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Festival season in Cleveland gets underway

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by Daniel Hathaway

The early onset of summery weather even before May has run its course heralds a shift in Northeast Ohio’s classical music activity from concert series to festivals — six of which will launch in the next few weeks.

Local 4 of the American Federation of Musicians will present the fourth edition of She Scores, a celebration of music written by underrepresented composers, from May 30 through June 2 (Thursday through Saturday at 7 and Sunday at 4) in Mixon Hall at the Cleveland Institute of Music. In a preview article, Mike Telin writes, “what began with performances of works by 16 composers has now blossomed into a four-concert series featuring works by 31 living composers who identify as female or nonbinary.” Emily Laurance will give a pre-concert lecture an hour before each performance. Admission is free.

Encore Chamber Music’s 9th annual Music and Ideas Festival gets underway on June 2, and continues through June 24. [Read more…]

Heaven on Earth: An Overview of ChamberFest Cleveland’s 2024 Season

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by Donald Rosenberg
Reposted courtesy of ChamberFest Cleveland

“A paradox, a paradox, a most ingenious paradox,” sing Ruth, Frederick, and the Pirate King in Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance. They could be mulling over the theme of ChamberFest Cleveland’s 2024 season — “Sacred + Profane.” In chicken-and-egg metaphorical fashion, did the season’s title come first or the vast, fascinating selection of music?

In the end, it’s all rhetorical. ChamberFest audiences this year will be the beneficiary of glorious repertoire performed by stellar artists, whether or not the philosophical question of thematic priorities can be answered. What’s for certain is that co-artistic directors Diana Cohen, Franklin Cohen, and Roman Rabinovich are always on the lookout for a concept that will help them devise coherent, meaningful, and engaging programs.

A title is “always a jumping-off point for us to be thinking in a certain direction,” says Diana Cohen, “and then all kinds of other suggestions come through because of personnel or instruments or different considerations. It’s just a beginning.” [Read more…]

She Scores: Celebrating Underrepresented Composers

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by Mike Telin

Since 2021, Local 4 Music Fund’s She Scores project has been providing a platform for underrepresented composers who, despite their immense talents, face barriers to having their works performed. And what began with performances of works by 16 composers has now blossomed into a four-concert series featuring works by 31 living composers who identify as female or nonbinary. “We have over 70 people involved in the festival this year,” Local 4 Music Fund executive director Amber Rogers said during a telephone interview.

The fourth edition of She Scores runs May 30 – June 2 at the Cleveland Institute of Music’s Mixon Hall, with performances at 7:00 Thursday-Saturday and 4:00 on Sunday. Emily Laurance will present a pre-concert lecture one hour prior to each performance. All concerts are free. Click here to read bios of the composers and performers.

“In the past, the call for scores only went out to composers in Ohio. This year we added Pennsylvania, Indiana, Michigan, Kentucky, and West Virginia. And we have composers from every one of those states represented in the programming,” Rogers said, adding that the jury reviewed around 80 submissions, all evaluated anonymously — the jury didn’t know who wrote what, or what their backgrounds were.

[Read more…]

Kira McGirr to solo with Cleveland Repertory Orchestra

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by Mike Telin

If you were to ask any mezzo-soprano which piece they would love to perform, the answer might very well be Edward Elgar’s Sea Pictures. “It is true that we all want to sing it,” Kira McGirr said during a telephone conversation. “I think it’s because it fits the mezzo voice so perfectly. And there’s something about it that just grabs you.”

On Saturday, May 25 at 7:00 pm at Rocky River Presbyterian Church, McGirr will join conductor Matthew Salvaggio and the Cleveland Repertory Orchestra in Elgar’s five-movement song cycle for mezzo-soprano and large orchestra. The program also includes Jessie Montgomery’s Overture and Barbara Harbach’s Symphony No. 10 (“Symphony for Ferguson”).

Harbach’s work pays tribute to the tenth anniversary of the civil unrest in Ferguson, Missouri after the killing of Michael Brown during the summer of 2014. In an email Salvaggio said, “Harbach was living and teaching in St. Louis at the time, and the piece takes music familiar to people living in Ferguson (like Wade in the Water and Chester) and transforms them into a powerful reflection on the events of that summer from the perspective of someone living in that community.” The concert is free. Click here for advance registration.

Back to the Elgar, McGirr and I continued our conversation by delving further into the piece, beginning with the poems that make up its text.

Kira McGirr: There are five different poets, but I see the poems following a journey as opposed to being just five different poems. I will give acknowledgement to the wonderful Elgar scholar Charles McGuire, who presents the idea that there’s a narrative through the five poems. [Read more…]

No Exit concludes Year of Surreality with “Breaking the World”

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by Mike Telin

For the past eight months No Exit has been celebrating their 15th anniversary with their most ambitious project to date: Surreality. “We hope people will enjoy exploring the irrational, illogical, inexplicable, strange, and utterly fantastical world that is Surrealism,” artistic director Timothy Beyer told us in October.

On Thursday, May 23 at 7:00 pm at Heights Arts, No Exit will conclude their Year of Surreality with “Breaking the World.” The free program will feature new works by Jerome Begin, Lauren Pearl, Stephen Haluska, and James Praznik, as well as Marcel Duchamp’s Erratum Musical, and a simultaneous poem recited by Gunnar-Owen Hirthe, James Praznik, and Timothy Beyer. The program will be repeated at 7:00 pm on both Friday (at Praxis Fiber Arts) and Saturday (at SPACES Gallery).

