by Jarrett Hoffman
IN THIS EDITION:
•Today: Brahms chamber music with violinist Sibbi Bernhardsson at Oberlin
•Announcements: Cleveland Orchestra to perform with John Legend (pictured), the agenda for the 2024 Arts Impact Ohio conference, and a lecture on arts and AI at Ohio State and on Zoom
•Almanac: Osmo Vänskä on Kalevala Day
HAPPENING TODAY:
At 7:30 pm in Kulas Recital Hall, an Oberlin faculty recital will feature violinist Sibbi Bernhardsson performing with Conservatory string and piano students in two works by Brahms: the B-Major Piano Trio and the G-Major String Sextet. It’s free.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
The Cleveland Orchestra has announced an addition to this summer’s calendar at Blossom Music Center: “An Evening with John Legend” on August 8 at 7:00 pm. The 12-time Grammy winner and Ohio native will make his Cleveland Orchestra debut in a program that includes intimate renditions of his greatest hits alongside unexpected stories from his life and career, as well as tracks from his latest album, LEGEND, out now on Republic Records. Tickets go on sale to the general public on March 1 at 10:00 am.
Ohio Arts Council has released the agenda for the 2024 Arts Impact Ohio conference, which will take place May 15-16 in Toledo and include sessions focused on uniting philanthropy and marketing, the intersection of the arts and artificial intelligence, and engaging diverse learners of all ages through arts education practices. Also on the docket are live performances and off-site excursions into Toledo’s arts scene. Find more information and register here.
And speaking of arts and artificial intelligence, the Moritz School of Law at The Ohio State University is hosting a lecture by internationally regarded AI expert Valentine Goddard on February 29 from 12:15-1:15 pm. Held at OSU’s Saxbe Auditorium as well as on Zoom, the lecture will cover the evolving landscape at the intersection of art and AI, as well as Goddard’s recommendations for AI development and governance to protect the value of art and culture by putting artists at the center of the conversation. Register here.
TODAY’S ALMANAC:
On this Kalevala Day — named in honor of Finland’s national epic, the 19th-century work of epic poetry Kalevala — it’s only fitting to celebrate the culture of that country by wishing a happy 71st birthday to Osmo Vänskä.
Born in Sääminki, Vänskä began his musical career as a clarinetist in the Turku and Helsinki Philharmonic orchestras before turning to conducting. And soon enough he had won the 1982 International Besançon Competition for Young Conductors and taken a position as principal guest conductor — then a few years later chief conductor — with the Lahti Symphony Orchestra in his home country.
Among several other posts since then, Vänskä has been most widely praised for his leadership of the Minnesota Orchestra, which he led from 2003-2022 — save for a span of six months, when he resigned in protest due to a long and acrimonious lockout, then returned. Vänskä and Minnesota put on many acclaimed recordings, including the complete symphonies of his most musically famous countryman. Listen to their recording of Sibelius’s Symphony No. 4 here.
But let’s also shine a spotlight on his lesser-known talents: as an instrumentalist, and as a composer. Click here to listen to Vänskä on the clarinet — joined by his wife, Minnesota Orchestra concertmaster Erin Keefe — in one of his own compositions: the “Dialogue” from Duo for Clarinet and Violin.