by Stephanie Manning

HAPPENING TODAY:

Two free seasonal offerings await this evening, both at 7:30.

At Judson Manor, the Cleveland Women’s Orchestra (pictured) presents their holiday concert, and at Painesville United Methodist Church, Matthew Saunders directs the Lakeland Civic Orchestra in a program of light classics and holiday favorites.

For more details and to check out what else is coming up this week, visit our Concert Listings.

ON THE RADIO:

Over the weekend, NPR’s Elissa Nadworny spoke to Rhiannon Giddens and Limmie Pulliam about performing Omar with Oberlin Conservatory. Listen to that interview here, which includes snippets from the opera.

TODAY’S ALMANAC:

by Daniel Hathaway

German soprano Elisabeth Schwarzkopf was born on this date in 1915 and passed away in her sleep at age 90 in 2006. [Read more…]

by Daniel Hathaway

HAPPENING THIS WEEKEND:

A mere 19 events are scheduled for this early December weekend.

Saturday’s list includes the Baldwin Wallace Holiday Concert (2 pm in Gamble Auditorium), Stars in the Classics’ Holiday Program  (4pm, Church of the Western Reserve), a Baldwin Wallace Aria Concert (7 pm in Gamble Auditorium), the Stow Symphony (7 pm, Tallmadge Bible Church), Apollo’s Fire’s Wassail! (7:30, Chagrin Falls PAC), Oberlin Artist Recital Series presents Kora player Seckou Keita (pictured, 7:30 in  Finney Chapel), and The Cleveland Orchestra hosts conductor Pablo Heras-Casado and pianist Emanuel Ax (8 pm at Severance Music Center).

Sunday’s lineup includes the Baldwin Wallace Men’s Chorus Holiday Concert (2 pm & 5 pm in Gamble Auditorium), Parma Symphony (3 pm at Valley Forge High School), Apollo’s Fire’s Wassail! (3 pm, Avon PAC), Canton Symphony (3 pm, Zimmermann Center), Master Singers Chorale (3 pm, First Methodist, Cuyahoga Falls), Western Reserve Chorale (3:30 pm, Church of the Saviour, Cleveland Hts.), Festival of Lessons and Carols (4 pm at Holy Trinity Lutheran, Akron), Firelands Symphony (4 pm at Sawmill Creek, Huron), Lakeland Civic Chorus (4 pm, Lakeland CC, Kirtland), Oberlin Collegium (4:30 pm in Fairchild Chapel), and Oberlin presents Rhiannon Giddens’ Omar (7 pm at the Maltz PAC, Cleveland).

For details of these and other upcoming events, visit our Concert Listings.

WEEKEND ALMANAC:

December 7:

On this date in 1842, the precursor of the New York Philharmonic played its first concert in the Apollo Rooms at 410 Broadway. [Read more…]

by Daniel Hathaway

HAPPENING TODAY:

Alla Boara (pictured) presents its first Christmas program featuring Italian folk songs collected in 1954 by Alan Lomax (7 pm at Trinity Cathedral), the Baldwin Wallace Symphony Orchestra plays Brahms’ first symphony (7 pm in Gamble Auditorium), Cleveland Jazz Orchestra presents A Kate Reid Christmas (7:30 at the Maltz), The Cleveland Orchestra hosts Emanuel Ax in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20 (7:30 at Severance Music Center), and Oberlin presents a concert performance of Rhiannon Giddens’opera Omar (7:30 in Finney Chapel — but it’s now sold out and available only as a live stream).

For details of these and other upcoming events, visit our Concert Listings.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Akron’s Tuesday Musical has announced that its 2025 Annual Scholarship Competition will be held on Saturday, March 23 (organists will compete on Saturday, March 15). Applications will be accepted beginning on January 1. Click here for more information.

The Cleveland Orchestra announces the continuation of its Arts Administration BIPOC Internship Program, “aimed at increasing diversity within the field and providing valuable opportunities for young professionals of color.” Read the press release here. [Read more…]

by Daniel Hathaway

HAPPENING TODAY:

Tonight at 7, the Baldwin Wallace Treble Choir sings a Christmas program in Gamble Auditorium.

At 7:30, guest conductor Pablo Heras-Casado (pictured) leads The Cleveland Orchestra with pianist Emanuel Ax in Mozart’s Concerto No. 20 and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10 in Mandel Hall at Severance Music Center.

And at the same hour, Timothy Weiss conducts the Oberlin Sinfonietta and cellist Miles Reed, in a program that includes Arnold Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht, Sebastian Fagerlund’s Octet Autumn Equinox, and a new work by student composer Katya Mueller in Warner Concert Hall.

For details of these and other upcoming events, visit our Concert Listings.

