by Jarrett Hoffman
IN THIS EDITION:
•Today: Mourning [A] BLKstar, an Oberlin Faculty Recital, Cleveland Orchestra & Youngstown Symphony
•News: Tri-C JazzFest announces 2023 lineup
•Interesting read: a profile of former Cleveland Orchestra associate conductor Vinay Parameswaran
•Almanac: John Corigliano and his Symphony No. 1, memorializing friends lost to AIDS
HAPPENING TODAY:
You have four options tonight for your listening pleasure.
At 7:00 pm at Beachland Ballroom, Local 4 Music Fund presents Cleveland’s own Mourning [A] BLKstar, “a multi-generational, gender and genre non-conforming amalgam of Black Culture dedicated to servicing the stories and songs of the apocalyptic diaspora.” The group consists of James Longs, LaToya Kent, and Kyle Kidd (vocals), Dante Foley (drums), Theresa May (trumpet), Pete Saudek (guitar/keys), William Washington (trombone), and RA Washington (samplers/bass). The concert is free.
The next three are all at 7:30. A free Oberlin Faculty Recital at Kulas Recital Hall will feature David Bowlin (violin), Kirsten Docter (viola), Dmitry Kouzov (cello), and Tony Cho (piano) in works by Albert Roussel, including his string trio and both violin sonatas. The concert will also be live streamed here.
Moving over to Severance Music Center, Herbert Blomstedt leads The Cleveland Orchestra in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 and Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 18, which will feature Emanuel Ax as soloist. Performances continue Friday and Saturday. Tickets are available here.
And at Powers Auditorium, André Raphel will lead the Youngstown Symphony in a program titled “Blockbuster Broadway,” which includes songs from Wicked, The Phantom of the Opera, Annie, Jersey Boys, The Sound of Music, Chicago, Cats, The Lion King, and A Chorus Line. Joining the orchestra will be a cast of acclaimed vocalists from New York. Get tickets here.
The evening of July 14 surely felt like a momentous one for the Kent Blossom Music Festival. Just shy of two years since the Festival’s last live, in-person performance, Kulas Visiting Artists Paul Huang and Helen Huang took the stage at Ludwig Recital Hall to open Kent Blossom’s 53rd season. Performing for both an in-person and virtual audience (I heard the live stream), the violinist and pianist dazzled in sonatas by Mendelssohn, Corigliano, Ysaÿe, and Franck.
Almost a decade after violinist Paul Huang and pianist Helen Huang first performed together, their collaborative spirit is still going strong. The two acclaimed artists are eager to perform as a duo again this year, starting with their upcoming appearance as Kulas Visiting Artists on the Kent Blossom Music Festival’s Faculty Concert Series.
