by Daniel Hathaway

When Robert Cronquist conducts the Cleveland Women’s Orchestra in its 82nd anniversary concert in Severance Hall on Sunday, April 9 at 3:30 pm, the performance will feature Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 with the Louisville-based pianist “Nada” as soloist.

Born in Beirut, Lebanon, Nada Loufti fled into the mountains to escape civil war and terrorism, which claimed her mother’s life in a mortar explosion. Her seven years in exile nevertheless prepared her to enter the Paris Conservatory, where she was the first woman of Middle Eastern descent to win a first prize.

“I loved it. The Conservatory was still in its old building on the Rue de Madrid — such a historic place,” the pianist said in a telephone conversation. [Read more…]