by Mike Telin
Since his debut in 1975, Garrick Ohlsson has appeared frequently with The Cleveland Orchestra, and his magical performances have fittingly earned him the title of fan-favorite. “There’s no place I’d rather play,” the pianist said during a Zoom conversation.
On July 16 at 7:00 pm, Ohlsson will make his 27th appearance with the Orchestra when he opens the Summers at Severance series with Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 1. Under the direction of Semyon Bychkov, the program also includes Bedřich Smetana’s “The Moldau” from Má vlast and Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8. Tickets are available online.
Ohlsson recalled that he was introduced to Rachmaninoff’s first concerto as a kid. “Back in the age of LPs, there was a RCA Victor issue of Rachmaninoff himself playing the Paganini Rhapsody. On the other side was Concerto Number 1. It had a marvelous cover with a wintery scene of the back of an elderly woman trudging through the snow. And above it was this gloomy face of Rachmaninoff. That’s when I first heard the piece — I was ten years old and I fell in love with it.”
Later on Ohlsson did learn the concerto, performing it for the first time in 1985 at the age of 37.
“I think it’s quite inspired — it’s beautiful and fun to play. Like all Rachmaninoff, it’s very challenging, and although it has some really naughty spots, somehow it’s just a bit more of a pleasure to play than his other three concertos and the Rhapsody.”
Rachmaninoff wrote the first version of the Concerto in 1891 when he was 17 and 18. “It’s about 40 minutes long and I think we would agree that it needed editing or rewriting.” The composer did rewrite the piece in 1917 with final changes made in 1919.
“The final version preserves the original material and it’s very Rachmaninoff,” Ohlsson said. “It has lots of extended melancholic or romantic melodies in it. And unlike the second and third concertos or the Second Symphony, it doesn’t introduce a lyrical melody which then comes back as the triumphant concluding melody in the finale.”
Ohlsson noted the similarities between Rachmaninoff’s Concerto and Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto, a work Rachmaninoff himself often played. “The opening cascade of octaves in this piece starts at the highest A of the piano, just like the Grieg. Although it doesn’t start with a timpani roll, it begins with a brass announcement. But you can see how one great composer can tip their hat to another — and in this case, steal a design but not the material.”
Ohlsson also noted that the first concerto doesn’t contain memorable tunes like the Second or the Third, but they are certainly beautiful. “The first movement is very concise and swift, but it has kind of a Godzilla-sized cadenza, so in that way it resembles the Third Concerto.”
The pianist described the second movement as a reverie — a dreamy, moonlit night — and the finale as a burlesque romp.
“It’s a riotously funny piece that’s full of good humor. And the middle of the last movement it does have a nostalgic, romantic tinge to it. There’s a moment where you can imagine a guy dressed in tails in a Hollywood film saying to some glamorous star, ‘Dear, I’ll have another dry martini.’”
Ohlsson looks forward to reconnecting with conductor Semyon Bychkov — himself no stranger to the Mandel Concert Hall podium. “Our only time together was many years ago when he was in Buffalo, so I’m very pleased to be working with him again.”
Looking back over his many performances with The Cleveland Orchestra, a piece that stands out is Ferruccio Busoni’s Piano Concerto, which Ohlsson played in 1989 and 2019. He also recorded the work with Christoph von Dohnányi and the Orchestrai.
Ohlsson recalled hearing the Busoni at Carnegie Hall performed by George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra with the Italian pianist, Pietro Scarpini. “I was 18 and I went to hear it with my first teacher, who was a Busoni student. I never imagined that 23 years later I’d be playing it with the same orchestra at Carnegie Hall as well as in Cleveland. And I also never imagined that 30 years later I’d do it again. I’m still very proud of that and of the recording. You know how pieces sometimes come back in the repertory — I think in the five years after we recorded it, six other recordings had come out. Who knows why those things happen.”
After a long career, Ohlsson still keeps a ‘moderately busy’ schedule. “I don’t want to retire because I certainly love doing what I do, and I think I can still do it. And if I can’t, I hope somebody tells me. But I don’t want to be like one of those singers who has fifteen farewell tours. Nothing I do in life gives me as much pleasure as performing — I’m kind of addicted to it. And I’m very happy to have established such a long, incredibly wonderful, fruitful relationship with the Cleveland Orchestra.
“As I said, there’s no place else I would rather play. And I’ll be back in March for the Orchestra’s recital series.”
Published on ClevelandClassical.com July 8, 2026
Click here for a printable copy of this article
