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Randall Craig Fleischer leads “A Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald” at Blossom

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by Jarrett Hoffman

Fleischer-Randall

“It’s a lovely day in Queens, New York,” conductor Randall Craig Fleischer said, answering his phone while walking with his daughter to the Joffrey Dance Center in an industrial part of the city. “No, actually it’s raining and noisy.”

Despite the gloomy weather, Fleischer talked animatedly over the next fifteen minutes about growing up in Northeast Ohio; his work in the genres of jazz, symphonic rock, and world music fusion; and his Cleveland Orchestra debut this Sunday.

On August 27 at 7:00 pm at Blossom Music Center, he’ll lead “A Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald,” featuring vocalists Capathia Jenkins, Harolyn Blackwell, and Aisha de Haas. Also the TCO debut for de Haas, this celebration of Lady Ella’s 100th birthday includes Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered, Someone to Watch Over Me, The Lady Is a Tramp, and Summertime.

[Read more…]

Blossom: Cristian Măcelaru on conducting, posterity, and socially conscious music

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by Jarrett Hoffman

Macelaru

At seventeen, Cristian Măcelaru wanted to conduct. First he had to wait.

‘Keep studying violin, then we’ll talk’ was the message from conductor Larry Rachleff, who had inspired Măcelaru’s new interest at Interlochen Arts Camp.

The young violinist took the advice to heart. Now, two decades later, he’s Music Director of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music; has served as Conductor-in-Residence, Associate, and Assistant Conductor with the Philadelphia Orchestra; and has led subscription concerts with the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, and Los Angeles Philharmonic.

And on Saturday, August 26 at 8:00 pm, he’ll make his Cleveland Orchestra debut at Blossom Music Center with a program of Dvořák’s Violin Concerto and Holst’s The Planets. “I’m extremely humbled to conduct this orchestra that I’ve admired for my entire life,” he said in a recent conversation.

[Read more…]

TCO at Blossom: 30 minutes with conductor Fabien Gabel and pianist Juho Pohjonen

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by Jarrett Hoffman

Pohjonen-GabelThis weekend’s schedule at Blossom sports a fresh pair of Cleveland Orchestra debuts. On Saturday, August 19 at 8:00 pm at Blossom Music Center, Fabien Gabel, music director of the Quebec Symphony Orchestra, will lead TCO in Ravel’s Boléro, Debussy’s Ibéria, Florent Schmitt’s La Palais Hanté, and Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 1, featuring Juho Pohjonen. We spoke to the French conductor and the Finnish pianist in separate conversations — Gabel was spending time in New York City with his family, while Pohjonen was in Bridgehampton, NY, for his tenth festival of the summer.

As they get to know Northeast Ohio, the two stars of the program will also be getting to know each other. They’ve never performed together, though Gabel said he had the pleasure to hear Pohjonen play a recital in Paris. “He’s played chamber music with some friends of mine, so I know him through them,” said the conductor. “He’s a fantastic musician, so I’m really looking forward to making music with him.”

[Read more…]

Robert Trevino and Behzod Abduraimov to make their Cleveland Orchestra debuts

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by Mike Telin

Trevino-AbduraimovWhen it comes to the symphonies of Tchaikovsky, conductor Robert Trevino believes the composer’s Fifth is perhaps the most perfect in its construction and musical development. “In a way it’s almost the touchstone for his symphonic canon,” Trevino said during a recent interview. On Saturday, August 5 at 8:00 pm at Blossom Music Center, the Fort Worth, Texas native will make his Cleveland Orchestra debut in a concert featuring Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with Behzod Abduraimov as soloist, and the Symphony No. 5.

Trevino, who was named Music Director of the Basque National Orchestra in 2016, said that he sees the symphony as part of a continuum that exists in the composer’s last four symphonies. “I think the Fourth, Fifth, the Manfred, and the Sixth are all dealing with fundamentally the same problem, and finding a different way of solving it,” he said, explaining that beginning with the Fourth Symphony the composer enters into a period of ever-present doom.

“I can’t help but feel that comes from his profound isolation, because he lived in a time when homosexuality was not just frowned upon, it was simply not allowed and I imagine that was very difficult for him. [Read more…]

The Cleveland Orchestra and Kent/Blossom Chamber Orchestra at Blossom Music Center (July 22)

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by Samantha Spaccasi

TCO-Ling-072217It was hot and humid on the evening of July 22, but that didn’t stop concertgoers from flocking to Blossom Music Center to hear the Kent/Blossom Chamber Orchestra and The Cleveland Orchestra. [Read more…]

Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble at Blossom Music Center (August 13)

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by Alexandra Vago

Silk-Road-EnsembleBad weather was no deterrent for concertgoers at the Blossom Music Center on Saturday, August 13. The audience in a nearly-packed pavilion and on an umbrella-laden lawn gave The Silk Road Ensemble two standing ovations, one at intermission and one at the conclusion of their stellar performance. [Read more…]

Orpheus Chamber Orchestra to make its Blossom debut on August 27

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by Mike Telin

Orpheus-Chamber-Orchestra

Founded in 1972 by Julian Fifer and a group of like-minded musicians, the Grammy Award-winning Orpheus Chamber Orchestra has been recognized for performances that combine the intimacy and warmth of a chamber ensemble with the grandness of an orchestra.

Most importantly, the conductorless ensemble has been recognized for its collaborative leadership style in which the musicians collectively decide on their interpretations of musical scores. On Saturday, August 27 at 8:00 pm, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra will make its long-awaited debut at Blossom Music Center with a program featuring Johann Sebastian Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos Nos. 3, 5, 6, and 2.

[Read more…]

July 17 Cleveland Orchestra Concert at Blossom to mark centennial of National Park Service

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by Neil McCalmont, Mike Telin, & Daniel Hathaway

 

Welcome CVNPOn August 25, one hundred years ago, President Woodrow Wilson signed into law the Organic Act of 1916 that established the National Park Service, building on the conservationist legacy pioneered in 1872 with the creation of the first National Park at Yellowstone.

Since 1933, the Service has also managed National Memorials, Military Parks, Cemeteries, and Historical Areas. A latecomer to the national parks family in 2000, Cuyahoga Valley National Park is the only national park in the state of Ohio, a large chunk of land that includes sites not owned by the federal government — including the Blossom Music Center. [Read more…]

Looking forward to the summer season: a conversation with Cleveland Orchestra artistic administrator Ilya Gidalevich

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by Mike Telin

Blossom-Lawn-071115Now that summer is officially upon us, it’s time to locate the picnic basket, fill it with your favorite summer foods, and head to the Cuyahoga National Park with family and friends to enjoy a Cleveland Orchestra concert at Blossom Music Center. And, if anyone in your vehicle is under the age of 18, their seat on the lawn is free.

If you can’t make it to Blossom, the Orchestra has scheduled three early Friday evening concerts in its Summers@Severance series. Special “happy hour” drink prices will be offered one hour prior to each concert on Severance Hall’s front terrace. Attendees are encouraged to arrive early and enjoy the outdoor delights of University Circle.

“As usual the summer season is a mix of musical genres and artists,” Cleveland Orchestra artistic administrator Ilya Gidalevich said during a recent telephone conversation. [Read more…]

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