Classical Concert Reviews Cinci

@cincinnatifusionensemble prssented its annual spring program in memory of Sandy Sanborn Martin in the beautiful acoustics of Clifton’s Calvary Episcopal Church under the leadership of artistic directors Howard Helvey and Brad Caldwell.Joined by guest organist Mitchell Miller, a native of Cincinnati, evening’s program skewed heavily toward sacred anthems that have…

@cincysymphony entered its final weeks of performances for the 2025-26 season with a program shining a spotlight on one of the most well-known orchestral works of Felix Mendelssohn, his Scottish Symphony.Under the direction of Kristiina Poska, principal guest conductor of the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, the orchestra opened the evening…

What can be said about a musical theatre production as spectacular as @uc_ccm’s opening night performance of Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd, or The Demon Barber of Fleet Street? The level of talent on stage made it abundantly clear that this school is one of the finest in the world as…

@cincysymphony continued its 2025-26 season with a spectacular program headlined by one of the most popular of late-Romantic Russian symphonies, Sergei Rachmaninov’s Symphony No. 2.Under the direction of frequent guest conductor Ramón Tebar, artistic director of Opera Naples and principal conductor of Florida Grand Opera in Miami, the orchestra opened…

In what is surely becoming an annual tradition, @christchurchcathedralcincy presented a program of Lenten choral music tied to the celebration of Palm Sunday under the direction of cathedral director of music Stephan Casurella, with some of the finest local singers who I have the privilege of calling dear friends.Soprano Olivia…

Whaat a spectacular debut performance by Ensemble O2, Cincinnati’s newest professional choral/chamber ensemble in the architectural and acoustical beauty of the Wyoming Fine Arts Center’s Masonic Theatre.Under the direction of Turkish-born conductor Ömer Aziz Kahyan, this debut concert served as a proof of concept of the group’s potential to build…

Rarely have I attended a jazz concert that is part of the @xaviermusicseries that didn’t leave me as deeply moved as the performance given this evening by two legends of the genre: vocalist Cécile McLorin Savant and pianist Sullivan Fortner, in the intimate acoustics of Xavier University’s Gallagher Student Center…

@cincysymphony continued its 2025-26 season with a trio of early Romantic works by Franz Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven.Under the direction of James Conlon, Music Director Laureate of the Cincinnati May Festival, the orchestra opened with an exciting performance of Haydn’s “Drumroll” Symphony No. 103, a…

What a fabulous end to @vaecinci’s 2025-26 season, pairing two masterworks by Dietrich Buxtehude and Caroline Shaw under the collective title To The Hands: Cutting Edge Art. As art was central to the program, video projections by artists Sharon Huizenga and lighting design by Lucas Inman were an integral part…

@xaviermusicseries concluded its 2025-26 guitar series with a fantastic recital in Xavier’s Bellarmine Chapel by Korean guitarist Bokyung Byun, 2023 recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Grant and guitar faculty at the University of North Texas in Denton, under the title Beloved: Music Written for Those We Love.Performing repertoire drawn…