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Franz Welser-Möst returns to Severance to begin 25th and final season in Cleveland (Sept. 17)

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by Daniel Hathaway

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Richard Strauss somehow got lost on his way to the 20th century, but his detour was a beautiful one. Still composing — though at a slower pace — into his eighties, he crafted some of the most expressive and memorable Romantic music in the repertory shortly before his death in 1949.

Among those works are the cycle that has come to be called “The Four Last Songs,” inspired by three Hermann Hesse poems in an anthology gifted to the composer, plus an earlier setting of words by Joseph von Eichendorff. All of the poetry is infused with the “autumnal” qualities also to be found in Johannes Brahms.

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Franz Welser-Möst returns to The Cleveland Orchestra for passionate Summers at Severance finale (Aug. 27)

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by Stephanie Manning

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The summer is almost over, which means that Franz Welser-Möst is back on the podium. The Cleveland Orchestra’s music director has historically preferred to make his appearances at the tail end of the Orchestra’s summer season, and he has scheduled himself for two performances during the last week of August. On Thursday evening, August 27 he led the final concert of the 2026 Summers at Severance series, bringing a good-sized crowd to hear a program of emotionally charged music at Severance Music Center.

Although the timing of Welser-Möst’s return to Cleveland is typical, it now comes with more gravitas than usual, as he is gearing up for his 25th and final year as music director. Understandably, his programming for this upcoming season has become more retrospective to match. Thursday’s concert featured works by historic composers he loves — Richard Strauss and Richard Wagner — and a living composer he has championed — Bernd Richard Deutsch.

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Rain refuses to dampen spirits for Cleveland Orchestra’s all-French program (Aug. 22)

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by Stephanie Manning

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio — French composers Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel often drew inspiration from water. Pieces like Debussy’s La Mer (“The Sea”) and Ravel’s Jeux d’eau (“Fountains” or “Water Games”) are prime examples of how to capture rippling shapes and shimmering colors in sound.

Neither of those pieces were played on The Cleveland Orchestra’s half-Debussy, half-Ravel program on Aug. 22, but they may well have been, as Mother Nature had her rainy way at Blossom Music Center.

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Jakub Hrůša returns to Cleveland Orchestra with music from Germany, Czech Republic (Mar. 5)

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by Stephanie Manning

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — During Jakub Hrůša’s first decade of Cleveland Orchestra appearances, the Czech conductor programmed a wide range of music, including works from his home country, cornerstones of the orchestral canon, and lesser-known gems. This weekend’s concerts feature all three.

On Thursday, March 5, after more than four years away from the Cleveland podium, Hrůša returned to Severance Music Center with music by Johannes Brahms, Bohuslav Martinů, and Vítězslava Kaprálová. Without a concerto, the program focused instead on the forms of the symphony and sinfonietta — as well as on the synergy between Hrůša and the Orchestra, which produced some very fine playing.

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Cleveland Orchestra: Welser-Möst leads two symphonies with The Cleveland Orchestra (Jan. 9)

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by Daniel Hathaway

Franz Welser-Most conducts the Cleveland Orchestra on Thursday evening. Human Artist Photography + Cinema / Yevhen Gulenko

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio – What makes a piece a symphony? That label invokes the ancient Greek notion of musicians playing together harmoniously, but in actual usage, “symphonies” are just containers into which composers pour their orchestral inspirations, with few common features from one work to another.

This was obvious on Thursday evening, January 8 at Severance Music Center, when music director Franz Welser-Möst led The Cleveland Orchestra in wildly dissimilar Symphonies by Wolfgang Amadé Mozart and Dmitri Shostakovich.

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Cleveland Orchestra, conductor Dalia Stasevska celebrate music of North America (Nov. 20)

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by Stephanie Manning

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Although written by a European composer, Antonín Dvořák’s beloved “New World” Symphony represents a particularly “American” idea of music to many.

An audience favorite ever since its premiere in New York in 1893, this symphony is often performed together with works by American composers — an approach taken by The Cleveland Orchestra the last time they played it here in 2023.

This time around, the program expanded its scope to encompass the North American continent, pairing the Dvořák with a piece by Mexican composer Silvestre Revueltas. Conductor Dalia Stasevska led a memorable performance of both works on Thursday, Nov. 20 at Severance Music Center.

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Cleveland Orchestra with English horn soloist Robert Walters at Severance (Nov. 13)

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by Daniel Hathaway

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The keyword for Thursday evening November 13 at Severance Music Center was stamina.

Without that essential quality, the performance of two demanding works by English hornist Robert Walters and The Cleveland Orchestra, led by guest conductor Tugan Sokhiev, might have fallen flat.

Instead, the concert entered the record books as a meticulously played sonic spectacular.

Geoffey Gordon’s Mad Song, written in 2020 after a fascinating poem by the 18th-century English mystic William Blake, was commissioned for Dimitri Mestdag, solo English horn of the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra.

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Robert Walters to give U.S. premiere of Geoffrey Gordon’s Mad Song

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by Mike Telin

“This is a great piece of music that just happens to be an English horn concerto,” Robert Walters said during an interview. “I’m excited about playing it because I think the audience will like it as much as I do.”

On Thursday, November 13 at ​​7:30 pm at Severance Music Center, Robert Walters, Cleveland Orchestra solo English horn, will give the U.S premiere of Geoffrey Gordon’s Mad Song. Under the direction of Tugan Sokhiev, the concert also includes Mahler’s Sixth Symphony. The program will be repeated on Friday and Saturday at 7:30. Tickets are available online.

Written in 2020, Gordon’s Mad Song was commissioned for Dimitri Mestdag, the solo English horn of the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra. When the composer contacted Walters about giving the U.S. premiere of the concerto, Walters paused. “I’d heard Geoffrey Gordon’s name — he’s the guy who writes a lot of concertos. He told me that everyone says that I’m the guy to talk to about that. And I said, I’m flattered. I’ll give it a listen.”

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Cleveland Orchestra dazzles with Chopin and Rachmaninoff (Aug. 21)

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by Stephanie Manning

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Works by pianist-composers Frédéric Chopin and Sergei Rachmaninoff offered some dazzling displays of virtuosity on The Cleveland Orchestra’s final Summers at Severance concert on August 21 at Severance Music Center.

Chopin’s Second Piano Concerto gave soloist Nobuyuki Tsujii multiple opportunities to shine, and Rachmaninoff’s Second Symphony provided guest conductor Dima Slobodeniouk with a rich palette of orchestral colors to paint with, even without a soloist at the Steinway.

Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2 was first performed in Cleveland by the Boston Symphony in 1911 and first played by The Cleveland Orchestra under the direction of Nikolai Sokoloff in March of 1920 as part of the newly formed ensemble’s second season.

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Sounds of Bartók, Dohnányi, Liszt shine at Severance Music Center (July 31)

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by Peter Feher

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — It’s quite possible that a record number of soloists have taken the stage at Severance Music Center over the past few weeks.

Thursday night’s Cleveland Orchestra concert — a symphonic showcase from beginning to end that spotlighted every section of the ensemble — should certainly count toward the virtuoso tally.

The playing of dozens of individual orchestra members came brilliantly to the fore in Mandel Concert Hall. Never mind that no guest soloist was featured. Rather, the evening’s prodigiousness originated with the lineup of composers, expertly channeled by visiting conductor Christoph Koncz.

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