by Jarrett Hoffman
IN THIS EDITION:
•For your evening plans: a piano quintet, a solo guitarist, or a discussion about improvisation
•Two music camps and a family concert this month
•Knighthood for Stephen Hough
•And another Sir to celebrate: Edward Elgar, from graduation ceremonies to bassoon to facial hair
HAPPENING TODAY:
At 7:00 pm at Temple-Tifereth Israel, CityMusic Cleveland presents the Pantheon Ensemble in works by Luise Adolpha LeBeau, Mozart, and Ignaz Lachner as well as a commission from Dawn Avery.
A half-hour later at CIM’s Mixon Hall, the Cleveland International Classical Guitar Festival will host Drew Henderson in a recital of music by J.S. Bach, Chopin, Paganini, Giulio Regondi, and Schubert.
Also at 7:30, over at the Bop Stop, jazz pianist and composer Gerald Clayton will talk about the art of improvisation as part of PianoCleveland’s Listening series.
Head to our Concert Listings for details and ticket information.
MUSIC CAMPS & FAMILY CONCERTS:
The Dana Music Camp, aimed at students age 13-18, will be held on the YSU campus from June 12-17. The schedule will include large and small ensemble playing as well as electives in areas ranging from composition to drum major, electronic music, jazz, recording arts, and string chamber music. Register here.
And at Kent State, the Glauser School of Music will host its inaugural Percussion Camp from June 22-24, giving high-schoolers the opportunity to experience an array of instruments such as hand drums, drumline, concert percussion, and steelpan. Find out more here.
Plus, one family event to add to the calendar, recommended for students in Pre-K through 4th grade. On Saturday morning, June 4 at 10:00 am in University Circle, The Music Settlement will present “Imagine That!” The program includes Margaret Brouwer’s Daniel and Snakeman in a new version for wind quintet and storyteller that will be receiving its premiere, as well as Robert Kapilow’s staged version of Dr. Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham for soprano, baritone, and piano. More info here.
NEWS BRIEFS:
There’s a new Sir in town. Pianist, composer, and writer Stephen Hough has been awarded a Knighthood for Services to Music in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List 2022. That makes him the first British-born classical pianist to achieve that recognition in 45 years. Hats off to you, Sir.
TODAY’S ALMANAC:
And to you, Sir, as well. Sir Edward Elgar was born on this date in 1857 in Lower Broadheath, England, outside of Worcester.
Classical musicians know him best for the orchestra piece Enigma Variations (heard here in a 1957 live recording by William Steinberg and The Cleveland Orchestra) and the oratorio The Dream of Gerontius. But the general public is more likely to recognize the trio from Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1, a popular choice for graduation ceremonies — sometimes performed on repeat until every last senior has come and gone from the stage. (Pro tip for performers to keep themselves entertained: switch off every other note with your stand partner.)
Click here to watch Elgar conduct the trio as part of a ceremony marking the opening of Abbey Road Studios in 1931. (He instructs the orchestra to “play this tune as though you’ve never heard it before”). Or for a memento from the early months of the pandemic, hear Cleveland Orchestra trumpeter Michael Sachs play the melody as part of a congratulatory message to graduates in May of 2020.
Elgar was also a performer: an excellent violinist, as well as a bassoonist. Perhaps that was part of his inspiration behind the Op. 62 Romance — the other part being the playing of Edwin F. James, who was then the principal bassoon of the London Symphony, and who premiered the work in 1911 with Elgar on the podium.
Here are two recordings of this short, lyrical, poetic work. One as written, with that beautiful orchestration — listen here from bassoonist Klaus Thunemann and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, led by Sir Neville Marriner. And one that replaces the ensemble with an organ (yet another instrument in Elgar’s performing arsenal), creating a much more intimate color. Watch here from bassoonist Sophie Dervaux and organist Wolfgang Kogert.
That first link isn’t a video, but that’s not to say that it doesn’t contain anything visual of value. What accompanies the music is a still of a portrait of Elgar — and if you’re considering a change in your facial hair style, look no further than this full-bodied, elegantly shaped topiary of a mustache as something to aim for.
Hats off to you, Sir. Hats off to you indeed.