In a recent telephone conversation Beyer said that this week’s program is a culmination of the ensemble’s season-long exploration of Surrealist techniques and topics, including games and thought exercises, state of consciousness, and dada, which is not technically Surrealism, but is related.

[Read more…]

Leila Josefowicz to join The Cleveland Orchestra in Berg’s Violin Concerto

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by Mike Telin

Whenever the adventurous violinist Leila Josefowicz and The Cleveland Orchestra join forces, Northeast Ohio audiences are sure to be treated to a captivating performance of a  contemporary masterpiece. Since 2010 Josefowicz and The Orchestra have teamed up for concertos by Thomas Adès, Oliver Knussen, Igor Stravinsky, and two by John Adams.

“It really is an honor to have had so many beautiful opportunities to perform with that incredible orchestra,” Josefowicz said during a Zoom conversation. “There’s a great pride in the quality of what they do and I’m always super excited to be there and play my very best.”

On Thursday, May 23 at 7:30 pm at Severance Music Center, Josefowicz will join Franz Welser-Möst and The Cleveland Orchestra in Alban Berg’s haunting Violin Concerto. The program also includes Mozart’s Serenade No. 10, “Gran Partita,” and the Prelude and Liebestod from Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde.

The program, which will be repeated on Saturday at 8:00 pm, is part of The Mandel Opera and Humanities Festival. Click here to see the full schedule of the Festival. Tickets are available online.

[Read more…]

Contemporary Youth Orchestra to premiere Dana Hall’s When Still

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by Mike Telin

Although the Contemporary Youth Orchestra has seemingly commissioned a countless number of works during its 29 year history, perhaps none have centered around a more poignant topic than Dr. Dana Hall’s (left) When Still. The four-movement work challenges the young musicians and the audience to address issues surrounding gun violence in communities across the United States.

On Friday, May 17 at 7:00 pm at Tri-C Metro Auditorium the Contemporary Youth Orchestra, under the direction of Kristopher Morron will present the premiere of Hall’s new work. Inspired by saxophonist and composer Chris Coles’ Nine Lives Project, which recounts the story of the nine souls who lost their lives in the 2015 shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Hall’s new work also reflects on the ten individuals lost in a Buffalo, NY grocery store shooting. Tickets  are available online.

[Read more…]

Pianist Conrad Tao: “Power and Influence” of Rachmaninoff

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by Mike Telin

“One of the guiding features of this program was, let’s just have a celebration of melodies. And I love melody so much,” pianist Conrad Tao said.

On Friday, May 17 at 7:30 pm in Reinberger Chamber Music Hall at Severance Music Center, Tao will present “Power and Influence.” The program features music by Sergei Rachmaninoff, Billy Strayhorn, Stephen Sondheim, Robert Schumann, and Buddy Kaye. Capping off the evening, Cleveland Orchestra cellist Dane Johansen will join Tao in Rachmaninoff’s Cello Sonata. The recital is part of the Orchestra’s Mandel Opera & Humanities Festival. Tickets are available online. Click here to see the full Festival schedule.

I caught up with the pianist on Zoom and began our conversation by asking him about the inspiration behind his fascinating program.

[Read more…]

Cleveland Orchestra presents Magic Flute: a conversation with the Queen of the Night

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by Mike Telin

Since its premiere on September 30, 1791 in Vienna, Mozart’s The Magic Flute, with a libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder, has become regarded as one of the greatest operas ever written. Its enchanting story about the search for truth and reason, love and enlightenment, and how power is used for good or evil purposes continues to enthrall audiences around the world.

On Thursday, May 16 at 7:00 pm at Severance Music Center, The Cleveland Orchestra will present Mozart’s timeless tale under the direction of Nikolaus Habjan as part of The Mandel Opera and Humanities Festival. Franz Welser-Möst will lead the Orchestra and a cast that includes Julian Prégardien (Tamino), Ludwig Mittelhammer (Papageno), Christina Landshamer (Pamina), Kathryn Lewek (Queen of the Night), and Tareq Nazmi (Sarastro).

Sung in German with English supertitles, performances will continue on Saturday the 18th and Friday the 24th at 7:00 pm, and Sunday the 26th at 3:00 pm. Tickets are available online. Click here to see the full schedule of the Festival.

[Read more…]

Re:Sound festival — new & experimental music in concert, workshop & installation

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by Jarrett Hoffman

Cleveland Uncommon Sound Project will present the 2024 edition of its Re:Sound festival from Friday to Sunday, May 17-19.

Presenting both local and visiting artists who span all different strands of new and experimental music, the festival takes place at two locations. Convivium 33 Gallery will host a triple-bill concert each day at 7:30 pm, as well as a 2:30 pm workshop on Saturday led by festival headliner Elliott Sharp.

Meanwhile, three sound art installations will be presented on Saturday and Sunday from 10 am to 5 pm at Cleveland Museum of Art’s Community Arts Center, located at the Pivot Center for Art, Dance and Expression. Tickets for the festival are available here.

A headlining act is something new for Re:Sound, as Cleveland Uncommon Sound Project (CUSP) managing director Stephan Haluska explained during a recent interview. “He’s the only artist we booked ahead of our call for applications.”

[Read more…]

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