by David Kulma
A golden age in American popular music began about a century ago. Lasting four decades and pervading musical theater, sound recordings, film, radio, and jazz stylings, it left a body of music that has never gone out of circulation and is regularly trumpeted as one of America’s best collective creations. We now call it “The Great American Songbook.”
by Samantha Spaccasi
What could be better than an evening of sitting on the lawn of Blossom Music Center — summer home of The Cleveland Orchestra, wine in hand, enjoying a picnic dinner while waiting to hear the ensemble play with pianist Aaron Diehl? Not much. On July 2, Diehl and the Orchestra, conducted by Jahja Ling, performed an array of favorites. [Read more…]
by Mike Telin
On the off-chance that somebody didn’t “love” the piano before attending the Cleveland Pops concert on March 25 at Severance Hall, pianist, singer-songwriter, and arranger Tony DeSare provided more than enough reasons to have a change of heart during his new show, aptly titled I Love a Piano. [Read more…]
by Daniel Hathaway
Cleveland 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…]
by Daniel Hathaway
The music of the prolific film composer John Williams was a staple of Carl Topilow’s programming long before he launched the Cleveland POPS Orchestra. “We were doing Star Wars medleys in the late ‘70s with the Denver Symphony — now the Colorado Symphony,” the conductor said in a telephone conversation from Pittsburgh, where he was guest-conducting the Carnegie-Mellon Symphony.
“Among everything else, the fact that he can write music as diverse as Schindler’s List and Home Alone — and everything in between — is just incredible. Whether it’s adventure or comedy, or JFK, or Born on the Fourth of July, there’s just a gamut of emotions. Probably the only non-movie piece I’ve ever conducted of his was his Tuba Concerto.” [Read more…]
by Mike Telin
ChamberFest Cleveland added a new spin to the phrase “Something Borrowed, Something Blue” on Saturday, June 27 in Mixon Hall. Although no wedding took place, the program featured music that perfectly marries the classical ethos with jazz and folk idioms. As violinist Jinjoo Cho and pianist Roman Rabinovich prepared to open the concert with Ravel’s Sonata for Violin and Piano, suddenly from offstage, the sounds of the opening clarinet line from Rhapsody in Blue filled the hall. [Read more…]
by Jane Berkner
Jazz concerts can often be formulaic. We expect to hear selections from the Great American Songbook, most often played or sung in a predictable form. But the jazz concert on Friday, January 30 at the Bop Stop featured Amanda Powell, and she’s anything but predictable.
By Daniel Hathaway
The Cleveland Chamber Symphony wrapped up its six-concert NEOSonicFest on Sunday evening in Gamble Auditorium at Baldwin Wallace Conservatory with the second part of its tribute to founder Edwin London. Continuing London’s tradition of orchestral readings of scores by “Young and Emerging Composers”, music director Stephen Smith and the ensemble brought the works of four composers to life in performances bracketed with scores by what might be called the Already Emerged: long-time CSU professor and CCS collaborator Howie Smith and 20th century insurance executive and musical iconoclast Charles Ives.
Each of the four composers — chosen after an earlier reading session — was invited to come to the stage and say a few words about their very different pieces. [Read more…]
by Mike Telin
Though described as “an electrifying and versatile soloist” by the New York Times, it’s difficult to categorize virtuoso saxophonist and composer Howie Smith. As a performer, he has worked with musicians, organizations and composers as diverse as Lester Bowie, John Cage, The Cleveland Orchestra, Mark Dresser, Iron Toys, Mike Nock, Elvis Presley, Clark Terry, and the Tone Road Ramblers. As a composer, his catalogue includes works for big bands and combos, for string, wind and percussion ensembles, for electronics, and for mixed media.
On Wednesday, April 2nd beginning at 8:00 pm in Cleveland State University’s Drinko Hall, NEOSonicFest presents Howie Smith in a performance consisting of a single work, Smith’s own The Speed of Time for saxophone and nine-channel surround audio.