WCLV's Bill O'Connell talks with Andre Gremillet, President & CEO of The Cleveland Orchestra, about the new, original series of digital concerts performed at Severance Hall that music-lovers around the world will have the ability to stream on-demand across a variety of platforms, including through their smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, Xbox and a new TCO app, Adella, coming soon. Go to the Orchestra's website for more details and access information.
PROGRAM INFORMATION / CALENDAR LISTING – FALL 2020
All of “The Cleveland Orchestra: IN FOCUS” concerts will be recorded live at Severance Hall and will be available for subscribers and donors to stream on-demand through the Adella app and various other digital platforms.
Episode No. 1 - INSPIRATIONS
Digital Streaming Premiere: Thursday, October 15 at 7:00 p.m. ET
The Cleveland Orchestra
Franz Welser-Möst, conductor
RESPIGHI Ancient Airs and Dances, Set 3
WALKER Antifonys (for string chamber orchestra) – Cleveland Orchestra premiere
TCHAIKOVSKY Souvenir de Florence, Opus 70 (for string orchestra)
This opening performance for our IN FOCUS series brings together new inspirations in the form of souvenirs from the past, with three musical works created across history, places, and styles. Respighi took his departure from Renaissance lute music, while American composer George Walker was inspired by the collision of musical styles he experienced as a student in Paris. Tchaikovsky penned his souvenir filled with ideas and melodies from a trip from Russia to Italy.
Episode No. 2 - BRONFMAN AND BEETHOVEN
Digital Streaming Premiere: Thursday, October 29 at 7:00 p.m. ET
The Cleveland Orchestra
Franz Welser-Möst, conductor
Yefim Bronfman, piano
SCHNITTKE Concerto for Piano and String Orchestra
BEETHOVEN String Quartet No. 10 (“Harp”) — performed by string orchestra
A pair of pieces reflecting the sensibilities of two very different centuries. Schnittke’s virtuosic and bravura concerto is performed by Yefim Bronfman, a Cleveland favorite, playing music filled with wry humor and Shostakovich-inspired sarcasm and beauty. For this concert, Beethoven’s “Harp” quartet is expanded to an orchestra of strings, showcasing The Cleveland Orchestra’s extraordinary ensemble work and artistry. (The “Harp” nickname comes from plucked pizzicato sections in the first movement, but only hint at the beautiful verse-like melodies throughout this piece.)
Episode No. 3 - AX PLAYS MOZART
Digital Streaming Premiere: Thursday, November 12 at 7:00 p.m. ET
The Cleveland Orchestra
Franz Welser-Möst, conductor
Emanuel Ax, piano
MOZART Piano Concerto No. 9 (“Jeunehomme”), K271
BARTÓK Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta
One of the most beloved concert pianists on the stage today, Emanuel Ax returns to perform a charmingly bright and cheerful concerto by Mozart, followed by a mesmerizingly soulful work by Béla Bartók — which calls for two string orchestras on opposite sides of the stage, one a mirror image of the other. Between the strings sits an array of percussion and keyboard instruments. This music is infused with shadows of folk melodies, Fibonacci sequences, and a finale featuring a melody inspired by a nonsense song sung by Charlie Chaplin in Modern Times.
Episode No. 4 - MENDELSSOHN AND BEETHOVEN
Digital Streaming Premiere: Thursday, December 3 at 7:00 p.m. ET
The Cleveland Orchestra
Bernard Labadie, conductor
Jan Lisiecki, piano
HAYDN Overture to L’isola disabitata [The Abandoned Island]
MENDELSSOHN Piano Concerto No. 1
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 1
Guest conductor Bernard Labadie explores works by three towering composers of Classical music, each composer directly influenced by one who preceded him. The overture to a rarely-performed opera reminds us of Joseph Haydn’s inventive imagination, just as his youthful Piano Concerto displays the elegance and command of Mendelssohn’s mature artistry. Finally, Beethoven’s First Symphony demonstrates young Ludwig’s creative ambition to build on Haydn’s foundation and to go where no composer had gone before.
Episode No. 5 - MUSICAL PATTERNS: JOHN ADAMS CONDUCTS
Digital Streaming Premiere: Thursday, December 10 at 7:00 p.m. ET
The Cleveland Orchestra
John Adams, conductor
Jung-Min Amy Lee, violin
Vikingur Ólafsson, piano – Cleveland Orchestra debut
PÄRT Fratres (for solo violin, strings, and percussion)
GLASS Glassworks: Opening (reworked by Christian Badzura) – Cleveland Orchestra premiere
BACH Keyboard Concerto No. 5
ADAMS Shaker Loops (for string orchestra)
This concert, led by superstar American composer John Adams, celebrates connections between old and new, between today’s musical patterns and the timeless, structured elegance of Johann Sebastian Bach. Rhythm, melody, and pattern remain the building blocks of music, here showcased in intriguing modern, minimalist, and Baroque works filled with lush transparency — and enveloping and involving the listener anew.