I'm amazed there isn't a string here about what has often been touted as the "best band in the land." So, I'm starting one after hearing the Cleveland Orchestra earlier this evening perform selections from the "Lord of the Rings" movie soundtrack. Classical diehards may deride this music as something less than time-tested pieces by composers like Mozart, Vivaldi, Wagner, Rachmaninoff and so many others.

 

I do not claim to be an expert on classical music. Far from it. After all, it has been more than 15 years since I have attended a concert at Severance Hall. I have a few CDs of music by the above-named composers, but my main "classical" music love is for movie scores. And the Lord of the Rings soundtrack is one of the best I've ever heard. My sister, who graduated with bachelors degree in music/theater and whose musical opinion I respect, is the real fan of Lord of the Rings. She went to Columbus, Atlanta, Pittsburgh and now Cleveland's Severance Hall to hear orchestras in those cities perform LOTR. I joined her in Pittsburgh for that orchestra's performance. All of these cities have accomplished orchestras.

 

But after tonight, I now understand why the Cleveland Orchestra is so highly touted.

 

The music that poured forth was powerful, hitting you right in the chest. It gave me chills and even caused tears to well up in my eyes a few times. Each section of the orchestra played so well in balance with each other that none dominated the other. After the concert, I said to my sister in my novice voice that the performance sounded almost exactly like the CD. She responded that's a huge compliment, since the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra had the benefit of sound mixers and could record multiple takes until they performed it the way composer Howard Shore wanted it. And, to my knowledge, the Cleveland Orchestra had one dress rehearsal before tonight's LOTR opening.

 

I also asked my sister what she thought of how the Cleveland Orchestra's performance of LOTR compared with the other cities' orchestras. She was impressed with Columbus' and Pittsburgh's orchestras, though Atlanta's was merely OK. When I asked her what she thought of Cleveland's performance, she said with a deep breath "wow!" I asked her to elaborate. "I heard things tonight that I'd never heard before" like various percussive instruments, or the brass and string sections in "perfect balance."

 

That meant a lot to me, considering she knows the LOTR soundtrack backwards and forwards. Coming from her, that's a huge compliment. She also acknowledged some of the sound quality came from the improved accoustics of Severance Hall, which was just renovated for $31 million. I noticed a few musical mistakes, like the young boy soloist sounding a tad nervous or the man performing the "Aragorn solo" with a bit too much vibrato. But those things are often expected on a first night.

 

My sister will be attending the other two LOTR performances (all sold out) this weekend by the Cleveland Orchestra. And, after what I heard tonight, I regret not joining her for at least one more of those. I will, however, make amends for my not going to Severance Hall more often. I will be watching their website for upcoming performances I'd like to hear.

 

In case you're interested, their website is:

 

http://www.clevelandorch.com/html/index.asp

I definitely understand being swept away by them - I almost laughed through the entire Mahler 5 first movement they did back in the 90's, it was so amazingly good...the 2nd most amazing concert of my life was the Firebird Suite they did with Dohnyani...(the first was Cincinnati's Sibelius 2 last year...sorry!).  I still need to hear them in the renovated hall, though - it's been years...

Thanks for your observations KJP. The orchestra's performances are simply spine-tingling. And while we always mention them in our laundry list of reasons to be proud of Cleveland, how often do we take time to think about how lucky we really are to have that level of culture available to us?

I've performed with the cleveland orchestra, does that make me cool?

Pope, what instrument?

Pope, what instrument?

 

skin flute

 

 

okay seriously, vocalist, some work the CO chorus and the cleveland pops orchestra

 

(and don't get some crazy ideas, i was just one of the hundred or so singing in the chorus)

skin flute

 

TMI  :behind:

Pope, what instrument?

 

skin flute

 

 

LMAO!!  let me guess you were "first chair" skin flute at band camp!  LOL  :lol:

Quote from: KJP on Yesterday at 01:02:38 pm

Pope, what instrument?

 

 

skin flute

 

AHHH!!! Nonononononono!  :shoot:

 

But seriously, The Cleveland Symphony is WORLD-reknown and is definitely one of Cleveland's most beautiful hallmarks. I love how when you travel through Cleveland Hopkins they play music from the symphony over the public address system. It creates a soothing environment while at the same time promoting something that is uniquely Cleveland.

I got to perform on the stage once with L.E.L. senior choirs. Our Choir was probably the worst that was there that night, but just being there and getting up on stage is probably my favorite memory of being in UC.  I've seen the Orchestra perform only twice in my life. I really should take advantage of them more.

