We are saddened to learn of the death of Tim Robson, a long-time Bachtrack contributor (2012-21). Tim was an organist in Cleveland, Ohio and his repertoire extended to all musical periods, with a special interest in contemporary music. As a blogger he was a regular contributor to ClevelandClassical.com. In his parallel career as a librarian, Tim was Associate Director for Academic Engagement at the Kelvin Smith Library of Case Western Reserve University. Our condolences to his family.
Conductor Thierry Fischer steps in at short notice to conduct an early work by Messiaen, Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition and Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major – a triumph for all concerned.
Jakub Hrůša conducts the program, which also includes stirring performances of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s rarely heard orchestral Ballade and Dvořák’s Symphony no. 6.
Franz Welser-Möst delivered a first-rate account of the Symphony in F sharp major, which was panned at its premiere but has seen a recent spike in popularity.
After 19 months without live performances, Franz Welser-Möst and The Cleveland Orchestra opened the 2021/22 season with brilliant performances of works by Strauss and Prokofiev, plus a new concerto by Joan Tower, written especially for cellist Alisa Weilerstein.
The rising American conductor led works by Dvořák and Tchaikovsky, along with a fine performance of Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto no. 1 with Behzod Abduraimov and Michael Sachs as soloists.
At age 94, Herbert Blomstedt led a superb all-Beethoven concert with the Cleveland Orchestra at the Blossom Music Center, with Garrick Ohlsson an exemplary soloist in the Fourth Piano Concerto.
Conductor Jane Glover capitalized on The Cleveland Orchestra’s affinity for Mozart in a Sunday evening concert at the Blossom Music Center, with the versatile pianist Conrad Tao.
Robert Spano conducts a fine pairing of Romantic works in his final performance with Atlanta Symphony Orchestra after twenty years as their music director.
Bach’s First Orchestral Suite and Schubert’s Fifth Symphony were perfect vehicles for the Seattle Symphony’s transformation into a vivid Baroque/Classical ensemble under McGegan’s dynamic leadership.
TCO principal flute Joshua Smith stood out in seminal works for solo flute by Debussy and Takemitsu. Organist Paul Jacobs was a capable soloist in Poulenc’s concerto, while Franz Welser-Möst led imaginatively orchestrated segments of Prokofiev’s Visions fugitives.
Kitty Whately’s parents, Kevin Whately and Madelaine Newton, joined the mezzo and pianist Joseph Middleton, reading poetry to illuminate the themes of the song groups.
The Cleveland Orchestra string and percussion sections intensify the multi-hued quirkiness of Shchedrin’s 1967 musical love letter to his ballerina wife.
New works by Michael Abels and Clarice Assad, coupled with Britten’s early Sinfonietta and Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto, with the impeccable Yefim Bronfman, made for an exceptional concert conducted by Robert Spano.
The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by JoAnn Falletta, turn in an elegant performances that included Ellen Taaffe Zwilich’s Prologue and Variations, as well as a Joseph Bologne de Saint-Georges Violin Concerto.
Music Director Louis Langrée leads a program of Schubert, Julia Perry's Homunculus CF and Anthony Davis's You Have the Right to Remain Silent, featuring Anthony McGill as an outstanding clarinet soloist.
The streamed concert showed the Aurora players' prowess as chamber musicians, joined by the excellent Swiss pianist in music by Mozart, Ravel and a specially commissioned new work by Sasha Scott.
Part of Brussels' Ars Musica festival, the concert also included a fun world premiere by Claire-Mélanie Sinnhuber, and the riveting Streaming Arhythmia by Anna Thorvaldsdottir.
