Originally posted on Cleveland.com
Daniel Hathaway | Cleveland Classical
CLEVELAND, Ohio — The four Cleveland Orchestra concerts at Severance Music Center this weekend are as traditional in form as orchestral programs can be. Although they follow the long-established formula of Overture – Concerto – Symphony and feature standard works by Beethoven, Haydn, and Beethoven again, the interpretation of those pieces on Thursday evening was anything but business as usual.
Making their Cleveland Orchestra debuts in this “Beethoven’s Pastoral” program on Thursday, guest conductor Philippe Herreweghe and cello soloist Jean-Guihen Queyras brought historical sensibility and a deep knowledge of the scores to their tasks. Performing to a large crowd, Herreweghe, Queyras, and the orchestra made sure that every note and phrase leapt off the page and into the ear with freshness and immediacy.