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Cleveland International Classical Guitar Festival celebrates 26 years this June

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by Mike Telin

With the flipping of the calendar next week, the summer festival season in Northeast Ohio is set to launch. Keeping with tradition, the Cleveland International Classical Guitar Festival will once again be leading the way.

Celebrating its 26th year, the Festival will run from June 4 through 7 at the Cleveland Institute of Music. This year CICGF will be highlighted by six concerts performed by internationally renowned guitarists and supporting musicians, six lectures, six master classes, private lessons, a demonstration of fine concert guitars, and the seventh annual James Stroud National Classical Guitar Youth Competition.

“Year 26, believe it or not,” Festival founder and artistic director Armin Kelly exclaimed during a recent telephone conversation. He noted that the six concerts are equally divided between solo and chamber music recitals. All performances will be held in Mixon Hall.

[Read more…]

No Exit welcomes Anika Kildegaard back to Cleveland for “Songs, Soundscapes and Sonnets”

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by Mike Telin

In his composer note for Sonnets, Robert Honstein writes, “At a time of high poetic modernism, [Edna St. Vincent] Millay injects the ancient form with vitality and stylistic ingenuity. In her hands the sonnet feels fresh and urgent.”

On Thursday, May 28 at 7:00 pm at Waterloo Arts No Exit will present “Songs, Soundscapes and Sonnets” featuring soprano Anika Kildegaard. The setlist features Robert Honstein’s Sonnets, as well as Annika Socolofsky’s Don’t say a word, and Timothy Beyer’s Malekhamoves. The program will be repeated at 7:00 pm at  The Bop Stop (May 29) and Heights Arts (May 30). As always, No Exit concerts are free.

I reached Anika Kildegaard by phone and began by asking her about Hohnstein’s piece.

Anika Kildegaard: This is a work that Robert wrote for No Exit a few years ago. Five of the songs were premiered by soprano Lauren Pearl. I’ll be singing those plus three new ones.

[Read more…]

Mandel Festival of Opera and Humanities: tenor David Butt Philip looks inside Fidelio

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by Mike Telin

In his program note, Franz Welser-Möst writes that “Fidelio is not only an opera; it’s a philosophical statement about courage, liberty, love, and the triumph of the human spirit. Every stage director I’ve met wrestles with the same question when putting on Fidelio: How do you make it relevant to the time we live in? Here, we present it in concert to bring attention to the extraordinary ways that Ludwig van Beethoven’s music is philosophy set to sound.”

On Thursday, May 16 at 7:00 pm and Sunday May 24 at 3:00 pm in Mandel Concert Hall at Severance Music Center, Franz Welser-Möst will lead The Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus in the second and third performances of Beethoven’s only opera as part of the Jack, Joseph, and Morton Mandel Opera & Humanities Festival.

[Read more…]

Mandel Festival at Severance presents Hero’s Song: a conversation with composer Jüri Reinvere

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by Mike Telin

Jüri Reinvere is more than a celebrated Estonian composer. He has also published essays and poems, worked for Estonian and Finnish Radio, produced and written screenplays for documentary films, and translated and co-written books, as well as written the libretto for his earlier opera, Purge.

All of his artistic abilities have influenced his Concerto for Violin, Harp, and Orchestra, which will receive its world premiere on Friday, May 22 by violinist Leila Josefowicz, harpist Trina Struble and The Cleveland Orchestra led by Franz Welser-Möst.

The 7:30 pm performance at Severance Music Center is part of the Mandel Opera and Humanities Festival. The program also includes Adolphus Hailstork’s Epitaph for a Man Who Dreamed, Grażyna Bacewicz’s Symphony No. 4, and Antonín Dvořák’s Hero’s Song. Tickets are available online.

[Read more…]

Tenor David Butt Philip sheds light on Cleveland Orchestra’s Fidelio

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by Mike Telin

In his program note, Franz Welser-Möst writes that: “Fidelio is not only an opera; it’s a philosophical statement about courage, liberty, love, and the triumph of the human spirit. Every stage director I’ve met wrestles with the same question when putting on Fidelio: How do you make it relevant to the time we live in? Here, we present it in concert to bring attention to the extraordinary ways that Ludwig van Beethoven’s music is philosophy set to sound.”

On Saturday, May 16 at 7:00 pm in Mandel Concert Hall at Severance Music Center, Franz Welser-Möst will lead The Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus in the first of three performances of Beethoven’s only opera as part of the Jack, Joseph, and Morton Mandel Opera & Humanities Festival.

The all-star cast includes Sara Jakubiak as Leonore, David Butt Philip as Florestan, Tomasz Konieczny as Don Pizarro, Raymond Aceto as Rocco, and Dashon Burton as Don Fernando. Click here for Festival details. The program will be repeated on Thursday, May 21 at 7:00 pm and Sunday, May 24 at 3:00 pm. Tickets are available online.

[Read more…]

A Legacy of ART: a conversation with violinist Mari Sato

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by Mike Telin

Founded by Chris Haff-Paluck in 1991 with a mission to enhance the quality and diversity of life in Tremont by providing the fine arts with a greater presence in its neighborhood, Arts Renaissance Tremont has played an important role in creating community and fostering a greater appreciation for the arts through accessible artistic programs.

