Leon Fleisher Archives - Cleveland Classical

Review: Cleveland Orchestra — a distinguished evening of Beethoven (and Mendelssohn) with Fleisher and Biss (Dec. 5)

December 12, 2013 by Special to ClevelandClassical.com

by Daniel Hathaway

You could imagine the joy in the musical Empyrean at what took place in Severance Hall last weekend when Leon Fleisher returned to the site of so many of his pianistic triumphs — this time as conductor — to collaborate with his protègé Jonathan Biss, in magisterial performances of Beethoven’s second and third piano concertos. (Biss was called in on short notice to replace Mitsuko Uchida, who was sidelined with a minor thumb injury.)

Beethoven would undoubtedly have been proud of the unbroken tradition passed down through his student Carl Czerny to Theodor Leschetizky to Artur Schnabel to Leon Fleisher and finally to Fleisher’s student Jonathan Biss. George Szell (who probably hovers not too far away) would have beamed avuncularly to see Fleisher, his first invited Cleveland Orchestra soloist, taking a turn on the podium. And Mendelssohn (certainly a regular at the heavenly party) would have been delighted to hear his Hebrides Overture elevated from picture postcard status to an evocative tone poem. [Read more…]

Preview: Leon Fleisher returns to Severance Hall, this time as guest conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra

December 3, 2013 by Special to ClevelandClassical.com

by Mike Telin

Autograph Book: Leon Fleisher’s debut at Severance Hall (Cleveland Orchestra Archives)

George Szell made his first appearance as music director of The Cleveland Orchestra on October 17, 1946, opening the ensemble’s twenty-ninth season with Weber’s Oberon Overture, Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, Strauss’s Don Juan and Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony.

One week later, on October 24 and 26, Szell welcomed his first soloist to the stage when 18-year-old Leon Fleisher played the Schumann concerto with the orchestra on a program that included Brahms’s second symphony, Berlioz’s Roman Carnival Overture and Britten’s Three Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes.

On October 25, Plain Dealer critic Herbert Elwell wrote, “The second symphony program of the Cleveland Orchestra under George Szell last night at Severance Hall was another stimulating evening of vigorous and enjoyable music making to which the young American pianist, Leon Fleisher made a splendid contribution by his brilliant playing of the Schumann Concerto.”

Elwell went on to say, “No pianist could have been supplied with a more expressive or closely woven instrumental backdrop than that provided by Szell and it often seemed as though piano and orchestra were so intimately inter-related as to be one.”

That opening concert marked the beginning of what has become the longest relationship of any visiting artist with The Cleveland Orchestra. [Read more…]

Apollo’s Fire: “Hope and Solitude” featuring countertenor Reginald Mobley (Nov. 17)

by Daniel Hathaway

Apollo’s Fire concertmaster and assistant artistic director Alan Choo curated an thoughtful, unusual, and thoroughly engaging program at Rocky River Presbyterian Church on Sunday afternoon, November 17.

Featuring the formidable vocal gifts of countertenor Reginald Mobley, the program managed to gather under a single banner an orchestral suite and other selections by Henry Purcell, lute music by John Dowland, a suite by John Eccles, and an aria from J.S. Bach’s “Hunting” cantata as well as his solo cantata Ich habe genug. The well-attended concert ended with Spirituals that fit remarkably well into a menu of music played on period instruments.

In his director’s notes, Alan Choo wrote that this program “epitomizes the universality of music and its ability to uplift, heal, and revitalize the human spirit,” quoting the text of 17th-century Anglo-Welsh royalist poet Katherine Phillips’ O Solitude as set by Henry Purcell. [Read on…]

Conductor Santtu-Mathias Rouvali wears his heart on his sleeve in Cleveland Orchestra debut

by Stephanie Manning

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Change of plans recently led to unexpected opportunities at The Cleveland Orchestra. And so, this week, guest conductor Santtu-Mathias Rouvali seized the moment. With the Mahler “Das Lied von der Erde” program moved to next season, a rare blank slate appeared. Rouvali stepped in on short notice to make his Cleveland debut presenting an impassioned program.

The three pieces performed on Thursday, Nov. 21 — which will be heard again on Nov. 22 and 23 — share a distinctive expressivity, and each represented an introduction of their own.

Carl Nielsen’s Overture to “Maskarade“ set the scene for the Danish composer’s opera, a well-known work in his home county but rarely played elsewhere. Its five minutes include a whirling ballroom waltz, which Rouvali accentuated by coaxing the brass to cut through the texture. The conductor quickly revealed his taste for flourishes, his motions imbued with a fluttery, cursive affect.

[Read on…]

Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra impresses with Boulanger, Copland, and Rachmaninoff

By Daniel Hathaway | Cleveland Classical

This article was originally posted on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Anyone who believes that tired old canard that classical music is dead or dying needed to hear conductor Daniel Reith and the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra play music by Lily Boulanger, Aaron Copland, and Sergei Rachmaninoff in their Autumn Concert at Severance Music Center on Sunday afternoon, November 24.

That challenging program tested COYO’s musicianship. Not only does it run deep, but it’s so sophisticated that the young players can make Boulanger sound French, Copland American, and Rachmaninoff Russian.

Boulanger’s D’un Matin de Printemps was light and airy, conjuring up in its five minutes a Gallic Spring morning with lovely solos by concertmaster Aika Birch and individual winds. Surges suggested the burgeoning surprises nature still had in store.

[Read on…]

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