Norma Lerner donates $5M to orchestra

Related Links

The Cleveland Orchestra

 

..........

Didn't see this posted anywhere yet--hellz yeah!

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Cleveland Orchestra Extends Music Directors Contract

By JAMES R. OESTREICH

New York Times

Published: June 7, 2008

 

At major American symphony orchestras just now, as in American politics, the watchword is change. A number of music directorships recently turned over, with others to follow. And several of the new appointments have signaled changes of direction, most notably at the New York Philharmonic and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, where youthful hirings hark back to the orchestras earlier days.

 

But the Cleveland Orchestra is standing pat. It announced on Friday that it had renewed the contract of its music director, the Austrian conductor Franz Welser-Möst, to 2018, which happens to be the orchestras centenary.

 

 

.......

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/07/arts/music/07cond.html?em&ex=1212984000&en=75c4aca7ad3a170f&ei=5087%0A

I'm always one of the first to chime in and say how great our orchestra is, but I'll admit I never go see them, and I'll give you the 2 reasons why:

 

1.  I was forced to be in the orchestra as a child, and to play an instrument I didn't like (viola) because that was the instrument we had and we couldn't afford another (my older sister played it, and still does).  I wasn't allowed to select band or choir instead (one of the 3 was required).  I spent 9 long years playing the viola, and though I was very good at it, I got VERY tired of classical music, especially pieces we had to play again and again and again each year for contest.  My ears still bleed if I'm put on hold somewhere and I hear Vivaldi's Four Seasons or Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, never mind Pachebel's Canon or Sleigh Ride or the Messiah.

 

2.  After a brief but wonderful hiatus away from classical music when I started college, I got involved my sophomore year with a man quite a bit older than me who had, among other things, season tickets to the ballet (yay) and season tickets to the orchestra (boo).  We had to go like EVERY WEEKEND for the 2 years I dated him, and honestly, while I liked pinicking at Blossom, the rest of the evening was just a snore, and forget about it during the winter concerts at Severance, it was all I could do to stay awake sometimes.  What little remaining love I had for certain pieces died with that relationship.  I'd rather listen to anything but classical.

 

They ARE world-class, but I've gotten so I absolutely can't stand orchestral music of any kind, even if they are playing something I love (like the LOTR music KJP mentioned).

Visiting the orchestra was one of a few things I enjoyed the most while in high school.  Our band/orchestra teacher was able to get discounted tickets every year; best field trip ever :)

Besides the music, the venue is just so awe-inspiring. 

I still say Severance Hall is one of our city's finest landmarks.

Too bad I can't go back in time to when I was 10 years old. I would appreciate those yearly Severance Hall field trips a heckuva lot more these days...

http://www.clevelandorchestra.com/html/performance/viewByMonth.asp?m=7&y=2008#7/3/2008

 

Wednesday, July 2, 2008 at 9:00 PM

 

Public Square - Cleveland, OH

 

2008 Public Square Concert - FREE

 

The Cleveland Orchestra's annual free Public Square concert "A Star Spangled Spectacular" takes place on Wednesday, July 2, 2008 at 9:00 pm. A pre-concert festival of musical entertainment begins at 4:00 pm on Public Square. The concert led by guest conductor Giancarlo Guerrero will also feature soprano Indra Thomas. The program will hosted by WCPN's Dee Perry. The concert will include a tribute to Leroy Anderson in celebration of the composer's 100th birthday. This year's concert will also celebrate the 200th birthday of Cuyahoga County. The evening will conclude with Tchaikovsky's "1812" overture, followed by a fireworks display. Join us for "A Star Spangled Spectacular" on Public Square!

Indra Thomas!!!!!  Yeah!!!!! :clap: :clap: :clap:

Just a reminder...

 

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008/06/fourth_of_july_kicking_off_the.html

 

Fourth of July: Kicking off the 4th on the 2nd

Posted by Grant Segall and Joel Downey June 27, 2008 07:38AM

Categories: FYI, Recreation, Traffic

 

Click on image to download PDF.

 

 

The annual Cleveland Orchestra Star Spangled Spectacular at Public Square will be Wednesday, not the Fourth of July.

 

The free events will begin at 4 p.m., leading up to a Cleveland Orchestra concert at 9 p.m. Fireworks will begin at 10:30 p.m., weather permitting.

