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Pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason stuns at Severance Music Center (Mar. 17)

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by Daniel Hathaway

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Isata Kanneh-Mason, at 29, the eldest of the seven siblings who constitute one of England’s most distinguished musical families, walked onstage at Mandel Concert Hall at Severance Music Center promptly at 7:30 on Tuesday evening to begin her Cleveland solo recital with an immaculate performance of Beethoven’s “Moonlight” Sonata.

Like the program’s theme of darkness moving into light — an attractive forward motion coursed just underneath the surface in everything she played. She began Sonata No. 14 deliberately, with hauntingly beautiful long lines, well-balanced voicing, and subtle dynamics, all of which contributed to a hypnotic effect.

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Cleveland Orchestra tackles Beethoven’s ‘Fateful Fifth’ with conductor Elim Chan, trumpeter Michael Sachs (Mar. 12)

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by Kevin McLaughlin

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The art of conducting is a kind of alchemy — the transformation of inert notes on a page into something vividly alive. A conductor absorbs a composer’s intentions, reimagines them, and releases them again through that remarkable instrument, the symphony orchestra. On a good night the music feels less reproduced than re-created, and the listener senses the thrill of discovery.

In her appearance with The Cleveland Orchestra at Severance Music Center Thursday, March 12, conductor Elim Chan provided such an evening. She honored the distinct language of each score — Stravinsky’s refashioning of Baroque style in Pulcinella, Haydn’s elegant Trumpet Concerto with Michael Sachs as the eloquent soloist, and Beethoven’s enduring Fifth Symphony. But fidelity did not mean routine.

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Leonkoro Quartet traces lineage in Cleveland Chamber Music Society debut (Mar. 3)

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by Peter Feher

Out of Vienna is the title of the Leonkoro Quartet’s latest album, but that phrase could easily stand in for all of the ensemble’s recent performances.

Never mind the specialized focus of the recording, which centers on Second Viennese School composers Alban Berg and Anton Webern. In a program of entirely standard repertoire — Haydn, Beethoven, and Felix Mendelssohn were on the bill for the Quartet’s Cleveland debut — the influence of a certain city proved just as inescapable.

Of course, classical music in the 21st century thrives on cosmopolitanism. The young Leonkoros are based in Berlin, having formed at conservatory there in 2019, and they’ve cultivated utmost cohesion and top-level technique. Worldwide attention came after they swept London’s Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition in 2022.

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An Tran takes a beautiful “risk” in Cleveland Classical Guitar Society debut (Mar. 7)

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by Stephanie Manning

No matter their theme, most classical guitar concerts eventually circle around to a piece by one of the instrument’s most famous composers. Agustín Barrios. Heitor Villa-Lobos. Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco. But none of those names appeared on the Cleveland Classical Guitar Society’s program on March 7.

“As you can see, everybody’s still alive,” An Tran said of the composers he chose for his concert at the Maltz Performing Arts Center. The Chicago-based, Vietnam-born guitarist made his Cleveland debut with a collection of music written almost exclusively for him — much of it drawn from his upcoming album, Illumina.

In an interview with ClevelandClassical.com’s Mike Telin, Tran said that his manager calls it “risky” to do this kind of programming. If it is a risk, his performance showed exactly why that’s a risk worth taking. [Read more…]

Tuesday Musical hosts Marsalis-Mcallister-Ames Trio (Mar. 3)

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By Kevin McLaughlin

The Marsalis–McAllister–Ames Trio arrived at Akron’s E.J. Thomas Performing Arts Hall on March 3, with a program for Tuesday Musical that strolled through several musical neighborhoods — French impressionism, a touch of Scotland, American concert music, and Kansas City jazz. Branford Marsalis and Timothy McAllister handled the saxophones, Liz Ames the piano.

Between them, the saxophonists covered much of the instrument’s extended family, from baritone sax upward, switching horns as the repertoire required. For the first half, Marsalis stayed with the soprano — Coltrane’s instrument — which, in Marsalis’ hands, had a sweet, veiled quality that especially suited the program’s opening music.

Marsalis is widely known as a jazz musician, but he has long been at ease in classical repertoire as well — an aspect of his playing documented early on, as in his 1986 album Romances for Saxophone.

