The Cleveland Orchestra, based in
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
, is one of the five American orchestras informally referred to as the "
Big Five". Founded in 1918 by the pianist and impresario
Adella Prentiss Hughes, the orchestra plays most of its concerts at
Severance Hall
Severance Hall is a concert hall located in the University Circle section of Cleveland, Ohio. Opened in 1931, Severance Hall was named after patrons John L. Severance and his wife, Elisabeth Huntingdon DeWitt Severance, and serves as the hom ...
. As of 2021, the incumbent music director is
Franz Welser-Möst
Franz Leopold Maria Möst (born 16 August 1960), known professionally as Franz Welser-Möst, is an Austrian conductor. He is currently music director of the Cleveland Orchestra.
Biography
Franz Leopold Maria Möst was born in Linz, Austria, ...
.
In October 2020 ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' called it "America's finest
rchestra still", and in 2012 ''
Gramophone Magazine
''Gramophone'' is a magazine published monthly in London, devoted to classical music, particularly to reviews of recordings. It was founded in 1923 by the Scottish author Compton Mackenzie who continued to edit the magazine until 1961. It was ac ...
'' ranked the Cleveland Orchestra number 7 on its list of the world's greatest orchestras.
History
Founding and early history (1918–1945)
The Cleveland Orchestra was founded in 1918 by music-aficionado Adella Prentiss Hughes, businessman
John L. Severance
John Long Severance (May 8, 1863 – January 16, 1936) was a businessman and philanthropist in Cleveland, Ohio.
Biography
He was born in Cleveland, Ohio to Louis Severance (1838-1913) and Fannie Buckingham Benedict (1839-1874). Louis was a foundi ...
, Father John Powers, music critic Archie Bell, and Russian-American violinist and conductor
Nikolai Sokoloff
Nikolai Grigoryevich Sokoloff (28 May 1886 – 25 September 1965) was a Russian-American conductor and violinist.
Biography
He was born in Kiev, and studied music at Yale. From 1916 to 1917 he was musical director of the San Francisco ...
, who would become the Orchestra’s first music director. A former pianist, Hughes served as a local music promoter and sponsored a series of “Symphony Orchestra Concerts” designed to bring top-notch orchestral music to Cleveland. In 1915, she helped found the Musical Arts Association, which presented Cleveland performances of the
Ballets Russes
The Ballets Russes () was an itinerant ballet company begun in Paris that performed between 1909 and 1929 throughout Europe and on tours to North and South America. The company never performed in Russia, where the Revolution disrupted society. A ...
in 1916 and
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...
’s ''
Siegfried
Siegfried is a German-language male given name, composed from the Germanic elements ''sig'' "victory" and ''frithu'' "protection, peace".
The German name has the Old Norse cognate ''Sigfriðr, Sigfrøðr'', which gives rise to Swedish ''Sigfrid' ...
'' at the
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...
’
League Park
League Park was a baseball park located in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was situated at the northeast corner of Dunham Street (now known as East 66th Street) and Lexington Avenue in the Hough, Cleveland, Hough neighborhood. It was built ...
a few months later After a great deal of planning and fundraising, The Cleveland Orchestra’s inaugural concert was performed on December 11, 1918 at
Grays Armory
Grays Armory is a historic building in Cleveland, Ohio. It was built by the Cleveland Grays, a private military company which was founded in 1837. .
Three events occurred in 1921 that would prove significant in the young Orchestra’s development: First, the ensemble presented its inaugural children’s concert, which began a long-standing tradition of performing for young people from local schools. Second, the Women’s Committee of The Cleveland Orchestra was founded, a group which focused largely on internal affairs, including organization and branding; the Women’s Committee was also the driving force behind the creation of the Orchestra’s education-oriented Key Concerts series decades later. And third, the Orchestra performed its first concert in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
that year, at the
Hippodrome Theatre — a performance demonstrating that the Orchestra was committed to embarking on major activities from early in its existence. In 1922, the Orchestra again traveled to New York for its first concert at Carnegie Hall,
a relationship between ensemble and venue that continues to this day. Later that year, the Orchestra performed its first radio broadcast and, in 1924, issued its first recording — a shortened version of
Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...
