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Cleveland Pops: “A Salute to John Williams” (Nov. 12)

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by Peter Feher

“And now for the two notes that changed the course of music history.” Conductor Carl Topilow was half-joking in his introduction to the “Shark Theme” from Jaws, just one of many recognizable movie moments from the Cleveland Pops Orchestra’s “Salute to John Williams” on November 12.

But he was also hinting at the composer’s influential, all-too-easy-to-imitate style, and piece after piece proved this true, immersing the audience at Severance Music Center in Williams’ sometimes repetitive but always satisfying musical world.

The signature sounds of these famous film scores are not so much John Williams’ invention as allusions to other classical pieces. The foreboding half-step from Jaws, growing more and more furious in the cellos and basses, shares something with Dvořák’s “New World” Symphony and Bartok’s Miraculous Mandarin. [Read more…]

Cleveland POPS: “Now, That’s Italian” (Apr. 13)

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by Daniel Hathaway

“Everyone’s Italian tonight,” host and conductor Carl Topilow exclaimed, greeting the capacity Cleveland POPS audience at Severance Hall on Saturday, April 13. With the engaging assistance of soprano Alyson Cambridge, tenor John Cudia, and the POPS Chorus — not to mention a special green, white, and red clarinet, assembled from Topilow’s multichromatic collection of instruments — the Orchestra lined up and checked off 21 of everyone’s favorite selections from Italian opera, leaving few corners of the repertoire unexplored. [Read more…]

Carl Topilow’s retirement marks the end of an era at CIM

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by Mike Telin

CIM-Orchestra-TopilowOn Wednesday, April 11 at 8:00 pm at Severance Hall, Carl Topilow will lead the CIM Orchestra for the last time before his retirement from the conservatory, after 36 years as the director of CIM’s orchestra and orchestral conducting program.

The concert will include Topilow’s own arrangement of Verdi’s Fanfare from Act III of Otello, Barber’s Overture to The School for Scandal, Korngold’s Violin Concerto with Aaron Chan as soloist, and Dvořák’s Symphony No. 6. The performance is free, but tickets are required. The event will be broadcast live over WCLV 104.9 and wclv.com.

Although Topilow is leaving CIM, marking the end of an era at the school, he will remain in his positions as music director and conductor of the National Repertory Orchestra, the Firelands Symphony, and The Cleveland Pops Orchestra. [Read more…]

Connor Bogart O’Brien rings in 2018 with the Cleveland POPS

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by Mike Telin

OBrien Severance New YearLife is never boring for vocalist Connor Bogart O’Brien. For the past several years he has split his career performing with symphony orchestras, recording jingles for American Greetings, and singing in Mandarin on cruise ships in Asia — he travels to Shanghai or Tokyo every two to three weeks. And he has recently added Home Renovator to his resumé. “My life is now a strange juxtaposition,” O’Brien said during a telephone conversation. “I’m either smashing out drywall at my house on the west side of Cleveland, or dressed in a tuxedo performing onstage for a couple thousand people.”

On Sunday, December 31 O’Brien returns to the Severance Hall stage, where he will join Carl Topilow to ring in 2018 during the Cleveland POPS 22nd Annual New Year’s Eve Celebration. The festivities begin at 9:00 pm with a two-hour concert titled “Legends of Rock-and-Roll.” Following the performance, the audience can dance their way into the new year to live music: Topilow and a Cleveland POPS ensemble will play in the Grand Foyer, while the No-Name Band will play rock music in the Smith Lobby. Click here to learn about hotel package discounts.

The evening’s playlist will feature music from the ‘50s to the present and will include songs by Elvis Presley, Billy Joel, Richard Harris, Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, and Simon & Garfunkel. “Rock is a wide genre, and we’ve had a lot of sit-downs to choose the songs,” O’Brien said. “We’re opening the show with two full Elvis numbers. We’re also doing MacArthur Park, Mrs. Robinson, Bridge Over Troubled Water, and Sweet Caroline, and we’re going to end the evening with some Beatles tunes. The arrangements we have are fantastic — a couple were made especially for this show. I am from Cleveland and Carl was my first mentor, so I’m thrilled to be back at Severance with the Cleveland POPS, which is where I began my symphony career.” [Read more…]

Cleveland POPS: a conversation with pianist/singer/composer Tony DeSare

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by Mike Telin

DE-SARE-Tony“I fell in love with the piano when I was ten years old,” pianist/singer/composer Tony DeSare said during a telephone conversation from his home in New York City. “Of course back then I didn’t know that I would be a musician — I was just obsessed with playing the piano — and this show is for people who have a passion for this amazing instrument, whether they play it or not.” On Saturday, March 25 at 8:00 pm in Severance Hall, Tony DeSare will join Carl Topilow and the Cleveland Pops Orchestra for I Love a Piano.

