Edwin Huizinga, cellist Rebecca Landell, and fortepianist David Breitman (pictured).

Plus, at 12:00 noon, organist Florence Mustric performs the music of Charles-Marie Widor for Music Near the Market.

For more information, visit our Concert Listings.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Changes continue for The Cleveland Orchestra’s concerts at Severance. Stepping in for Franz Welser-Möst, conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali will make his Orchestra debut next week for the performances on November 21, 22, and 23.

He’ll lead a completely new program: Carl Nielsen’s Overture to Maskarade, Jean Sibelius’s Symphony No. 1, and Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto with violinist Stefan Jackiw. Learn more here.

Mahler’s “Das Lied von der Erde,” featuring tenor Limmie Pulliam and baritone Iurii Samoilov, will now be performed in the 2025-26 season.

TODAY’S ALMANAC:

by Daniel Hathaway

French organist and composer Louis-Lefébure-Wély was born on this date in Paris in 1817. [Read more…]

by Daniel Hathaway

HAPPENING TODAY: 

Three interesting concerts all begin tonight at 7:30.

• Cuarteto Casals joins the Cleveland Chamber Music Society’s 75th anniversary celebration tonight at The Cultural Arts Center at Disciples Church,
• Garrick Ohlsson continues The Cleveland Orchestra’s Beethoven Piano Cycle with the Second & Fourth Concertos,
• Percussion professor Ross Karre and guest violinist Emily Cornelius play Stravinsky’s Histoire du soldat on a program that includes works by Kevin Day, Sophie Dupuis and Arvo Pärt in Stull Recital Hall at the Oberlin Conservatory.

For details of these and other upcoming events, visit our Concert Listings.

INTERESTING READ:

In a Guardian article, Jim Farber asks “was Nicky Hopkins, who played on over 250 albums, the greatest unsung pianist ever? “He helped shape classic songs by the Rolling Stones, the Who and the Beatles but his influence on music has been largely ignored. [Read more…]

by Daniel Hathaway

HAPPENING THIS WEEKEND: 

On Saturday, Snowbelt Symphony celebrates America (4 pm, New Promise Church in Chardon), No Exit presents the Median Arts Ensemble (7 pm in Kulas Hall at Baldwin Wallace), BW hosts an Alumni Chamber Music Recital (7 pm in Gamble Auditorium), Music at Bath presents the 7-piece ensemble Umojah Nation Reggae (7 pm at Bath Church in Akron), the Cleveland Orchestra plays Beethoven’s piano concertos No. 2 & 4 with Garrick Ohlsson (pictured, 8 pm in Severance Music Center), and Oberlin Opera continues its run of Cendrillon (8 pm in Hall Auditorium).

On Sunday, Oberlin Opera concludes its run of Cendrillon (2 pm in Hall Auditorium), the Gruca White Ensemble “expands the boundaries of the classical experience” (2 pm at Wadsworth Public Library), Eric Benjamin leads the Cleveland Women’s Orchestra with violin soloist Michael Ferri (3 pm at Maltz PAC), the Oberlin Opera continues its run of Cendrillon (8 pm in Hall Auditorium), the Dana Opera Ensemble presents scenes (3 pm at the McDonough Museum in Youngstown), Good Company hosts composer Joel Thompson (4 pm, Lakewood Presbyterian Church), Lakeland Civic Orchestra spotlights Nicholas Jacques in Elgar’s Cello Concert (4 pm, Lakeland Community College, Kirtland), and the BW New Music Series presents new works by composition majors (7 pm in Gamble Auditorium).

For details of these and other upcoming events, visit our Concert Listings. [Read more…]

by Daniel Hathaway

HAPPENING TODAY: 

Seven events to choose from today.

No Exit Presents the Meridian Arts Ensemble (7 pm at the Bop Stop), the BW Symphonic Wind Ensemble plays at 7 (Gamble Auditorium), the Marian Consort (pictured) from Norwich, England sings “a program of sumptuous Renaissance polyphony from some of Scotland’s few surviving sixteenth-century manuscripts” (7:30 at St. John’s Cathedral).

Cleveland Classical Guitar Society hosts João Luiz (7:30 at the Maltz PAC), Carolyn Kuan leads the CIM Orchestra and soloist Natalie Brennecke in Penderecki’s Viola Concerto (7:30 at Severance Music Center), New York Philharmonic principal clarinet Anthony McGill joins Timothy Weiss and the Oberin Sinfonietta in Warner Concert Hall, and across Tappan Square, Oberlin Opera Theater presents the second of four performances of Jules Massenet’s Cendrillon (8 pm Hall Auditorium).

