by Stephanie Manning
HAPPENING TODAY:
It’s a rare Monday with some concert options — one each on the west and east side.
At West Shore Unitarian Universalist Church, the Rocky River Chamber Music Society presents the Gropius String Quartet (pictured) in a free program of Mendelssohn, Haydn, and Dvořák. That’s at 7:30 pm. At the same time and across town, Apollo’s Fire continues their run of Brandenburg Concerto concerts at Harkness Chapel. Note that tonight’s performance replaces Brandenburg No. 2 with Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 3. Tickets available online.
For more details and to check out what the rest of the week holds, visit our Concert Listings.
INTERESTING READ:
If you keep up with Deutsche Grammophon, you might recognize the name María Dueñas. The Spanish violinist’s debut album, Beethoven and Beyond, made waves in 2023, and her Paganini: 24 Caprices recording arrives next year. The New York Times recently profiled Dueñas, talking with her collaborators about what makes this young musician stand out. She’ll join the Cleveland Orchestra during their Miami residency in January — so maybe we’ll see her at Severance Hall sometime soon? Read the NYT article here.
TODAY’S ALMANAC:
by Daniel Hathaway
On October 21, 1896 American composer and conductor Howard Hanson was born in Wahoo, Nebraska, 26 years after its founding by Czech, German, and Scandinavian settlers (and named after the eastern wahoo, a shrub indigenous to the area).
Tapped by industrialist George Eastman in 1923 to be the second director of his new Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, Hanson served the school for 40 years, during which he was also prolific as a composer. (Speaking of music schools, on this date in 1926 in New York City a charter was granted to another famous institution, the Juilliard School, the successor to the Institute of Musical Art where Hanson had studied in 1912).
As a conductor, Hanson led the premieres of many American works including William Grant Still’s Symphony No. 1 “Afro-American,” which debuted on this date in 1931. His own Symphony No. 2, subtitled “Romantic” was commissioned by Serge Koussevitzky to mark the 50th anniversary of the Boston Symphony, who premiered it in November of 1930. One of his most popular works, it’s recently been arranged by Cameron Carpenter for his innovative International Touring Organ. Have a taste here.
