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To•Day

DIARY: Thursday, April 23, 2026

by Daniel Hathaway

HAPPENING TODAY:

Tonight at 7:30, Klaus Mäkelä leads The Cleveland Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra Chorus, and Children’s Chorus in the first of three performances of Benjamin Britten’s monumental War Requiem, with soprano Tamara Wilson, tenor Andrew Staples, and baritone Ludwig Mittelhammer, in Mandel Concert Hall at Severance Music Center.

NEWS BRIEFS:

The Violin Channel reports that “Cellist and composer Joshua Roman has been named a recipient of the 2026 Renée Fleming Neuroarts Investigator Awards. Roman and his research partner, Dr. Elizabeth Bast, will receive $25,000 to study musical treatments for long COVID symptoms.” Read the article here.

TODAY’S ALMANAC:

According to some sources, “The Bard of Avon,” William Shakespeare, was born on April 23, 1564, and it’s a fact that he died on the same date in 1616. Setting aside the contentious question of whether or not the son of a glove maker from Stratford-Upon-Avon actually authored the plays and poems attributed to him, we’ll honor both his arrival and departure dates with a setting of words from The Merchant of Venice, Act 5, Scene 1. [Read More…]

Pre•Views & Features

Verona Quartet to make its CCMS Debut: a conversation with violinist Jonathan Ong

by Mike Telin

After winning top prizes at the Wigmore Hall, Melbourne, Osaka, M-Prize, and Fischoff International Chamber Music Competitions, as well as the 2015 Concert Artists Guild Competition, the Verona Quartet have enjoyed a quick rise to the upper echelon of the chamber music world.

Committed to mentoring the upcoming generations of musicians, the Quartet serves on the faculty of Oberlin College and Conservatory, ENCORE! Chamber Music, and as Artistic Directors of the Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance.

On Tuesday April 28 at 7:30 pm in Gartner Auditorium at the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Verona Quartet — Jonathan Ong and Dorothy Roe (violins), Abigail Rojansky (viola), and Jonathan Dormand (cello) — will make their Cleveland Chamber Music Society debut. Their program features music by Scarlatti, Glass, and Janáček. The ensemble will be joined by pianist Yaron Kohlberg for Antonín Dvořák’s Piano Quintet in A. Tickets are available online.

[Read on…]

Richard Goode’s Musical Short Stories

by Stephanie Manning

Reposted with the permission of Oberlin Conservatory

In Richard Goode’s mental directory of acoustically great places, Finney Chapel easily makes the list.

“ I think about places partly in terms of how the hall sounds,” he says. So when he finds venues with fabulous acoustics, “I remember them with great affection. The atmosphere was so perfect that when you played, you felt that everything mattered.”

The highly-respected American pianist, known for his interpretation of Mozart and Beethoven, has performed on the Oberlin Artist Recital Series quite a few times. It’s been nine years since his last appearance in Finney. “I don’t remember what I played,” he says. “I just remember how good it felt.”

On Wednesday, April 29 at 7:30 p.m., Goode will return to Finney Chapel and the Artist Recital Series with his program “Fancies and Goodnights.” He will pair that personally curated selection of short works with two sonatas by Mozart and Schubert. [Read on…]

Les Délices presents Starstruck: music by a young George Frideric Handel

by Mike Telin

When you think of music by George Frideric Handel, the first works that come to mind are likely to be his large-scale oratorios such as Messiah, Israel in Egypt, and Solomon.

“People think of Handel’s Gloria as a showpiece for soprano and small ensemble,” Les Délices artistic director Debra Nagy said. “But Silete venti, which is not often heard, is an extraordinary showpiece for a soprano and I think it’s going to be a real thrill to play.”

On Friday, April 24 at 7:30 pm at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Akron, Les Délices will present Starstruck. The all-Handel program highlights the composer’s brilliant chamber music along with dramatic early cantatas brought to life by the magnetic soprano Hannah DePriest. The program will be repeated on Saturday at Heights Theater and Sunday at West Shore Unitarian Universalist Church. Both concerts begin at 4:00 pm, and tickets are available online.

[Read on…]

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