by Stephanie Manning

HAPPENING TODAY:

That’s a wrap on September concerts, with no more concerts on the docket today to end the month.

Looking ahead, we will welcome in October this week with groups like Les Délices, the Cleveland Pops, The Singers’ Club, and of course The Cleveland Orchestra. For more details, visit our Concert Listings.

INTERESTING READ:

How can we get more kids interested in classical music? Kwamé Ryan (pictured), the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra’s music director, offers his thoughts in an opinion piece for The Guardian.

Ryan discusses the importance of the “power of wow,” edutainment programming, and financial accessibility when it comes to inspiring the next generation. Read the full article here.

TODAY’S ALMANAC:

by Jarrett Hoffman

Today marks the anniversaries of the birth of Irish composer and organist Charles Villiers Stanford (1852) and Russian violinist David Oistrakh (pictured, 1908), and the death of American composer and music critic Virgil Thomson (1989). [Read more…]

by Stephanie Manning

HAPPENING THIS WEEKEND: 

Lots of ground to cover this weekend, with programs from ensembles small and large — including an early music debut and concerts for the whole family.

Following up yesterday’s concert, Elim Chan will continue to lead The Cleveland Orchestra in a Rachmaninoff-focused program on Friday at 7:30 pm, Saturday at 8:00 pm, and Sunday at 3:00 pm. Tickets available online.

For more large ensemble music, hear the BW Symphony Orchestra play Tchaikovsky’s Fifth on Friday at 7:00 pm (free, live stream available), or the Oberlin Chamber Orchestra play Robert Schumann’s Fourth on Friday at 7:30 pm (also free and live streamed.)

Friday also marks the debut performance of the early music ensemble CLEConcierto (pictured) with a program exploring Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre and her musical circle. Tickets available online.

For more small ensemble music, check out M.U.S.i.C. – Stars in the Classics at their free Classical Cabaret in Collinwood (Saturday at 4:00 pm); the string quartet/bandoneon program at the Oberlin Artist Recital Series (pictured, Saturday at 4:30 pm, tickets here); or CityMusic Cleveland’s September Chamber Concert on Sunday at 7:00 pm.

Students from CIM will be featured on Friday at noon during the weekly CIM Museum Melodies, and again Sunday at 4:00 pm when the CIM New Music Ensemble performs works by Charles Ives and Curtis Stewart (tickets and livestream here). Or, head down the street to the Cleveland Cinemathéque for Silent Movie Day with live accompaniment by pianist Dr. Philip Carli. Tickets available here for the showings at 4:00 and 6:30 pm.

Finally, this weekend offers plenty of options to share the love of music with the young ones in your family. The Cleveland Orchestra’s Music Explorers Series: Vibrant Violin introduces 3-6 year olds to the instrument on Friday at 10:00 am and Saturday at 11:00 am (tickets available online). And Apollo’s Fire Family Concert: Fiddle Fiesta will tour sunny Spain, Italy, Greece & Egypt with performances on Saturday at 11:00 am and 3:30 pm, and Sunday at 3:30 pm. Free admission with pre-registration encouraged.

For more details on all these events, visit our Concert Listings. [Read more…]

by Stephanie Manning

HAPPENING TODAY: 

At 12 noon, hear some “Minor Delights” from Bach, Pachebel and others at Music Near the Market, courtesy of organist Robert Myers. This freewill offering takes place at Trinity Lutheran Church in Ohio City.

And this evening, have your pick between traditional and contemporary. At 7:30 pm, the Music Box Supper Club hosts Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino, a group revitalizing Southern Italy’s musical and dance traditions — tickets here. And at 8:00 pm, the Cleveland Uncommon Sound Project (CUSP) presents Claire Rousay (pictured) and the Powers / Rolin Duo at Calicchia Gallery Studio — tickets here.

For more details on these and more upcoming performances, visit our Concert Listings.

PRESS RELEASE:

The Cleveland Orchestra announced that it raised $1.1 million dollars for its programming during its annual gala last weekend. In place of Franz Welser-Möst, Associate Conductor Daniel Reith led the Orchestra in a French-inspired performance for the guests at Severance Music Center. This event is the organization’s biggest fundraiser of the year.

