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Cleveland Orchestra’s dance-focused program at Blossom welcomes new face, new piece (July 25)

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by Stephanie Manning

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio — “Dance” was the operative word and cello the instrument of choice on Saturday evening at Blossom Music Center.

The 20th-century program on July 25 sandwiched The Cleveland Orchestra’s first performance of Bohuslav Martinů’s Cello Concerto No. 1 between two pieces inspired by the art of movement: Zoltán Kodály’s Dances of Galánta and Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances. Heading it all up was conductor Kevin John Edusei, making a memorable Cleveland Orchestra debut.

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Guest conductor Jonathon Heyward presents captivating program in Cleveland Orchestra debut (July 26)

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by Kevin McLaughlin

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio — The July 26 concert at Blossom Music Center marked the exciting Cleveland Orchestra debut of conductor Jonathon Heyward — the music director of the Baltimore Symphony and the Festival Orchestra of Lincoln Center. His program should have captivated even the most distant lawn loungers with works by Dvořák and Beethoven, as well as a recent concerto by London-born composer Anna Clyne, who now resides in the United States.

The centerpiece of the evening was Clyne’s Glasslands, a haunting, kaleidoscopic concerto for soprano saxophone, written for the 27-year-old British saxophonist Jess Gillam, who premiered it with the Detroit Symphony in 2023 and performed it on Saturday with beauty and authority.

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Cleveland Orchestra with New, Capuçon & KB Chamber Orchestra at Blossom (July 27)

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by Daniel Hathaway

Replacing Bramwell Tovey, New Zealand-born guest conductor Gemma New led a brilliant side-by-side performance of Elgar’s Enigma Variations by The Cleveland Orchestra and Blossom Festival Chamber Orchestra to close out the evening’s double header at Blossom on Saturday, July 27. Before that, French cellist Gautier Capuçon was mesmerizing in Saint-Saëns’ First Concerto, New brought drama and sweep to Sibelius’ Finlandia, and for a prelude, Vinay Parameswaran led the Chamber Orchestra in a charming mix of Mendelssohn and Ravel. [Read more…]

Kent Blossom Chamber Orchestra & Cleveland Orchestra Side-by-Side (July 19)

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by Timothy Robson

The first Cleveland Orchestra concert at the Blossom Music Center occurred on July 19, 1968. On Saturday evening’s concert there was no official recognition of that 50th anniversary, but the event did mark another tradition in existence since 1990: a “side-by-side” performance in which members of the Kent Blossom Chamber Orchestra were interspersed with The Cleveland Orchestra. [Read more…]

Kent Blossom Chamber Orchestra:
A conversation with Vinay Parameswaran

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by Mike Telin

This weekend The Cleveland Orchestra turns its attention to young musicians. On Friday, July 20 at 7:30 pm at Severance Hall, the three finalists from the Cooper International Piano Competition will perform complete concertos with The Cleveland Orchestra under the direction of Jahja Ling. Tickets available online.

The following evening, July 21 at Blossom Music Center, Ling and The Orchestra will focus on the participants in the 50th annual Kent Blossom Music Festival. The concert will begin at 7:00 pm, when Vinay Parameswaran will lead the Kent Blossom Chamber Orchestra in Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 1 (Classical) and de Falla’s Suite No. 1 from The Three-Cornered Hat.

At 8:00 pm that student ensemble will join The Cleveland Orchestra and Jahja Ling in a side-by-side performance of Berlioz’s Overture to Benvenuto Cellini, and Vaughan Williams’ Serenade to Music featuring the Blossom Festival Chorus. The marathon event will continue around 9:00 pm when Ling and TCO return to the stage for Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 (“Titan”).   [Read more…]

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