Medici Foundation Archives - Cleveland Classical

Pompa-Baldi & Friscioni to present “Encore,” a Medici Foundation benefit in Akron on October 18

October 14, 2014 by Daniel Hathaway

by Mike Telin

Michael Lynn, Oberlin Conservatory Professor of Recorder and Baroque Flute, founded the Medici Charitable Foundation in 2012 following a liver transplant that restored him to health and allowed him to continue his career as a performing artist and teacher. The organization presents concerts by distinguished musicians to help raise funds for medical charities and research organizations. “Encore,” Medici’s next concert at Akron Civic Theatre on Saturday, October 18 at 7:30 pm, will benefit Lifebanc, a non-profit organization devoted to organ, eye and tissue recovery in Northeast Ohio. The performers will be the husband and wife piano team of Antonio Pompa-Baldi and Emanuela Friscioni. [Read more…]

BlueWater Chamber Orchestra crosses the pond without ever leaving Cleveland (Nov. 23)

By Peter Feher

On Saturday, Nov. 23 at University Circle’s Church of the Covenant, the outstanding BlueWater Chamber Orchestra transported listeners across the Atlantic with a pleasantly English program of Gerald Finzi, Ralph Vaughan Williams, and Franz Joseph Haydn. Artistic director Daniel Meyer described his affinity for this repertoire — and explained how Haydn happens to qualify as an “honorary Englishman” — in several amiable asides throughout the evening.

Yet the focus of this concert was undoubtedly on the exceptional caliber of musician that one can find right here in Cleveland.

Violinist James Thompson — a Northeast Ohio native, graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music, member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, as well as BlueWater’s guest concertmaster this season — was the star of the night. He soared while soloing in Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending, that sentimental favorite that somehow never loses its shine.

[Read on…]

Tuesday Musical: Joyce DiDonato and Kings Return (Dec. 3)

By Peter Feher

Mariah Carey may be pop music’s undisputed “Queen of Christmas.” But among classical singers, the title has yet to be taken, and this year, superstar mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato is vying for the crown.

As far as royalty is concerned, DiDonato has a distinct advantage. This isn’t to imply any sort of better-than-thou diva demeanor, which she’s conspicuously avoided cultivating over the course of a 25-year opera career. Offstage, whether she’s coaching a master class or sharing a bit of herself on social media, DiDonato is known for her openhearted, inviting manner.

[Read on…]

Les Délices visits 14th Century Avant-garde at Pivot Center (Nov. 24)

by Daniel Hathaway

As the historian Barbara Tuchman revealed in her book A Distant Mirror, the 14th century in Europe was both eventful and full of contradictions.

On the traumatic side, the Great Famine and the bubonic plague claimed a great swath of the population, the Hundred Years’ War raged, and the papacy moved from Rome to Avignon in France, marking the beginning of the decline in influence of the Catholic Church.

On the positive side came the flowering of experiments in music, a subject that Debra Nagy and her Les Délices colleagues charmingly explored in their “14th Century Avant-garde” program on Saturday, November 23 at the Pivot Center on Cleveland’s West Side, a converted 1919 building once used for making ships’ sails and awnings. [Read on…]

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