Apollo’s Fire will shine a spotlight on four of its violinists this week when they perform nine of Heinrich Biber’s fourteen Rosary Sonatas — virtuosic devotional pieces that depict the Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful, and Glorious Mysteries of the life of Jesus from the Annunciation through the Crucifixion and Resurrection. What makes these 17th-century sonatas special is that Biber requires that the violin be re-tuned for all but the first sonata in a variety of scordatura combinations that change the resonance and timbre of the instrument. Johanna Novom, Adriane Post, Karina Schmitz, and Carrie Krause will use multiple fiddles during the four concerts from January 31 through February 3 in Akron, Cleveland Heights, and Rocky River. Details and tickets here.
Oberlin’s Winter Term Opera, Missy Mazzoli’s Proving Up, opens for five performances in the college’s Wilder Main Lounge beginning on January 31 at 7:30 pm, with later performances on February 1, 3, 4, and 5. Directed by Christopher Mirto, the piece tells the tale of a family’s pursuit of the American Dream in the shadow of Civil War Nebraska. Admission is free, but you’ll need to order tickets online.
Erie Symphony conductor Daniel Meyer will conduct two performances by the BlueWater Chamber Orchestra this weekend. The programs will feature Linda Atherton and Derek Snyder in Vivaldi’s Concerto for Two Cellos, and the rest of the program — played without intermission — includes Osvaldo Golijov’s Siderus, the Adagio from Anton Bruckner’s String Quintet (his only chamber work), and Schubert’s delightfully compact Symphony No. 5. The concert on Friday, February 1 at Rocky River Methodist Church is free, but you’ll need tickets for Saturday, February 2 at Plymouth Church in Shaker Heights.
Minneapolis guzheng player Jarrelle Barton will be featured in three performances this weekend. He’ll play traditional, modern, and original music for that ancient, 16- or 21-string Chinese zither on the Standing Rock Cultural Series at North Water Street Gallery in Kent on Saturday, February 1 at 8:00 pm ($10 or pay what you can). Then Barton will join the Cleveland Chinese Music Ensemble in a free concert of music for the New Year at Hudson Library and Historical Society on Sunday, February 3 at 2:00 pm. He’ll end his tour with a solo gig at the Bop Stop on Monday, February 4 at 8:00 pm (tickets are $12 at the door).
Fans of John Williams’ movie scores can hear an entire concert of his music on Saturday, February 2 at 8:00 pm, when Carl Topilow leads the Cleveland Pops Orchestra at Severance Hall. Tickets are available online.
Check out details of these and other events on our Concert Listings page.
This article appears in Jan 23-29, 2019.