 

........

Great show as always, and the sprinklers in the median beds on Superior did not go off this time!

^ But the sprinklers from above sure did go off just after the fireworks started! ::Grin::  Everyone was stampeding towards Tower City, but I just kinda stood there and got wet-- what's a little water going to do to you?  On another note, the lighting out over the lake during the performance was probably more spectacular than the fireworks.

Cleveland Orchestra draws rave reviews in Europe

 

Critics abroad praise unity of director, musicians

 

By Elaine Guregian

Beacon Journal arts and culture writer

 

POSTED: 11:52 a.m. EDT, Aug 20, 2008

 

The Cleveland Orchestra makes a fabulous pit orchestra, according to European critics. Here are excerpts from their comments about the orchestra's playing for the Salzburg Festival's first production of Dvorak's opera Rusalka. In total, the orchestra will play five sold-out performances of the opera, in addition to giving three concerts at the festival as part of its current European tour.

 

.............

 

 

Videos of the orchestra are available at http://www.youtube.com/user/clevelandorchestra. For more information on the tour, visit http://www.clevelandorchestra.com.

Elaine Guregian can be reached at 330-996-3574 or [email protected]

 

http://www.ohio.com/entertainment/27176629.html

 

 

Awesome!!

 

One great thing about Cleveland is the orchestra. Great to hear the rest of the world thinks so, too.

i just caught this wonderful program on pbs here in nyc recently. it's the cleveland orchestra performing in linz, austria in the abbey of st. florian. it was beautiful, just a stunning setting. look for it on pbs.

 

i loved this review remark, so true:

 

As one reviewer summed it up: "To listen to this masterpiece in this setting is to stand at the door of heaven."

 

http://www.pbs.org/previews/clevelandorchestra/

 

The New York Sun reporter doesn't even sound like he knows what he is talking about.....

Ironically, it is always somebody from NY thats gives the Cleveland a problem amid everyone elses glowing reviews.  I usually take the train up to Carnegie hall every year to see the Cleveland, usually sold out, and there is always a New York review that is like eh... and then proceeds to nit pick....

 

Either they realize that the Cleveland is as good as it gets and they can afford to be picked on, or they are jealous. 

 

Im thinking maybe a little of both since not very long ago I read an article that indicated the New York Symphony was no longer considered one of the U.S. big five.

Way to go Cleveland Orch.  You do us proud!   

After reading all the other reviews, sounds to me like Jay may need another couple music appreciation classes.

 

BTW thanks for posting KJP. The Cleveland Orchestra is certainly are greatest jewel.

I wouldn't pay much attention to the New York Sun. It's little newspaper that most people probably haven't even heard of. If it were the Times, I'd pay more attention.

I wouldn't pay much attention to the New York Sun. It's little newspaper that most people probably haven't even heard of. If it were the Times, I'd pay more attention.

 

Thats what I thought too, but what also made me surprised they were there and that they had an International traveling music critic...

that's the new york sun not the new yorker. it's a fairly new rag that is mostly ignored. otoh the new yorker is not ass-wipe, it is a fantastic magazine -- i wish someone from it would have gone instead.

 

generally speaking the ny print media is a haven for elitest rich kids, as they don't pay well. expect them to have class issues with places like cleveland. bet he wouldn't have wrote that if it was some london symphony or something.

^I think KJP meant someone from New York when he said "New Yorker", not the magazine by that name.  And New Yorker covered the Cleveland Orchestra with a large feature article a couple year's back, so they've certainly taken notice.  The author of that piece, a NEO native actually moved back to Cleveland soon after to write a book about the City.

 

Thats what I thought too, but what also made me surprised they were there and that they had an International traveling music critic...

 

Yeah, well that might be why the whole paper could very well shut down this month.

http://www.reuters.com/article/industryNews/idUSN0334404520080904

 

I wouldn't pay much attention to the New York Sun. It's little newspaper that most people probably haven't even heard of. If it were the Times, I'd pay more attention.

 

To put it in perspective, the Sun's circulation is about the same as the Canton Repository's.  So I'm not even sure why Rosenberg included the excerpt from that review.

 

haha i am not surprized -- now if only the village voice and the ny press rags would follow suit. wastes of oxygen and trees and digital bytes. time has passed them all by.

