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Re•Views

Akron Symphony: “Verdi & Valkyries” (Nov. 16)

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by Nicholas Stevens

E.J. Thomas Hall looms and soars, cradling audiences in a colossal yet cozy acoustic shell. The mechanism that allows for adjustments in the ceiling height — a system of suspended counterweights — dominates one lobby like a giant’s carillon. The hall hosts performances of all sizes, but truly comes alive when a given theatrical or musical production offers art of comparable scale, scope, and solidity, spanning the spectrum from soft speech to symphonic swells. The Akron Symphony offered just such a program earlier this month. [Read more…]

Dina Kuznetsova & Hyun Soo Kim at Arts Renaissance Tremont (Nov. 18)

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by Nicholas Stevens

Since the critic Theodor Adorno praised a string quartet as “latent opera” decades ago, it has become common to compare particularly cohesive, dramatic, or narrative events or artworks to opera. Present-day journalists often use the word “operatic” to connote high drama even in non-musical situations. When soprano Dina Kuznetsova and pianist Hyun Soo Kim performed a stunning selection of art songs on Sunday, November 18 at Pilgrim Church in Tremont, the concert felt like “latent opera” even before an encore pulled events into the realm of the truly operatic. [Read more…]

Kent State Opera fall scenes include Scott Little premiere (Nov. 17)

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by Daniel Hathaway

Programs of opera scenes are pedagogical standards in music schools, but Kent State Opera’s fall excerpts offered something special this time around. The premiere of senior education major, oboist, and composer Scott Little’s one-act opera, The Story of an Hour, along with two large chunks of Mozart and Berlioz revealed deep talent among Kent’s voice students in cleverly staged performances by Marla Berg with music direction by Jay White. Karen Ni Bhroin and Tori Petrak conducted, and pianist Vicky Tong fluently covered the orchestra parts. [Read more…]

Cleveland Orchestra with Jakub Hrůša (Nov. 18)

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by Daniel Hathaway

Asked to list some Czech composers, most of us could immediately come up with Dvořák, Smetana, Martinů, Janáček, and maybe Suk. Miloslav Kabeláč’s name would probably not come tripping off the tongue, unless you’re a performer who has played his Wind Sextet. So Cleveland Orchestra audiences learned something from Czech conductor Jakub Hrůša the weekend of November 15-18, when he brought Kabeláč’s Mystery of Time to his guest appearances at Severance Hall. [Read more…]

Tri-C JazzFest and Terence Blanchard: a winning combination (Nov. 4)

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by Mike Telin

Art reflects society. We were reminded of that on Sunday, November 4 in a sold-out Maltz Performing Arts Center, when Tri-C JazzFest presented OUR VOICES: DEMOCRACY RE:visited. The evening celebrated the landmark passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. It also provided a disturbing reminder that our nation’s fight to achieve liberty and justice for all is far from over. [Read more…]

Tri-C Classical Piano Series: Alon Goldstein at CMA (Nov. 18)

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by David Kulma

The delightful second concert of Tri-C’s free Classical Piano Series at the Cleveland Museum of Art in Gartner Auditorium on Sunday, November 18 featured Alon Goldstein. The program featured his gloriously precise pianism across three centuries from Scarlatti to Bernstein, including helpful speaking from the stage along the way. [Read more…]

Canton Symphony: from Gershwin swagger to the sublime depths of Swan Lake (Nov. 18)

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by Tom Wachunas

“Music of the People” was the theme of the November 18 Canton Symphony Orchestra program with works by George Gershwin and Pyotr Tchaikovsky. As stated in the press release for the concert, “the two composers…wrote music to touch the souls of the people of their respective countries.” What could be more “of the people” these days than national politics? Commenting on the evening’s opening selection — Gershwin’s overture to his 1931 satirical Broadway musical, Of Thee I Sing — a mischievously grinning Gerhardt Zimmermann explained that he intentionally scheduled the work to be performed on the heels of this country’s recent, highly contentious midterm elections. [Read more…]

Apollo’s Fire: “O Jerusalem” at St. Paul’s, Cleveland Heights (Nov. 12)

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by David Kulma

Over the course of two weekends from November 10 to 18, Apollo’s Fire celebrated the multicultural heritage of the Holy Land with “O Jerusalem!: Crossroads of Three Faiths.” This exploration of music of Jews, Christians, and Muslims was conceived and directed by artistic director Jeannette Sorrell as a sequel to their successful “Sephardic Journey” program first done in 2014. I attended the second concert on November 12 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Cleveland Heights. [Read more…]

Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra with violinist Célina Béthoux (Nov. 16)

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by Timothy Robson

This past Friday evening, while waiting for the start of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra’s concert at Severance Hall, I ran into some friends whose granddaughter was performing with the Orchestra. They could not have been more proud. And proud they should be — along with the many other family, friends, and audience members — because, under the direction of talented music director Vinay Parameswaran, it was an excellent concert that made few concessions to the reality that COYO is a student orchestra. [Read more…]

Cleveland Chamber Music Society: The Ehnes Quartet at Plymouth (Nov. 13)

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by Daniel Hathaway

Fans of Canadian violinist James Ehnes recently got to enjoy his artistry twice in one month — first on the Oberlin Artist Recital Series with pianist Andrew Armstrong, then with his string quartet on the Cleveland Chamber Music Society series. And ChamberFest Cleveland admirers of violinist Amy Schwartz Moretti didn’t have to wait until next summer to hear her play again. The two joined violist Richard O’Neill and cellist Edward Arron in ravishing performances of quartets by Beethoven, Elgar, and Bartók on November 13 at Plymouth Church. [Read more…]

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