Cleveland—September 8, 2014.
The Cleveland Orchestra announced today that the Israel Philharmonic, led by its music director, Zubin Mehta, will perform in Severance Hall on Monday, November 16 at 7:30 pm as part of the Violins of Hope Project. The event, part of an eight-city tour of the United States, will be presented in collaboration with the Jewish Federation of Cleveland. [Read more…]
by Nicholas Jones
I had no idea how wonderful a jazz orchestra would sound in Severance Hall! With discreet miking and an excellent speaker system, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis produced tremendously vivid music which the hall supported and enriched just as it does with Mozart and Mahler. Even the visuals seemed to converge: the ornate 1920s Art Deco roulades of the ceiling were perfectly matched by the intricate roulades of the extended solo improvisations. [Read more…]
The Cleveland Orchestra is seeking volunteer ushers, greeters, ticket-takers, tour guides and store clerks for the 2015-2016 Severance Hall season. Opportunities to serve include concerts by The Cleveland Orchestra (evening, matinee, education, family, and holiday events) and performances by other ensembles including the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, Cleveland Pops Orchestra, Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra, Cleveland Youth Wind Symphony, and the Cleveland Women’s Orchestra, as well as other musical and non-musical events.
Individuals who are energetic, enthusiastic, and eager to assist the Severance Hall audiences with a high level of customer service are invited to attend open interviews in the Smith Lobby of Severance Hall (ground floor near the Box Office) on Wednesday, August 5, Monday, August 17, or Thursday, August 27, anytime between 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm. [Read more…]
by Daniel Hathaway
Well-known concert organist Todd Wilson will explore another side of his art this month when he improvises musical scores to two silent film classics at Stambaugh Auditorium in Youngstown and Severance Hall in Cleveland. Speedy, Harold Lloyd’s 1928 Paramount film, which chronicles the attempts of Harold “Speedy” Swift to save the last horse-drawn streetcar in New York (with a cameo appearance by Babe Ruth) will be screened at Stambaugh on Sunday, October 19 at 4:00 pm. Then the 1925 silent version of Phantom of the Opera, starring Lon Chaney, will be shown at Severance Hall on Tuesday, October 28 at 7:30 pm. Phantom is part of this season’s Cleveland Orchestra’s Celebrity Series, but Wilson will be the only musician on stage for the occasion. [Read more…]
“Summers @ Severance,” a new series on Friday evenings in August, will feature The Cleveland Orchestra in three performances at Severance Hall.
The Front Terrace of Severance Hall will be open before and after each 7:00 pm concert, with beverage service and seating areas available. “Happy hour” drink prices will be in force during the hour before the performances.
On Friday, August 1, Johannes Debus will conduct the Orchestra in Ravel’s Pavane for a Dead Princess and the Piano Concerto in G with Benjamin Grosvenor as soloist. The program will conclude with Rachmanninoff’s Symphonic Dances.
Jahja Ling will lead an all-Beethoven concert on August 15, including the Overture to The Creatures of Prometheus, Symphony No. 4 and the Choral Fantasy with pianist Orion Weiss and the Blossom Festival Chorus. The performance is an official cultural event of the 2014 Gay Games being hosted in Cleveland from August 9-16.
Franz Welser-Möst will close out the mini-series with a concert of music by Jörg Widmann (Lied and Flûte en suite with Joshua Smith) and Brahms (Symphony No. 1) on August 29, a performance in which the Orchestra is partnering with local colleges and universities to mark the kick-off to the fall semester.
by Daniel Hautzinger
In celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on January 20, The Cleveland Orchestra honored Dr. King’s calls for universal brotherhood by hosting its annual Community Open House featuring various Cleveland performing arts groups.
Severance Hall provided warmth throughout the snowy day, with various performances and activities scheduled. The Bogomolny-Kozerefski Grand Foyer was transformed into a dance floor with flashing lights and an emcee for a fun diversion between performances. Downstairs, in the Smith Lobby, guests were invited to view a display about the life of Dr. King.
Performances began at 12:15 with the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Chorus. Directed by Lisa Wong, the enthusiastic high school-age singers demonstrated balance and musical maturity well beyond their years. [Read more…]
Today, The Cleveland Orchestra released details of its 2013-2014 Severance Hall season. Beginning in September, evening performances (except for the Fridays @ 7 events) will begin at 7:30 pm rather than 8:00, opera returns to Severance Hall with two performances of Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen in May, and three concerts will mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of Benjamin Britten (1913-1976).
Thursday, SEPTEMBER 19 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, SEPTEMBER 21 at 8 p.m.
Fabio Luisi, conductor
Hélène Grimaud, piano
Maureen McKay, soprano – Cleveland Orchestra debut
Friday, SEPTEMBER 20 at 7 p.m.
Fabio Luisi, conductor
Hélène Grimaud, piano
KeyBank Fridays@7
by Daniel Hathaway
“We have
a vision that Cleveland has more people making music than anywhere”, Cleveland Orchestra music director Franz Welser-Möst said before bringing the Orchestra’s “Make Music!” week showcase concert to a suitably festive conclusion on Thursday evening at Severance Hall. Not every music-maker in this vibrant community and region was in the spotlight last night, but everybody who regularly rehearses and performs under the roof of Severance Hall — plus the kids who make up the El Sistema @ Rainey string orchestra program under founder and director Isabel Trautwein — had the opportunity to demonstrate their wares to a large audience.
The two-hour concert culminated in a performance of Handel’s Hallelujah chorus from Messiah combining The Cleveland Orchestra, Youth Orchestra, Youth Chorus, Children’s Chorus, some adults from the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus — and the audience, who were invited to join in, and stood up in time-honored fashion to do so. [Read more…]
by Daniel Hathaway
Cleveland Orchestra music director laureate Christoph von Dohnányi has returned to Severance Hall this weekend to revive part of one of his pet projects, Hans Werner Henze’s opera The Bassarids, and to conduct Mahler’s first experimental venture into symphonic form. On Thursday evening, the orchestra and audience welcomed their long-time maestro back with a palpably warm reception.
Dohnányi conducted the premiere of Henze’s Euripides-inspired opera at the Salzburg Festival in 1966 and led concert performances at Severance and Carnegie Halls in 1990. In 2005, at the conductor’s suggestion, Henze reshaped parts of the third act — where the action turns particularly dramatic — into an orchestral suite entitled Adagio, Fuge and Mänadentanz that covers a wide span of emotional territory in just half an hour. [Read more…]
by Daniel Hathaway
The
Cleveland Orchestra never fails to play at a high level, producing results that can make even an indifferent guest conductor look good. When the orchestra collaborates with someone as inspiring as Herbert Blomstedt, the outcome can be sheer magic. The second weekend of Blomstedt’s sojourn at Severance Hall treated audiences to luminous and revealing performances of symphonies by Mozart and Dvorak so well-known and so often played that they can seem as ordinary as the furniture in your living room.
For Mozart’s second g-minor symphony (No. 40), the 84-year old Swedish-American maestro scaled down the string section by one-half to two-thirds, discarded both baton and podium and led the ensemble from memory at stage level. [Read more…]