by Jarrett Hoffman
IN THIS EDITION:
•Today: MTT leads The Cleveland Orchestra in a program featuring pianist Leif Ove Andsnes
•Announcements: YSU summer programs, CSU piano and strings sale, and a pair of CIM students (pictured) heading to the Louisville Orchestra
•Almanac: through the ages on April 13, from Machaut to Van Cliburn
HAPPENING TODAY:
At 7:30 pm at Severance Music Center, Michael Tilson Thomas leads The Cleveland Orchestra in Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 (“Titan”) and two works by Debussy: Jeux (“Games”) and Fantasie for Piano and Orchestra, the latter featuring Leif Ove Andsnes as soloist. Tickets are available online. Read Mike Telin’s interview with Andsnes here.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
The Dana School of Music will host a Summer Music Camp and a Vocal Performance Clinic from June 11-16, with all instruments and voice types welcome. Both programs are aimed at ages 13-18 and will be led by YSU faculty. Discounts are available for students who participated in honor groups in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Email any questions to musiccamp@ysu.edu and register here.
Cleveland State University will host a Piano, Digital Piano, and Strings Sale from May 18-20 — by appointment — at the Music and Communications Building at 2001 Euclid Avenue. The large selection of instruments, ranging from beginner to professional level, includes grand pianos, baby grands, digital player grands, vertical (upright) pianos, digital pianos, violins, violas, and cellos, all available at a significant discount from retail pricing. To make an appointment, call (216) 905-8261. More information on CSU School of Music’s Facebook page.
And Cleveland Institute of Music artist diploma student, Robinson Orchestral Fellow, and recent alumna Grace Roepke has been appointed principal harp at the Louisville Orchestra. She’ll be joining a fellow CIM alum in Louisville, as Jessica Chancey recently won the orchestra’s audition for third flute/piccolo. Read an article from the CIM Newsroom here.
TODAY’S ALMANAC:
Important events that have taken place on this date in music history range from the Medieval era (the death of a leading composer of the period, Guillaume de Machaut, in 1377) to the Baroque (premiere of Handel’s famous Messiah in 1742 — “Hallelujah” for that), the late Classical and early Romantic (death in 1826 of German composer and cellist Franz Danzi, best known for his woodwind quintets), the first half of the 20th century (the birth of one great pianist-composer, Frederic Rzewski, in 1938, and the passing of another, Cécile Chaminade, in 1944), and the latter half of the century (American pianist Van Cliburn’s historic victory at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1958).
Here are selections by the two lesser-known figures in that list. First, Chaminade, who was the first woman composer to be elected a Chevalier of the French National Order of the Legion of Honour. Click here to listen to her Concertino, Op. 107, as played by flutist Jasmine Choi.
Second, Danzi, whose Op. 56 wind quintets paid tribute to another famous composer in that genre, Anton Reicha. The Monet Bläserquintett recorded Op. 56, No. 1 in B-flat as part of their final-round performance at the Lyon International Chamber Music Competition in 2017. Listen here.