by Timothy Robson
Barely a square inch of space remained on the lawn, and the Blossom Music Center pavilion was packed on a clear, cool Saturday evening, September 3, for the annual movie night at Blossom. This season’s offering was Steven Spielberg’s 1981 blockbuster Raiders of the Lost Ark, starring Harrison Ford as the intrepid archaeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones, with Karen Allen as his sometimes girlfriend Marion, and a host of well-known character actors. [Read more…]
by Jane Berkner
The dark, threatening cloud over Blossom Music Center on Saturday evening, August 27 delivered a thunderstorm right at the appointed concert hour. Fortunately for the large audience gathered to hear the conductorless Orpheus Chamber Orchestra play four of J.S. Bach’s celebrated Brandenburg Concerti, it blew over rather quickly. Waiting an extra ten minutes for the thunder to subside was not a huge concession, especially given that this was the much-anticipated debut of Orpheus at Blossom. [Read more…]
by Robert Rollin
Saturday night, August 20, at the Blossom Music Center, the rock quintet Windborne and the Blossom Festival Orchestra, conducted by Brent Havens, presented “The Music of Led Zeppelin, A Rock Symphony.” Havens arranged Zeppelin’s songs with an eye towards authenticity, so that longtime fans of the group would recognize the tunes in a tasteful orchestral tapestry that supported and augmented their original intent. Led Zeppelin at times used orchestral forces in its pieces, and Haven’s arrangements were consistently faithful to the originals. [Read more…]
by Alexandra Vago
Bad weather was no deterrent for concertgoers at the Blossom Music Center on Saturday, August 13. The audience in a nearly-packed pavilion and on an umbrella-laden lawn gave The Silk Road Ensemble two standing ovations, one at intermission and one at the conclusion of their stellar performance. [Read more…]
by Nicholas Jones
Some music makes you yearn; some makes you cry; some makes you think. And some music just makes you glad to be alive. At The Cleveland Orchestra’s final Summers@Severance concert of the season last Friday, August 12, joy radiated from just about every aspect of the music.
by Nicholas Jones
Britain may have voted to cut ties with the European Union, but last night’s Blossom Music Festival concert, with The Cleveland Orchestra and conductor Nicholas McGegan, was a referendum confirming a long — and enduring — musical connection between the continent and the island. [Read more…]
by Daniel Hathaway
Three-quarters of their final score had already been totted up when the four finalists in the 2016 Cleveland International Piano Competition made their last lap around the track at Severance Hall on Friday and Saturday evenings, August 5 and 6. Handsome cash prizes were waiting at the end, but appearing with Bramwell Tovey and The Cleveland Orchestra was its own distinguished reward. (Photo: CEO Pierre van der Westhuizen welcomes the audience.) [Read more…]
by Daniel Hathaway
How do you tell a great chamber music performance from an ordinary one? That’s what the jury and audience are asking themselves this week as the Cleveland International Piano Competition puts its four finalists through a chamber music round with the Escher String Quartet. [Read more…]
by Alexandra A. Vago
What a spectacular concert on Saturday, July 30 at Blossom Music Center. The concert featured performances by the Kent/Blossom Chamber Orchestra and The Cleveland Orchestra, culminating in a side-by-side performance. It was a celebration of the Kent/Blossom Music Festival, the 50-year partnership between Kent State University and The Cleveland Orchestra. [Read more…]
by Daniel Hathaway
In a new twist this time around, the Cleveland International Piano Competition is requiring each of its finalists to play a chamber music round with the Escher String Quartet. Aside from the welcome change in musical timbre after many hours of solo piano music, this new round is designed to show how well pianists play with others — a direct look at their musicianship in collaboration with a world-class ensemble before moving on to play concertos with The Cleveland Orchestra. [Read more…]