’s ''
1812 Overture
''The Year 1812, Solemn Overture'', Op. 49, popularly known as the ''1812 Overture'', is a concert overture in E major written in 1880 by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky to commemorate the successful Russian defense against Napoleon ...
'' for the
Brunswick label under Sokoloff’s direction.
By the end of the 1920s, the Musical Arts Association began planning for a permanent concert hall for the Orchestra. Board president John L. Severance and his wife, Elisabeth, pledged $1 million toward the construction of a new hall, and the groundbreaking ceremony took place in November 1929, a few months after Mrs. Severance’s death. On February 5, 1931, the Orchestra performed its inaugural concert at Severance Hall. Also that year, Lillian Baldwin created what became known as the “Cleveland Plan,” which was an initiative designed to build upon the Orchestra’s earlier children’s concerts and create a program that taught classical music to young people before they entered Severance Hall for a live performance.
In 1933, Sokoloff was replaced as the Orchestra’s music director by Polish conductor
Artur Rodzinski
Artur is a cognate to the common male given name Arthur, meaning "bear-like," which is believed to possibly be descended from the Roman surname Artorius or the Celtic bear-goddess Artio or more probably from the Celtic word ''artos'' ("bear"). O ...
, who had previously served as music director of the
Los Angeles Philharmonic
The Los Angeles Philharmonic, commonly referred to as the LA Phil, is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at th ...
. During his decade-long tenure with The Cleveland Orchestra, Rodzinski advocated for the inclusion of staged opera at Severance Hall. The first of these productions was featured during the 1933–34 season, when the Orchestra performed Wagner’s ''
Tristan und Isolde
''Tristan und Isolde'' (''Tristan and Isolde''), WWV 90, is an opera in three acts by Richard Wagner to a German libretto by the composer, based largely on the 12th-century romance Tristan and Iseult by Gottfried von Strassburg. It was compose ...
''. In 1935, the Orchestra presented the United States’ premiere of
Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his Symphony No. 1 (Shostakovich), First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throug ...
’s controversial ''
Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District'' at Severance Hall and, later in the season, took the production to New York’s
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...
. Four years later, in 1939, the Orchestra added to its growing legacy by establishing the Cleveland Summer Orchestra and performing pops concerts at Cleveland’s
Public Hall
Public Auditorium (also known as Public Hall) is a multi-purpose performing arts, entertainment, sports, and exposition facility located in the civic center district of downtown Cleveland, Ohio. The 10,000-capacity main auditorium shares its stag ...
. On December 11, 1939, The Cleveland Orchestra celebrated the anniversary of its founding by releasing its first recording on the Columbia label.
Rodzinski departed Cleveland in 1943 and was replaced by
Erich Leinsdorf
Erich Leinsdorf (born Erich Landauer; February 4, 1912 – September 11, 1993) was an Austrian-born American conductor. He performed and recorded with leading orchestras and opera companies throughout the United States and Europe, earning a ...
, a young conductor from the
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...
. However, Leinsdorf’s tenure with The Cleveland Orchestra was brief: He was drafted into the United States Armed Forces shortly after his appointment, which diminished his artistic control. Although Leinsdorf was honorably discharged from the military in September 1944, his time away from the podium had required the Musical Arts Association to employ a number of guest conductors from 1943 until 1945, including the Hungarian
George Szell
George Szell (; June 7, 1897 – July 30, 1970), originally György Széll, György Endre Szél, or Georg Szell, was a Hungarian-born American conductor and composer. He is widely considered one of the twentieth century's greatest condu ...
, a former colleague of Leinsdorf’s at the Met who impressed audiences at Severance Hall during two weeks of performances. Leinsdorf lost much of his public support and, though still under contract, submitted his resignation in December 1945. The following year Szell was appointed as The Cleveland Orchestra’s fourth music director.
George Szell (1946–1970)
From the start of his tenure, Szell had a simple goal — transforming The Cleveland Orchestra into “America’s finest” symphonic ensemble and developing an orchestra that was “second to none.” He spent much of his early time in Cleveland changing personnel in an effort to find musicians who were capable of creating his ideal orchestral sound.
Szell’s stringent standards and expectations for musical precision were reflected in his contract with the Musical Arts Association: He was given complete artistic control over programming, scheduling, personnel, and recording.
