Ian Bostridge Archives - Cleveland Classical

Cleveland Chamber Music Society: Ian Bostridge in “Songs of the Great War” (April 21)

April 27, 2015 by Daniel Hathaway

by Daniel Hathaway

Can anyone really say they enjoyed Ian Bostridge’s Songs of the Great War program at Plymouth Church on Tuesday evening? The subject matter was unsettling, and Bostridge, who is as much an actor as a singer, went to extraordinary lengths to put the power of the poetry and music across, assisted by pianist Wenwen Du. Profoundly moved would far better describe the experience of hearing this performance of war-related verse set by Gustav Mahler, Rudi Stephan, George Butterworth, Kurt Weill and Benjamin Britten. [Read more…]

Cleveland Chamber Music Society: Ian Bostridge to sing “Music of the Great War”

April 20, 2015 by Daniel Hathaway

by Daniel Hathaway

The celebrated British tenor Ian Bostridge will bring the Cleveland Chamber Music Society’s 65th subscription series to a conclusion on Tuesday, April 21 at 7:30 pm at Plymouth Church in Shaker Heights, when he joins pianist Wenwen Du in a program entitled “Music of the Great War.”

Despite its title, Bostridge’s musical agenda moves well beyond a commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the beginning of World War I. That conflict was called “the war to end all wars,” but we know now that it was nothing of the sort. While Tuesday evening’s program includes songs by two composers who perished early in The Great War — Rudi Stephan of Germany (who died on the Ukrainian Front in 1915) and George Butterworth of England (who was killed in the Battle of the Somme in 1916) — Bostridge will also visit poetry set to music by Gustav Mahler, Kurt Weill and Benjamin Britten that deals with war and its ravages in several generations. [Read more…]

Fireworks in the key of D Major: Cooper Violin Competition Finals (Jan. 10)

by Stephanie Manning

With light snow and a winter wind blowing outside Oberlin’s Finney Chapel, the Final Round of the 2025 Cooper Competition — the January edition of the usual August event — looked a bit different this year. And yet, there was also a healthy sense of déjà vu.

The final three violinists, narrowed down from an initial field of nineteen, presented concertos by Brahms (once) and Tchaikovsky (twice) — coincidentally, the same program from 2022, the last time the competition was held for violin.

Joined by the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra and conductor Norman Huynh, this year’s finalists delivered an impressive evening of performances on January 10. [Read on…]

Cooper International Violin Competition Semi-Finals in Oberlin’s Warner Concert Hall (Jan. 8)

After two days of impressive performances by the nineteen participants in the Cooper International Violin Competition, the Jury selected six to advance to Round Two. Yesterday at Oberlin Conservatory’s Warner Concert Hall, the six contestants — each vying for a spot among the final three — presented 45-minute programs with piano. Here are our impressions. [Read on…]

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