TODAY’S ALMANAC:

On December 5, 1791, Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, who preferred to be called Wolfgang Amadé, died in Vienna after being bedridden for a fortnight with what was officially described as “severe miliary fever,” characterized by a rash that resembles millet seeds. [Read more…]

by Stephanie Manning

HAPPENING TODAY:

Plenty of concert options await at this week’s middle mark.

Tonight at 7:30 pm, pianist Kirill Gerstein (pictured) presents a recital with works by Francisco Coll, Robert Schumann, Ravel, and Liszt at Severance Music Center.

In terms of holiday concerts, Apollo’s Fire continues performances of “WASSAIL! An Irish-Appalachian Christmas” in Bath at 7:00 pm; the Cleveland Museum of Art hosts M.U.S.i.C. Stars in the Classics and dancers from the Cleveland Ballet at 6:00; and the Dana School of Music presents Carols & Cocoa and the Dana Holiday Concert at 7:00.

Rounding out today’s events are the Shaker Heights High School Chamber Orchestra at Trinity Cathedral’s Brownbag Concert (12:00 pm); the voice performance majors of BW Liederabend (7:00 pm); and an evening of duos with violinist Stephen Tavani and violist William Bender for a Cleveland State University Faculty Recital (7:00 pm).

For more details on these events and more, visit our Concert Listings.

TODAY’S ALMANAC:

by Daniel Hathaway

On this date in 1976, England and the classical music world lost one of its greatest composers when Benjamin Britten died in Aldeburgh, Sussex, at the home he shared with his partner, tenor Peter Pears, and in the village where he and Pears had established the Aldeburgh Music Festival in 1948. [Read more…]

by Daniel Hathaway

HAPPENING TODAY:

Since its inception at New York’s 92nd Street Y in 2012, Giving Tuesday has marked the fifth day after Thanksgiving as an occasion for supporting non-profit organizations in the middle of the holiday shopping season.

ClevelandClassical.com, Northeast Ohio’s premier online classical music journal, supports the activities of some 90 organizations through calendar listings, previews, reviews, and our daily Diary, in a user-friendly format —  a one-stop source for information about the vibrant classical music scene in our region.

We’d like to suggest today as a time for our readers who have not already done so to subscribe to our weekly newsletter at the nominal cost of $1 per week or $52 per year. It’s free, but your donation makes it possible to offer this service. Thank you!

TODAY’S EVENTS:

At 12 Noon, organist Jonathan W. Moyer plays Advent music at the Church of the Covenant, Apollo’s Fire revives its production of WASSAIL! An Irish-Appalachian Christmas in Willoughby Hills, and Tuesday Musical presents mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato with Kings Return at Akron’s E.J. Thomas Hall.

For details of these and other upcoming events, visit our Concert Listings. [Read more…]

by Stephanie Manning

LOOKING AHEAD:

December has arrived, and so have the concerts.

This week, Apollo’s Fire begins their “Wassail!” holiday concerts, while the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra presents “Have Yourself a Kate Reid Christmas.” Joyce DiDonato and Kings Return visit Tuesday Musical, while two pianists visit Severance Music Center: Kirill Gerstein, for a recital, and Emanuel Ax, for a concerto with The Cleveland Orchestra.

Plus, Oberlin Conservatory hosts a packed schedule of performances and events, all leading up to their presentation of the opera Omar this Friday and Sunday.

For more details on these events and more, visit our Concert Listings.

RECENT RECORDING:

Missed the Cuarteto Casals when they visited the Cleveland Chamber Music Society last month? Or want to hear their music-making again?

The string quartet’s latest album, Shostakovich: Complete String Quartets, Vol. 1, has garnered praise from The New York Times. “These players let this music breathe a bit, and the results are bracing,” writes David Weininger. “The Casals should be commended for leaving a different aesthetic and emotional imprint.” Read the article here. [Read more…]

by Daniel Hathaway

HAPPENING THIS WEEKEND:

Two orchestras are hard at work this weekend.

On Friday at 7:30, Saturday at 8, and Sunday at 3 at Severance Music Center, guest conductor David Robertson will lead The Cleveland Orchestra in a program of Americana for Thanksgiving weekend  featuring Pianist Marc-André Hamelin (pictured). Read our interview with Robertson here.

And on Sunday at 2 and 7 in Connor Palace Theatre in Playhouse Square, Carl Topilow will preside over A Jolly Holiday with Cleveland POPS Orchestra & Chorus featuring dancing Santas and adoptable puppies and kittens.

For details of these and other upcoming events, visit our Concert Listings.

NEWS BRIEFS:

Ideastream Public Media reports that “The Cleveland Orchestra’s second century has so far been financially sound. The 2023-24 annual report released Monday showed a sixth consecutive year of balanced books. [Read more…]