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Judith Markovich’s Oh, my son… to receive world premiere at ChamberFest

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by Mike Telin

“When Frank Cohen called and said he had received an email from David Stern, I thought, oh my goodness,” composer Judith Markovich recalled during a Zoom conversation. “Frank told me that David had sent him a poem and it’s devastating. Frank said ‘Go to your email because you have to read it right now.’ And so I went to my computer and we read it — we were nearly in tears.”

On Friday, June 20 at 7:30 pm in Mixon Hall, ChamberFest Cleveland will present the world premiere of Judith Markovich’s Oh, my son… The program also includes Witold Lutosławski’s Variations on a Theme by Paganini, Bright Sheng’s Four Movements for Piano Trio, and Franz Schubert’s Cello Quintet in C major. Markovich will join pianist Eric Charnofsky for a pre-concert conversation beginning at 6:30 pm. Tickets are available online.

[Read more…]

DIARY: Monday, October 16, 2023

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by Jarrett Hoffman

IN THIS EDITION:

•Stephen Rubin, 81

•Announcements: BW named a top school for music business, Oberlin grad Tyreek McDole named a finalist in the Sarah Vaughan competition

•Almanac: Marin Alsop, Joan Tower, and Fanfares for the Uncommon Women

STEPHEN RUBIN, 81:

Stephen Rubin (above), the longtime publishing executive who released bestsellers such as The Da Vinci Code and Fire and Fury, and who co-founded the Rubin Institute for Music Criticism with his late wife Cynthia, passed away on Friday at the age of 81 after “a brief and sudden illness,” according to his nephew, David Rotter.

Read an obituary by Hillel Italie for the Associated Press here, and read a 2018 profile of him by Sridhar Pappu for The New York Times here.

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DIARY: Wednesday, September 6, 2023

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by Jarrett Hoffman

IN THIS EDITION:

•Today: the opening event of the Silent Film Festival, and a lecture recital about “Gaspar Cassadó’s Iberian Legacy”

•Announcements: 20th season from CityMusic, new season of SalonEra from Les Délices, open positions with the Suburban Symphony, and volunteering with the Canton Symphony

•Almanac: Joan Tower and Made in America

HAPPENING TODAY:

The Cleveland Silent Film Festival begins today at 7:30 pm at Masonic Auditorium Performing Arts Center with a screening of a movie celebrating its 100th anniversary: the Harold Lloyd comedy Safety Last! (Pictured: an iconic shot from the film.) The screening will feature organist Clark Wilson, whose accompaniment will “reflect the techniques and materials of the musical performances given in major picture palaces during the heyday of silent film.” Tickets are available online. Read Daniel Hathaway’s interview with Wilson to learn more.

Also at 7:30, at Oberlin Conservatory’s Kulas Recital Hall, violinists Domenic Salerni and Rachelle Hunt, violist Danielle Wiebe Burke, and cellist Katie Tertell will join Hispanic studies scholar H. Rosi Song for a guest lecture recital titled “Lost in Plain Sight: Gaspar Cassadó’s Iberian Legacy.” The program includes two quartets by Cassadó — No. 2 in G and No. 1 in f — as well as the Ravel String Quartet. It’s free.

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DIARY: Tuesday, September 6, 2022

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by Jarrett Hoffman

IN THIS EDITION:

•Today: a teaching workshop from the trio 1N2ATIV3 with hip-hop dancer and choreographer Christian Townsend

•News briefs: Suburban Symphony announces 2022-23 season, Cleveland Chamber Choir to be featured at an important choral conference, Carl Topilow re-ups with Firelands Symphony

•Almanac: Joan Tower turns 84

HAPPENING TODAY:

Although there are no concerts on the schedule today, there is a free teaching workshop to check out, particularly recommended for those in grades 3-7. It’s titled “Get Your Groove On,” and it’s about the rhythms that tie together music, poetry, and dance.

Kimberly Zaleski (flute, vocals), Trevor Kazarian (cello, vocals, beatbox), and Dylan Moffitt (percussion, mixed media) of the Cleveland-based group 1N2ATIV3 will be joined by hip-hop dancer and choreographer Christian Townsend, who freestyles to the beats and improvisations of the ensemble. Get a taste of their collaboration here.

The workshop is presented by CityMusic Cleveland, and is held on Tuesday evenings in September from 6-7 pm at the Woodland Rec Center.

