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Young Scandinavians to make their Blossom debuts this weekend

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by Mike Telin

On Saturday, July 20 at 8:00 pm at Blossom Music Center, Finnish conductor Klaus Mäkelä and Swedish violinist Daniel Lozakovich will make their Cleveland Orchestra debuts. The program will feature Kodály’s Dances of Galánta, Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1, and Sibelius’ Symphony No. 5. Tickets are available online.

While it is not unusual to have two people making their Cleveland Orchestra debuts on the same concert, it is somewhat of an anomaly to have both a conductor and soloist who are under 30 years of age. In fact, their combined ages total 41.

“The Cleveland Orchestra is one of the most important orchestras in the world. I have known them for a long time and I’m looking forward to making my debut with them at Blossom,” 23-year-old Klaus Mäkelä said by telephone from Helsinki. “It is a dream come true to play with such a legendary orchestra,” 18-year-old Daniel Lozakovich said by telephone from Geneva, adding “For me, there’s no better way to make a debut than with young energy, and when I found out that I would make mine with Klaus I was so happy.”

Mäkelä and Lozakovich have worked together before and they have a mutual admiration for each other’s talents. [Read more…]

Blossom: Rhapsody in Red, White, and Blue with The Cleveland Orchestra (July 6)

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by Rory O’Donoghue

As the lights dimmed and conductor Roderick Cox readied his baton, the boisterous crowd at Blossom hushed in anticipation of pianist Aaron Diehl’s take on Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue on Saturday, July 6. Everyone knows the opening clarinet lick — the low velvet trill, the raucous rise — but this time, a surprise! A bird rose from somewhere behind the percussion section and dive-bombed the first violins. A few players scattered amidst the kerfuffle, shouting, before a valiant audience member somehow snatched the bird out of the air and marched it out of the pavilion to great applause. Cox restored order and clarinetist Afendi Yusuf’s solo bloomed from the back of the orchestra. [Read more…]

The Cleveland Orchestra plays Gershwin: a conversation with pianist Aaron Diehl

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by Mike Telin

The story behind George Gershwin’s iconic Rhapsody in Blue begins when bandleader Paul Whiteman asked the composer to contribute a concerto for a jazz concert to be given in New York City’s Aeolian Hall in February of 1924. Gershwin initially declined the offer, saying there was not enough time to compose the piece.

But then an article about Whiteman’s planned concert ran in the New York Tribune in early January stating that “George Gershwin is at work on a jazz concerto,” which would be featured along with works by Irving Berlin and Victor Herbert. This was news to the composer, but after a phone call to the bandleader the next morning, Gershwin agreed to write the piece.

This weekend, pianist Aaron Diehl will return to the Blossom Music Center stage for performances of Rhapsody in Blue on Friday, July 5 and Saturday, July 6 at 8:00 pm with The Cleveland Orchestra. The concert, under the direction of Roderick Cox, will also include Bernstein’s Symphonic Suite from On the Waterfront, Stravinsky’s Suite from The Firebird, and Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture. Fireworks will follow both performances (weather permitting). Tickets are available online. [Read more…]

Cleveland Orchestra in Copland and Orff (Aug. 25)

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by David Kulma

The American political landscape has broadened over the past few years to include socialist and fascist ideas previously unthinkable in the public sphere. Programming works from the 1930s, another time of torrent, The Cleveland Orchestra and guest conductor Adrien Perruchon gave their August 25 concert at Blossom Music Center an unusual political saliency. The performance of Orff’s Carmina Burana occurred fifty years to the date when it was performed during Blossom’s inaugural season (photo above).

[Read more…]

Thoughts on Star Wars as TCO closes its Blossom season

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by Jarrett Hoffman

Before the action figures, t-shirts, and lunch boxes — before even a single sequel was on anyone’s mind — 20th Century Fox’s 1977 Star Wars was a movie that came in over budget, with low expectations. The studio moved up the release date so it wouldn’t have to compete with that summer’s Smokey and the Bandit. In terms of merchandise, toy company Kenner Products was caught so flat-footed by the success of Star Wars that Christmas shoppers had to settle for a box with a voucher: mail it in to get your toys next year, kids.