A champion of the Great American Songbook, which he believes did not end in 1965, DeSare is comfortable performing in venues ranging from jazz clubs to Carnegie Hall, as well as with major symphony orchestras. [Read more…]

Cleveland POPS: an evening of Gershwin with pianist-raconteur Richard Glazier (April 29)

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by Daniel Hathaway

GLAZIER-RichardTasting menus can give diners a good overview of the capabilities of a restaurant. On Friday, April 29 at Severance Hall, Carl Topilow and the Cleveland POPS Orchestra offered a similar experience, using the music of George Gershwin to give the capacity audience a broad view of that versatile composer’s unique accomplishments — from popular song to Broadway, from jazz to symphonic music — with the delightful assistance in the second half of pianist, raconteur, and social historian Richard Glazier. [Read more…]

Cleveland POPS: pianist Richard Glazier talks about the music of George & Ira Gershwin

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by Mike Telin

Caricature“George Gershwin was able to do things that nobody else could do,” pianist Richard Glazier said during a telephone conversation. “He was able to meld many different styles of music together, and that’s why all of the great composers that followed him adored him.” On Friday, April 29 at 8:00 pm in Severance Hall, Carl Topilow will lead the Cleveland POPS orchestra in An Evening of Gershwin. The program will include Rhapsody in Blue and the final movement from the Concerto in F.

Born in Indianapolis, Glazier began studying piano when he was 6 years old. After earning his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Indiana University, he went on to earn a doctorate from the Cleveland Institute of Music in 1993. [Read more…]

Cleveland POPS with Carl Topilow: The Genius of John Williams (Jan. 30)

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by Daniel Hathaway

POPS-SoloistsCleveland POPS music director Carl Topilow called in extra forces to celebrate the genius of composer John Williams in Severance Hall on Saturday evening, January 30. To his excellent POPS Orchestra, he added the 50-voice Cleveland Orchestra Children’s Chorus, more than 40 members of the Contemporary Youth Orchestra, and three local heroes — Howie Smith, Franklin Cohen, and Steven Greenman — who made cameo appearances during the celebration. [Read more…]

Cleveland Pops: a season overview with conductor Carl Topilow

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by Mike Telin

TOPILOW-red-clarinetSince 1995 conductor, clarinetist, and entertainer Carl Topilow and his Cleveland Pops Orchestra have delighted audiences with performances that inventively blend light classical, swing, jazz, Broadway, Dixieland, and Klezmer music. On Saturday, October 24 at 8:00 pm in Severance Hall, Topilow will kick off the Orchestra’s new season with a program entitled “Big Band and All That Jazz.”

“There’s going to be a lot of great Big Band music, and a lot of joking around,” Topilow said during a telephone conversation. “We’ll be playing Paul Ferguson’s arrangement of Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. It’s a takeoff on Mozart’s not-very-well-documented visit to New Orleans.” Topilow laughed. “It is a musicological discovery — it’s K. 525B.” [Read more…]

Bring in the New Year with Carl Topilow and the Cleveland POPS Orchestra

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By Mike Telin

DeLaney-Mambo-Kings

In the words of Carl Topilow, “Severance Hall is the place to be on New Years Eve.” On Wednesday, December 31 at 9:00 pm, Topilow and the Cleveland POPS Orchestra will welcome 2015 with their 19th annual concert and dance at Severance Hall. In addition to an eclectic mix of musical styles performed by the Cleveland POPS Orchestra, the evening also includes the Latin Jazz sounds of the Mambo Kings.

“It’s hard to believe this is Year 19,” Topilow said during a telephone conversation. “Keeping with tradition, the first half of the concert will feature the orchestra performing some traditional selections that we always do, plus some new arrangements as well. The first half really is a tribute to the old and the new.” [Read more…]

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