by Daniel Hathaway
As The Cleveland Orchestra prepares to launch its seven-city Asia Tour from March 28 through April 13, and now that the days are beginning to grow longer and brighter, it’s time to have a look at the Orchestra’s concerts for the summer, single tickets for which go on sale on April 1.
Once again, the Orchestra will hold down two fronts — at the Blossom Music Center and at Severance Hall. The Blossom season, which begins on June 29 and ends on September 1, will be bookended by screenings of big hit movies with live performances of John Williams film scores. Blossom begins with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and ends two months later with Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.
In between its al fresco concerts in Cuyahoga Falls, The Cleveland Orchestra will put its Severance Hall air conditioning to good use in four “Summers at Severance” events — plus two screenings of the 1989 Batman film with a live performance of Danny Elfman’s score. There’s an outdoor component to the in-town concerts as well: the Severance audiences can spill out onto the front patios for food and drink before and after the performances.
The complete summer schedule follows.
BLOSSOM: Saturday, June 29, 2019, at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, June 30, 2019, at 7:30 p.m.
The Cleveland Orchestra & Blossom Festival Chorus
Justin Freer, conductor
WILLIAMS – Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (film with live orchestral score)
BLOSSOM: Wednesday, July 3, 2019, at 8:00 p.m.*
Thursday, July 4, 2019, at 8:00 p.m.*
Blossom Festival Band
Loras John Schissel, conductor
Salute to America. Program includes Sousa marches, Broadway favorites, an Armed Forces Salute, and more — concluding with fireworks!
* Fireworks following the concert, weather permitting.
BLOSSOM: Friday, July 5, 2019 at 8:00 p.m.*
Saturday, July 6, 2019, at 8:00 p.m.*
The Cleveland Orchestra
Roderick Cox, conductor, Aaron Diehl, piano
BERNSTEIN – Symphonic Suite from On the Waterfront
GERSHWIN – Rhapsody in Blue
STRAVINSKY – Suite from The Firebird
TCHAIKOVSKY – 1812 Overture
* Fireworks following the concert, weather permitting.
BLOSSOM: Sunday, July 7, 2019, at 7:00 p.m.
The Cleveland Orchestra
Lucas Richman, conductor, Noel “Paul” Stookey & Peter Yarrow, vocalists
Peter and Paul remember their enduring anthems of social change including If I Had a Hammer and Puff the Magic Dragon, the historic impact they had upon the world of civil liberties, and the woman who completed their triforce of positivity, Mary Travers.
SEVERANCE: Friday, July 12, 2019, at 7:00 p.m.
The Cleveland Orchestra
Franz Welser-Möst, conductor, Ludwig Mittelhammer, baritone
MAHLER – Songs of a Wayfarer
PROKOFIEV – Symphony No. 6
BLOSSOM: Saturday, July 13, 2019, at 8:00 p.m.
The Cleveland Orchestra
Jahja Ling, conductor, Conrad Tao, piano
MUSSORGSKY – “Dawn on the Moskva River” from Khovanshchina
PROKOFIEV – Piano Concerto No. 3
TCHAIKOVSKY – Symphony No. 4
SEVERANCE: Friday, July 19, 2019, at 7:00 p.m.
The Cleveland Orchestra
Pablo Heras-Casado, conductor, Pepe Romero, guitar
RODRIGO – Concierto de Aranjuez
DEBUSSY – “Ibéria” from Images
BLOSSOM: Saturday, July 20, 2019, at 8:00 p.m.
The Cleveland Orchestra
Klaus Mäkelä, conductor, Daniel Lozakovich, violin
KODÁLY – Dances of Galánta
BRUCH – Violin Concerto No. 1
SIBELIUS – Symphony No. 5
BLOSSOM: Sunday, July 21, 2019, at 7:00 p.m.
The Cleveland Orchestra
Pablo Heras-Casado, conductor, Pepe Romero, guitar
RIMSKY-KORSAKOV – Capriccio espagnol
RODRIGO – Concierto de Aranjuez
DEBUSSY – Images
BLOSSOM: Saturday, July 27, 2019, at 8:00 p.m.
The Cleveland Orchestra
Bramwell Tovey, conductor, Gautier Capuçon, cello
Kent Blossom Chamber Orchestra*
BRITTEN – Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes
SAINT-SAËNS – Cello Concerto No. 1
ELGAR – Enigma Variations*
Kent Blossom Festival participants will perform side-by-side with The Cleveland Orchestra and also present a pre-concert program of music beginning at 7:00 p.m.
BLOSSOM: Sunday, July 28, 2019, at 7:00 p.m.
The Cleveland Orchestra & Blossom Festival Chorus
Lucas Waldin, conductor, Capathia Jenkins & Ryan Shaw, vocalists
Aretha Franklin: Queen of Soul
SEVERANCE: Friday, August 2, 2019, at 7:00 p.m.
The Cleveland Orchestra & Blossom Festival Chorus
Matthew Halls, conductor, Joélle Harvey, soprano
Krisztina Szabo, mezzo-soprano, Paul Appleby, tenor
Michael Sumuel, bass-baritone
MOZART – Mass in C minor
BLOSSOM: Saturday, August 3, 2019, at 8:00 p.m.
The Cleveland Orchestra
Andrey Boreyko, conductor, Francesco Piemontesi, piano
BEETHOVEN – Piano Concerto No. 5 (“Emperor”)
ZEMLINSKY – The Mermaid [Die Seejungfrau]
BLOSSOM: Saturday, August 10, 2019, at 8:00 p.m.
The Cleveland Orchestra
Asher Fisch, conductor, Jung-Min Amy Lee, violin
LISZT – Mazeppa, Symphonic Poem No. 6
BARBER – Violin Concerto
BRAHMS – Symphony No. 1
BLOSSOM: Sunday, August 11, 2019, at 7:00 p.m.
Blossom Festival Orchestra
Lucas Richman, conductor, Brian Wilson, Al Jardine & Blondie Chaplin, vocalists
BRIAN WILSON – Pet Sounds (music from the Beach Boys’ 1966 album)
SEVERANCE: Friday, August 16, 2019, at 7:00 p.m.
The Cleveland Orchestra
Osmo Vänskä, conductor
BARBER – Symphony No. 1 in One Movement
MENDELSSOHN – Symphony No. 4 (“Italian”)
BLOSSOM: Saturday, August 17, 2019, at 8:00 p.m.
Vinay Parameswaran, conductor, Jennifer Johnson Cano, mezzo-soprano\
IVES – “Decoration Day” from A Holidays Symphony
BERNSTEIN – Jeremiah: Symphony No. 1
RACHMANINOFF Symphonic Dances
SEVERANCE: Friday, August 23, 2019, at 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, August 25, 2019, at 3:00 p.m.
The Cleveland Orchestra & Blossom Festival Chorus
Sarah Hicks, conductor
ELFMAN – Batman (1989 film with live orchestral score)
BLOSSOM: Saturday, August 24, 2019, at 8:00 p.m.
The Cleveland Orchestra
Andy Einhorn, conductor, Victoria Bussert, director
RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN – The Sound of Music (full musical in collaboration with Baldwin Wallace University)
BLOSSOM: Friday, August 30, 2019, at 7:30 p.m.*
Saturday, August 31, 2019, at 7:30 p.m.*
Sunday, September 1, 2019, at 7:30 p.m.*
The Cleveland Orchestra
Sarah Hicks, conductor
WILLIAMS – Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (film with live orchestral score)
*Fireworks following the concert, weather permitting.
Photos by Roger Mastroianni
Published on ClevelandClassical.com March 19, 2019.
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