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Cleveland Orchestra: Summers@Severance July 14

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by Timothy Robson

Summers@Severance-Barbara-MerrittSeverance Hall was packed on Friday, July 14, for the first of this year’s Summers@ Severance concerts. It was the perfect evening for this more casual concert, which included audience members attired in everything from t-shirts and shorts to evening attire, plus food and drinks before and after on the terrace. In the auditorium, however, the proceedings were anything but casual. Franz Welser-Möst conducted a program of Beethoven: the Symphonies Nos. 1 and 5, and the Overture to Egmont. [Read more…]

Cleveland Orchestra at Blossom: “A Night at the Opera” with Erin Wall (July 9)

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by Daniel Hathaway

Erin-Wall-(Credit-Kristen-Hoebermann)The Canadian soprano Erin Wall made only one costume change on Sunday evening at Blossom — from a burgundy to a sparkling black gown — but she brought winning vocal versatility and theatrical savvy to her portrayal of five different divas, brilliantly supported by Franz Welser-Möst and The Cleveland Orchestra. [Read more…]

Cleveland Orchestra: Haydn symphonies, Cheung premiere & Ligeti with Aimard (May 18)

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by Daniel Hathaway

TCO-051817-FWM-AimardThursday evening’s Cleveland Orchestra program at Severance Hall cozied two ear-stretching modern works by Anthony Cheung and György Ligeti between a pair of Haydn Symphonies — No. 39 from the composer’s “Storm and Stress” period, and No. 96 from his late, mature period. [Read more…]

Cleveland Orchestra: Mendelssohn & Henze with Julia Fischer (May 11)

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by Daniel Hathaway

TiranFWMWhen the 17-year-old Felix Mendelssohn saw A Midsummer Night’s Dream with his sister, he ran right home to write a piano duet on the subject that turned into an overture and later a whole suite of incidental music. Did he have any idea that his music would be inextricably bound to Shakespeare’s play — or its march appropriated for countless wedding recessionals? [Read more…]

Cleveland Orchestra: a conversation with Pelléas and Mélisande’s Golaud

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by Mike Telin

Muller-BrachmannClaude Debussy’s journey to writing an opera had many false starts. Then he happened across the symbolist plays of Maurice Maeterlinck. After discovering that the author had given Vincent d’Indy permission to to set his La princesse Maleine to music, Debussy turned his attention to Maeterlinck’s Pelléas et Mélisande.

On May 2nd, 4th, and 6th at 7:30 pm at Severance Hall, The Cleveland Orchestra under the direction of Franz Welser-Möst will present three performances of the new fully-staged production by Yuval Sharon of Debussy’s only completed opera. The cast will include Elliot Madore (as Pelléas), Martina Janková (Mélisande), Hanno Müller-Brachmann (Golaud), Nancy Maultsby (Genevieve), Peter Rose (Arkel), Julie Mathevet (Yniold), and David Castillo (Doctor/Shepherd). [Read more…]

Cleveland Orchestra announces its 2017-2018 Centennial Season

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by Daniel Hathaway

March-17-FWM-ChildrenSome 1,200 patrons gathered at Severance Hall on Friday evening, March 17 to hear details of The Cleveland Orchestra’s 100th-anniversary season in 2017-2018. The evening began with a sumptuous reception in the lobbies accompanied by string music from members of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra playing alongside Cleveland Orchestra musicians.

Moving to the main auditorium, the crowd heard remarks from executive director André Gremillet and newly-elected Musical Arts Association president Richard K. Smucker, and reflections from Orchestra musicians Massimo La Rosa, Martha Baldwin, and Joshua Smith on their experiences. [Read more…]

Cleveland Orchestra: all-Stravinsky with Cleveland Orchestra Chorus & Seraphic Fire (Mar. 16)

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by Daniel Hathaway

Stravinsky-Wide-MastroianniThose who say they like or don’t like the music of Igor Stravinsky risk being detained for further questioning: which of the different styles the composer took on and discarded during his long 20th-century career are you referring to? There were several to be heard on The Cleveland Orchestra’s all-Stravinsky program on Thursday evening, all masterfully performed under the direction of Franz Welser-Möst with the help of the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus and Miami’s Seraphic Fire. [Read more…]

Stravinsky’s Threni at Severance Hall: a conversation with Patrick Dupré Quigley

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by Daniel Hathaway

Patrick-Dupre-QuigleyThis week’s pair of Cleveland Orchestra concerts led by music director Franz Welser-Möst will be devoted to works in a variety of styles by Igor Stravinsky. One of the most challenging is Threni: Lamentations of the Prophet Jeremiah, a piece the composer premiered at the Venice Biennale in September 1958. Threni will be performed on Thursday, March 16 and Saturday, March 18 by The Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus and the Miami-based chamber chorus Seraphic Fire, now in its fifteenth season.

We spoke by telephone last week with Seraphic Fire’s founder and artistic director Patrick Dupré Quigley, who was already in Cleveland on another assignment with the Cleveland Orchestra. [Read more…]

Cleveland Orchestra & Chamber Chorus: Bach’s St. John Passion at Severance (Mar. 9)

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by Daniel Hathaway

TCO-Herr-unser-HerrscherUnder the direction of Franz Welser-Möst on Thursday evening, members of The Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus and an excellent team of soloists made a strong case for a not-so-historically informed approach to Bach’s sacred vocal works. The quality of Welser-Möst’s interpretation and the excellence of its execution got right to the heart of the composer’s Passion According to St. John and left a powerful emotional impression. [Read more…]

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