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CD Review
Jake Swanson: Invisible Cities, American Music for Soprano Saxophone

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by Mike Telin

invisiblecitiescdSaxophonist Jacob Swanson has become a familiar face on the Cleveland music scene. Audiences have come to know his artistry through outstanding performances with his longtime collaborator Sarah Marchitelli (Jake & Sarah) on Trinity Cathedral’s Brownbag Concert series. In recent years, the Duo has also appeared on Lorain County Community College’s Signature Series and at the Bop Stop as members of the Decho Ensemble. On his recently released CD — Invisible Cities, American Music for Soprano Saxophone — Swanson reveals himself as a soloist of impeccable taste. [Read more…]

CD Review
Andrew Rindfleisch: Careless Carols, San Antonio Chamber Choir

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by Jeremy Reynolds

careless-carols-cdBack in March, the San Antonio Chamber Choir, directed by Scott MacPherson, released an album of Andrew Rindfleisch’s choral music on the Gothic Records label. There’s a mixture of joy and reflection on Careless Carols that pairs well with the end of a too-long year and this season of Thanksgiving and peace. [Read more…]

Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble at the Cleveland Museum of Art (Dec. 4)

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by Timothy Robson

Oberlin-CME-MastroianniThe Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble gave a rock-solid and virtuosic concert on Sunday afternoon, December 4, in Gartner Auditorium at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Director Timothy Weiss assembled a program of eclectic works by leading composers of our day, all of which received professional-level performances by the student ensemble. [Read more…]

Quire Cleveland: “Carols for Quire VIII” at Trinity Cathedral (December 2)

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by Daniel Hathaway

QuireTrinityMost choirs do well to take on one or two non-English languages in their programs. Quire Cleveland handily dispatched Christmas music from five centuries in Latin, Finnish, Latvian, Spanish (in several of its dialects), Wendat, Abenaki, Mohawk, and Afro-Portuguese in the eighth edition of “Carols for Quire” at Trinity Cathedral on Friday evening, December 2. Whatever the language, they sounded terrific. [Read more…]

Tuesday Musical: Scholarship winners Cho & Kuznetsova return (Nov. 22)

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by Daniel Hathaway

cho-kuznetsovaWant a good return on your investment? Give scholarships to budding musicians to help them over the financial humps of their early careers. And if you’re smart, like Tuesday Musical, invite them back several years later to show scholarship donors how richly their contributions paid off. [Read more…]

Cleveland Orchestra & Pennsylvania Ballet: George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker (Nov. 30)

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by Daniel Hathaway

tco-nutcracker-2016-mastroianniTchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Ballet has been around since 1892, when it premiered at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg. But for more than half of its lifetime, the best-known version in this country is the one that George Balanchine choreographed for the New York City Ballet in 1954. Northeast Ohioans can enjoy that Nutcracker in a fine and colorful collaboration between the Pennsylvania Ballet and The Cleveland Orchestra. The show opened on Wednesday, November 30 at the State Theater in Playhouse Square, and runs through Sunday, December 4. [Read more…]

Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra: Bruckner & a Briggs premiere (Nov. 18)

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by Mike Telin

briggsSince taking the helm of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, Brett Mitchell has continued the long tradition of challenging the first-rate ensemble to achieve higher artistic standards with each program. On November 18 at Severance Hall, Mitchell and his young musicians took on what was arguably the most demanding program of his tenure, and the results were stellar. [Read more…]

Heights Arts Close Encounters: Mozart & Schubert on the roof (Nov. 18)

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by Daniel Hathaway

glass-boxNot so very long ago, downtown Cleveland used to be deserted on weekend evenings. Not any more. On Friday, November 18, a political protest march mingled with a Cavs crowd and a sea of other downtown-bound folk to bring traffic (vehicular, foot, and equestrian) on Euclid Avenue to a complete standstill. One of the smaller audiences to assemble downtown that evening came to hear an excellent performance by Cleveland Orchestra musicians and friends sponsored by Heights Arts, nearly filling a private glass box party room rising sixteen floors above the hubbub below. [Read more…]

Cleveland Pops: “The Name is Bond…James Bond” at Severance (Nov. 12)

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by Mike Telin

james-bond-actorsYou can argue whether Sean Connery, Roger Moore, Pierce Brosnan, or Daniel Craig made the best James Bond, but one thing is certain: Ian Fleming’s character is super cool. As much as fans of 007 anticipate the release of each new film to see what forces of evil the British Intelligence Officer will thwart, it’s the iconic theme songs that make Bond films special. [Read more…]

String Orchestras: Earth and Air at St. Paul’s (Nov. 4), & BlueWater Chamber Orchestra at Pilgrim (Nov. 6)

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by Mike Telin

earthandairWhen we think of the works of Felix Mendelssohn, a few that immediately come to mind are his Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the “Italian Symphony,” and the Violin Concerto, as well as several pieces of chamber music. On Friday, November 4 in Tucker Hall at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Cleveland Heights, the talented Earth and Air: String Orchestra, under the direction of David B. Ellis, led a program of lesser-known but equally engaging works by the composer titled “Mendelssohn String Symphonies — Part I.” The evening included three works which the composer wrote between the ages of 12 and 14. [Read more…]

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