by Nicholas Stevens
Music From The Western Reserve concerts always fall on Sunday, even as streams. December 13 was therefore as close to Beethoven’s likely birthdate on the 16th as the presenters could come to throwing a virtual party. Debuting their stream before that occasion made little difference in the concert’s power: over a week later, pianist Daniel Shapiro’s stunning interpretations remained lodged in this reviewer’s mind. As social media lit up with tributes and music-lovers around the world raised a glass, Shapiro’s MFTWR video remains on YouTube, where those interested can still listen and learn what it means to truly engage with Beethoven.
You don’t need a deerstalker hat and a pipe to make some interesting observations about Sunday’s program from Music From The Western Reserve, which airs 
Any classical musician can play familiar favorites or venture into best-kept secrets, but some instrumentalists are predisposed to a healthy mix. Classical guitarists, with their ability to transcribe almost anything, often highlight famous names while also drawing from a canon dominated by 20th-century Spanish and Latin American composers. They also play new music. Last weekend, Colin Davin converted the sunset light of an autumnal early evening into music with a well-curated program that included all of the above.
This weekend gives concertgoers the chance to hear one guitarist from France who will be making his Cleveland debut, and another from Bay Village who in the past several years, as he told me over the phone, has been re-solidifying his identity as a Clevelander.
For 36 seasons, 
Antonio Pompa-Baldi’s piano recital on Sunday afternoon, February 11 on the Music From the Western Reserve series at Christ Episcopal Church in Hudson checked all the boxes on the Perfect Sunday Afternoon Concert scorecard. It lasted just over an hour, visited some unusual repertoire in varying styles, let the music speak for itself without extraneous commentary from the stage, and was brilliantly performed, to boot.