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Cleveland Orchestra’s July 18 concert rescued from the elements (July 18)

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by Peter Feher

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Johannes Brahms was a composer well attuned to the sounds of nature. They reverberate throughout his symphonies, from magnificent horn calls evoking the Alps to sunny, pastoral stretches of string writing.

Still, like most classical musicians, he probably wouldn’t have cited the great outdoors as his preferred concert environment.

So it was unexpectedly lucky for all involved that, amid air-quality alerts and thunderstorms, the Cleveland Orchestra made a rare change of venue, moving Saturday’s Blossom Music Festival performance indoors to Severance.

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Cleveland Orchestra, Ohlsson bring solace amidst smoky skies (July 16)

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by Stephanie Manning

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Although the festive lights had already been strung up around the Severance Music Center terrace, it remained conspicuously empty on Thursday evening, surrounded by the haze of wildfire smoke and lit by the glow of the eerily orange sun.

The area’s worst air quality ratings in three years arrived on July 16, the opening night of The Cleveland Orchestra’s 2026 Summers at Severance series, which unceremoniously sent the pre-concert mingling and light refreshments indoors. But after such a gloomy day, a program of absolutely beautiful music provided some needed solace.

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Karen Gomyo returns to Blossom with Shostakovich

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by Mike Telin

When violinist Karen Gomyo made her Cleveland Orchestra debut, she brought the Mendelssohn concerto. When she returned in 2014 she delivered a gripping performance of Saint-Saëns’s third concerto.

On Saturday, July 18th, Gomyo will heard in Shostakovich’s haunting Violin Concerto No. 1. The 7:00 pm Blossom Music Center program led by Semyon Bychkov, will also include Brahms’ Symphony No. 4. Tickets are available online.

I spoke to the violinist by phone and began our conversation by asking her to share her history with the Concerto.

Karen Gomyo: It’s a piece that has impacted me profoundly since I first heard it when I was about 13 . I had really immersed myself in the world of Shostakovich at that time. My entry into this concerto was the recording by David Oistrakh. I was just captivated by his playing and by the music.

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Garrick Ohlsson to open Summers at Severance

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by Mike Telin

Since his debut in 1975, Garrick Ohlsson has appeared frequently with The Cleveland Orchestra, and his magical performances have fittingly earned him the title of fan-favorite. “There’s no place I’d rather play,” the pianist said during a Zoom conversation.

On July 16 at 7:00 pm, Ohlsson will make his 27th appearance with the Orchestra when he opens the Summers at Severance series with Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 1. Under the direction of Semyon Bychkov, the program also includes Bedřich Smetana’s “The Moldau” from Má vlast and Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8. Tickets are available online.

Ohlsson recalled that he was introduced to Rachmaninoff’s first concerto as a kid. “Back in the age of LPs, there was a RCA Victor issue of Rachmaninoff himself playing the Paganini Rhapsody. On the other side was Concerto Number 1. It had a marvelous cover with a wintery scene of the back of an elderly woman trudging through the snow. And above it was this gloomy face of Rachmaninoff. That’s when I first heard the piece — I was ten years old and I fell in love with it.”

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The Cleveland Orchestra:
Bychkov, Labèques, and a premiere (Dec. 7)

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by Kevin McLaughlin

Maybe it was the time of year, the familial ties of the visiting conductor and pianists, the anticipation of a new work, or maybe all of it, but somehow a rosy glow enveloped the Cleveland Orchestra concert on Thursday, December 7.

Semyon Bychkov’s appearance on the podium, the U.S. premiere of Julian Anderson’s Symphony No. 2, the return to Cleveland by the Labèque sisters — even Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy (normally a two-hankie affair) — all warmed the heart on this winter’s night.

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The Cleveland Orchestra: a conversation with Katia Labèque

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by Mike Telin

When the duo piano team of sisters Katia and Marielle Labèque return to Severance Hall this week, they will be bringing with them a rarity of the two-piano literature. “The Bruch is really the only Romantic concerto we have in our repertoire,” Katia Labèque said during an interview. “The Romantic composers didn’t write a lot for two pianos, so we are very happy to have this one. It is a wonderful piece and we look forward to bringing it to Cleveland.”

On Thursday, May 9 at 7:30 pm, guest conductor Semyon Bychkov will lead The Cleveland Orchestra in a concert that includes Bruch’s Concerto for Two Pianos, Detlev Glanert’s Distant Land: Music with Brahms, and Smetana’s Three Selections from Má Vlast: “Vyšehrad,” “The Moldau,” and “Sárka.”  The program will be repeated on Friday at 11:00 am (without the Glanert) and Saturday at 8:00 pm. Tickets are available online.

Interestingly enough, Bruch composed the concerto for the American duo-pianist sisters Rose and Ottilie Sutr in 1912. However, without the composer’s permission, the sisters rewrote the concerto to accommodate their technical abilities. [Read more…]

Cleveland Orchestra: Xian Zhang to replace Semyon Bychkov — who talks about Tchaikovsky

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by Mike Telin

ZhangBeing ready to perform on short notice is part of what makes life interesting for both conductors and soloists. On Thursday, February 16 at 7:30 pm, conductor Xian Zhang will make her Cleveland Orchestra debut when she steps in for Semyon Bychkov, who was forced to withdraw from this week’s performances on the advice of his physician.

Xian Zhang serves as Music Director of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra as well as Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales — the first female conductor to hold a titled role with a BBC orchestra.

Ms. Zhang has agreed to lead the originally-scheduled program, featuring Tchaikovsky’s Manfred Symphony and Mozart’s Concerto in E-flat major for Two Pianos with soloists Katia Labèque and Marielle Labèque. The program will be repeated on Friday and Saturday at 8:00 pm.

Last week, before he withdrew, we spoke with Semyon Bychkov from New York to learn more about Tchaikovsky’s rarely-performed Manfred Symphony. [Read more…]

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