by Daniel Hathaway
HAPPENING THIS WEEKEND:
With eighteen performances scheduled for Saturday and Sunday this week, our Concert Listings reflect the extraordinary vitality of classical music in Northeast Ohio. Here’s who’s performing (visit our Concert Listings page for details).
Saturday: 4:00 pm – Les Délices: The Mermaid (pictured, Seán Dagher), 7:00 pm – Warren Philharmonic, 7:30 pm – Cleveland Classical Guitar Society: Duo Chinoiserie. 7:30 pm – Canton Symphony Orchestra. 7:30 pm – Lorain Civic Orchestra. 7:30 pm – UA Steel Drum Band Concert. 8:00 pm – The Cleveland Orchestra. Kazuki Yamada, conductor, and Francesco Piemontesi, piano.
Sunday: 2:00 pm – Divinity Lutheran Church Arts in Action: Duo Balalaika. 2:00 pm – The Cleveland Orchestra. Family Concert Series: Scheherazade. 3:00 pm – Keyboard Conversations with Jeffrey Siegel. 4:00 pm – Les Délices: The Mermaid. 4:00 pm – Master Singers Chorale. 4:00 pm – Lakeland Civic Orchestra: Songs and Dreams. 5:00 pm – Music from the Western Reserve: Greta Pasztor Chamber Ensemble. 5:00 pm – Music at Bath Concert Series: Singers Companye. 7:00 pm – CityMusic Cleveland: April Chamber Concert. 7:00 pm – Greater Cleveland Flute Society: Cleveland Composers’ Connection.
WEEKEND ALMANAC:
April 26:
On this date in 1899, the first performance of the original version of Jean Sibelius’ First Symphony took place in Helsinki, conducted by the composer, who later revised the work. Cleveland Orchestra patrons will remember the brilliant performances of the piece led by Finnish conductor Susanna Mälkki in early February, 2020.
Watch an interview with Mälkki on Episode 61 of Zsolt Bognár’s Living the Classical Life, where she “discusses the conductor’s world and responsibilities — and what it means to be a leader. She also discusses performance day routines, dealing with disappointments, and what is required to create magic on stage.” And hear a complete performance of the symphony with L’Orchestre de Paris under Estonian conductor Paavo Järvi.
On April 26, 1900, violinist Joseph Fuchs, who served as concertmaster of The Cleveland Orchestra from 1926-1940, was born in New York City. Here’s a historic recording of Fuchs playing the solo (“Des Helden Gefährtin”) from a complete recording of Richard Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben. Artur Rodzinski leads The Cleveland Orchestra.
And on April 26, 1965, Charles Ives’ Fourth Symphony received its long-delayed first performance with the American Symphony Orchestra and members of the New York Schola Cantorum. Multiple conductors were required: Leopold Stokowski, Jose Serebrier and David Katz. Shortly thereafter, those forces recorded the work for CBS and played it in a televised studio performance. Watch here.
April 27:
On April 27, 1894, Russian-American musicologist, composer and conductor Nicolas Slonimsky entered the world in St. Petersburg. His literary credentials include serving as editor of Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of Musicians (his own bio is priceless) as well as of his Lexicon of Musical Invective, a collection of “critical assaults on composers since Beethoven’s time,” Slonimsky’s career has been summarized in the documentary A Touch of Genius. Filmed in St. Petersburg and Los Angeles, the 60-minute PBS video is narrated by British actor Michael York. Watch it here.
And on this date in 1915, Russian composer Alexander Scriabin died of blood poisoning in Moscow at the age of 43. Watch a video of 2009 Cleveland International Piano Competition first prize winner Martina Filjak performing his Nocturne for the left hand — a real show-stopper — in the semi-final round.