For details of these and other upcoming events, visit our Concert Listings.

TODAY’S ALMANAC:

On this date in 1890, Belgian-born French composer César Franck died in Paris, his demise partially attributed to the after effects of injuries he sustained when a cab he was riding in collided with a horse-drawn trolley. [Read more…]

by Daniel Hathaway

HAPPENING TODAY: 

Tonight at 7, No Exit New Music hosts the Meridian Arts Ensemble in Daniel Grabois’ Drift, Moshe Shulman’s Subito, George Lewis’s Tightrope, Joseph Haydn’s Feldpartie, and David Sanford’s Credo, free at Trinity Cathedral.

The Cleveland Orchestra continues its Beethoven Piano Concerto Cycle with a repeat of Wednesday’s program: the Triple Concerto (Orion Weiss, piano, Augustin Hadelich, violin, and Julia Hagen, cello) and Concerto No. 3 (Sir Stephen Hough, soloist — pictured). 7:30 in Mandel Concert Hall at Severance Music Center.

And at 8 pm, Oberlin Opera Theater raises the curtain on the first of four performances of Jules Massenet’s Cendrillon (Cinderella), directed by Stephanie Havey, with James Feddeck conducting the Oberlin Chamber Orchestra (repeated in Hall Auditorium Friday & Saturday at 8 & Sunday at 2).

For details of these and other upcoming events, visit our Concert Listings.

NEWS BRIEFS: 

The Violin Channel reports that “The principal performance space of the Opéra de Paris, the historic Palais Garnier, will close for at least two years to allow the organization to carry out urgent renovations on the building. [Read more…]

by Stephanie Manning

HAPPENING TODAY:

If you need an excuse to escape into the solace of live music today, thankfully there are a few options.

At 12:00 noon, Trinity Cathedral’s BrownBag Series presents “Opera by Day” with Jacqueline Josten and Kira McGirr. At the same time, organist Florence Mustric performs music by Charles-Marie Widor at Music Near the Market.

Tonight at 7:30, The Cleveland Orchestra kicks off their Beethoven Piano Concerto cycle with some new additions: conductor Daniel Reith and pianists Orion Weiss and Sir Stephen Hough. Read more about those personnel changes here; tickets available online.

And at 7:00 pm at Treelawn Music Hall, Piano Cleveland Live@50 presents Daria Rabotkina in collaboration with Yaron Kohlberg.

For more information, visit our Concert Listings.

ISSUE 55 PASSES:

Cuyahoga County’s arts and culture groups have something to celebrate this morning, as Issue 55 passed with almost 70% support. This raise on the cigarette tax provides them a dependable source of funding through 2035. Read more from Ideastream Public Media here. [Read more…]

by Daniel Hathaway

HAPPENING TODAY: 

12 Noon – vocalist and harpist Anna O’Connell and pianist Lorenzo Salvagni perform on the Tuesday Noon series at the Church of the Covenant.

12:30 pm at the Cleveland Museum of Art — Chamber Music in the Atrium: opera singers perform selections from CIM’s production of Emmanuel Chabrier’s L’Étoile. Ames Family Atrium.

7:30 pm – Oberlin Baroque Orchestra. Edwin Huizinga and Rebecca Landell Reed lead this student group in Warner Concert Hall.

For details of these and other upcoming events, visit our Concert Listings.

NEWS BRIEFS: 

On Monday, The Cleveland Orchestra announced major personnel changes for its Beethoven Concerto Cycle from November 6-17. See the article elsewhere on this page for details.

Quincy Jones, Giant of American Music, Dies at 91. “As a producer, he made the best-selling album of all time, Michael Jackson’s Thriller.” He was also a prolific arranger and composer of film music.” Read the New York Times obituary by Ben Ratliff here. [Read more…]

by Stephanie Manning

LOOKING AHEAD:

The first full week of November has arrived. Here’s a taste of what’s in store:

Starting mid-week, The Cleveland Orchestra kicks off their Beethoven Piano Concerto cycle featuring pianist Igor Levit. Oberlin Opera Theatre begins their performances of Jules Massenet’s Cendrillon, and No Exit presents the brass quintet Meridian Arts Ensemble in three different locations around the area.

For more information on these concerts and more, visit our Concert Listings.

NEW ALBUM RELEASES:

Some familiar names appear in the New York Times’ recap of recent classical albums. The first is Igor Levit, who joins The Cleveland Orchestra this week. The pianist’s latest release is the three-hour Brahms, with the Vienna Philharmonic and conductor Christian Thielemann — Zachary Woolfe praises Levit’s solos as “elegantly autumnal.” [Read more…]