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James Ehnes and Orion Weiss open Cleveland Chamber Music Society season (Sept. 16)

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by Peter Feher

If James Ehnes ever decided to launch a fan club, one of the first chapters would undoubtedly be formed in Northeast Ohio.

The esteemed Canadian violinist has made occasional concerto appearances with The Cleveland Orchestra over the years, but local audiences have come to know him best through chamber performances that offer an unparalleled experience of his artistry.

This feeling of intimate familiarity united Ehnes and an enthusiastic crowd at Disciples Christian Church on Tuesday, Sept. 16, for the opening concert of the Cleveland Chamber Music Society’s 2025–26 season. [Read more…]

The Cleveland Orchestra: Summers at Severance with Petr Popelka & James Ehnes (July 25)

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by Peter Feher

Movie music has been cropping up on more and more Cleveland Orchestra programs in recent seasons — even when it’s not advertised.

This was all to the good at Severance Music Center on Thursday, July 25. The Orchestra sounded very much its polished self in the second concert of this year’s Summers at Severance series, the set of strictly classical offerings that the ensemble has brought back to balance out this summer’s lighter programming at Blossom Music Center.

All the same, summer was in full swing on Euclid Avenue. The front terrace outside Severance was strung with lights and set up with white tents serving refreshments. [Read more…]

James Ehnes courts jet lag to play Korngold Concerto at Severance

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by Mike Telin

When Canadian violinist James Ehnes got a call from his management telling him that The Cleveland Orchestra was interested in inviting him to play a concerto in July, his first reaction was “That’s impossible. I’m in Seattle in July.”

Then he thought again. “The Cleveland Orchestra is, for me, one of the most inspiring orchestras in the world, and any chance to work with them is something I’m going to jump at.”

On Thursday, July 25 at 7 pm, Ehnes will join the Cleveland Orchestra for a Summers at Severance concert led by Petr Popelka.

The violinist will be featured in Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s Concerto, on a program that includes César Franck’s Le Chasseur maudit and Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 6. Tickets are available online.

Korngold, born in 1897, was an Austrian composer and conductor who fled Europe in the mid-1930s and later adopted U.S. nationality. A noted pianist and composer of classical music, he was the first composer of international stature to write Hollywood film scores.

I reached James Ehnes by telephone to ask about his scheduling dilemma and his choice of the Korngold.

[Read more…]

The Cleveland Orchestra revives Summers at Severance series

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by Stephanie Manning

Four years on from pandemic disruptions, some ensembles are still working on returning to 100% of their pre-2020 programming. Case in point from this summer: The Cleveland Orchestra, which is reviving its Summers at Severance series for the first time in five years.

“As we’ve been coming back to ‘normal,’ there is definitely an appetite for more of our classical offerings during the summer,” artistic administrator Michael Gandlmayr said in a recent interview. While the Orchestra’s home at this time of year is unquestionably Blossom Music Center, performing a few times at Severance Music Center gives audiences more options to enjoy their programming. “It’s also a great opportunity for us to see some new and returning faces, both on the podium as well as soloists.”

[Read more…]

CCMS: Ehnes and Armstrong finally get to wrap up their Beethoven cycle

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by Daniel Hathaway

Blissfully unaware of what was to come, on September 10, 2019, I wrote:

The Cleveland Chamber Music Society will take a bit of a different tack for its 70th Anniversary Season in 2019-2020. Violinist James Ehnes and pianist Andrew Armstrong will appear in three of the nine concerts, performing Beethoven’s complete Sonatas for violin and piano, a series that will be presented at the Maltz Performing Arts Center in University Circle on September 17, January 14 (pictured), and April 21.

As we now know, Ehnes and Armstrong had only completed two of their three programs before the novel coronavirus roared into town in March of 2020, causing widespread cancellations and postponements.

The final concert in their Beethoven series will now serve as the finale for CCMS’ 71st season on Tuesday, May 18 at 7:30 pm. The program includes Beethoven’s Sonata No. 8 in G, Op. 30, No. 3, Sonata No. 7 in c, Op. 30, No. 2, and Sonata No. 10 in G, Op. 96.

