by Stephanie Manning
This article was originally published on Cleveland.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Just like his music, insistent and perpetually in motion, John Adams has little interest in slowing down. At 79, the celebrated composer and conductor is as busy as ever, and he’s never far from his next premiere.
A Cleveland Orchestra regular, Adams returned to the Mandel Concert Hall podium on Thursday, February 19 for “Frenzied Tango,” a program of firsts that reunited him with pianist Aaron Diehl. The performance revealed plenty of gems, both in his own works and those he chose to precede them.
The crowd at Blossom Music Center on July 16 received two concerts for the price of one. The Cleveland Orchestra went in a jazzy direction with the program’s first half, before turning to the dazzling symphonic repertoire that this ensemble does best.
Take a look at pianist Aaron Diehl’s upcoming concerts and you’ll see a little bit of everything. There’s “Jazz in July” at New York’s 92nd Street Y, “Bach to Bebop” with his Trio in Irvine, CA, and Gershwin’s Concerto in F with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra — all in the span of a few months. Much of Diehl’s work lies at the intersection of jazz and classical, and so does Mary Lou Williams’ Zodiac Suite, which he’ll be performing this weekend with The Cleveland Orchestra.
Aaron Diehl is a magnificent pianist. He possesses an innate sense of rhythm and musical line. Everything he plays has purpose. Every note he plays sparkles. 
After jazz pianist and composer