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John Adams leads Cleveland Orchestra in riveting program of music with environmental themes (Ap. 4)

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by Kevin McLaughlin | Cleveland Classical

Originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Two forest-themed works and a picture of a noir-suffused city that never sleeps formed a riveting Cleveland Orchestra program on Thursday evening April 4 in Mandel Concert Hall at Severance Music Center under the direction of guest conductor John Adams.

A good way to convince someone to care more about trees is to take them on a hike. American naturalist John Muir, who hiked with common folk and presidents alike, encouraged everyone to “climb the mountains and get their good tidings.”

Another way is to bring the trees to the people. Gabriella Smith did just that with Breathing Forests, her mesmerizing 30-minute organ concerto, composed in 2021 for James McVinnie, who was soloist on Thursday.

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The Cleveland Orchestra: organist James McVinnie performs Breathing Forests

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by Mike Telin

In her program note, composer Gabriella Smith writes that her organ concerto Breathing Forests is “a reflection on the complex relationship between humans, forests, climate change, and fire. The massive sound and architecture of the organ feels something like the grandeur of a forest to me, and its breath reminiscent of the glorious exchange of carbon dioxide to oxygen that forests perform on a massive scale. 

“This is an example of how music and art can make a difference in how we talk about climate change,” organist James McVinnie said during a telephone interview. “It’s a piece that everyone, especially young people, should hear.”

On Thursday, April 4 at 7:30 pm at Severance Music Center, McVinnie will make his debut with The Cleveland Orchestra in Smith’s Breathing Forests. Under the direction of John Adams, the concert will also include Adams’ City Noir with saxophonist Timothy McAllister as soloist and Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun. The program will be repeated on Saturday at 8:00 pm. Tickets are available online.

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The Cleveland Orchestra: Timothy McAllister plays John Adams

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by Mike Telin

“It’s just a thrill to come to Cleveland,” Timothy McAllister said during a telephone conversation. “And audiences will be witnessing a piece that for the saxophone has literally made history — and I’m honored to be part of that history.”

On Thursday, April 4 at 7:30 pm at Severance Music Center, McAllister will join The Cleveland Orchestra in John Adams’ City Noir. Under the direction of Adams, the concert will also include Gabriella Smith’s Breathing Forests with organist James McVinnie as soloist and Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun. The program will be repeated on Saturday at 8:00 pm. Tickets are available online.

Based in Ann Arbor, McAllister serves on the faculty of the University of Michigan, and is no stranger to Northeast Ohio, having performed Avner Dorman’s Saxophone Concerto with CityMusic in 2014. His first Cleveland Orchestra performance came in November of 2018 when Matthias Pintscher led Bartók’s The Wood Prince Suite.

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The Cleveland Orchestra: power and passion at El Niño (Nov. 18)

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by Stephanie Manning

In the 22 years since it was written, John Adams’ El Niño has been programmed in all kinds of creative ways. The premiere of the oratorio was accompanied by a silent film, and the 2014 Spoleto Festival brought in a crew of puppeteers. But on November 18, The Cleveland Orchestra decided to keep it simple. The straightforward concert-style presentation, conducted by Adams, let the music speak for itself — and it had plenty to say.

El Niño, a modern retelling of the birth of Jesus, isn’t an easy work to explain. Commissioned at the turn of the millennium, the oratorio tells the Biblical story from new perspectives, primarily by centering women’s voices in the narrative. It combines traditional texts with the Wakefield Mystery Plays, Haggai, and ancient and contemporary Latin American poetry. Essentially, Adams set out to write his own Messiah — but while Handel’s work is unquestionably a celebration, Adams takes a more nuanced approach, tackling big questions about the nature of miracles, pregnancy, and motherhood. [Read more…]

The Cleveland Orchestra at Blossom: Rachmaninoff & Adams (Aug. 13)

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by Peter Feher

The August 13 program at Blossom Music Center was a grand finale in all but name. The Cleveland Orchestra played the last classical concert of its summer season there (the group would save a couple of preview performances for Severance later in the month, ahead of setting out on its 2022 European tour), and the repertoire was exceptional and expansive to match the occasion.

Now, both pieces on Saturday might be called one thing, but they really sound like another. “Symphony” is a title that would fit Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2, as well as John Adams’ modern masterpiece for orchestra, Harmonielehre. [Read more…]

Cleveland Orchestra with John Adams and Jeremy Denk (Feb. 4)

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by Peter Feher

The Cleveland Orchestra transformed into the Los Angeles Philharmonic over the weekend. Even if a snowstorm outside suggested otherwise, the program on February 4 at Severance Music Center had the California spirit of experimentation at all costs. The Orchestra had postponed the performance by a day, and lingering bad weather plus the new date meant Friday’s sparse crowd was the committed, brave-it-out type.

The concert embraced more than just a general innovative attitude, though. Composer John Adams led the Cleveland musicians in a distinctive all-contemporary bill, in the model of the “Green Umbrella” series he chairs for the LA Phil.

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The Cleveland Orchestra:
Denk on Adams & writing

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by Jarrett Hoffman

Almost two years passed, with Jeremy Denk limited to thinking about the piece, playing around with the fingerings, and maybe emailing the composer a question or two. All while he had it solidly learned.

“That was horrible not to be able to play this piece,” the pianist said during a recent telephone interview. “But.” He paused. “Good things come to those who wait, I suppose.”

Only recently did the opportunity arrive to perform John Adams’ third piano concerto, Must the Devil Have All the Good Tunes? — written in 2018, and played by only a couple of other keyboardists before Denk was to take it on with the composer on the podium in late March of 2020.

Finally, his first go at it came in Seattle in the early days of 2022. St. Louis is next, in late January. And Cleveland will follow when Denk and Adams share the Severance stage with The Cleveland Orchestra on February 3 (at 7:30 pm), February 5 (at 8:00 pm), and February 6 (at 3:00 pm).

“Now we’re really in the thick of trying to define this piece and make sense of it,” Denk said, “which is so much fun.”

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Cleveland Orchestra In Focus 5: Parameswaren leads “Musical Patterns”

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by Daniel Hathaway

The release of the fifth episode of The Cleveland Orchestra’s In Focus video series coincided with the elevation of Vinay Parameswaren from assistant to associate conductor of the ensemble and the extension of his contract. Of course, the concert had been pre-recorded a couple of weeks before it appeared on the Adella platform on January 28, but his leadership of the Orchestra on that occasion completely validated that promotion.

Episode 5 is subtitled “Musical Patterns,” a nod to the fact that three of the four works are examples of “minimalism,” or maybe more precisely, “repetitive music.” [Read more…]

Jakub Hrůša guest conducts two November Cleveland Orchestra concerts (Nov. 9 & 14)

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by Daniel Hathaway

You can usually count on Jakub Hrůša to offer up some Czech music during his guest conducting appearances at Severance Hall. Not this time, but in his recent two weekends of concerts, works by Russian, American, and Austrian composers revealed the conductor’s ability to communicate in multiple musical languages. His readings of Shostakovich and John Adams were as probing and masterful as his takes on Beethoven and Mahler were fresh and surprising, and he brought his colleagues along with him all the way. [Read more…]

Cleveland Orchestra with Adams & Josefowicz (Nov. 30)

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by Daniel Hathaway

Violinist Leila Josefowicz had already performed John Adams’ Scheherazade.2 more than 50 times before she and the composer brought the piece to The Cleveland Orchestra for Severance Hall performances last weekend. More than merely having the nearly hour-long concerto under her fingers, Josefowicz has it under her skin, and the work was the highlight of the evening on Friday, November 30. [Read more…]

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