Congrats on the ranking!

 

Of course, the PD turns it into a negative by saying in the lead paragraph that it's not the best orchestra or even in the top five. These PD writers are in desperate need of a blowjob or an enema.

Congrats on the ranking!

 

Of course, the PD turns it into a negative by saying in the lead paragraph that it's not the best orchestra or even in the top five. These PD writers are in desperate need of a blowjob or an enema.

 

I say they need option "c", both!  ::)    They do more damage than good for Cleveland.

actually, although those cities are bigger (meaning population + they are geographically bigger, too), cleveland's metro pop is bigger than amsterdam's and vienna's and is around the same as munich's. but whatever, nice news!

^Are you referring to the prepared CO statement?  It's referring to symphonies that placed lower (LA, New York, Boston, etc...).  But I agree with "whatever"- this is the last place any metro area populations fights need to break.

 

BS-y as such ranking are, it's really amazing that the Cleveland Orchestra is in such fine company world-wide and a testament to its leadership these many years.

A Reading Rainbow moment from 8 Shades, courtesy of Wikipedia:

 

The term "Big Five" was coined around the time that long-playing recordings became available, regular orchestral radio broadcasts were expanding, and the five orchestras that comprise the group had annual concert series in New York City.

 

The earliest rubric for the leading U.S. orchestras was the "Major Seven" in the early 20th century. In the mid-20th century, with recordings and radio broadcasts at first available in the U.S only from major East Coast cities, the term devolved into the "Big Three": New York, Boston, and Philadelphia.

 

The "Big Three" label was still in widespread use in 1958 (Newsweek, February 17, 1958). However, the Cleveland Orchestra, under George Szell's direction, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, under Fritz Reiner, were gaining critical and public acclaim. By 1965, the term "Big Five", which included the latter two orchestras, was being widely used in magazines, newspapers, and books.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Five_(orchestras)

 

Nice to see the last two orchestras in the Big 5 rose to the top, albeit by way of a totally subjective, BS'y ranking :-) Personally, I find it pretty impressive that we're 2nd in the US and 7th in the world. Yay to the Cleve! 

I remembered this article from the now defunct New York Sun from a couple of years ago which suggested it was time to rethink the Big Five orchestras. I’ve excerpted the Cleveland and Cincinnati portions below (interesting, if nothing else):

 

Full article: http://www.nysun.com/arts/new-york-drops-off-the-list-of-big-five-orchestras/44570/

 

New York Drops Off the List Of ‘Big Five' Orchestras

By FRED KIRSHNIT, Special to the Sun | December 5, 2006

 

Since the 1950s, the concept of the "Big Five" American orchestras has held sway and influenced ticket buyers to attend what are ostensibly the most reliably consistent performances. Here in New York, the grouping is especially significant: Each of these orchestras appears in town every year. The time is right for a radical realignment — and a revamped "Big Five" is in order.

 

IN: THE CINCINNATI SYMPHONY

The demographic of James Levine's hometown is largely Germanic and they are the proud boosters of the oldest symphony hall in America. A fine ensemble under Schippers, Gielen, and Lopez-Cobos, the orchestra has truly blossomed under the son of another world-class conductor. Paavo Jarvi has proven to be the finest of his generation, a sensitive and result-oriented maestro. Nurtured in a great tradition since birth but still independent enough to challenge it, Mr. Jarvi has made his mark decisively and with great panache. The orchestra has never sounded better and presents interesting and varied programming on a regular basis.

 

OUT: THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA

The finest orchestra in America in the 1960s, with the sainted George Szell on the podium, occupied Severance Hall. The group also had a pretty good assistant conductor named Jimmy Levine. It later survived Maestro Maazel's rather sloppy legacy and tightened up once again under the iron hand of Christoph von Dohnanyi. Everything seemed to be going its way, until its board made a decision that can only be described as screwy. Austrian Franz Welser-Moest had a terrible reputation when chosen to take over. Crucified by the British press — they quickly dubbed him "Frankly Worst Than Most" — he was hunted down in London as relentlessly as Bill Sykes. His tenure at the head of their Philharmonic was not just stormy but deeply unsatisfying for audiences at the Royal Festival Hall.

 

In Cleveland, performances have been uniformly poor, unpopular with both patrons and critics alike. For four years now, Maestro has brought his charges to Carnegie and my critical reaction has been somewhat subdued as I have been forced to concentrate on physically controlling my impulses to shudder on a regular basis.

 

A review of the reviewer......

