Steve Osgood Archives - Cleveland Classical

Chautauqua Opera: a conversation with director Steve Osgood

July 4, 2017 by Mike Telin

by Mike Telin

Now that summer is officially upon us, it’s time to take profit of the many cultural activities that Northeast Ohio offers. But if you’re searching for something just outside the region, why not follow the lead of many area residents and head toward Jamestown, New York to the Chautauqua Institution? A two-and-a-half-hour drive from Cleveland, Chautauqua is the perfect summer getaway.

Located on 750 acres on Chautauqua Lake, the Institution was founded in 1874 by inventor Lewis Miller and Methodist Bishop John Heyl Vincent as a teaching camp for Sunday school teachers. Today it offers a variety of public programs that explore the important religious, social and political issues of our times. The Institution also offers recreational and cultural activities including popular entertainment, theater, symphony, ballet, and visual arts exhibitions. [Read more…]

No Exit and Zeitgeist: An Evocation of Our Current Time (Jan. 9)

by Mike Telin

On Saturday, January 9 at SPACES, Cleveland-based No Exit and St. Paul-based Zeitgeist continued their long-standing collaboration with An Evocation of Our Current Time.

Unlike most performances where the audience is aware of what they will be experiencing, this one gave you very little information in advance other than it was to be “a 55-minute multimedia experience that draws on improvisation, film, artificial intelligence, environmental manipulation, lies, magic, gaslighting and other forms of chicanery.”

Unlike most No Exit concerts there were no elaborate programs to follow. And instead of presenting a number of works by a variety of composers, An Evocation of Our Current Time was a single work by No Exit artistic director Timothy Beyer with technical assistance by James Praznik. As the capacity audience took their seats in the long gallery they were face to face with a dozen musicians, a projector, and a white wall.
[Read on…]

Trio Seoul: warmth and thoughtfulness at the Cleveland Museum of Art (Jan. 14)

by Stephanie Manning

Despite the frigid Wednesday weather dumping snow outside the Cleveland Museum of Art, January 14 almost felt like a pleasant spring day inside Gartner Auditorium. That phenomenon had nothing to do with temperature and everything to do with Trio Seoul, whose warm camaraderie and excellent musicianship brightened the venue considerably.

Pianist Kyu Yeon Kim, cellist Brannon Cho, and violinist Jinjoo Cho — whose ENCORE Chamber Music Institute co-presented the event — started things off with their sunniest piece, Joseph Haydn’s Piano Trio No. 39 in G. The musicians kept the affect light and flowing, centered on the tasteful piano lines from Kim.

[Read on…]

Verdi’s Requiem, Welser-Möst, Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus find sacred balance, stamina (Jan. 15)

by Kevin McLaughlin

Photo by Yehven Gulenko

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Verdi’s Requiem surprised in its beauty on Thursday evening Jan. 15 at Severance Music Center in a performance by Franz Welser-Möst and The Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus.

Welser-Möst understands that the Requiem lives on a fault line between opera house and church, but, as he explains in the program, a performance ought never lose sight of Verdi’s reverence for the mass text. On Thursday the balance felt wisely judged. The “Dies irae” was terrifying precisely because it was controlled. The choir’s entrance struck with sudden force.

[Read on…]

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