by Kelly Ferjutz, Special to ClevelandClassical
Mother Nature was apparently clued in – and ready – for the Saturday evening concert by the Cleveland Orchestra at the Blossom Music Center on August 9. During the first half of the program, the birds and the frogs and the crickets started warming up. By the time the Orchestra took the stage for Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, the sounds of nature were ready! And then came Supermoon! It really was spectacular. Those music lovers on the lawn had a better glimpse of it, perhaps, but once we were out in the parking lot, there it was in all its huge, luminous splendor. The weather was simply perfect for enjoying the moon and the music!
Of course, that’s because the Orchestra, with guest conductor Matthew Halls, was luminous enough in itself to have lit up the skies like daylight. The evening’s program – and homage to Mozart — began with the overture to his opera Idomeneo. Mr. Halls drew lovely sounds from the musicians in front of him with his decisive movements and graceful hand motions. [Read more…]
PAND — Performers and Artists for Nuclear Disarmament — was formed in 1984 during the height of the U.S.-Soviet arms race, which threatened, even in the case of a limited nuclear war, to destroy human civilization and much of life on the Earth.
The 82nd Baldwin Wallace Bach Festival takes place this weekend in Gamble Auditorium of the BW Conservatory in Berea and marks the last festival to be directed by Dwight Oltman, who retires at the end of the academic year. See the concert listings for details and note that the St. John Passion is already sold out.
At its fifth anniversary benefit concert on April 12, Les Délices artistic director Debra Nagy announced that the ensemble, which specializes in French baroque music, would present four pairs of concerts next season with a bonus performance in September.
