by Peter Feher
Many conductors are happy to travel from orchestra to orchestra with the same set of pieces. Not Michael Tilson Thomas, who brought a unique but instantly recognizable program to Severance Music Center over the weekend.
A visit from the San Francisco Symphony’s music director laureate usually means interesting repertoire, stylish interpretations, and the prospect that he’ll return next season.
If that workload and those artistic commitments would be exceptional from anyone else on the podium, this year they have to count as remarkable for Tilson Thomas, too. The conductor announced his semi-retirement two months ago, going public with the details of a brain-cancer diagnosis but promising to keep making music all the same. [Read more…]
When French cellist Gautier Capuçon appeared with The Cleveland Orchestra in April of 2015, he thrilled audiences with his performances of Saint-Saëns’ 
French guest conductor Lionel Bringuier and French cellist Gautier Capuçon brought a program of French music both well-known and obscure to Severance Hall last weekend. The ever-adaptable Cleveland Orchestra took on a French accent for the occasion, producing a concert that was elegant and savory, and structured like a classic French menu. I heard the performance on Thursday evening, April 16.