by Daniel Hathaway
HAPPENING TODAY:
There are no concerts scheduled for today, but the tempo picks up dramatically later this week — so it’s a good time to check calendars and plan ahead. Visit our Concert Listings for details of forthcoming events.
NEWS BRIEFS:
This morning, The Cleveland Orchestra issued the following statement:
“The Cleveland Orchestra has made the decision to cancel its upcoming tour in Israel. The safety of our musicians and staff is a top priority, and this decision was based on State Department guidelines in consultation with security advisors. The Orchestra will still travel to Austria to perform concerts in Vienna on October 18 and Linz on October 20. Our thoughts are with friends and family in Israel right now, and we hope for their continued safety.”
Cleveland composer Margaret Brouwer has issued a calendar of forthcoming performances of her music both at home and abroad. View the list here.
SCENE Magazine reports that members of Cleveland Rocks and the Cleveland Music Club Coalition have announced “what may be the bones of an oncoming sea change in the local industry: a comprehensive census of every single musician, comedian, venue owner, producer, burlesque performer and so on, in the city.
“The Music Census will debut via a digital platform in October and be open for six weeks. Local liaison Sean Watterson [owner of The Happy Dog) told Scene it will provide up-to-date, state-of-the-industry data that coalition members can use one day to help push legislation to fix looming gaps in the scene.” Read the article here.
TODAY’S ALMANAC:
On October 10 in classical music history…
…in 1825, “Russian” composer Dimitri Bortniansky, who was actually Ukrainian, passed away at the age of 74 in St. Petersburg
…in 1935, the first Broadway performance of Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess took place at the Alvin Theater in New York
…in 1938, prolific American composer Gloria Coates, who wrote 17 symphonies, was born in Wausau, Wisconsin (read her September, 2023 obituary in the New York Times here)
…in 1946, Jamaican bass Sir Willard White, who was featured in Berlioz’ Damnation of Faust with the Cleveland Orchestra under Charles Dutoit in May, 2015 (read our preview here), was born in Kingston. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in November, 2004. Read an October, 2015 interview in The Guardian here
…in 1971, Russian pianist Evgeny Kissin was born in Moscow. His most recent Cleveland appearance was in a solo recital at Severance Music Center in April, 2022
…in 2003, American pianist Eugene Istomin died in Washington D.C. He had a career-long tiff with Cleveland Orchestra music director George Szell which he related in detail on his website
…in 2010, Australian soprano Dame Joan Sutherland passed away in Geneva. Click here for a live recording of “Let the Bright Seraphim” from Handel’s Samson in January of 1959 at Covent Garden.
Bring some of today’s honorees together by listening to The Cleveland Orchestra’s celebrated 1976 recording of Porgy & Bess led by Lorin Maazel, featuring Sir Willard White and the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus.