The New York Sun, started as a “conservative” alternative to the NY Times a few years ago (and may actually fold in a couple of months due to financial problems—not enough of a conservative audience in NY?!), actually has extensive and very good arts coverage—with more information about smaller events and exhibits than the Times on some days. I don’t really understand the degree of the negativity in the Cleveland Orchestra review though. The NY Times generally gives it good reviews on its annual visit to Carnegie Hall in the Fall, usually in October, although their chief classical music critic, Anthony Tommasini, can’t quite get a handle on the conductor, Franz Welser-Most. He’s apparently taken the orchestra in a different direction and has not yet made as distinct an influence on the orchestra as his predecessors; and doing more new music (which critics generally love). Tommasini (though it could have been one of the other classical critics—they have many) once wrote that there are a handful of orchestras—Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia and Cleveland—which sound different than any other in the world (a distinctly American sound, apparently)—something about how no one section of the orchestra overshadows the other, with every instrument transparent (I paraphrased his words the best I could remember them!), which might not be a sound to everyone’s liking. I know that European orchestras have a sound considered by some as “warmer” or “richer,” which doesn’t mean better, just different. Furthermore, I have also read complaints that despite glowing reviews in Europe, it is the Plain Dealer critic who’s often the orchestra’s harshest critic!

Yeah I remember reading the reviews by Tommasini trying to figure out Franz. 

but there was yet another NY critic that I read after last year that sort of trashed them (Ill try to find where it was from)

I agree Rosenburg has been tough on Franz as well. 

 

BTW the Cleveland Orchestra is considered the most European sounding orchestra out of the bunch, maybe thats why they are so popular over there, with just the right touch of American sound maybe?

not enough of a conservative audience in NY?!),

 

Don't we all wish.  More like too much competition from the WSJ and the Post and the general decline of the industry.  New York delivered almost 600k votes for Bush/Cheney in 2004, after all.

 

Sorry, back on topic:  As anonymous as Cleveland is to much of the world, the penetration of the Orchestra into the upper echelons of the world's music scene is really amazing.  It travels the world with none of the rust belt baggage the City has in the eyes of much of the Country.  And seeing it perform in Severance Hall is as amazing as visiting any of the great Euro symphonies in their hall (and lord knows, much better than visiting the NY Phil in Lincoln Center).

Yeah I remember reading the reviews by Tommasini trying to figure out Franz. 

but there was yet another NY critic that I read after last year that sort of trashed them (Ill try to find where it was from)

I agree Rosenburg has been tough on Franz as well. 

 

BTW the Cleveland Orchestra is considered the most European sounding orchestra out of the bunch, maybe thats why they are so popular over there, with just the right touch of American sound maybe?

 

You’re right. The Cleveland Orchestra is rooted in European influence due almost exclusively to George Szell, who was given complete control and cultivated an old-world discipline that has remained until today.

 

A quote from Wikipedia:

“For Szell, working in Cleveland would represent an opportunity to create his own personal ideal orchestra, one which would combine the virtuosity of the best American ensembles, with the homogeneity of tone of the best European orchestras.”

 

 

I'm glad to see this thread taking off. I was worried when I started it that there weren't enough classical music fans around anymore to keep the thread going. I'm happy to be wrong.

“The NY Times generally gives it good reviews on its annual visit to Carnegie Hall in the Fall”

 

Just for the record, for the forthcoming season, the Cleveland Orchestra’s Carnegie Hall appearances will be February 4, 6 & 7, not the Fall:

 

http://www.carnegiehall.org/SiteCode/Events/3DayCalendar.aspx?selecteddate=02042009&s=c5

 

Check it out from yesterday's paper. Very cool article!!

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http://www.cleveland.com/plaindealer/stories/index.ssf?/base/opinion/1220689827248310.xml&coll=2

Cleveland orchestra raised the bar in Salzburg

Sunday, September 07, 2008

Charles Michener

 

The Cleveland Orchestra is back in town, and it de serves a hero's welcome.

 

The reason is not simply the admiring reviews the players and their music director Franz Welser-MÖst earned during a three-week European tour. What made the Clevelanders genuine heroes in Salzburg, Lucerne, Turin and Milan was something rarely achieved in their rarefied sphere: They raised the bar of musical excellence in settings where that measurement has long been set by musicians steeped in the traditions of Vienna and Berlin, not in the grit of a city somewhere between New York and Chicago. And the effect on old Europe's most demanding listeners was electrifying.

 

........

 

Walking into the moonlit Salzburg night, I thought, "Do the people back home know how lucky they are?"

