The Cleveland Orchestra Does Lord of the Rings and the Rest of the Classical Music to Catch This Week

Best Concert Venue: Blossom Music Center Northeast Ohio’s largest outdoor music venue, Blossom, brings in the largest country acts every year, holds an annual series with the Cleveland Orchestra and is still the only place you’re likely to see the most popular touring artists every summer. Credit: Scene Archives

This is a week full of competitive activity as both the Paris Olympics and the Cleveland International Piano Competition will be running at full tilt.

– After preliminary rounds earlier this year in Paris and Berea, the Cleveland competition — now in its 50th year — continues with Quarter-Finals in Reinberger Recital Hall at Severance Music Center. This week, the sixteen remaining pianists will each play 35- to 40-minute programs of pieces they have chosen, “including cherished favorites, bold new works, and repertoire from underrepresented composers.”

You can attend the sessions in person, or watch a live stream (tickets and streaming details on the Piano Cleveland website). Read our overview of CIPC here.

Here’s the schedule for the Quarter-Finals and other competition events:

JULY 31 – WEDNESDAY – 2:00 pm – Quarter-Final Round Session 5. Jacob Kuzlik, Mirabelle Kajenjeri, Giuseppe Guarrera, and Zijian Wei.

AUGUST 1 – THURSDAY – 7:00 pm – Semi-Final Round Session 1, performers to be announced.

AUGUST 2 – FRIDAY – 7:00 pm – Semi-Final Round Session 2, performers to be announced. 4:00 pm – CIPC Master classes: CIPC Jurors will coach piano students from around Northeast Ohio in Glick Recital Hall at The Music Settlement. Free

AUGUST 3 – SATURDAY – 10:00 am – Family Fun Day. Join Piano Cleveland’s Musical Mystery Tour and celebrate the Cleveland International Piano Competition’s 50th Birthday with live music, crafts, cookie decorating, and musical mysteries. Disciples Christian Church in Cleveland Heights. Free. 2:00 pm – Semi-Final Round Session 3, performers to be announced.

AUGUST 4 – SUNDAY – 12:00 Noon – Jury Roundtable. WCLV host Bill O’Connell leads the competition jurors in discussing what they listen for during performances and how music competitions impact careers. Severance Music Center. Free. 2:00 pm – Semi-Final Round Session 4, performers to be announced.

AUGUST 5 – MONDAY – 10:00 am – Master Classes. Jurors will coach piano students from around Northeast Ohio in Glick Recital Hall at The Music Settlement. Free.

AUGUST 6 – TUESDAY – 7:00 pm – Salon Round in Glidden House.

Click here for ticket information.

In addition to the piano competition, here are some other happenings of note this week.

– The Cleveland Orchestra continues to go to the movies with live performances of Howard Shore’s score for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King from Friday through Sunday at 7 pm at Blossom. Ludwig Wicki conducts, and the Blossom Festival Chorus and The Cleveland Orchestra Children’s Chorus join the Orchestra under the big screens. Tickets available online.

– Ready for more? On Wednesday at Noon, organist Florence Mustric plays favorites by J.S. Bach at Trinity Lutheran Church in Ohio City, and at 7 pm the Cleveland Museum of Art’s City Stages presents a free concert (registration required) by the Brazilian singer and multi-instrumentalist Bia Ferriera at Transformer Station.

– On Saturday, Cleveland Chamber Collective presents Music of America VI with works by Caroline Shaw, Missy Mazzoli, Jessie Montgomery, Michael Oesterle, Trevor Kazarian, and Eric Charnofsky at Disciples Christian Church (it’s free), and on Sunday at 7:30, the Akron Symphony plays an outdoor concert at Firestone Park.

For details of these and other classical events, visit the ClevelandClassicaal.com Concert Listings.

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