Classical Concert Reviews Cinci

@uc_ccm’s Chamber Choir opened its slate of musical offerings for the winter/spring of 2026 with an absolutely SPECTACULAR performance of one of James MacMillan’s most popular and most frequently performed choral works, Seven Last Words from the Cross coupled with Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings, under the direction of CCM’s…

@collegium_cincy presented a rare treat as part of the 2026 Cincinnati Early Music Festival at @christchurchcathedralcincy – an opportunity to hear some of the best examples of standalone choral writing by Johann Sebastian Bach in four of the six motets which survive in his name, sung by an ensemble of…

@cincysymphony continued its 2025-26 season with a program featuring one of the crown jewels of 20th-century symphonic music, Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 4.Under the direction of guest conductor Tabitha Berglund, newly-appointed principal guest conductor of the Dresdner Philharmonie, the orchestra opened with perhaps one of the quirkiest new orchestral scores…

@uc_ccm’s undergraduate Opera D’Arte program presented its winter 2026 semester production, a rare opportunity to hear L’Egisto by Francesco Cavalli (a direct contemporary of Claudio Monteverdi). Presented as part of the 2026 @cincy_early_music_festival, the performance was sensual and evocative, and fit the acoustics of CCM’s Cohen Family Studio Theater surprisingly…

@uc_ccm’s Philharmonia opened its winter/spring 2026 semester of performances with a program titled North by Borthwest, highlighting works by three musical titans of the late-19th and early 20th centuries.George Enescu’s Romanian Rhapsody No. 1, perhaps his most famous orchestral work, made a vibrant and exciting opener under the direction of…

@cincysymphony continued its 2025-26 season with a program showcasing works by Slavic composers, some based on folklore and/or fairytales, including a U.S. premiere performance.Under guest conductor Oksana Lyniv, music director of the Teatro Communale di Bologna, the orchestra opened with an intriguing performance of said premiere, Five Interrupted Lullabies by…

What a FABULOUS DMA lecture-recital by @sergey.o.tkachenko this evening exploring the music of perhaps the least-known Russian romantic choral composer active in the first half of the twentieth century, Nikolai Golovanov (1891-1953). The lecture portion of the program was insightful and engaging without being too overbearing in regard to the…

@cincysymphony continued its 2025-26 season with a unique program titled American Voices under music director Cristian Măcelaru, focusing primarily on composers or music that honors the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr, in anticipation of Martin Luther King Jr. Day this coming Monday.The orchestra opened with a recently rediscovered work…

@cincysymphony continued its 2025-26 season with an exciting, yet interesting, program pairing an early piano concerto by Beethoven with the U.S. premiere of a new score by one of the world’s most well-known Icelandic composers.Music director Cristian Mǎcelaru and the orchestra opened with an invigorating performance of Johannes Brahms’ Academic…

@vaecinci continued its 2025-26 season with a uniquely creative program titled An Italian Christmas. While the program was mostly focused around music by Giovanni Gabrieli and other composers of the period like Claudio Monteverdi, it did stray by the end into more modern music but it was a delight nonetheless.What…