By Daniel Hathaway| ClevelandClassical.com
This article was originally published on Cleveland.com
CUYAHOGA FALLS, OHIO — The Cleveland Orchestra, Norwegian guest conductor Tabita Berglund, and Dutch violinist Simone Lamsma — pyromaniacs all, set what looked like a routine orchestral program ablaze on Saturday evening, August 15 at the Blossom Music Center.
Lamsma is a well-known guest with the Orchestra, and judging only by the ardent reception she received from the Blossom crowd the moment she stepped on stage for Jean Sibelius’s concerto, a very popular visitor.
Berglund, who is principal guest conductor both in Detroit and Dresden, was making her Cleveland Orchestra debut this weekend, led performances that were infused with drama and passion.
Details that are frequently overlooked or understated received outsized treatment, from the mellow patriotic fervor of an ode to Finland, to the ominous rumblings of a Nordic concerto, and the tragic death scenes of Romeo and Juliet.
Sibelius wrote the tone poem Finland Awakes in 1899 for a three-day pageant rallying support for Finnish sovereignty. The emotional center of the overture-like work is the “Finlandia hymn,” which deeply resonated both with Finns and others who later appropriated and re-texted its noble chorale.
After a grand brass opening, Berglund and the Orchestra’s lush strings brought out the spirit in which the piece was written. Heroic horns ushered in the epic hymn which created a majestic beginning to the concert.
Sibelius first hinted at his plans for a violin concerto in a letter to his wife Aino in 1902: “I’ve got some lovely themes for a violin concerto.” After a disastrous premiere, he completely revised the work, rededicating it to the 17-year-old Hungarian violinist Ferenc Vecsey, who played its first performances in Cleveland and became its international champion.
On Saturday, Simone Lamsma brought a shimmering icyness to the simple opening lines, and Berglund kept a watchful eye on the opening movement’s multiple shifts in mood and tempo, and coordination between soloist and orchestra was superb.
The cadenza was beautifully paced. Berglund called for a symphonic sound at just the right moments, and the movement ended in a flourish of brilliance.
Full-bodied tones from the winds laid the musical path for the heartfelt solo line in the Adagio, and the collective sound from soloist and orchestra grew into a resounding climax.
The finale began dramatically with a rhythmic figure in the timpani that turned into a dance for the soloist. Stunning musical phrases grew, retreated, then repeated on top of one another.
Guided by Berglund, Lamsma and the orchestra treated the audience to a memorable performance. After numerous callbacks, the Dutch violinist offered an unusual encore that was musically just right for the occasion — the gigue-like final movement from Paul Hindemith’s unaccompanied Sonata No. 6.
On his return to Russia after an extended sojourn abroad, Sergei Prokofiev spent some time dickering with the competing Kirov and Bolshoi Ballets over a full-evening score based on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The latter finally prevailed, but the composer had generated enough material for 52 musical episodes.
Berglund coaxed an intensely dramatic opening for Montagues and Capulets. Prokofiev’s fleeting picture of Juliet the Young Girl inspired evocative solos from flute, cello, and tenor saxophone, and his cameo of Friar Laurence was appropriately plodding.
Dance featured a playful oboe solo from Jeffrey Rathbun, and Romeo and Juliet Before Parting called for a rich sounding viola solo from Wesley Collins.
Dance of the Maids from the Antilles was riddled with panache including a horn solo from Nathaniel Silberschlag, and Romeo at Juliet’s Grave was intensely dramatic. The enthusiastic reception from the crowd was immediate.
Photo by Aireonna McCall-Dube
Daniel Hathaway is founder and editor of the online journal ClevelandClassical.com. He teaches music journalism at Oberlin College and Conservatory of Music.
Published on ClevelandClassical.com, August 19, 2026
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