DIARY, Tuesday, January 7, 2025

January 7, 2025 by Daniel Hathaway

by Daniel Hathaway

Thanks to construction, Oberlin’s Cooper International Violin Competition has moved — perhaps more than temporarily – from the late summer to early January, with opening rounds continuing this afternoon and evening in Warner Concert Hall. Read a preview interview with director Sibbi Bernhardsson here and enjoy hearing young violinists ages 13-18 play 30-minute programs live or via webcasts at oberlin.edu and The Violin Channel beginning at 2:30 and continuing at 7:30.

And at 2 pm, Congregation Mishkan Or in Beachwood presents the Acadia Trio (pictured), Maude Cloutier, violin, Ari Peraza-Webb, cello, and Jude Giddens, piano. For details of upcoming events, visit our Concert Listings.

ANNOUNCEMENT:

Akron’s Tuesday Musical reports that its forthcoming performance by the Czech National Philharmonic on February 11 has been canceled, as has the orchestra’s entire U.S. tour, due to work visa problems. Details here.

TODAY’S ALMANAC:

French composer Francis Poulenc was born on this date in 1899, making January 7 a good occasion to revisit his Flute Sonata.

Demarre McGill plays it here with pianist Michael McHale, but you can simultaneously raise a glass to a second musician, Jean-Pierre Rampal, born on this date in 1922, with a performance of the work he recorded with pianist Robert Veyron-Lacroix.

To end with a bit of sheer silliness, Rampal good-naturedly appears here in a duet with Miss Piggy.

About Daniel Hathaway

Daniel Hathaway founded ClevelandClassical.com in September, 2008, after a thirty-one year tenure as music director of Cleveland’s Trinity Cathedral, where he founded the Wednesday Noon Brownbag Concert Series and Trinity Chamber Orchestra. A graduate of Harvard College and the Episcopal Divinity School, he also studied historical musicology at Princeton and Harvard Universities. Before coming to Cleveland in 1977, he served as head of humanities at the Sunset Hill School in Kansas City and as head of arts at Groton School in Massachusetts. In Cleveland, he has served on the music staff of Cleveland Opera, Great Lakes Theater Festival, and the faculty of Laurel School. As an organist, Hathaway has played recitals in the U.S., England, France, Germany, and Austria. He team-teaches Music Journalism at Oberlin College and Conservatory and is a member of the Music Critics Association of North America.

Christmas with Cantus at Tuesday Musical (Nov. 30)

by Peter Feher

Tuesday Musical gave Akron audiences a generous Christmas gift this year. The presenter tied three holiday classics together in one sumptuous concert on Sunday afternoon, November 30, at E.J. Thomas Hall. First up was the story of The Velveteen Rabbit, followed by a quick waltz through The Nutcracker and a ride on The Polar Express.

Delightfully, this trio of tales was recounted with drama and poise — not by any actors or dancers but by the eight members of the all-male a cappella ensemble Cantus. The group, based in Minnesota and now in its fourth decade, is once again touring the country with a polished, compact production of carols, pop tunes, and of course Tchaikovsky.

[Read on…]

Oberlin Music Theater soars in The Great Comet of 1812 (Dec. 3)

by Peter Feher

The stars aligned for Oberlin Music Theater’s production of Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, suggesting a bright future for the college’s newest area of study.

Oberlin Conservatory has cultivated young talent for more than 150 years, but musical theater only entered the curriculum this semester. The program’s first students arrived in the fall under director and professor Victoria Bussert, who brought with her several colleagues from Baldwin Wallace University — including a few who collaborated on her 2023 staging of Great Comet for Cleveland’s Great Lakes Theater company.

Even for the experienced, this show is a massive undertaking, with a story adapted from Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace and a score demanding stamina and stylistic range. But nothing daunted the student actors on opening night, December 3. Not the immersive direction by Bussert, nor the energy-intensive choreography by Alex Sanchez. (Two casts alternated in eight performances through December 10.)

[Read on…]

Cleveland Orchestra channels all things merry, bright in Holiday Concert at Severance (Dec. 13)

by Kevin McLaughlin

Photo by Roger Mastroianni

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Holiday concerts trade on familiarity, but the best of them feel less like ritual and more like reunion.

On Saturday evening, Dec. 13 at Mandel Concert Hall, The Cleveland Orchestra welcomed a full house for the second of its twelve annual Holiday Concerts, a tradition that dates back to 1919.

Led by guest conductor Sarah Hicks, with soprano Meredith Wohlgemuth and the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus, and members of the Blossom Festival Chorus under the direction of Lisa Wong, the evening unfolded with easy charm.

Throughout the performance, Hicks proved an ideal guide. Her conducting was clear and unshowy, her rapport with the audience unaffected and delightful.

[Read on…]

See all reviews

About Daniel Hathaway

Follow ClevelandClassical.com

Contact us