by Stephanie Manning
HAPPENING THIS WEEKEND:
There are plenty of concerts to enjoy over the weekend — let’s break it down day by day.
Saturday, September 11
The Cleveland Orchestra concludes its 2021 Blossom season tonight at 7:30 with drummer Stewart Copeland (pictured). The founder of legendary rock band The Police will perform his work Police Deranged for Orchestra, which features some of the group’s biggest hits. Tickets available online.
The Tri-C Jazz Fest begins today at Cain Park in Cleveland Heights. The Mainstage, Colonnade Stage, and Talk Tent will feature a variety of performances throughout the day, including the Spanish Harlem Orchestra, A Moment in Cleveland, and The Funky 8. Read more details in our concert listings and buy tickets here.
Trinity Cathedral will host its 9/11 Twentieth Anniversary Commemoration Concert tonight at 7:30 pm. The program includes poetry, prose, and music by American composers Copland, Barber, Hampton, Hancock, and Paulus. Reserve your free ticket for in-person attendance or click here for the live stream.
In the afternoon, enjoy a free concert from Music at Main at the Cleveland Public Library at 2:00 pm. Pianist Roman Rudnytsky will play a program featuring pieces by Herrarte, Brahms, Prokofiev, Holst, and Bach.
Sunday, September 12
The Tri-C Jazz Fest continues today with a full slate of programming across all stages. Highlights include Harp vs Harp (Edmar Castaneda and Grégoire Maret), Upside of Medium, and Catherine Russell. Read more details in our concert listings and buy tickets here.
The front lawn of the Historic Barder House in Akron will host Tuesday Musical’s Music al Fresco Passport Series at 1:00 and 3:00 pm. Brazilian guitarist, vocalist and storyteller Moises Borges and his quartet will interpret classic samba and bossa nova songs as well as Moises’s own work. Tickets available online.
At 3:00 pm, check out the latest concert from the Cleveland Composers Guild. “Creativity: Learning Through Experience” will feature area music students performing original compositions by Guild members. Click here to watch the free live stream.
For those interested in an in-person offering at the same time, The University of Akron will host the opening concert for the Seventh Annual Northeast Ohio Keyboard Festival. Guest pianist Henry Kelder teams up with faculty from Youngstown State University and UA in works for solo piano, duets, and eight hands on two pianos.
REMEMBERING 9/11:
Today, as we honor the twentieth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks that changed our world, take a moment to read about and listen to the classical music works which were shaped by that tragedy. An article published by WQXR ten years ago today details the way that composers were affected and how it shaped the musical responses they would create.
United by a common thread, these pieces span a variety of instrumentation — from large orchestral works like John Adams’ On The Transmigration of Souls, chamber works like Joan Tower’s In Memory, and even entire operas, like Christopher Theofanidis’ Heart of A Soldier. Read and listen here.
THIS WEEKEND’S ALMANAC:
Cleveland is a hub for musical talent from all over, but many fine musicians were born and raised in the city itself. Such is the case with Johann Heinrich Beck, who was influential to the Cleveland music scene in the late 1800s.
Born on September 12, 1856, Beck (pictured) honed his composing and performance skills abroad at the Leipzig Conservatory before returning to his hometown. A violinist, he frequently performed with the Schubert String Quartet and its successor, the Beck String Quartet.
The latter group performed Beck’s own pieces, including his String Quartet in C Minor, and also gave the Cleveland premiere of Schubert’s Piano Trio in B-Flat Major in 1891. Listen to a 2011 performance of the Schubert from Janine Jansen, Torleif Thedéen, and Itamar Golan on YouTube.
As a conductor, Beck led a variety of local orchestras before the inception of the Cleveland Orchestra in 1918. One of these was the Cleveland Grand Orchestra, where he worked together with conductor and oboist Emil Ring, another prominent figure in the local music scene.
Today, visitors to the Fine Arts Division of the Cleveland Public Library are greeted with a bust of Johann Heinrich Beck — inside is a large collection of his music manuscripts, letters, and other memorabilia.