In the 1950s and ‘60s, Szell was instrumental in the achievement of several Cleveland Orchestra milestones. First, he led the Orchestra on its first European tour, in 1957, across Europe and behind the Iron Curtain. Next, Szell pushed to change Severance Hall’s acoustic properties, which he felt were too “dry.” Major renovations were made during the 1958–59 season, including the construction of the “Szell Shell,” which was designed to project the Orchestra’s sound in a manner that created better balance among musicians and a clearer string section. A second European tour took place in 1965, and two years later the ensemble became the first American orchestra to be invited to three premiere festivals, in
Salzburg
Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872.
The town is on the site of the ...
,
Lucerne
Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking po ...
, and
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
, in the same summer. Szell also oversaw the opening of the Orchestra’s summer home,
Blossom Music Center
Blossom Music Center, locally referred to simply as Blossom, is an outdoor amphitheatre in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, United States. The venue is the summer home of The Cleveland Orchestra and site of the ensemble’s annual Blossom Festival. Blossom M ...
, in 1968, which provided the ensemble’s musicians with year-round employment. After 24 years, Szell’s time with The Cleveland Orchestra came to an abrupt and unexpected end: shortly after he led the ensemble on a tour of the Far East during the spring of 1970, which included stops in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
,
Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
, and Alaska, Szell died.
Two days after Szell’s death, the Orchestra played its scheduled program at Blossom Music Center with
Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later a conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as "the Dean of American Com ...
taking the podium as guest conductor. However, now the Musical Arts Association had to appoint a new music director for the first time in nearly two and a half decades. Initially,
Louis Lane
Louis Gardner Lane (December 25, 1923 – February 15, 2016) was an American conductor. He was born in Eagle Pass, Texas. He studied composition with Kent Kennan at the University of Texas at Austin where he earned his bachelor's in music degree i ...
, one of Szell’s assistant conductors, was appointed resident conductor and
Pierre Boulez
Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 1925 – 5 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war Western classical music.
Born in Mont ...
, who had been named principal guest conductor in 1969, was appointed musical advisor.
Lorin Maazel (1972–1982)
Eventually, the board selected
Lorin Maazel
Lorin Varencove Maazel (, March 6, 1930 – July 13, 2014) was an American conductor, violinist and composer. He began conducting at the age of eight and by 1953 had decided to pursue a career in music. He had established a reputation in th ...
as The Cleveland Orchestra’s fifth music director — a tenure that would begin in 1972.
Remarkably, the first time Maazel conducted the Orchestra was at the age of 13 in 1943, when he led the ensemble during a concert at Cleveland’s Public Hall.
Many critics were initially unimpressed with Maazel’s musical interpretations, which they believed were too emotionally charged to follow Szell’s razor-crisp style. But soon Maazel was lifted by an endorsement from
Philadelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription ...
conductor
Eugene Ormandy
Eugene Ormandy (born Jenő Blau; November 18, 1899 – March 12, 1985) was a Hungarian-born American conductor and violinist, best known for his association with the Philadelphia Orchestra, as its music director. His 44-year association wit ...
and the promise of a new collaboration with
Decca Records
Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...
on
Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer ...
’s ''
Romeo and Juliet
''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...
'', which proved to be the spark Maazel needed to jumpstart his Cleveland Orchestra career. During the 1973–74 season, Maazel led the Orchestra on a tour of Australia and New Zealand, where the ensemble was joined by guest conductors
Stanislaw Skrowaczewski Stanislav and variants may refer to:
People
*Stanislav (given name), a Slavic given name with many spelling variations (Stanislaus, Stanislas, Stanisław, etc.)
Places
* Stanislav, a coastal village in Kherson, Ukraine
* Stanislaus County, Cali ...
and (former Cleveland Orchestra music director) Erich Leinsdorf. The Orchestra also played a series of concerts in Japan. During the following season, the Orchestra released its first commercial recording of an opera,
George Gershwin
George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...
’s ''
Porgy and Bess
''Porgy and Bess'' () is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play '' Porgy'', itse ...