 

 

Michener is a former senior editor at the New Yorker and classical music columnist for the New York Observer. He is currently working on a book about Cleveland titled "The Hidden City."

And the plaudits just keep on coming, this time from the Sunday Times of London.

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http://www.cleveland.com/musicdance/index.ssf/2008/09/london_critic_in_awe_of_the_cl.html

London critic in awe of the Cleveland Orchestra

by Donald Rosenberg / Plain Dealer Music Critic

Tuesday September 09, 2008, 12:02 PM

 

British music critic Hugh Canning, once a fierce opponent of Franz Welser-Most in London, is as high as possible on the conductor and the Cleveland Orchestra in his most recent review of these artists during their recent European tour. Here's the complete review from the Sunday Times of London:

 

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/live_reviews/article4669365.ece

 

    Cleveland Orchestra in Salzburg

    A star was born in Salzburg as the Cleveland Orchestra outclassed its European rivals

 

    Is there a finer all-year-round orchestra today than the Clevelanders? Having heard their rapturously beautiful playing in Dvorak's Rusalka at the Salzburg festival three weeks ago and two concerts under their music director, Franz Welser-Most at the Lucerne festival last weekend, I can't think for the moment which it might be. The Berlin Phil? Even that great orchestra has lost some of its "old-world" glow - which the Cleveland players astonishingly retain - under Simon Rattle's thrusting, modernist baton. The music-directorless Viennese? In Salzburg their form varied from the mediocre (in Don Giovanni) to the outstanding (in Bluebeard's Castle), but for a sound culture in a wide-ranging repertoire, they were no match for Welser-Most's American band. Even the fiercely chauvinistic Austrian press - who remain convinced of Vienna's position at the centre of classical music - acknowledged the supreme achievement of the Clevelanders.

 

Cool to see all this positive press...even if it isn't coming out of Cleveland.  But maybe it's better that it's coming from around the world??

 

EDIT oh wait, this article above is from the PD...great that it's coming from everywhere!

I love how they call them "The Clevelanders."  Very cool.

For all you Cleveland Orchestra aficionados and conspiracy theorists, an excellent story in yesterday’s New York Times about the “reassignment” of Plain Dealer classical music critic Donald Rosenberg. Since this article appeared, I wonder if he’s still even with the paper!

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/25/arts/music/25crit.html?_r=1&ei=5070&emc=eta1&oref=slogin

 

 

Terrance C. Z. Egger, the newspaper’s publisher — who is also on the orchestra’s board

 

That's all that needed to be said...

"It is difficult to tell exactly what happened in Cleveland, a city that takes exceptional pride in its orchestra, perhaps the major source of whatever national or international cultural luster the city has."

 

perhaps not. i hate when they toss in condescending bs remarks like that. you can bet the writer got an email about it.

 

thye're on a roll this week, that was the second email today from me to ny media. i emailed ny1 too after they said paul newman was originally just "from ohio."

 

 

I don't take it personally. CNN, MSNBC and others frequently refer to news happening in other states as just happening in "Ohio" or "Missouri" etc. My favorite is when one of the major news outlets once said there was a big fire at a building in "Texas." Boy that really narrows it down!

 

My guess is that since some geographically challenged reporter couldn't find Cleveland Heights on a map, they just said Ohio. At least they didn't say "Iowa."

don't kid yourself, big media reporters are not that geographically challenged. the national media, which is to say the ny media for the most part, tend to 'generalize' the midwest at every chance. they do it quite on purpose in order to minimize it.

 

edit: so much for the ny sun. it finally went under. bah.:

http://www.suntimes.com/business/1191635,nysun092908.article

Hey people,

 

I'm looking to buy christmas concert tickets for 11 people. I'm like to stick to the $48 range--this limits me to certain spots. The $48 ticket puts me on the main floor (as close as the fifth row). I'm thinking that it would be better to be a little farther back than the fifth row. Maybe the 20th would be better--you could see more of the orchestra. Does anyone have any experience with this area of the concert hall?

Cleveland Orchestra is No. 7 in new ranking of world orchestras

by Zachary Lewis/Plain Dealer Music Critic

Thursday November 20, 2008, 2:59 PM

 

The Cleveland Orchestra is still one of the best orchestras in the world, but it's not the best. In fact, according to Gramophone magazine, it isn't one of the top five.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/arts/index.ssf/2008/11/cleveland_orchestra_is_no_7_in.html