Tickets for the in-person concert at St. Paschal Baylon in Highland Heights are available online, and the Society is also offering a free live stream of the event. [Read more…]

Ehnes & Armstrong in second of three CCMS concerts (Jan. 14)

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by Daniel Hathaway

When a pianist is performing center stage and seating is open, audiences tend to drift toward the keyboard side of the auditorium to get a good view of the performer’s hands. I like to head toward stage left, the better to catch the expressions on the pianist’s face. That paid off on Tuesday evening, January 14 on the Cleveland Chamber Music Society’s series at the Maltz Performing Arts Center when violinist James Ehnes and pianist Andrew Armstrong continued their progress through Beethoven’s complete sonatas. Per il Clavicembalo o Forte-Piano con un Violino is how the first edition subtitled them, making it clear that if the pianist isn’t the major actor, the two instruments are at least equal partners in this musical enterprise. [Read more…]

CCMS at the Maltz: Ehnes & Armstrong in first of three Beethoven recitals (Sept. 17)

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by Daniel Hathaway

James Ehnes and Andrew Armstrong are celebrating the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth with performances of his ten sonatas for violin and piano. It’s a big undertaking, and performances can come in different configurations: the duo will sometimes play the whole lot over two or three adjacent evenings, or space them out over three widely-spread performances. The Cleveland Chamber Music Society has opted for the latter. The opening concert of the set took place at the Maltz Performing Arts Center on September 17, with others to follow on January 14 and April 21. [Read more…]

Ehnes & Armstrong to play complete
Beethoven violin sonatas
on CCMS Series

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by Daniel Hathaway

The Cleveland Chamber Music Society will take a bit of a different tack for its 70th Anniversary Season in 2019-2020. Violinist James Ehnes and pianist Andrew Armstrong will appear in three of the nine concerts, performing Beethoven’s complete Sonatas for violin and piano, a series that will be presented at the Maltz Performing Arts Center in University Circle on September 17, January 14, and April 21.

Concerts at the Society’s customary venue, Plymouth Church in Shaker Heights, will include the Jerusalem Quartet (October 22), the Dover Quartet (December 3), the Apollon Musagète Quartet (February 4), and Chanticleer (March 3).

Other exceptions to the Plymouth Church location: pianist Till Fellner will play a recital in Mixon Hall at the Cleveland Institute of Music on November 12, and the series will end back at the Maltz Center on May 5 with a performance by violinist David Bowlin and the Albers Trio.

I reached James Ehnes at his home in Florida last week and began by asking how the idea of performing all of Beethoven’s ten violin sonatas originated. [Read more…]

Cleveland Chamber Music Society: The Ehnes Quartet at Plymouth (Nov. 13)

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by Daniel Hathaway

Fans of Canadian violinist James Ehnes recently got to enjoy his artistry twice in one month — first on the Oberlin Artist Recital Series with pianist Andrew Armstrong, then with his string quartet on the Cleveland Chamber Music Society series. And ChamberFest Cleveland admirers of violinist Amy Schwartz Moretti didn’t have to wait until next summer to hear her play again. The two joined violist Richard O’Neill and cellist Edward Arron in ravishing performances of quartets by Beethoven, Elgar, and Bartók on November 13 at Plymouth Church. [Read more…]

Cleveland Chamber Music Society to welcome the Ehnes Quartet

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by Mike Telin

The Cleveland Chamber Music Society will continue its season on Tuesday, November 13 when they welcome the Ehnes Quartet — James Ehnes and Amy Schwartz Moretti, violins, Richard O’Neill, viola, and Edward Arron, cello.

The 7:30 pm concert at Plymouth Church in Shaker Heights will include Haydn’s Quartet in G, Op. 76, No. 1, Elgar’s Quartet in e, and Bartók’s Quartet No. 5. A pre-concert lecture by Richard Rodda will begin at 6:30 pm. Tickets are available online.

During an email exchange, Amy Schwartz Moretti said that as a proud graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music, to be able to bring her colleagues to the place that was so formative in her life means a lot to her. She fondly remembers the “wonderful teaching and influence of the Weilersteins, Cavani Quartet, Peter Salaff, and all the amazing teachers who were there during that time. I love every opportunity to come back to Cleveland! It has been especially meaningful to come back for ChamberFest Cleveland each summer and I’m so thankful to the Cleveland Chamber Music Society for inviting my quartet.”  

[Read more…]

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