Those essentially empty boxes now go for $13K on eBay. A more wallet-friendly option for your Star Wars fix: $26 tickets to see the original film at Blossom this weekend, with John Williams’ score played live by The Cleveland Orchestra under the direction of assistant conductor Vinay Parameswaran. Screenings of the film, now known as Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, will take place from Friday through Sunday, August 31 to September 2, the festival’s closing night, all at 8:30 pm. After the red and green blaster rays, stay for more fireworks, weather permitting.

[Read more…]

Adrien Perruchon to lead TCO in Carmina Burana at Blossom

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by Jarrett Hoffman

Depending on your point of view, the three Star Wars concerts at the tail end of August and into September either mark a thrilling end of The Cleveland Orchestra’s Blossom season, or serve as fun, galactic encores to the earthly drama unfolding this weekend.

On Saturday, August 25 at 8:00 pm, French conductor Adrien Perruchon will round up all the bodies at his disposal — the Blossom Festival Chorus, Cleveland Orchestra Children’s Chorus, soprano Audrey Luna, tenor Matthew Plenk, baritone Elliot Madore, and of course The Cleveland Orchestra itself. They’ll all be needed for Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana.

A number of firsts are in store for that performance: Perruchon and Luna will make their debuts with the Orchestra, while Plenk and Madore will take the stage at Blossom for the first time. Preceding the Orff will be Copland’s Statements — a work which Perruchon finds fascinating in its own right, as he told me in a recent telephone conversation from Paris.

[Read more…]

TCO at Blossom: The Little Mermaid (Aug. 4)

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by David Kulma

It was another enjoyable movie night at Blossom Music Center with The Cleveland Orchestra on Saturday, August 4. On offer was The Little Mermaid (1989) — a film which had kicked off the rebirth of Disney animated musicals through the ‘90s. Conducted by Sarah Hicks to sync with five gigantic screens and a packed lawn full of families, The Cleveland Orchestra brought Alan Menken’s magical music to life.

[Read more…]

Calling up a polymath: pianist, composer, writer, and painter Stephen Hough

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by Jarrett Hoffman

When you’re dialing the number of one of twenty living polymaths (according to The Economist), it’s easy to feel a little uneasy. As it turns out, Stephen Hough is funny, kind, and generous — in addition to having a few brain cells up there.

Our conversation eventually made its way to Mendelssohn’s First Piano Concerto, which he’ll perform at Blossom with The Cleveland Orchestra and conductor James Gaffigan on Saturday, August 18 at 8:00 pm. But first, the pianist, composer, writer, and painter tackled some complicated and personal questions about his varied artistic self.

Hough’s first novel, The Final Retreat, was published in February (read his article about it in The Tablet here). His latest CD, a collection of miniatures titled Dream Album, includes his original music and was released in June.

[Read more…]

James Gaffigan returns to Northeast Ohio to conduct Cleveland Orchestra at Blossom

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by Jarrett Hoffman

“The Cleveland Orchestra, no matter who’s conducting it, is an extraordinary instrument and an extraordinary group of human beings,” said conductor James Gaffigan during a recent telephone conversation.

Chief Conductor of the Luzerner Sinfonieorchester, Gaffigan will lead a concert at Blossom this Saturday, August 18 at 8:00 pm — a reunion from his time as the Orchestra’s Assistant Conductor from 2003 to 2006.

“The Cleveland Orchestra was the main teacher in my career,” the conductor said. “They’ve have helped mold my way of thinking about conducting an orchestra, and my concepts of sound, transparency, and what an orchestra can do. I think The Cleveland Orchestra is the definition of a great, versatile orchestra.”

[Read more…]

“Audra McDonald Sings Broadway” with TCO at Blossom (July 29)

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by David Kulma

A glorious evening of music titled “Audra McDonald Sings Broadway” featured that justly famous soprano performing with The Cleveland Orchestra and conductor Andy Einhorn. The July 29 program at Blossom Music Center included a variety of songs from musicals famous and rare, from the works of Rodgers & Hammerstein to living composers.

[Read more…]

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