by Stephanie Manning
This article was originally published on Cleveland.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio — When the lights dimmed in Mandel Concert Hall on Thursday night, April 30, audience members were greeted not by a stage full of seated musicians, but by a collection of empty chairs and stands, waiting for their players to file on from the wings. An unconventional beginning — but unconventional is what Jörg Widmann does best.
A conductor, composer, and clarinetist, Widmann is no stranger to Severance Music Center. He served as The Cleveland Orchestra’s Daniel R. Lewis Composer Fellow from 2009 to 2011, and his music has resurfaced in the Orchestra’s programs ever since. But this week marked his debut on the podium.
To celebrate the occasion, Widmann paired three works of his own, including a U.S. premiere, with Felix Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 5, “Reformation.”
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The Cleveland Orchestra’s final classical concert at Blossom Music Center on Saturday, like the last rose of summer, was the unexpected apogee of the season. Transforming a generic-sounding program titled “Impressions of France and Spain,” conductor Fabien Gabel captivated in works of Ravel, de Falla, and Saint-Saëns’ 
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