by Stephanie Manning
LOOKING AHEAD:
On this rainy, gloomy Monday with no events on the horizon, let’s do a rundown of some bright spots in this otherwise-packed week. The Cleveland Chamber Music Society hosts the Imani Winds and Michelle Cann, while CIM presents the Quince Ensemble. The season continues for Les Délices and begins for No Exit and Apollo’s Fire, and The Cleveland Orchestra puts on a massive performance of Mahler 3.
For more details on these and more, visit our Concert Listings.
IN MEMORIAM:
The Grammy-winning classical music producer Adam Abeshouse (pictured) passed away on Thursday. The 63-year-old was diagnosed with bile duct cancer last spring. As his condition recently worsened, NPR reported on an at-home farewell concert organized by some of his closest collaborators. Quoted from that article:
“What he said to us before we saw him last is a reflection of how he is selfless,” said violinist Nick Kendall. “Before we left, he said, ‘Boys, just continue listening to each other.’ That hit us huge, and will always live with us.”
NEWS BRIEFS:
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Astral Artists — the Philly-based arts group that represents a number of young, up-and-coming musicians — will soon shut down. The board cited unstable finances as one of the primary reasons for the decision.
Astral has helped launch some big-name careers, including pianist Simone Dinnerstein, double bassist Xavier Foley, and baritone Eric Owens. Its current roster includes a couple Oberlin Conservatory graduates, as well as others who have been heard locally.
TODAY’S ALMANAC:
by Daniel Hathaway
Composer Kaija Saariaho was born in Helsinki on October 14, 1952 but lived in Paris now for thirty-some years until her passing in 2023. When the BBC Music Magazine polled 174 composers about the greatest names in the history of their field, Bach landed 1st, and Saariaho 17th, the highest ranking among living composers. (Here are the results of the top 50.)
Among local performances of her work, hear Oliver Herbert play the Sept Papillons (“Seven Butterflies”) for solo cello during the 2017 edition of ChamberFest Cleveland. And check out her interview with Tom Welsh as part of the “Behind the Beat” series from The Cleveland Museum of Art.
Maurice Martenot, the inventor of the electronic instrument known as the ondes Martenot, was born in Paris on this date in 1898. Cynthia Millar, described by The Guardian as the “unchallenged sovereign” of the instrument, describes its nature and its importance to Messiaen’s Turangalîla-Symphonie here. And moving to the world of popular music, listen to this collection of ondes Martenot-heavy excerpts from the band Radiohead, whose lead guitarist and keyboardist became a fan of the instrument after hearing Turangalîla as a teeanger.
One last big name for October 14: Leonard Bernstein, who died on this date in 1990. Read our Diary entry from August 25, 2020, where Daniel Hathaway celebrated that needs-no-introduction musical figure with videos of “Lenny” in rehearsal.
