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Soprano Midori Marsh marks a homecoming with BlueWater Chamber Orchestra

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by Stephanie Manning

When the Phantom of the Opera North American tour visits Playhouse Square in April 2027, Midori Marsh will have plenty of reasons to celebrate. The soprano — who is currently playing the role of Carlotta — grew up in Cleveland Heights, and the city is still home to many of her friends and family.

But Marsh’s first milestone homecoming actually arrives this week. On May 2 and 3, she will join BlueWater Chamber Orchestra for their program “Rustic Reverie,” singing Joseph Canteloube’s Songs of the Auvergne. Douglas Moore’s Farm Journal and Haydn’s Symphony No. 99 in E-flat Major round out the program, conducted by artistic director Daniel Meyer. Tickets and venue information are available online.

Marsh’s parents still live in Cleveland Heights, and she occasionally comes back to sing for the Church of the Covenant’s Christmas Eve service. “But when it comes to a capital ‘G’ gig, I think this might be my first one in Cleveland,” she said. “So it’s a bit of a thrill, really.” [Read more…]

Verona Quartet to make its CCMS debut: a conversation with violinist Jonathan Ong

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by Mike Telin

After winning top prizes at the Wigmore Hall, Melbourne, Osaka, M-Prize, and Fischoff International Chamber Music Competitions, as well as the 2015 Concert Artists Guild Competition, the Verona Quartet have enjoyed a quick rise to the upper echelon of the chamber music world.

Committed to mentoring the upcoming generations of musicians, the Quartet serves on the faculty of Oberlin College and Conservatory, ENCORE! Chamber Music, and as Artistic Directors of the Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance.

On Tuesday, April 28 at 7:30 pm in Gartner Auditorium at the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Verona Quartet — Jonathan Ong and Dorothy Ro (violins), Abigail Rojansky (viola), and Jonathan Dormand (cello) — will make their Cleveland Chamber Music Society debut. Their program features music by Scarlatti, Glass, and Janáček. The ensemble will be joined by pianist Yaron Kohlberg for Antonín Dvořák’s Piano Quintet in A. Tickets are available online.

[Read more…]

Richard Goode’s Musical Short Stories

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by Stephanie Manning

Reposted with the permission of Oberlin Conservatory

In Richard Goode’s mental directory of acoustically great places, Finney Chapel easily makes the list.

“ I think about places partly in terms of how the hall sounds,” he says. So when he finds venues with fabulous acoustics, “I remember them with great affection. The atmosphere was so perfect that when you played, you felt that everything mattered.”

The highly-respected American pianist, known for his interpretation of Mozart and Beethoven, has performed on the Oberlin Artist Recital Series quite a few times. It’s been nine years since his last appearance in Finney. “I don’t remember what I played,” he says. “I just remember how good it felt.”

On Wednesday, April 29 at 7:30 p.m., Goode will return to Finney Chapel and the Artist Recital Series with his program “Fancies and Goodnights.” He will pair that personally curated selection of short works with two sonatas by Mozart and Schubert. [Read more…]

Les Délices presents Starstruck: music by a young George Frideric Handel

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by Mike Telin

When you think of music by George Frideric Handel, the first works that come to mind are likely to be his large-scale oratorios such as Messiah, Israel in Egypt, and Solomon.

“People think of Handel’s Gloria as a showpiece for soprano and small ensemble,” Les Délices artistic director Debra Nagy said. “But Silete venti, which is not often heard, is an extraordinary showpiece for a soprano and I think it’s going to be a real thrill to play.”

On Friday, April 24 at 7:30 pm at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Akron, Les Délices will present Starstruck. The all-Handel program highlights the composer’s brilliant chamber music along with dramatic early cantatas brought to life by the magnetic soprano Hannah DePriest. The program will be repeated on Saturday at Heights Theater and Sunday at West Shore Unitarian Universalist Church. Both concerts begin at 4:00 pm, and tickets are available online.

[Read more…]

Andrew Staples shares his thoughts about Britten’s War Requiem

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by Mike Telin

Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem, first performed on 30 May 1962, was commissioned to mark the consecration of the new Coventry Cathedral, which was built after the original 14th-century structure was destroyed during a World War II bombing raid.

Britten, a pacifist and conscientious objector, chose to interleave the traditional Latin Mass for the Dead with poems by Wilfred Owen that were written during World War I.

On Thursday, April 23 at 7:30 pm in Mandel Concert Hall, Klaus Mäkelä will lead The Cleveland Orchestra, Chorus, Children’s Chorus, and soloists soprano Tamara Wilson, tenor Andrew Staples, and baritone Ludwig Mittelhammer in Britten’s monumental work. The program will be repeated on Saturday at 7:30 pm and Sunday at 3:00 pm. Tickets are available online.