'', which was also Decca’s first opera recording in the United States. Soon Maazel emerged as a candidate for the directorship of the
Vienna State Opera
The Vienna State Opera (, ) is an opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by August S ...
and he arranged to leave Cleveland after the 1981–82 season. Before his departure, however, Maazel helped to introduce the Orchestra’s landmark Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Concerts in January 1980, which remain an annual tradition to this day. On May 15, 1982, Maazel conducted his final performance at Severance Hall followed by a short tour of New York and
New Haven
New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...
, where he led concerts featuring
Giuseppe Verdi’s ''
Requiem
A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...
'', which had been his debut piece with the Orchestra in 1972.
Christoph von Dohnányi (1984–2002)
During the search for Maazel’s successor, German conductor
Christoph von Dohnányi
Christoph von Dohnányi (; born 8 September 1929) is a German conducting, conductor.
Biography
Youth and World War II
Dohnányi was born in Berlin, Germany to Hans von Dohnanyi, a German jurist of Hungarian ancestry, and Christine von Dohnanyi ...
took the podium for a series of concerts at Severance Hall in December 1981. It didn’t take long for the Musical Arts Association to realize that The Cleveland Orchestra had found its next music director in Dohnányi; he was named music director designate in 1982, and he officially began his tenure two years later. During the pair of seasons between Maazel and Dohnányi, a number of guest conductors took turns leading the Orchestra, including Erich Leinsdorf, who labeled himself the “bridge between the regimes.”
Because of Dohnányi’s connections with
Teldec
Teldec (Telefunken-Decca Schallplatten GmbH) is a German record label in Hamburg, Germany. Today the label is a property of Warner Music Group.
History
Teldec was a producer of (first) shellac and (later) vinyl records. The Teldec manufacturing ...
, Decca/London, and
Telarc
Telarc International Corporation is an American audiophile independent record label founded in 1977 by two classically trained musicians and former teachers, Jack Renner and Robert Woods. Based in Cleveland, Ohio, the label has had a long associ ...
, his Cleveland Orchestra tenure began with the promise of more recording projects. He also staged a large production of
Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...
’s ''
The Magic Flute
''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a ''Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that inclu ...
'' at Blossom Music Center in 1985, which was lauded as “the Ohio musical event of the summer” by ''
The Columbus Dispatch
''The Columbus Dispatch'' is a daily newspaper based in Columbus, Ohio. Its first issue was published on July 1, 1871, and it has been the only mainstream daily newspaper in the city since ''The Columbus Citizen-Journal'' ceased publication in 19 ...
''. In addition, Dohnányi oversaw the hiring of Indonesian conductor
Jahja Ling
Jahja Ling () is a conductor, music director and pianist. From 2004 to 2017, he was the music director and conductor at the San Diego Symphony. Following his retirement in 2017, he plans to do guest conducting, as well as teaching and voluntee ...
, who would lead the newly-established Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra. International touring continued under Dohnányi with visits to Asia and Europe, including the development of a long-standing relationship with the
Salzburg Festival
The Salzburg Festival (german: Salzburger Festspiele) is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer (for five weeks starting in late July) in the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amad ...
beginning in 1990.
To celebrate The Cleveland Orchestra’s 75th anniversary, Dohnányi led performances of Richard Wagner’s
Ring cycle
(''The Ring of the Nibelung''), WWV 86, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. The works are based loosely on characters from Germanic heroic legend, namely Norse legendary sagas and the ''Nibelung ...
at Severance Hall across the 1992–93 and 1993–94 seasons, and a subsequent recording project of Wagner’s ''
Das Rheingold
''Das Rheingold'' (; ''The Rhinegold''), WWV 86A, is the first of the four music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner's ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (English: ''The Ring of the Nibelung''). It was performed, as a single opera, at the National ...
'' and ''
Die Walküre
(; ''The Valkyrie''), WWV 86B, is the second of the four music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner's ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (English: ''The Ring of the Nibelung''). It was performed, as a single opera, at the National Theatre Munich on ...
''. The Orchestra also began a fundraising campaign for the renovation of Severance Hall, which included the removal of the “Szell Shell,” a return of the ensemble’s
E.M. Skinner
Ernest Martin Skinner (January 15, 1866 – November 26/27, 1960) was an American pipe organ builder. His electro-pneumatic switching systems advanced the technology of organ building in the first part of the 20th century.
