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Cleveland Orchestra presents Magic Flute: a conversation with the Queen of the Night

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by Mike Telin

Since its premiere on September 30, 1791 in Vienna, Mozart’s The Magic Flute, with a libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder, has become regarded as one of the greatest operas ever written. Its enchanting story about the search for truth and reason, love and enlightenment, and how power is used for good or evil purposes continues to enthrall audiences around the world.

On Thursday, May 16 at 7:00 pm at Severance Music Center, The Cleveland Orchestra will present Mozart’s timeless tale under the direction of Nikolaus Habjan as part of The Mandel Opera and Humanities Festival. Franz Welser-Möst will lead the Orchestra and a cast that includes Julian Prégardien (Tamino), Ludwig Mittelhammer (Papageno), Christina Landshamer (Pamina), Kathryn Lewek (Queen of the Night), and Tareq Nazmi (Sarastro).

Sung in German with English supertitles, performances will continue on Saturday the 18th and Friday the 24th at 7:00 pm, and Sunday the 26th at 3:00 pm. Tickets are available online. Click here to see the full schedule of the Festival.

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Lang Lang and Cleveland Orchestra team up for a virtuoso night of Saint- Saëns, Berlioz and more (May 2)

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By Daniel Hathaway | Cleveland Classical
This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio  — Virtuosity was abundantly on display at Severance Music Center on Thursday evening, May 2, not only in the persona of pianist Lang Lang, but also in the music and orchestrations of 19th-century French composers Camille Saint-Saëns and Hector Berlioz — as well as in performances by their modern interpreters, Franz Welser-Möst and The Cleveland Orchestra.

In general use since the mid-18th century and meaning “a person with great skill, one who is a master of the mechanical part of a fine art,” the term virtuoso only begins to describe Lang Lang. In addition to his skills on the keyboard, he’s the classical equivalent of a rock star, capable of drawing sold-out crowds to his performances, as he did in Cleveland on Thursday. And worthy of both a private audience with the Pope and — just last month — a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. And he’s an international advocate for the piano whose “101 Pianos” extravaganza will visit Cuyahoga Community College on Friday.

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Conductor shines in Severance Music Center debut with Cleveland Orchestra in Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto (Apr. 26)

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By Kevin McLaughlin  |  Cleveland Classical

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Conductor David Afkham made everything look easy in his Severance Music Center debut with The Cleveland Orchestra on Friday evening, April 26. He committed to lead works by Unsuk Chin, Rachmaninoff, and Bartók in March when Lahav Shani asked to be away for the birth of his first child.

That program would be a heavy lift for any conductor, but the Orchestra responded to Afkham’s remarkable assurance and clarity and delivered some of the most exhilarating performances of the season to date.

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Conductor David Afkham to make Severance Music Center debut

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by Mike Telin

“I am looking forward to being back in Cleveland,” conductor David Afkham said over Zoom from his home in Germany. “This will be my third time with the Orchestra — the first two were at Blossom Music Center, so I’m excited to lead one of the world’s greatest orchestras in that wonderful hall.”

On Friday, April 26 at 7:30 pm, Afkham will make his Severance Music Center debut with a concert that features Unsuk Chin’s subito con forza, Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with Beatrice Rana, and Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra. The program will be repeated on Saturday at 8:00 pm and Sunday at 3:00 pm. Tickets are available online.

Regarding this week’s concerts, Afkham, who serves as Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Orquestra y Coro Nacional de España, said, “When I was asked to fill in for my friend Lahav Shani back in March, I looked at the program and thought — I like it a lot, I don’t want to change a thing.”

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Cleveland Orchestra delivers intense, animated performance of Stravinsky’s 1913 classic The Rite of Spring (Apr. 18)

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by Daniel Hathaway | Cleveland Classical
Originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — On Thursday evening, while the mysterious life forces of nature were busy choreographing an early outburst of vernal colors outside Severance Music Center, guest conductor Klaus Mäkelä and The Cleveland Orchestra were deeply engaged in recreating an ancient spring ritual from pagan Russia inside Mandel Concert Hall.