We caught up with Andrew Staples by phone and began our conversation by asking him to share his thoughts on the work.

[Read more…]

Cleveland Orchestra to present Britten’s War Requiem: a conversation with soprano Tamara Wilson

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by Mike Telin

Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem, first performed on 30 May 1962, was commissioned to mark the consecration of the new Coventry Cathedral, which was built after the original 14th-century structure was destroyed during a World War II bombing raid.

Britten, a pacifist and conscientious objector, chose to interleave the traditional Latin Mass for the Dead with poems by Wilfred Owen that were written during World War I.

On Thursday, April 23 at 7:30 pm in Mandel Concert Hall, Klaus Mäkelä will lead The Cleveland Orchestra, Chorus, Children’s chorus, and soloists soprano Tamara Wilson, tenor Andrew Staples, and baritone Ludwig Mittelhammer in Britten’s monumental work. The program will be repeated on Saturday at 7:30 pm and Sunday at 3:00 pm. Tickets are available online.

[Read more…]

Pianist Alexandre Kantorow to make Cleveland debut

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by Mike Telin

In 2019 at the age of 22, Alexandre Kantorow became the first French pianist to be awarded the Gold Medal at Tchaikovsky Competition, along with the Grand Prix, something that has happened only three times in the competition’s history. In 2024, he received the Gilmore Artist Award.

On Thursday, April 16 at 7:30 pm, Alexandre Kantorow will make his Severance Music Center debut as part of The Cleveland Orchestra Recital series. His program will feature works by Liszt, Chopin, Medtner, Alkan, Scriabin, and Beethoven. Tickets are available online.

Answering his phone in Paris, he told me he was taking care of real-life things like renewing his passport before heading back into the music world. His American tour begins on Tuesday, April 14 and continues until May 2.

[Read more…]

Apollo’s Fire: O Jerusalem! Crossroads of Three Faiths — Part 2

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by Mike Telin

This week, Jeannette Sorrell and Apollo’s Fire will premiere a fresh version of their celebrated program O Jerusalem! Crossroads of Three Faiths. In this musical tour of the four quarters of Old Jerusalem (Jewish, Christian, Arab, and Armenian), surprising cross-influences emerge.

The program will be presented on Thursday, April 9 at The Bath Church UCC, on April 10 in Gartner Auditorium at the  Cleveland Museum of Art, and on April 11 at Congregation Mishkan Or, all at 7:30 pm. Pre-concert conversations will be presented by Daphna Mor and Ronnie Malley, one hour before each performance. Tickets are available online.

I caught up by telephone with Ronnie Malley, who, in addition to playing oud & accordion, served as the Arab musical and cultural consultant for this project. I asked him to talk about what he brought to the program.

Ronnie Malley: Jennette was very open to whatever I wanted to bring. And I thought, I am a Jerusalemite and I should  bring something from there. And the one thing that the city has always represented to me are the three Abrahamic faiths — Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

[Read more…]

David Russell brings Don Quixote to Cleveland Classical Guitar Society

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by Mike Telin

The Cleveland Classical Guitar Society International Series will host celebrated guitarist David Russell on Saturday, April 11 at 7:30 pm at the Maltz Performing Arts Center.

Russell’s program will feature works by Mauro Giuliani, Isaac Albéniz, J.S. Bach, Stephen Goss, and Gabriel Estarellas. Tickets are available online.

On Sunday, April 12 at 2:00 pm, Russell will present a masterclass at the CCGS offices at 7100 Euclid Avenue in Cleveland.

I caught up with the guitarist in San Francisco where he was in the middle of his annual residency at the San Francisco Conservatory. I began our Zoom conversation by welcoming him back to Cleveland.

[Read more…]

No Exit Presents: Either/Orchestra performs music from Ethiopia

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by Mike Telin

Since playing their first show on December 17, 1985, at the Cambridge (MA) Public Library, the acclaimed Either/Orchestra has been thrilling audiences around the globe with their unique  combination of jazz, improvisation, and global musical influences.

This week, as part of the No Exit Presents series, Either/Orchestra will perform two different programs that feature Ethiopian music and Ethio-jazz.

On Friday, April 10 at 7:00 pm at Trinity Cathedral E/O will feature Ethiopian vocalist Bruck Tesfaye performing Mahmoud Ahmed and Nerses Nalbandian-associated songs.

And on Saturday, April 11 at 7:00 pm at The Bop Stop, the ensemble will be joined by vocalist Munit Mesfin. The program features Nerses Nalbandian songs, as well as songs by Teshome Mitiku, Bezunesh Bekele, and Mahmoud Ahmed. Both performances are free.

No Exit’s Laura King caught up with Either/Orchestra founder Russ Gershon and asked him about the ensemble’s long association with Ethiopian music, and what they have in store for audiences at this week’s concerts.

[Read more…]

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