The St. Olaf Choir Visits Cleveland and the Rest of the Classical Music to Catch This Week

Credit: Photo by Roger Mastroianni, Courtesy of The Cleveland Orchestra

This week’s classical music recommendations include a wide variety of musical styles. A good opportunity to venture out of comfort zones and try something different.

– On Wednesday at 6 pm, Piano Cleveland Live takes over the Forest City Brewery for a sneak peek at a new Azica Records album by pianist Arseniy Gusev and violinist Shannon Lee. Witraż — which means stained glass in Polish — is inspired “by the psychological and aesthetic tensions of Eastern Europe during the interwar period,” and by “the shattering of the windows of England’s Winchester Cathedral by soldiers during the English Civil War. At the time, the glass shards were later rearranged by the people into mosaics to preserve them.” The recording features music by Karol Szymanowski, Bartók, Bohuslav Martinů, Grażyna Bacewicz and Igor Stravinsky. Admission is free.

– On Thursday at 7:30, Apollo’s Fire’s latest itinerary begins at First Methodist in Akron, then moves on to Rocky River Presbyterian (Feb. 7) and St. Paul’s Episcopal in Cleveland Hts. (Feb. 8 at 7:30 & Feb. 9 at 4). The topic is virtuosic Baroque works by Georg Philipp Telemann and Antonio Vivaldi, and the virtuosi include Daphna Mor, recorder, and Alan Choo, Emi Tanabe & Chloe Fedor, violins. Tickets are available online.

– On Friday at 7:30, The Cleveland Orchestra is back home at Severance Music Center to begin a three-concert set led by Thomas Guggeis and featuring principal cello Mark Kosower in Henri Dutilleux’s Tout un monde lointain… The accompanying works are Richard Strauss’ Also sprach Zarathustra (featured in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001) and Maurice Ravel’s La Valse. They’ll play the program again on Saturday at 8, and Sunday at 3. Tickets are available online..

– At 8 pm on Friday, in a concert presented by Cleveland Uncommon Sound Project, sound artist Ipek Eginli gets together with harpist Stephan Haluska & cellist Liam Battle at Calicchia Gallery Studio in Cleveland. Recommended donation $15

– On Saturday at 7:30, Tri-C Performing Arts presents the young blind organ virtuoso Matthew Whitaker, who will conjure amazing music from his Hammond B-3 in the Simon and Rose Mandel Theatre on Tri-C’s Eastern Campus in Highland Heights. Tickets available online.

– Later on Saturday, Christopher Wilkins will lead the Akron Symphony and the Gospel Meets Symphony Choir in the 31st edition of the annual concert that brings together gospel and classical traditions in E.J. Thomas Hall. Tickets here.

– On Sunday at 5, pianist Spencer Myer will be hosted by Music From the Western Reserve in a recital at Christ Church in Hudson. Tickets available online.

– Frequent midwinter visitors from Minnesota, Anton Armstrong and the venerable Scandinavian-influenced St. Olaf Choir and Chamber Orchestra will call in at Severance Music Center for a concert on Monday at 7:30. Tickets available online.

– As an alternative to sitting in homebound traffic, on Tuesday at 5:30, Fairmount Presbyterian in Cleveland Hts. will offer a Rush Hour Concert featuring saxophonist Tyler Young and pianist William Hueholt in a program that includes a world premiere by Jacob Nance. A freewill offering will be received.

– And to close out this week’s picks, on Tuesday at 7:30, Cleveland Chamber Music Society proposes a virtual tour of Spain with music by Fernando Obradors, Issac Albéniz, Enrique Fernández Arbós, Manuel de Falla, Pablo de Sarasate, Joaquín Rodrigo, and Joaquín Turina performed by The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in collaboration with the Cleveland Classical Guitar Society. Tickets for the concert at Disciples Church are available online.

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

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