by Stephanie Manning
It’s a sure sign that Severance Hall is going to be packed when the intersection of Euclid Avenue and East Boulevard is clogged six ways to Sunday — or rather, Thursday.
It wasn’t just the traffic. Everything at The Cleveland Orchestra’s concert on September 29 was busier than usual — more people in the audience, more musicians on stage, and one of the longest standing ovations in a while.
Franz Welser-Möst led the Orchestra in the first performance of its 105th season, a stirring account of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 2. At one hour and 20 minutes, the work is long enough to fill a whole program — and the Orchestra smartly did just that, forgoing any preludes or overtures in favor of presenting the one work without intermission.
