4′33″ Archives - Cleveland Classical

DIARY: Tuesday, August 29, 2023

August 29, 2023 by Jarrett Hoffman

by Jarrett Hoffman

IN THIS EDITION:

•Announcements: Guitar Orchestras registration, Cleveland Repertory Orchestras vacancies, Joyce Awards applications

•Almanac: the premiere of 4′33″, its influences — including the “White Paintings” of Robert Rauschenberg and an experience in a silent chamber — and the difference in its working title

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Registration for the Cleveland Classical Guitar Society’s 2023-24 Guitar Orchestras ends August 31. More information here.

The Cleveland Repertory Orchestra has announced vacancies for oboe 3 / English horn, utility horn, trombone 2, violin, viola, and bass. The ensemble is also accepting applications for all other sections to join the sub list. Details here.

And the Chicago-based Joyce Foundation is accepting applications for the 2024 Joyce Awards, which support nonprofit arts, culture, and community-based organizations in Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, and/or Minneapolis-St. Paul that partner with artists of color to create new work that engages and builds community. Letters of intent are due September 11. Learn more here.

[Read more…]

Cleveland Orchestra’s holiday concerts return with plenty of festive cheer (Dec. 11)

by Stephanie Manning

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — If the twinkling lights, leafy green garlands and festive poinsettias didn’t already clue you in, the holidays have arrived at Severance Music Center. ‘Tis the season for annual traditions — including The Cleveland Orchestra’s holiday concerts, which began on Wednesday evening.

Running through December 22, the programs feature plenty of seasonal classics plus some potential new favorites. The first performance proved that this mix is a delightful recipe for festive cheer.

“Look at you all, out on a school night!” conductor Sarah Hicks proclaimed joyfully from the podium. Just as many concertgoers donned red outfits to get into the spirit, Mandel Concert Hall was also decked out with decorations and stage lighting effects.

[Read on…]

Oberlin Conservatory convincingly tells Omar’s story (Dec. 8)

by Stephanie Manning

The Cleveland premiere of Rhiannon Giddens’ and Michael Abels’ Pultizer Prize-winning opera Omar on December 8 at the Maltz Performing Arts Center proved that concert productions of opera can succeed without sets, elaborate costumes and extensive staging. Indeed, the Oberlin Conservatory presentation offered more than enough to keep the audience in the crowded house enthralled.

The Opera, which was also presented at Oberlin’s Finney Chapel two days earlier, is based on the 1831 autobiography of Muslim scholar Omar ibn Said, the only such work written by an enslaved person during their enslavement, and the only such document written in Arabic.

Rhiannon Giddens’ brilliant libretto chronicles the life of ibn Said, beginning in present-day Senegal and following him through his capture, journey via the Middle Passage, and enslavement in North and South Carolina. [Read on…]

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