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Tuesday Music Celebrates 130 years (Sept. 16)

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by Mike Telin

Mndoyants1Founded in Akron in 1887 by a group of young women who wanted to share their love of music, what was then known as the Tuesday Musical Club quickly evolved into an organization that presented public recitals and held afternoon study groups for club members. Early on, events were held in private homes as well as in churches and other public spaces. On Saturday, September 16 at E.J. Thomas Hall, Tuesday Musical Association celebrated its 130 years as an anchor arts institution in Northeast Ohio in style. An engaging lineup of performances showcased the venerable organization’s many programs and collaborations. [Read more…]

Tuesday Musical celebrates 130th Anniversary: a conversation with composer James Wilding

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by Mike Telin

JamesWildingDuring the year 1887, detective Sherlock Holmes made his first appearance in a novel, Emile Berliner was granted a patent for his Gramophone, Giuseppe Verdi’s Otello premiered at La Scala, and Dvořák wrote his Second Piano Quintet. The year also included the births of Nadia Boulanger, Arthur Rubinstein, and Heitor Villa-Lobos — and marked the birth of Akron’s Tuesday Musical Association.

On Saturday, September 16 at E.J. Thomas Hall, Tuesday Musical will celebrate 130 years as an anchor arts organization in Northeast Ohio in style with “Prelude Party, Concert and Extraordinary Experiences.” The Party, which begins at 5:30, will be followed by a 7:30 concert that will showcase Tuesday Musical’s programs and collaborations. The concert will include performances by the Escher String Quartet, violinist Grace Brown of the Brahms Allegro Junior Music Club, soprano and 2017 Scholarship Competition winner Olivia Boen, and the 2016 Cleveland International Piano Competition Gold Medalist Nikita Mndoyants. Tickets may be purchased for the entire evening or for the concert only. Click here for more information. [Read more…]

Tuesday Musical: a chat with Escher Quartet cellist Brook Speltz

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by Mike Telin

Escher-Quartet“The string quartet repertoire is perhaps richer than any other musical form,” cellist Brook Speltz said during a recent telephone conversation. “There is a purity to the soprano, alto, tenor, and bass combination of instruments that is equal to a choir, and that has inspired many composers.”

On Wednesday, April 26 at 7:30 pm in Akron’s E.J. Thomas Hall, Speltz will join his Escher String Quartet colleagues — violinists Adam Barnett-Hart and Aaron Boyd and violist Pierre Lapointe — in a performance featuring works by Claude Debussy, Dmitri Shostakovich, and Felix Mendelssohn. The concert, presented by Tuesday Musical, marks the culmination of the Escher’s first year as TMA’s Quartet-in-Residence, a performance and education initiative.

Speltz said that Mendelssohn’s Quartet No. 6 in f makes a great opener. “His last fully completed string quartet is known for its drama — that carefree Mendelssohn that exists in almost all of his music is nowhere to be found. He wrote it after the death of his sister, who was his best friend and sort of life companion, and it’s relentless in its combination of anxiety and passion that at times almost feels like anger.”

[Read more…]

Cleveland International Piano Competition Finals: Colafelice & Klinton with the Escher Quartet (August 3)

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by Daniel Hathaway

Colafelice1How do you tell a great chamber music performance from an ordinary one? That’s what the jury and audience are asking themselves this week as the Cleveland International Piano Competition puts its four finalists through a chamber music round with the Escher String Quartet. [Read more…]

Cleveland International Piano Competition Finals: Tchaidze & Mndoyants with the Escher Quartet (August 2)

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by Daniel Hathaway

Tchaidze1In a new twist this time around, the Cleveland International Piano Competition is requiring each of its finalists to play a chamber music round with the Escher String Quartet. Aside from the welcome change in musical timbre after many hours of solo piano music, this new round is designed to show how well pianists play with others — a direct look at their musicianship in collaboration with a world-class ensemble before moving on to play concertos with The Cleveland Orchestra. [Read more…]

Homes and music combine for Tuesday Musical’s new Arts-in-Residence Series

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by Mike Telin

Escher-SQ-New-2Is there a better way to spend a summer evening than enjoying refreshments while listening to a world-class string quartet in the elaborate ballroom of a historic Georgian Revival house?

On Thursday, August 4 at 7:30 pm, Tuesday Musical invites you to a  “Summer Soirée” featuring the Escher String Quartet at the Byron R. Barder House on West Market Street in Akron. Hosted by Braun & Steidl Architects, the event marks the inauguration of the Escher String Quartet as Tuesday Musical’s first Quartet-in-Residence.

The multi-year residency will include performances by the Escher on Tuesday Musical’s mainstage concert seasons, as well as programs at The University of Akron School of Music, Baldwin Wallace Conservatory, and others educational and community venues. [Read more…]

Cleveland International Piano Competition to welcome 35 contestants in August 2016

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by Daniel Hathaway

CIPC-Medalists-081013It’s the time of year when lots of young people have been eagerly watching their mailboxes — or inboxes — to see whether they’ve been admitted to the college of their choice.

This year, the same has been true for the nearly 330 pianists, ages 18-30, who applied to compete in the 2016 Cleveland International Piano Competition, to be held from July 24 through August 7. Of those hopefuls, 35 recently received the “fat” letter inviting them to Cleveland — an acceptance rate of 10.6%, which is roughly equivalent to that of last year’s admissions to Dartmouth, Duke, or Vanderbilt.

The successful candidates emerged a few weeks ago after a marathon, three-day session of video viewing by a selection jury made up of Kathryn Brown and Paul Schenly (Cleveland Institute of Music), Lei Weng (University of Colorado), Caroline Oltmanns (Youngstown State University), and CIPC president and CEO Pierre van der Westhuizen. The 35 who were invited have now formally accepted. [Read more…]

Tuesday Musical: Escher String Quartet at Akron’s E.J. Thomas Hall (September 30)

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by J.D. Goddard

Escher-SQOn Wednesday evening, September 30, Tuesday Musical kicked off its 2015-2016 concert series with the Escher String Quartet (violinists Adam Barnett-Hart and Aaron Boyd, violist Pierre Lapointe and cellist Brook Speltz). The New York-based ensemble delivered warm, passionate performances of music by Franz Schubert, Felix Mendelssohn, and Alexander Zemlinsky in the E.J. Thomas Performing Arts Hall on the campus of The University of Akron. [Read more…]

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