Since her passing on April 25, 2020, the organization has experienced some setbacks, but this season, Arts Renaissance Tremont (ART) has returned to its founding home at Pilgrim Church UCC, and launched its 34th season.

On Sunday, May 17 at 3:00 pm, Arts Renaissance Tremont will present “A Legacy of ART: Honoring Chris Haff Paluck.” Performers include the Amici String Quartet, guitarist Jason Vieaux, and The Cleveland Orchestra Bass Quartet, and violinist Jason Yu. The concert is free.

I caught up violinist Mari Sato by phone and began our conversation by asking her when she first met Chris Haff Paluck.

Mari Sato: I first met her when I was in high school at the Encore School for Strings, I believe it was 1989. I’m not sure what her role was, but it was administrative. I’d see her every time I went to pick up my mail. She helped me orient myself there. She was a really kind presence.

[Read more…]

Isidore String Quartet and Jeremy Denk collaborate for Cleveland Chamber Music Society season finale

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by Stephanie Manning

When the Isidore String Quartet performed in Northeast Ohio last year, they faced some unusual circumstances. On the way to their Tuesday Musical engagement with pianist Jeremy Denk, violist Devin Moore came down with a painful case of strep throat, and the group had to find a substitute player at the last minute.

In their more than three years of touring, the Isidore have faced obstacles like flight delays and other illnesses. But “ that was actually the first time that we’ve had to call someone else in,” said violinist Phoenix Avalon. Eva Kennedy, the violist of the Callisto Quartet, drove up from Columbus in time for the day-of rehearsal and soundcheck. ” It was very last-minute, but we were glad that she could come in.”

Next Tuesday, the Isidore will return to the area — with all four members thankfully in good health — for their 7:30 pm concert at the Cleveland Museum of Art, presented by the Cleveland Chamber Music Society. The Juilliard-trained group will present quartets by Haydn and Ligeti and reunite with Jeremy Denk for Brahms’ Quintet for Piano and Strings in f minor. Tickets for the May 19 concert are available online. [Read more…]

A Legacy of ART: a conversation with cellist Ralph Curry

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by Mike Telin

Founded by Chris Haff Paluck in 1991 with a mission to enhance the quality and diversity of life in Tremont by providing the fine arts with a greater presence in its neighborhood, Arts Renaissance Tremont has played an important role in creating community and fostering a greater appreciation for the arts through accessible artistic programs.

Since her passing on April 25, 2020, the organization has experienced some setbacks, but this season, Arts Renaissance Tremont (ART) has returned to its founding home at Pilgrim Church UCC, and launched its 34th season.

On Sunday, May 17 at 3:00 pm, the organization will present “A Legacy of ART: Honoring Chris Haff Paluck.” Performers include the Amici String Quartet, guitarist Jason Vieaux, The Cleveland Orchestra Bass Quartet, and violinist Jason Yu. The concert is free.

To learn more about the event, I caught up with Cleveland Orchestra and Amici String Quartet cellist Ralph Curry, who had the pleasure of knowing Haff Paluck since they were freshman at the Cleveland Institute of Music.

“I basically knew Chris my entire adult life. And I remember that even as a student she was always willing to jump in and help do anything that needed to be done,” Curry said during a telephone conversation.

[Read more…]

Cleveland Chamber Choir to present “La Fleur de la Renaissance”

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by Daniel Hathaway

In an open letter to Cleveland Chamber Choir patrons, artistic director Gregory Ristow wrote:

“Our upcoming concert, La Fleur de la Renaissance, celebrates the new approach to harmony that emerged in the 1400s in the northern reaches of the French empire…To my ears, this is where Western classical choral singing as we know it began. To return to this music is to come back to the source, to explore consonance and dissonance in their purest forms, to delight in how these composers wrote glorious melodies for each part of the ensemble, while also allowing them to come together to form beautifully resonant sonorities.”

On Friday, May 8 at Trinity Cathedral, Cleveland, and Saturday, May 9 at First Lutheran Church in Lorain, the Cleveland Chamber Choir will present “The Flower of the Renaissance,” a compendium of works by six composers in the form of a Roman Catholic Mass that explore this new style. Both performances begin at 7:30.

The program also demonstrates the popular practice among Renaissance composers of embedding pre-existing material in new pieces, something that would come to be regarded as plagiarism in modern times, but were meant as tributes back in the day. Ristow has constructed his imaginary mass from movements of the forty-some Renaissance works based on the mysterious secular song, L’Homme armé. [Read more…]

Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra: a conversation with Concerto Competition winner Grace Berendt

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by Mike Telin

“When I was three years old my mom took me to a jazz concert. I saw the trombone, and I was immediately hooked,” Grace Berendt recalled. “From that day on, I knew I wanted to be a trombone player.”

On Sunday, May 10 at 3:00 pm at Severance Music Center, the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition winner will step to the front of the Mandel Concert Hall stage to play Ferdinand David’s Concertino for Trombone and Orchestra.

Under the direction of James Feddeck, the program also includes Aaron Copland’s Letter from Home, George Walker’s Icarus in Orbit, and Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9, “From the New World.” Tickets are available online.

I caught up with the Aurora High School senior by phone and began our conversation by congratulating her on the Concerto competition win. [Read more…]

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