by Mike Telin
Tonight at 7:30 pm at Severance Music Center, Carlos Kalmar will lead the Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra in an eclectic program featuring Ligeti’s Atmosphères, Ginastera’s Variaciones Concertantes, and Brahms’ Symphony No. 4. The free concert is the second of seven the ensemble will perform at the storied venue through a new partnership between CIM and The Cleveland Orchestra.
The occasion also marks the one-year anniversary of Kalmar’s debut as Principal Conductor and Director of Orchestral Studies at CIM. I caught up with the thoughtful, friendly maestro by telephone and began our conversation by congratulating him on his anniversary.
Carlos Kalmar: It’s interesting that you say that, because for me, this is not my one-year anniversary. Last year was a transitional year in which we did a lot of planning and a lot of thinking in terms of the [orchestral studies] program that I constructed with an entire team. So this is now the first year, and when we talk a year from now you can say hey, let’s celebrate a year.