Biography
Skinner ...
organ to the stage, and a facilities expansion designed to enhance the experience of concertgoers. During these renovations, the Orchestra performed concerts for its hometown audiences at the
Allen Theatre
The Allen Theatre is one of the theaters in Playhouse Square, the performing arts center on Euclid Avenue in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. It was originally designed as a silent movie theater by C. Howard Crane and opened its doors on April 1, 1921, ...
in Cleveland’s
Playhouse Square
Playhouse Square is a theater district in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is the largest performing arts center in the US outside of New York City (only Lincoln Center is larger). Constructed in a span of 19 months in the early 1920s, ...
. On January 8, 2000, Dohnányi led a gala concert celebrating the re-opening of Severance Hall that was broadcast live on local television by Cleveland’s
WVIZ
WVIZ (channel 25) is a PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the mo ...
.
At the conclusion of Dohnányi’s contract, in 2002, he was named The Cleveland Orchestra’s music director laureate and succeeded as music director by Austrian conductor
Franz Welser-Möst
Franz Leopold Maria Möst (born 16 August 1960), known professionally as Franz Welser-Möst, is an Austrian conductor. He is currently music director of the Cleveland Orchestra.
Biography
Franz Leopold Maria Möst was born in Linz, Austria, ...
.
Franz Welser-Möst (2002–present)
Since signing to become the Orchestra’s seventh music director, Welser-Möst and the Musical Arts Association have extended his contract several times — with his most recent contract keeping him on the podium until 2027. During his tenure, Welser-Möst has overseen many of The Cleveland Orchestra’s residencies, outreach programs, and expansion activities. He leads the Orchestra’s ongoing residencies at the
Musikverein
The ( or ; ), commonly shortened to , is a concert hall in Vienna, Austria, which is located in the Innere Stadt district. The building opened in 1870 and is the home of the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra.
The acoustics of the building's 'Great ...
in Vienna and at the Lucerne Festival, both of which began with Welser-Möst’s first European tour in 2003. In addition, under Welser-Möst The Cleveland Orchestra began an annual residency at Miami’s Carnival Center for the Performing Arts — later renamed the
Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts
The Arsht Center is a performing arts center located in Miami, Florida. It is one of the largest performing arts centers in the United States.
The center was partly built on the site of a former Sears department store; an Art Deco building const ...
— in 2007.
Over the past decade, the Orchestra has continued to present operas and a selection of film screenings with live musical accompaniment.
On September 29, 2018, Welser-Möst led the ensemble in a gala concert at Severance Hall celebrating the Orchestra’s 100th anniversary — a presentation that was later featured on America’s preeminent arts television series, ''Great Performances'', during an exclusive U.S. broadcast on PBS.
In addition to a vast catalog of recordings created with the ensemble's music directors, the orchestra has made many recordings with guest conductors
Vladimir Ashkenazy
Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazy (russian: Влади́мир Дави́дович Ашкена́зи, ''Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazi''; born 6 July 1937) is an internationally recognized solo pianist, chamber music performer, and conductor. He ...
,
Oliver Knussen
Stuart Oliver Knussen (12 June 1952 – 8 July 2018) was a British composer and conductor.
Early life
Oliver Knussen was born in Glasgow, Scotland. His father, Stuart Knussen, was principal double bass of the London Symphony Orchestra, and a ...
,
Kurt Sanderling
Kurt Sanderling, CBE (; 19 September 1912 – 18 September 2011) was a German conductor.
Sanderling was born in Arys, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire (now Orzysz, Poland), to Jewish parents. His early work at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, whe ...
,
Yoel Levi
Yoel Levi (Hebrew: יואל לוי) (born 16 August 1950) is an Israeli musician and conductor.
Early life
Born in Romania, Levi grew up in Israel.
He studied at the Tel Aviv Academy of Music, receiving a Master of Arts degree with distinction. ...
,
Riccardo Chailly
Riccardo Chailly (, ; born 20 February 1953) is an Italian conductor. He is currently music director of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, since 2016, and music director of La Scala, since 2017. Prior to this, he held chief conducting positions ...
,
George Benjamin,
Roberto Carnevale
Roberto Carnevale (born 15 June 1966) is an Italian composer, pianist and conductor.