[Read more…]

The Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra returns to Severance Music Center on November 21  

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by Mike Telin

After a long hiatus, the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra is back in full swing. “I’m so excited,” COYO music director Vinay Parameswaran said during a recent telephone conversation. “I couldn’t wait to be back in our beautiful hall with the young musicians — we’ve all been waiting for this for way too long.”

On Sunday, November 21 at 3:00 pm in Mandel Hall at Severance, Parameswaran will lead the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra in a program that features music by Joan Tower, Howard Swanson, Aaron Copland, and Antonín Dvořák. Tickets are available online.

Parameswaran said that during the first rehearsals, he, along with the returning and roughly 40 new members spent a good deal of time getting to know each other and figuring out how to make things work. “It’s amazing how much everyone has progressed over the past couple of months. But I know all of the musicians were chomping at the bit to get back into Severance and make music together.”

The conductor noted that Sunday’s program spans three distinct styles from three American composers, one of whom spent his formative years in Cleveland. [Read more…]

Cleveland Orchestra & Weilerstein welcome live audience back to renamed hall (Oct. 17)

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by Daniel Hathaway

Most live performances this fall have quickly turned into lovefests, so eager have audiences been to re-engage with musicians face to face.

The Cleveland Orchestra’s second performance of the new season on Sunday afternoon, October 17 at the newly renamed Mandel Hall at Severance Music Center was just such an occasion. If the ensemble’s return to public concerts under the baton of Franz Welser-Möst wasn’t enough reason to light a bonfire, the Cleveland debut of a new work written for one of the Orchestra’s most popular soloists, and the swan song of one of its longest-serving members added extra fuel to the celebration. [Read more…]

Cellist Alisa Weilerstein to give Cleveland premiere 
of Joan Tower’s A New Day

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by Mike Telin

There are a few reasons why this week’s program from Franz Welser-Möst and The Cleveland Orchestra is particularly special. One, it marks the first time that the ensemble will return in full force to Severance Music Center since March 2020.

Two, the concerts will mark the final performances of Joela Jones as the Orchestra’s principal keyboard, finishing up a 54-season tenure. Click here to read an interview.

And three, the program will feature Alisa Weilerstein in the Cleveland premiere of Joan Tower’s A New Day for cello and orchestra.

The concerts, titled “New Beginnings,” take place on Thursday, October 14 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, October 17 at 3:00 pm, and will also include Richard Strauss’ Macbeth and Sergei Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5. Click here for ticket information.

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Contemporary Youth Orchestra heads into its twenty-fifth year

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by Mike Telin and Rory O’Donoghue

“There was no question that I was going to form this orchestra. My goal was simply to provide something new,” Contemporary Youth Orchestra founder Liza Grossman said during a recent interview. Grossman recalled that as a high school student at the Interlochen Arts Academy she was told she had two options for a career in music: play in an orchestra or teach in the schools. “I have a high respect for both of those professions, but I knew that I didn’t want to do either of them.”

Once she realized that her calling was to be a youth orchestra conductor, she knew she needed to figure out a way to let students know that there are far more options in music. It’s worked out well for Grossman, who said, “Leading CYO has grown into a life that has been so rewarding, and all of the work is a pleasure. I think it was Mark Twain who said ‘The secret of success is making your vocation your vacation.’” [Read more…]

Contemporary Youth Orchestra says happy 80th birthday to Joan Tower

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by Mike Telin

On September 6 of 2018, Joan Tower celebrated her 80th birthday. On Saturday, March 9 at 7:00 pm, in Cuyahoga Community College’s Metro Auditorium, the Contemporary Youth Orchestra, under the direction of Liza Grossman, will honor that occasion with a concert dedicated to the eminent composer’s music. The program will include the Ohio premieres of Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman No. 6, Stroke, and In Memory (For String Orchestra), as well as Tambor. Tickets are available online.

Among her numerous accolades — Tower has just been named the recipient of the League of American Orchestra’s 2019 Gold Baton Award — she was the first woman to win the Grawemeyer Award for Music in 1990. The New Yorker called her “one of the most successful woman composers of all time,” and she has served as a source of inspiration to Grossman dating back to CYO’s fourth season in 1998. “I was researching women composers and Joan was one of the first to come up,” Grossman said during a telephone conversation.

The conductor said that she quickly became “fascinated” with Tower’s music and history. “The way she was carving a path for women composers and inspiring them to write really was inspirational to me.” Still, it was not until August of 2000 that Grossman decided that the orchestra was ready to play one of Tower’s works. [Read more…]

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