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Tuesday Musical: “Our Song, Our Story” (Feb. 2)

by Stephanie Manning

At first glance, the sheer number of pieces on the program for “Our Song, Our Story” looked a little intimidating. The concert, which was presented by Tuesday Musical and traced the musical output of Black Americans, offered listeners all kinds of categories: spiritual songs, opera, and lieder, just to name a few. But on February 2, what was printed on the paper was more of a guide for the performers to pick-and-choose, letting them present their songs, their way.

At the center of the program was composer and pianist Damien Sneed, who accompanied the small set of performers while also presenting some of his own works. Talkative and affable towards the audience in E.J. Thomas Hall, Sneed provided both personal and compositional context throughout the evening. He also explained a crucial last-minute change: originally-scheduled soprano Brandie Inez Sutton had just been called up for an opportunity at the Met, leaving Jacqueline Echols to step in on very short notice.

[Read on…]

“Classical Exploration” from
Youngstown Symphony
(Jan. 29)

by Kevin McLaughlin

With a glint of polished silver and a showman’s flair, trumpet soloist Brian Neal highlighted the Youngstown Symphony’s Classical Exploration concert on January 29 at Stambaugh Auditorium with a stirring performance of Joseph Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto in E-flat.

As the orchestra continues to search for a permanent conductor to replace the late Randall Craig Fleisher, Alberto Bade, a colleague of Neal’s at Miami Dade College, led the orchestra in a program that also included fine performances of Richard Strauss’ Don Juan, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s “Danse Nègre,” and Antonín Dvořák’s always well-received Symphony No. 9, “From the New World.”

[Read on…]

Cleveland Classical Guitar Society: René Izquierdo at Plymouth (Jan. 28)

by Kevin McLaughlin

The Cleveland Classical Guitar Society’s International Series made an auspicious start to 2023 with a recital by Cuban-born guitarist René Izquierdo on January 28. In a program of Cuban and Spanish composers, Izquierdo — who ranks among his country’s great exponents of classical guitar — did not disappoint the near-capacity audience at Plymouth Church in Shaker Heights.

The guitarist displayed technical mastery, warmth of spirit, and a prodigious memory throughout the evening. Though a 90-minute performance featuring music by 13 different composers may be old hat to guitar recitalists, the assuredness with which Izquierdo accomplished this was a cause for wonder. In a moment of candor toward the end, he acknowledged the challenge of “having to keep five different programs in his head” on his current tour.

[Read on…]

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