Tag: ives

John Adams in Cleveland: tangos, frenzy, and a visit to Greenland

On By Sam JacobsonIn clevelandLeave a comment

The Cleveland Orchestra
John Adams, conductor
Aaron Diehl, piano
Mandel Concert Hall
Severance Music Center
Cleveland, OH
February 19, 2026

Ives: From Greenland’s Icy Mountains (from Symphony No. 4)
Andres: Made of Tunes
Adams: Frenzy
Piazzolla-Adams: Three Tangos

Following the previous week’s American program with Barbara Hannigan, The Cleveland Orchestra presented a second offering of American works with the doyen of living American composers himself at the podium, John Adams. Adams has a long, fruitful history with TCO and this years marks the 35th anniversary of his local debut.

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Hamelin’s powerful pianism opens the new year at Chamber Music Pittsburgh

On By Sam JacobsonIn pittsburghLeave a comment

Marc-André Hamelin, piano
Carnegie Music Hall
Pittsburgh, PA
January 12, 2026

Ives: Piano Sonata No. 2, Concord, Mass., 1840–60
Schumann: Waldszenen, Op. 82
Ravel: Gaspard de la nuit

Encores:
Ravel: Jeux d’eau
Rachmaninoff: Étude-tableau in E-flat minor, Op. 39 No. 5
Hamelin: Music Box, no. 5 from Con intimissimo sentimento

Opening 2026 at Chamber Music Pittsburgh – and the first major event of the local classical music calendar this year – was a much-anticipated solo recital from pianist Marc-André Hamelin. A piano on loan from Carnegie Mellon University had an imposing presence on the Carnegie Music Hall stage. Hamelin is among today’s most intrepid explorers of the instrument, never shying away from a work no matter how little known or technically demanding. This was amply apparent in the first half, which opened in uncompromising form by of Charles Ives’ Concord Sonata.

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