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Jakub Hrůša returns to Cleveland Orchestra with music from Germany, Czech Republic (Mar. 5)

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by Stephanie Manning

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — During Jakub Hrůša’s first decade of Cleveland Orchestra appearances, the Czech conductor programmed a wide range of music, including works from his home country, cornerstones of the orchestral canon, and lesser-known gems. This weekend’s concerts feature all three.

On Thursday, March 5, after more than four years away from the Cleveland podium, Hrůša returned to Severance Music Center with music by Johannes Brahms, Bohuslav Martinů, and Vítězslava Kaprálová. Without a concerto, the program focused instead on the forms of the symphony and sinfonietta — as well as on the synergy between Hrůša and the Orchestra, which produced some very fine playing.

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Chatham Baroque at Rocky River Chamber Music Society (Mar. 2)

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By Kevin McLaughlin

The Rocky River Chamber Music Society welcomed the Pittsburgh-based early-music ensemble Chatham Baroque on Friday, March 2, for a program of 17th and 18th century sonatas from the German-speaking world.

Performed at West Shore Unitarian Universalist Church, the concert traced a path from the courts of Vienna and Salzburg to North German towns and, eventually to London. The three musicians played with distinction, vitality, and an easy rapport.

Founded in 1990, Chatham Baroque includes Andrew Fouts (violin), Patricia Halverson (viola da gamba), and Scott Pauley (archlute and theorbo). Even by period-instrument standards, the ensemble has a distinctive sound: violin and viola da gamba often share the lead, supported by the quiet plucked resonance of the lutes.

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World premiere of “La Diosa” leads Les Délices to Latin America (Feb. 28)

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By Peter Feher

There’s something sacred about the female voice. And while the title of “La Divina” has already been claimed, today’s sopranos might still aspire to a similar status — “La Diosa,” perhaps.

That’s the self-assertion made early on in Soy La Diosa (“I Am the Goddess”), a prophetic new piece by composer Gilda Lyons. The work’s soloist delivers this phrase after detailing, in alternate Spanish and English lyrics, the various guises her spirit can take: “messenger,” “creator,” “warrior,” “protector,” “shadow,” and “song.” Naturally, such shape-shifting calls for a comparable array of vocal techniques, everything from whoops to whispers to full-throated high notes.

Only a confident performer could embody these powerfully clashing roles, and soprano Estelí Gomez was in her element singing the world premiere of Lyons’ score on Saturday, February 28, at the Heights Theater. If the afternoon felt vaguely out of time and place — with the period instrumentalists of Les Délices not just accompanying but commissioning this contemporary endeavor — then ethereal aims accomplished.

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Arts Renaissance Tremont: The Art of Influence (Mar. 1)

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by Kevin McLaughlin

Arts Renaissance Tremont titled their program on Sunday, March 1 “The Art of Influence.” The premise was simple: students now fully launched into professional life performing beside the teachers who shaped them. It was partly debutante’s ball, partly show of pride.

Pilgrim Congregational UCC is a round room — its pews curve inward, the ceiling rises gently, and sound returns generously. On Sunday afternoon the space felt less like a sanctuary than a living room. Erica Brenner, president of ART, greeted the audience warmly, and artistic director Feza Zweifel served as a calm and appreciative emcee.

Cleveland Orchestra percussionists Thomas Sherwood and Tanner Tanyeri opened with Andy Akiho’s Karakurenai. Written for variable instrumentation and played here on orchestral bells (Sherwood) and vibraphone (Tanyeri), it’s a study in interlocking rhythm. As a duet, the piece becomes a test of alignment and nerve.

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Cleveland Orchestra with Alain Altinoglu and Alisa Weilerstein at Severance (Feb. 26)

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by Daniel Hathaway

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Cleveland Orchestra’s program on Thursday at Severance Music Center looked strange on paper, beginning as it did with the Cleveland premiere of an intellectually thorny cello concerto and ending with two of Richard Strauss’s dazzling tone poems played back-to-back.

But Til Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks and Don Juan proved to be effective palate cleansers following Alisa Weilerstein’s commanding performance of Unsuk Chin’s Cello Concerto. Setting its challenges for the listener aside, you could concede control over the proceedings and let conductor Alain Altinoglu be your tour guide through the mischievous and lascivious exploits of the two bad boys that Strauss immortalized in his virtuosic scores.

[Read more…]

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