by Mike Telin
After winning the 1970 Chopin International Piano Competition, pianist Garrick Ohlsson has gone on to establish a reputation as a musician of magisterial interpretive and technical prowess. The celebrated pianist is certainly no stranger to area audiences: in addition to his frequent appearances as soloist with The Cleveland Orchestra, he has also presented recitals for Akron’s Tuesday Musical Series, collaborated with the Takács Quartet for the Cleveland Chamber Music Society, and performed a benefit concert for ChamberFest Cleveland. Still, there is one Northeast Ohio series that has eluded him — the Oberlin Artist Recital Series.
Two and a half years ago, in an interview with ClevelandClassical.com, Ohlsson said that he looked forward to making his debut on the Oberlin Artists Recital Series on November 1, 2012. “I did play in Oberlin once on a run-out with The Cleveland Orchestra. It was one of those go out, try the piano, play the concert and go back to Cleveland. This will be a more profound experience because I will get to practice in the Chapel. So that’s exciting.”
However, hurricane Sandy had other ideas and forced the cancellation of that performance. His recital was rescheduled for February 12, 2013 — then, unfortunately, due to illness, the pianist was forced to withdraw.
On Sunday, February 8, the 57th Grammy Awards will be presented in Los Angeles. ClevelandClassical.com wishes the best of luck to all the Northeast Ohio nominees.
When the esteemed St. Olaf Choir from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota sings at Severance Hall on Monday, February 2 at 7:30 pm, the ensemble will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of its conductor, Anton Armstrong. Only the fourth conductor in the choir’s 103-year history, Armstrong is also the first African American to hold that post.
In his 2012 New Music Box feature on composer 
It goes without saying that it takes talent and hard work to have an international concert career. However, being at the right place at the right time doesn’t hurt. For the celebrated violinist 
The Cleveland Cello Society’s annual “iCellisti” concert on Friday, January 30 at CWRU’s Harkness Chapel might set a local record for the number of cellists to appear onstage at the same time. At the end of a program featuring members of The Cleveland Orchestra cello section in various solos, duets and quartets, the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra cello section will join their senior counterparts in a work that calls for an ensemble of twelve performers.
Cleveland, January 25, 2015 — The Cleveland Orchestra will play fifteen of seventeen Blossom Festival concerts this summer, which begins on July 2 and continues through September 6. Subscription Renewals are currently underway, and premier subscriptions and Create-Your-Own are now available for purchase. Pre-sale single tickets for current Cleveland Orchestra subscribers will go on sale on April 20 and individual tickets for the general public may be purchased beginning on May 12.
On Sunday, January 25, the Cleveland Museum of Art will present organist Karel Paukert, former and long-time curator of musical arts at the museum, in a special recital in Gartner Auditorium. To mark his 80th birthday Paukert will revisit a work that he has played “at least annually” for decades, Olivier Messiaen’s La Nativité du Seigneur (“The Birth of Christ”).
Guitarist Jason Vieaux’s solo album, Play, is among the five 2015 Grammy Award nominees in the category of Best Classical Instrumental Solo. The awards ceremony will take place on February 8 at Los Angeles’s Staples Center.
Johann Sebastian Bach’s charming cantata about a parent in the throes of despair over his daughter’s addiction to coffee forms the centerpiece of Apollo’s Fire’s next set of concerts. “Family Frolic” will begin its run on Thursday, January 22 with a performance at the Cleveland Institute of Music’s Mixon Hall.