TODAY’S ALMANAC:

by Daniel Hathaway

On this date in 1932, Canadian pianist Glenn Gould was born in Toronto. One of the great keyboard personalities of the 20th century, Gould was also among the most eccentric, demanding special conditions for his recitals and recordings and eventually giving up live performances entirely in favor of studio recordings over which he could exercise precise control. [Read more…]

by Stephanie Manning

HAPPENING TODAY: 

Like last week, Monday’s schedule stands empty. But there’s plenty of exciting things coming up, including concerts from the Cleveland Chamber Music Society, Nightingale Opera, and the Oberlin Artist Recital Series.

For more details, visit our Concert Listings.

INTERESTING READ:

American opera director Yuval Sharon (pictured) has published his first book, A New Philosophy of Opera, which lays out his vision for innovative productions that challenge opera’s status quo.

From the Wall Street Journal’s review: “‘Rebirth is opera’s true power,’ Mr. Sharon writes, and suggests that the art form is infinitely richer and more welcoming than that tired old image suggests.” Read more here.

NEWS BRIEFS:

Multiple large orchestras have recently announced new bargaining agreements with their musicians, though not without some speed bumps. The New York Philharmonic, for example, will give its players a 30% raise over the next three years. [Read more…]

by Stephanie Manning

HAPPENING TODAY: 

At 12 noon, Trinity Cathedral’s Brownbag Concerts presents Sororii, a female-led band featuring Afro-Colombian cellist Carolina Borja and bassoonist Arleigh Savage. Formed during the pandemic, the duo use the project to explore sisterhood and feminine voices across cultures.

For details on more upcoming concerts, visit our Concert Listings.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

The opening two weeks of The Cleveland Orchestra’s season will no longer include Franz Welser-Möst.

Doctors advised the music director to rest following the group’s European tour. “His ongoing cancer treatment is going well,” the Orchestra said in a press release, “but the side effects remain challenging.”

Osmo Vänskä (pictured, left) will now lead the opening week performances with violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann, making no music changes. In the second week, Elim Chan (pictured, right) will take to the podium, swapping out Stravinsky’s Pétrouchka for Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances. Pianist Yefim Bronfman will perform Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto as scheduled.

The Orchestra’s annual gala concert on September 21 will be led by Associate Conductor Daniel Reith.

TODAY’S ALMANAC:

by Jarrett Hoffman

Francesca Caccini — the Italian composer, singer, lutenist, and poet whose opera La liberazione di Ruggiero is believed to be the first entry in that genre by a woman, and possibly the first Italian opera to be performed outside of Italy — was born on September 18, 1587 in Florence. [Read more…]

by Stephanie Manning

HAPPENING TODAY: 

At 7:30 pm, the trio Biribá Union (pictured) performs in the Cleveland Institute of Music’s Mixon Hall. Cellist Mike Block, percussionist/vocalist Christylez Bacon, and electric bassist Patricia Ligia blend original music with global influences. Reserve your free ticket and find the livestream link here.

For those wanting to hear some keyboard instruments, there are two options for you:

• At 12 noon, organist and Oberlin associate professor Jonathan W. Moyer performs on the Tuesdays at the Covenant series. This freewill offering takes place at the Church of the Covenant in University Circle.

• And 5:30 pm marks ​​Fairmount Presbyterian Church’s first Rush Hour Concert of the season, “It Takes Two.” Jim Riggs and Dillon Shipman combine their organ and piano skills in this free program, which features Clifford Demarest’s Fantasia for organ and piano.

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

NEWS BRIEFS:

After a years-long search, the Seattle Symphony recently announced Xian Zhang as the group’s new music director. Her contract begins in the 2025-26 season. Zhang, who currently leads the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, made her Cleveland Orchestra debut in 2017. She will become the first woman and person of color to lead the Seattle Symphony, and one of only a few women in the country to lead a major orchestra. Read more here.

[Read more…]