Biography and career
Born in Catania, he started studying piano at the age of seven. He took a degree in Arts at the University of Catania and he attended th ...
,
Riccardo Muti
Riccardo Muti, (; born 28 July 1941) is an Italian conductor. He currently holds two music directorships, at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and at the Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini. Muti has previously held posts at the Maggio Musicale ...
,
Michael Tilson Thomas
Michael Tilson Thomas (born December 21, 1944) is an American conductor, pianist and composer. He is Artistic Director Laureate of the New World Symphony, an American orchestral academy based in Miami Beach, Florida, Music Director Laureate of ...
, and
Louis Lane
Louis Gardner Lane (December 25, 1923 – February 15, 2016) was an American conductor. He was born in Eagle Pass, Texas. He studied composition with Kent Kennan at the University of Texas at Austin where he earned his bachelor's in music degree i ...
(the orchestra's longtime Associate Conductor). Past assistant conductors of the Cleveland Orchestra include
Matthias Bamert
Matthias Bamert (born July 5, 1942 in Ersigen, Canton of Bern) is a Swiss composer and conductor.
In addition to studies in Switzerland, Bamert studied music in Darmstadt and in Paris, with Pierre Boulez and Karlheinz Stockhausen, and their influ ...
,
James Levine
James Lawrence Levine (; June 23, 1943 – March 9, 2021) was an American conductor and pianist. He was music director of the Metropolitan Opera from 1976 to 2016. He was terminated from all his positions and affiliations with the Met on March 1 ...
,
Alan Gilbert,
James Judd
James Judd (born 30 October 1949, Hertford) is a British conductor.
James Judd grew up in Hertford, learning the piano, flute and organ as a child and discovering his talent for conducting at high school. He studied at the Trinity College of ...
and
Michael Stern.
In early 2020, the orchestra suspended a planned tour of Europe and Abu Dhabi, and live concerts at Severance Hall and Blossom Music Center due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. That October, the orchestra launched the Adella App, a streaming service including historical and newly created content. Access to the service was free to season subscribers and $35 per month for non-subscribers. A limited in-person return to concerts was announced for Blossom Music Center for the Summer of 2021, with a return to Severance Hall planned for October.
Music directors
*
Nikolai Sokoloff
Nikolai Grigoryevich Sokoloff (28 May 1886 – 25 September 1965) was a Russian-American conductor and violinist.
Biography
He was born in Kiev, and studied music at Yale. From 1916 to 1917 he was musical director of the San Francisco ...
(1918–1933)
*
Artur Rodziński
Artur Rodziński (2 January 1892 – 27 November 1958) was a Polish-American conductor of orchestral music and opera. He began his career after World War I in Poland, where he was discovered by Leopold Stokowski, who invited him to be his assista ...
(1933–1943)
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Erich Leinsdorf
Erich Leinsdorf (born Erich Landauer; February 4, 1912 – September 11, 1993) was an Austrian-born American conductor. He performed and recorded with leading orchestras and opera companies throughout the United States and Europe, earning a ...
(1943–1946)
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George Szell
George Szell (; June 7, 1897 – July 30, 1970), originally György Széll, György Endre Szél, or Georg Szell, was a Hungarian-born American conductor and composer. He is widely considered one of the twentieth century's greatest condu ...
(1946–1970)
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Pierre Boulez
Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 1925 – 5 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war Western classical music.
Born in Mont ...
(musical advisor; 1970–1972)
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Lorin Maazel
Lorin Varencove Maazel (, March 6, 1930 – July 13, 2014) was an American conductor, violinist and composer. He began conducting at the age of eight and by 1953 had decided to pursue a career in music. He had established a reputation in th ...
(1972–1982)
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Christoph von Dohnányi
Christoph von Dohnányi (; born 8 September 1929) is a German conducting, conductor.
Biography
Youth and World War II
Dohnányi was born in Berlin, Germany to Hans von Dohnanyi, a German jurist of Hungarian ancestry, and Christine von Dohnanyi ...
(1984–2002)
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Franz Welser-Möst
Franz Leopold Maria Möst (born 16 August 1960), known professionally as Franz Welser-Möst, is an Austrian conductor. He is currently music director of the Cleveland Orchestra.
