by Jarrett Hoffman
IN THIS EDITION:
•Bop Stop names next director
•Books about saxophone and bomba by local musicians and authors
•Almanac: Christoph von Dohnányi, the “Szell Shell,” and a problem with the organ
Garrick Ohlsson wrangles Busoni at Severance Hall (February 7)
by Daniel Hathaway
Italian-born composer Ferruccio Busoni, who died in 1924, is mostly known for his rather extravagant elaborations of J.S. Bach’s keyboard works and for a notorious piano concerto that scarcely anyone has ever heard live. Cleveland Orchestra audiences had that rare opportunity twice last weekend, thanks to pianist Garrick Ohlsson — and to the Orchestra’s music director laureate Christoph von Dohnányi, who originally engaged Ohlsson to play it in Cleveland in 1989 and to record it for Telarc. [Read more…]
Garrick Ohlsson returns to Severance for Busoni’s Piano Concerto
by Mike Telin
When was the last time you attended a performance of Ferruccio Busoni’s Piano Concerto? If your answer is never, you’re not alone. The five-movement work lasts around 70 minutes and is scored for full orchestra and male chorus, making it one of the largest works in the piano concerto canon.
On Thursday, February 7 at 7:30 pm, Garrick Ohlsson will return to the Severance Hall stage for a performance of Busoni’s monumental Concerto with The Cleveland Orchestra under the direction of Alan Gilbert. The evening will also include Haydn’s Symphony No. 100 (“Military”). The program will be repeated on Saturday, February 9 at 8:00 pm. Tickets are available online.
Ohlsson has a long history with this Concerto and with The Cleveland Orchestra — he toured and recorded the piece with Christoph von Dohnányi — but his first introduction to Busoni’s music can be traced back to his teenage years in White Plains, New York. “My first teacher was a student of a Busoni student,” the pianist said by telephone from Boston. “So I grew up knowing about Busoni and his music. By the time I was eleven I was playing some of his pieces.” [Read more…]
Pianist Emanuel Ax returns to Severance Hall this weekend
by Mike Telin
“It’s an incredible thrill to be able to play with Vladimir Ashkenazy. When I was a young student, he was one of the two or three greatest pianists in the world. I went to hear him all the time and was awed by everything that he did,” pianist Emanuel Ax said during a recent telephone conversation. “I continue to be awed, but he is such a nice man that you feel like you can talk to him normally, and that is very nice. He has always been one of my idols, so it is going to be very special to be onstage with him. He also has a long relationship with the Orchestra, which makes this very exciting.”
On Friday, November 3 at 8:00 pm at Severance Hall, Emanuel Ax will perform Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with The Cleveland Orchestra under the direction of Vladimir Ashkenazy. The program, which also includes Elgar’s Serenade and the Enigma Variations, will be repeated on Saturday the 4th at 8:00 pm and Sunday the 5th at 3:00 pm. Tickets are available online. [Read more…]
Jahja Ling reminisces on the 30th Anniversary of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra
by Mike Telin
Youth orchestras have long provided the inspiration for young musicians to decide whether to make music their career goal. Sometimes they’ve had an important impact on conductors, as well. Such is the case with Jahja Ling, who founded two notable youth orchestras during his career: those of The Cleveland Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony.
On Sunday, May 8 at 3:00 pm at Severance Hall, the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra will present the concluding concert of its 30th-anniversary season under the direction of current music director Brett Mitchell. The program will include Adam Schoenberg’s Finding Rothko, Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances, and Erich Korngold’s Violin Concerto, featuring COYO concerto competition winner Jieming Tang. [Read more…]
Cleveland Orchestra: Dohnányi returns, violists Vernon & Ramsey featured in Sortomme Concerto (Nov. 19)
by Daniel Hathaway
Nostalgia was much in evidence at Severance Hall on Thursday evening, November 19. Music director laureate Christoph von Dohnányi, who conducted The Cleveland Orchestra from 1984-2002, made his annual return visit to the podium, obviously drawing a large audience of fans. Additionally, the premiere of Richard Sortomme’s Concerto for Two Violas on Themes from Smetana’s “From My Life” String Quartet served as a fond recollection of the composer’s long friendship with its dedicatee, principal viola Robert Vernon, who is scheduled to retire at the end of the Blossom season in 2016. [Read more…]
Cleveland Orchestra: a new concerto for two violas dedicated to Robert Vernon
by Mike Telin
Since his appointment to The Cleveland Orchestra in 1976, principal viola Robert Vernon has appeared as soloist with the orchestra on more than 100 occasions, both in Cleveland and on tour.
On Thursday, November 18 at 7:30 pm in Severance Hall, Vernon will share the solo spotlight with his longtime stand partner and TCO first assistant principal viola, Lynne Ramsey, for the world premiere of Richard Sortomme’s Concerto for Two Violas on themes from Bedřich Smetana’s “From My Life” Quartet. The concert, under the direction of music director laureate Christoph von Dohnányi, will also include Smetana’s Overture to The Bartered Bride and Franz Schubert’s Symphony in C (“The Great”). The program will be repeated on Friday and Saturday at 8:00 pm. [Read more…]
Review: Cleveland Orchestra — Schumann 2 and 4 with Christoph von Dohnányi (March 29)
by Daniel Hathaway
The latest Saturday night snow massacre did little to keep patrons away from music director laureate Christoph von Dohnányi’s return to Severance Hall on March 29 and his looked-strange-on-paper program of two Schumann symphonies with The Cleveland Orchestra. As it turned out, the pairing of the two symphonies was an insightful idea and Dohnányi drew playing of both sweeping grandeur and arresting detail from the ensemble he led with such distinction from 1984-2002.
As usual, Dohnányi moved the furniture for his weekend performances, reseating the strings with second violins on stage left with cellos next to the firsts (basses behind) and violas next to the seconds, a move which subtly changed balances among the string sections, sometimes at the expense of presence from the seconds, whose tone holes were facing inward rather than toward the audience. [Read more…]