by Mike Telin
When Bosnian guitarist Denis Azabagić and Spanish flutist Eugenia Moliner performed their first concert together in 1993, neither of them imagined that performing as a duo would become such an important part of their careers. But, as Azabagić and Moliner began appearing together more frequently, they realized that pursuing a career as a duo was something they should seriously consider.
On Saturday, November 15 at 7:30 pm in Plymouth Church, the Cleveland Classical Guitar Society will present Cavatina Duo in their Cleveland debut concert featuring music by J.S. Bach, Toru Takemitsu, Clarice Assad, Astor Piazzolla, and Fernando Sor. A pre-concert performance by students from the Society’s education program at Buchtel Community Learning Center in Akron will begin at 6:45. [Read more…]
The last time violin superstar Joshua Bell appeared on Akron’s Tuesday Musical Series, he caused a major traffic jam outside E.J. Thomas Hall and the audience was so large that the Association ran out of programs. On that occasion in February, 2010, Bell played a recital with pianist Jeremy Denk. He’ll share that same stage with a few more musicians on Friday, November 7, when he plays Max Bruch’s g-minor concerto with Christopher Wilkins and the Akron Symphony Orchestra, a first-ever collaboration between the ASO and the TMA. Better carpool or come early to get a parking space.
On Wednesday, November 5 in San Francisco, four Oberlin students joined colleagues from four other conservatories and universities for the second 
In his recent review of a concert performance of Handel’s 1735 opera Alcina at Carnegie Hall, New York Times critic Anthony Tommasini called the work “a stunning masterpiece,” and noted that “for all its musical splendors, Alcina is not staged by major companies as often as it merits. The three-act opera, an allegorical fantasy, would seem a big enticement for a director.”
“I’m so happy to be coming back to my hometown. I’m quite excited about it,” cellist Alisa Weilerstein said during a telephone call from Belfast, Northern Ireland. On Thursday, November 6 at 7:30 pm in Severance Hall, Weilerstein will join The Cleveland Orchestra and conductor Giancarlo Guerrero in a performance of Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto.
German-American composer Kurt Weill had one foot in opera and the other on Broadway when he wrote Street Scene in 1946 with lyrics by Langston Hughes and book by Elmer Rice, based on Rice’s play of the same name. Oberlin Opera Theater director Jonathon Field chose what Weill alternately called his “Broadway Opera” or his “American Opera” for their fall production.
This Sunday, November 2, Heights Arts kicks off their ninth season of Close Encounters Chamber Music Concerts. Held in a distinctive array of locations in Cleveland Heights, Midtown, and Downtown Cleveland, these four Sunday afternoon concerts present classical music performed by members of The Cleveland Orchestra and guests. (Note: the first concert is sold out.)
Scottish mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill will be featured in Hector Berlioz’s song cycle Les nuits d’été this weekend at Severance Hall with guest conductor Robin Ticciati and The Cleveland Orchestra. Cargill and Ticciati have recorded the Berlioz with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, an album that received critical acclaim when it was released in April 2013. We spoke with the affable mezzo by telephone in her dressing room at Severance Hall on Tuesday morning, where she was listening in on a rehearsal of Schumann’s Rhenish Symphony.