by Daniel Hathaway
Full-length symphony orchestra concerts normally feature three works and run nearly two hours including intermission. The pandemic, which has changed so many things, has truncated programs, both to shorten possible exposure time and to avoid the social mixing of a mid-concert interval.
Thus the third “In Focus” performance by The Cleveland Orchestra that debuted on the Adella platform on November 12 lasts only 54 minutes from stem to stern, including a conversation between Emanuel Ax and Orchestra cellist Martha Baldwin, and features only two highly contrasting works led by music director Franz Welser-Möst. The performances continue to be available on the Adella platform until March.
It was another fascinating afternoon of recent music by members of the Cleveland Composers Guild at CSU’s Drinko Recital Hall on Sunday, October 13. Opening the Guild’s 60th anniversary season, the concert featured chamber music by eight local composers in the usual explorative potluck format.
The crowd was out in force at Blossom Music Center on Saturday evening, August 3, likely due to more moderate temperatures than in recent weeks, lower humidity, and a cloudless sky. The Cleveland Orchestra’s attractive program was added incentive, with Andrey Boreyko as guest conductor, and Swiss-Italian pianist Francesco Piemontesi as soloist in Beethoven’s 
When Thierry Fischer stepped onto Blossom Music Center’s stage on July 21, he began conducting so quickly, it was almost like the music started before he got to the podium. The concerts that weekend marked the Cleveland Orchestra debut of the Swiss conductor, who was announced only days before as a last-minute substitute for an unwell Pablo Heras-Casado. He led the Orchestra adeptly through a program of popular pieces. 
British baritone Simon Keenlyside made the most of his recent visit to Severance Hall, offering an impassioned odyssey through Schubert’s 
On Friday, November 23, the audience in a packed Severance Hall heard violinist Peter Otto in beautiful performances of Vivaldi’s 
Whether it’s the sounds of birds, whales, or summer storms, for centuries humans have turned to the natural world for musical inspiration. While there is a seemingly endless list of nature-inspired works, one that stands out as a perennial favorite is Antonio Vivaldi’s set of violin concertos —