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Summers at Severance makes triumphant return (July 11)

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by Stephanie Manning

In between their already-packed schedule at Blossom Music Center, the musicians of The Cleveland Orchestra appeared at their usual venue — Severance Music Center — for an exciting offering on July 11. Returning after a five-year absence, the Summers at Severance series kicked off with a high-quality evening of Mandel Concert Hall debuts.

Conductor Oksana Lyniv, joining the Orchestra for the first time, brought a graceful precision and strong sense of tempo to the podium. The synergy between conductor and orchestra was evident from the opening piece, Leoš Janáček’s Suite from The Cunning Little Vixen, [Read more…]

Daniel Emmet sparkles in the
spotlight at Cleveland Pops (Nov. 5)

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by Stephanie Manning

Given the venues that Daniel Emmet is used to performing in, Severance Music Center must have felt like quite the culture shock. The classical crossover vocalist, a 2018 finalist on America’s Got Talent, has entertained crowds at places like Caesars Palace, Staples Center, and Angels Stadium. But that didn’t mean that Emmet was any less excited for his appearance on November 5 — quite the contrary.

“Hello, Cleveland!” he announced with a wide grin. “I’ve been waiting many years to say that.” Together with the Cleveland Pops Orchestra, the operatically-trained tenor delivered a memorable, genre-crossing evening of music.

[Read more…]

The Cleveland Orchestra: an MLK Celebration in June

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by Jarrett Hoffman

A surge of coronavirus in January forced The Cleveland Orchestra to postpone its annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Concert. Traditionally held around the time of MLK Day, this year the concert will take place not long from Juneteenth.

The Orchestra will honor Dr. King on Saturday, June 4 at 7:00 pm at Mandel Concert Hall with a program of music by several Black composers — Dolores White, Mary D. Watkins, Carlos Simon, Brian Raphael Nabors, William Grant Still, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, and John Rosamond Johnson — as well as music in the African American spiritual tradition. [Read more…]

The Cleveland Orchestra: Peter Otto discusses Walton’s Violin Concerto

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by Mike Telin

In 1936 British composer William Walton was faced with a decision: should he write a piece for violinist Joseph Szigeti and clarinetist Benny Goodman, or a concerto for Jascha Heifetz? On December 7, 1939 the famed violinist gave the premiere of Walton’s Violin Concerto with The Cleveland Orchestra conducted by Artur Rodziński.

On Thursday, March 10 at 7:30 pm at Severance Music Center, Peter Otto will perform Walton’s concerto with The Cleveland Orchestra under the direction of Franz Welser-Möst. The program also includes Adès’s The Exterminating Angel Symphony and Sibelius’s Symphony No. 5, and will be repeated on Friday at 11:00 am (no Adès) and Saturday at 8:00 pm. Tickets are available online.

During a recent telephone conversation, the first associate concertmaster said he was surprised to discover that he is only the third soloist to perform the work with the orchestra. “I knew it was Heifetz who played the premiere, then it was Nigel Kennedy and now me, which is kind of unbelievable.” 

Unlike many concertos, which have long orchestral openings, this one introduces the soloist at the very beginning. “Here you just dive right in and present the main theme starting in measure two,” Otto said. “That’s something I really like — and to boot, it’s one of the most beautiful melodies ever written for the violin.”

[Read more…]

Magic Circle Mime to visit Cleveland Orchestra one last time

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by Jarrett Hoffman

“Mimes go silent” doesn’t sound like news exactly, but that’s the case with Magic Circle Mime this year.

The company is built around collaborating with orchestras, so their shows actually contain plenty of sound, if not speech. And by the end of 2022, they’ll call it quits, having completed 43 years of touring.

“We’ve had a great run, and we’re superbly happy that we get to do this kind of ‘goodbye tour,’ particularly in places like Cleveland,” Douglas MacIntyre said during a recent interview. MacIntyre co-founded Magic Circle with Maggie Petersen, and that creative partnership remains the foundation of the company.

On Sunday, March 13 at 3:00 pm at Mandel Hall, the mime duo will join conductor Vinay Parameswaran and The Cleveland Orchestra in “The Listener,” a family program that introduces audiences ages 6+ to the workings of an orchestra and the art of listening. Humor, drama, and dance are all part of the show, as are musical selections by Britten, Bernstein, Shostakovich, Tchaikovsky, Bizet, Mozart, and John Williams, representing genres such as orchestra, opera, ballet, and film. Tickets are available here.

[Read more…]

Joela Jones reflects on 54 years with The Cleveland Orchestra

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by Mike Telin 

With a program titled “New Beginnings,” Franz Welser-Möst and The Cleveland Orchestra will return in full force to Severance Music Center on Thursday, October 14 at 7:30 pm, for the first time since March 2020. The evening will feature Richard Strauss’ Macbeth, Joan Tower’s A New Day (for cello and orchestra) with Alisa Weilerstein, and Sergei Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5. The program will be repeated on Sunday, October 17 at 3:00 pm. Click here for ticket information.

The concerts will also be bittersweet as they mark the final performances of Joela Jones as the Orchestra’s principal keyboard. Jones, whose tenure has spanned 54 seasons, will be presented with the Orchestra’s 25th Distinguished Service Award on Thursday evening. Click here to watch a special video about Jones and listen to a playlist of her most memorable performances.

Joela Jones made her first appearance with The Cleveland Orchestra as a concerto soloist for a Summer Pops concert in 1966. The following year she gave the world premiere of a new concerto under the direction of George Szell, who asked her to join the ensemble soon after. Her name first appeared on the printed roster with the opening season of Blossom Music Center in 1968, and in 1972 she was officially designated as the Orchestra’s principal keyboard player. She has held the Rudolf Serkin Endowed Chair since its creation in 1977.

I spoke to Jones via Zoom and began by asking her about being tapped as a prodigy by Ernst von Dohnányi.

[Read more…]

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