Igor Stravinsky’s 1913 ballet score The Rite of Spring gave the conductor and orchestra the raw material for their task, but the large body of musicians dug deep into their physical resources, producing a Rite that was singularly explosive and terrifying in its power, but no less variegated than what nature itself was serving up.

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Vocalist Matthias Goerne and pianist Evgeny Kissin shine in recital Sunday at Severance Music Center (Apr. 14)

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by Daniel Hathaway | Cleveland Classical

Originally published on Cleveland.com 

CLEVELAND, Ohio — There are people —myself among them — whose favorite Sunday afternoon concerts are either programs of art songs or solo piano music.

German baritone Matthias Goerne and Russian-born pianist Evgeny Kissin checked both of those boxes in Mandel Concert Hall at Severance Music Center on April 14 with a program of Lieder and piano Ballades by Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms.

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Klaus Mäkelä and Cleveland Orchestra treat listeners to a magical musical feast (Apr. 11)

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by Daniel Hathaway | Cleveland Classical

Originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Music can transport you — not only emotionally, but physically — to another time and place.

Cleveland Orchestra fans who hopped on guest conductor Klaus Mäkelä’s magic carpet at Severance Music Center on Thursday evening were swept away to the streets of Lima to hear Peruvian street vendors hawking their goods, then to England for a ramble through the Malvern Hills, and finally to ancient Iraq to quaff wine with the king of Babylon and a thousand of his idol-worshiping lords. Although the evening didn’t turn out well for Belshazzar, Walton’s music raised the roof of Mandel Concert Hall by a yard or two with resplendent orchestral and choral sound.

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John Adams leads Cleveland Orchestra in riveting program of music with environmental themes (Ap. 4)

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by Kevin McLaughlin | Cleveland Classical

Originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Two forest-themed works and a picture of a noir-suffused city that never sleeps formed a riveting Cleveland Orchestra program on Thursday evening April 4 in Mandel Concert Hall at Severance Music Center under the direction of guest conductor John Adams.

A good way to convince someone to care more about trees is to take them on a hike. American naturalist John Muir, who hiked with common folk and presidents alike, encouraged everyone to “climb the mountains and get their good tidings.”

Another way is to bring the trees to the people. Gabriella Smith did just that with Breathing Forests, her mesmerizing 30-minute organ concerto, composed in 2021 for James McVinnie, who was soloist on Thursday.

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The Cleveland Orchestra: organist James McVinnie performs Breathing Forests

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by Mike Telin

In her program note, composer Gabriella Smith writes that her organ concerto Breathing Forests is “a reflection on the complex relationship between humans, forests, climate change, and fire. The massive sound and architecture of the organ feels something like the grandeur of a forest to me, and its breath reminiscent of the glorious exchange of carbon dioxide to oxygen that forests perform on a massive scale. 

“This is an example of how music and art can make a difference in how we talk about climate change,” organist James McVinnie said during a telephone interview. “It’s a piece that everyone, especially young people, should hear.”

On Thursday, April 4 at 7:30 pm at Severance Music Center, McVinnie will make his debut with The Cleveland Orchestra in Smith’s Breathing Forests. Under the direction of John Adams, the concert will also include Adams’ City Noir with saxophonist Timothy McAllister as soloist and Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun. The program will be repeated on Saturday at 8:00 pm. Tickets are available online.

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The Cleveland Orchestra: Timothy McAllister plays John Adams

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by Mike Telin

“It’s just a thrill to come to Cleveland,” Timothy McAllister said during a telephone conversation. “And audiences will be witnessing a piece that for the saxophone has literally made history — and I’m honored to be part of that history.”

On Thursday, April 4 at 7:30 pm at Severance Music Center, McAllister will join The Cleveland Orchestra in John Adams’ City Noir. Under the direction of Adams, the concert will also include Gabriella Smith’s Breathing Forests with organist James McVinnie as soloist and Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun. The program will be repeated on Saturday at 8:00 pm. Tickets are available online.

Based in Ann Arbor, McAllister serves on the faculty of the University of Michigan, and is no stranger to Northeast Ohio, having performed Avner Dorman’s Saxophone Concerto with CityMusic in 2014. His first Cleveland Orchestra performance came in November of 2018 when Matthias Pintscher led Bartók’s The Wood Prince Suite.

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