Biography
Franz Leopold Maria Möst was born in Linz, Austria, ...
(2002–present)
Daniel R. Lewis Young Composer Fellows
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Marc-André Dalbavie
Marc-André Dalbavie (born 10 February 1961 at Neuilly-sur-Seine, France) is a French composer.Anne Sédès, "Marc-André Dalbavie", ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' He had his first music lessons at age 6.Matthias Pintscher
Matthias Pintscher (born 29 January 1971) is a German composer and conductor. As a youth, he studied the violin and conducting.
Life and career
Pintscher was born in Marl, North Rhine-Westphalia. He began his music studies with Giselher Klebe in ...
(2001–2003)
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Susan Botti (2003–2005)
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Julian Anderson
Julian Anderson (born 6 April 1967) is a British composer and teacher of composition.
Biography
Anderson was born in London. He studied at Westminster School, then with John Lambert at the Royal College of Music, with Alexander Goehr at Cambri ...
(2005–2007)
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Johannes Maria Staud
Johannes Maria Staud (born 17 August 1974) is an Austrian composer.
Biography
Staud was born in Innsbruck and studied with, among others, Brian Ferneyhough and Michael Jarrell (at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna). In 1999/ ...
(2007–2009)
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Jörg Widmann
Jörg Widmann (born 19 June 1973) is a German composer, conductor and clarinetist. In 2018, Widmann was the third most performed contemporary composer in the world. Formerly a clarinet and composition professor at the University of Music Freibu ...
(2009–2011)
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Sean Shepherd
Sean Shepherd is an American composer based in New York City and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His work has been performed by major orchestras, ensembles, and performers across the United States, Europe, and Asia. Performances include those with the ...
(2011–2013)
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Ryan Wigglesworth
Ryan Wigglesworth (born 31 August 1979, Yorkshire) is a British composer, conductor and pianist.
Biography
Wigglesworth read music at Oxford University, where he held the position of Organ Scholar at New College, and continued his music studies ...
(2013–2015)
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Anthony Cheung
Anthony or Antony is a masculine given name, derived from the ''Antonii'', a ''gens'' ( Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (''Marcus Antonius'') belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were Heracleidae, being descendants of Anton, ...
(2015–2017)
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Bernd Richard Deutsch (2018–present)
See also
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Cleveland Orchestra Discography
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Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra
The Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra (COYO) is a group of 100 young musicians, selected from over 45 cities across Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Activities
The members rehearse weekly at Severance Hall and are regularly coached by members of the Clev ...
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Cleveland Philharmonic Orchestra
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Cleveland Women's Orchestra
The Cleveland Women's Orchestra is an American orchestra made up entirely of female musicians, based in Cleveland, Ohio. It was founded in 1935 and performed its first concert in 1936. It is one of the oldest women's orchestra in the world after ...
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Cleveland Chamber Symphony
The Cleveland Chamber Symphony is an American chamber orchestra based in Cleveland, Ohio. It is dedicated to the performance of contemporary classical music, and has presented over 200 performance premieres.
History
The Cleveland Chamber Sympho ...
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CityMusic Cleveland
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Red (an orchestra)
Red an orchestra was an American chamber orchestra based in Cleveland, Ohio.
Established in 2001, its Artistic Director and conductor was Jonathan Sheffer. The orchestra's repertoire spanned the work of Renaissance composers including Heinrich S ...
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The Contemporary Youth Orchestra
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Big Five (orchestras)
The Big Five orchestras of the United States are the five symphony orchestras that led the field in "musical excellence, calibre of musicianship, total contract weeks, weekly basic wages, recording guarantees, and paid vacations" when the term gai ...
References
Further reading
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External links
The Cleveland Orchestra Official website* from the
Telarc
Telarc International Corporation is an American audiophile independent record label founded in 1977 by two classically trained musicians and former teachers, Jack Renner and Robert Woods. Based in Cleveland, Ohio, the label has had a long associ ...
website.
Cleveland Orchestra Youth OrchestraCleveland Orchestra Musicians
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Musical groups from Cleveland
Musical groups established in 1918
Tourist attractions in Cleveland
Music of Cleveland
1918 establishments in Ohio
Orchestras based in Ohio