Cleveland, October 25 — The Cleveland Orchestra announced today that Mikko Franck will step in for music director and conductor laureate Christoph von Dohnányi for its concerts on December 7, 8, and 9. Dohnányi has been advised by his physician not to travel. The programs remain as previously announced: Julian Anderson’s Incantesimi, Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 18 (”Paradis”) with Richard Goode, and Brahms’s Symphony No. 1
Cleveland Orchestra in Mahler’s Sixth (October 5)
by Daniel Hathaway
Gustav Mahler’s Sixth Symphony is the perfect candidate for a 75-minute, straight-through concert. Bursting at the seams with musical content of astonishing variety and emotional range, it bombards the listener with almost as much sonic stimulation as a human ear and brain can process in one sitting. Franz Welser-Möst and The Cleveland Orchestra put the work across with total conviction and arresting effect on Thursday evening, October 5 in Severance Hall, a few days before departing on a European tour. [Read more…]
TCO announces 2017-18 tour schedule
by Jarrett Hoffman
The Cleveland Orchestra has announced details of its Centennial Season tour schedule, marking the ensemble’s 17th and 18th international tours to be led by Music Director Franz Welser-Möst. Twenty concerts spanning seven weeks will include an October trip to Europe, two concerts at Carnegie Hall in January, and season-capping appearances in Vienna and Tokyo during May and June. Complete details of the tour can be found below.
“Touring is important for The Cleveland Orchestra,” said Welser-Möst in a press release. “It requires an enormous amount of flexibility to find ‘our sound’ playing in different acoustics. We refine this sound every day in our home, Severance Hall, and bring this to audiences outside of Cleveland.”
The music director praised the strong will that exists in the community. “With the history of Cleveland, ups and downs economically, there has been an enormous determination in this community to maintain and enhance a world-class orchestra. Going around and showing that to the world is gratifying. [Read more…]
Cleveland Orchestra opens Centennial Season with Vixen redux and stunning Rite of Spring (September 26 & 28)
by Daniel Hathaway
What a week at Severance Hall! On Tuesday, September 26, The Cleveland Orchestra’s revival of Leoš Janáček’s opera The Cunning Little Vixen received its third and final performance, and two days later, Franz Welser-Möst returned to the podium to lead the Orchestra in a spellbinding performance of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring. [Read more…]
Guest essay: A Summer in Ohio (and a Thank You to Akron)
by Levi Hammer
Special to ClevelandClassical.com
“Why, oh why, oh why, oh — why did I ever leave Ohio?” So goes Bernstein’s Broadway hit. In moments of discouragement in Berlin over the last year, my thoughts drifted to that tune. This summer brought me back to Ohio for my third season at Cincinnati Opera, where I worked on the Barrie Kosky production of The Magic Flute on loan from the Komische Oper Berlin. Spending a summer in my beloved Ohio has given me cause to reflect on my time there.
I first traveled to Ohio assisting Benjamin Zander when he was conducting Mahler’s Ninth Symphony with the Akron Symphony. I had never heard of this orchestra, let alone of the city of Akron, and I was unaware of the musical riches of Northeast Ohio, extending back to industrialization, and the two world-class orchestras in the region (The Cleveland Orchestra and the Pittsburgh Symphony). [Read more…]
The Cleveland Orchestra begins 100th Season with revival of Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen
by Mike Telin
The Cleveland Orchestra begins its landmark 100th season this week with a revival of Yuval Sharon’s critically acclaimed, made-for-Cleveland production of Leoš Janáček’s opera The Cunning Little Vixen.
Franz Welser-Möst leads the Orchestra and a cast that will include Martina Janková (Vixen), Alan Held (Forrester), Jennifer Johnson Cano (Fox), Andrew Foster-Williams (Harašta), Daryl Freedman (Lapák the Dog), Dashon Burton (Parson/Badger), and David Cangelosi (Schoolmaster/Mosquito).
Performances will take place on Saturday, September 23 at 8:00 pm, Sunday the 24th at 3:00 pm, and Tuesday the 26th at 7:30 pm. Tickets available online. Writing for Classical Voice North America, Daniel Hathaway said that the digitally enhanced production was “beguiling in concept and brilliant in execution.” [Read more…]
Credo brings The Cleveland Orchestra, CIM & Oberlin Conservatory together for Hurricane Harvey Benefit September 8
by Daniel Hathaway
Members of The Cleveland Orchestra will join Credo Music, as well as students from the Cleveland Institute of Music and the Oberlin Conservatory for “Help After Harvey: an American Red Cross Benefit Concert” on Friday, September 8 at 7:00 pm in Severance Hall. Former Cleveland Orchestra Assistant Conductor and Oberlin graduate James Feddeck will conduct.
All seats are $20 ($10 for students), and all proceeds will benefit the American Red Cross for disaster relief services related to Hurricane Harvey. Reserve seats online or call the Severance Hall Box Office at 216.231.1111.
Executive Director Henry Peyrebrune said that the idea of a benefit concert originated in a Credo staff meeting a week ago. “We thought we should do something for the people of Houston. What if we organized a concert?” [Read more…]
Cleveland Orchestra at Blossom with Cristian Măcelaru & Augustin Hadelich (Aug. 26)
by Daniel Hathaway
Anyone who’s still roasting that old canard about the elitism of classical music should have witnessed the scene at Blossom on Saturday evening, August 26. The immense crowd that gathered on the lawn and in the pavilion had turned out to hear The Cleveland Orchestra doing what it does best — playing great works in the orchestral repertoire with depth and brilliance, on this occasion under the Romanian-born guest conductor Cristian Măcelaru and with the German-Italian violinist Augustin Hadelich. [Read more…]
Save the dates for September’s early season openers & special events
by Daniel Hathaway
After the gradual spinning down of the summer concert season, September can sneak up on you. Here’s a list of early season openers and one-off events that Northeast Ohio music lovers should be sure to jot down in their calendars.
Ars Organi at St. Paul’s, Cleveland Heights
Organist Karel Paukert has created a festival to celebrate the collection of organs (and a harpsichord) that grace the music program at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Cleveland Heights. The seven events in “Ars Organi” between September 15 and October 1 will feature the Walter Holtkamp Sr. instrument as well as the Vladimir Slajch chamber organ, the Gerhard Hradetzky Italian Baroque organ, and the Matthias Griewisch harpsichord — a fleet of keyboard instruments any church would be delighted to have at its disposal.
Performers include Prague organist Jaroslav Tuma (right) on Friday, September 15 at 7:30 
pm and Saturday, September 16 at 4:00 pm (featuring his paraphrase of Smetana’s My Country); Oberlin professor James David Christie with members of Oberlin’s Collegium Musicum on Tuesday, September 19 at 7:30 pm; and University of Kansas professor James Higdon in a lecture and masterclass on Jehan Alain on Saturday, September 23 at 2:00 pm and a recital of Alain’s works on Sunday, September 24 at 4:00 pm. [Read more…]
Cleveland Orchestra at Blossom with Fabien Gabel & Juho Pohjonen (Aug. 19)
by Daniel Hathaway
The promotional material for The Cleveland Orchestra’s program on Saturday, August 19 may have shouted “Bolero!,” but a brilliant performance by Finnish pianist Juho Pohjonen of Sergei Prokoviev’s brash first concerto — presided over by French guest conductor Fabien Gabel — was the true headliner on this perfect summer evening at the Blossom Music Center. [Read more…]