 

http://groups.google.com/group/ne.weather/msg/fa355c3d45e7670b

 

Letter to the Editor:

New York Sun

 

A recent article by Susan Tomes in the Guardian suggesting that

performers may be able to sue music critics "who just aren't up to the

task" brought to mind some damning reviews by New York Sun critic Fred

Kirshnit that demonstrated an astonishing lack of familiarity with the

music being performed. In his review of Mihaela Ursuleasa's recital of

October 29th at Walter Reade Theater, Kirshnit claimed that in

Beethoven's Eroica Variations the pianist "decided to offer her own

version of the opening theme, a distortion that certainly roused

everybody from their Sunday slumbers." Kirshnit must not be very

familiar with this well-known Beethoven work because Ursuleasa played

the theme exactly as written by Beethoven. A recording of the

performance confirms this fact. He then claimed that Ursuleasa

"fumbled and stumbled her way through most of the variants." There

were no fumbles or stumbles. Again, the recording shows that she

played all the variations virtually note perfect and without any

technical flaws.

 

Even more revealing was Kirshnit's review of Arnaldo Cohen's recital

last December in Town Hall. In the second half, Cohen played Chopin's

Four Scherzi. However, instead of playing them in standard numerical

order as printed in the program, Cohen played them in his own

preferred order, beginning with Scherzo No. 4, following with Nos. 1

and 3, and ending with No. 2. Kirshnit, however, stated in his review

that "Mr. Cohen began with a very satisfying rendition of Chopin's

Scherzo [No. 1] in B minor." Even the fact that Scherzo No. 4 is in a

MAJOR key did not tip off Mr. Kirshnit to the fact that he was not

hearing the B minor Scherzo. According to Kirshnit, Cohen then

"followed with a rather sloppy B Flat minor." Chopin's Scherzo No. 2

in B Flat Minor is one of the best-known works in the piano

literature. The fact that Kirshnit was unaware that he was hearing a

different piece speaks volumes about his knowledge of piano

music, yet this musical ignorance has not stopped him from writing

reviews that not only criticize, but seek to poke fun at and humiliate

artists. Any critic so unfamiliar with the standard piano literature

has no business reviewing recitals for a major newspaper. Allowing Mr.

Kirshnit to continue in this position does a disservice not only to

the performers and your readers but also to the profession of music

critic itself.

 

 

Farhan Malik

His music listening license card should be revoked.

I don't have a problem with him listening to music, or even having an opinion on it. But when people present their opinions as fact, then I have problem with that.

The saga continues. What I want to know is if Franz Welser-Möst really compared Cleveland to “an inflated farmer’s village.” (!) :laugh: :laugh:

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/12/business/media/12plain.html?ref=business

 

Plain Dealer’s Music Critic, His Beat Changed, Sues Paper and Orchestra

By DANIEL J. WAKIN

Published: December 11, 2008

 

The saga continues. What I want to know is if Franz Welser-Möst really compared Cleveland to “an inflated farmer’s village.” (!) :laugh: :laugh:

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/12/business/media/12plain.html?ref=business

 

Plain Dealer’s Music Critic, His Beat Changed, Sues Paper and Orchestra

By DANIEL J. WAKIN

Published: December 11, 2008

A classical music critic who was removed from his post at The Cleveland Plain Dealer after a history of negative reviews of the Cleveland Orchestra’s music director struck back on Thursday with a lawsuit.

 

The critic, Donald Rosenberg, charged that orchestra officials had waged a “campaign of vilification” against him and that his bosses at the newspaper had caved in to demands that he be ousted.

 

“It’s key that people realize that journalists have to be given the freedom to operate without pressure from outside sources,” Mr. Rosenberg said in a telephone interview. Mr. Rosenberg stressed that his complaint was directed at the orchestra’s management and not its musicians.

 

Mr. Rosenberg’s case became a nationwide cause célèbre among music critics, a dwindling breed in a time of newspaper cutbacks. They said a prominent, knowledgeable voice had been silenced by an influential local institution.

 

 

 

Now why can't PD fire all that have had a "history of negative reviews"??  We'd have a whole new newspaper staff!!  Food for thought, no comments please, cause we all know to answer that question, that will take this waaaaay off topic.  LMAO

after work yesterday i ran up to carnegie hall and grabbed some tickets to see "the clevelanders." should be grand!

 

* i also got tix to see morrissey at carnegie too. that should be another kind of grand. heh.

Generally excellent NY Times review of Cleve. Orchestra Carnegie Hall performance, but still has reservations about conductor :wtf::

 

Full review: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/06/arts/music/06fran.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper

 

MUSIC REVIEW | CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA

An Alpine Hike, With an Illuminating Tour Guide

 

By ANTHONY TOMMASINI

Published: February 5, 2009

 

The Cleveland Orchestra played the first of three concerts at Carnegie Hall on Wednesday night, part of a much anticipated series that offers New York audiences another chance to assess how this legendary ensemble is faring under the artistic leadership of the Austrian conductor Franz Welser-Möst.

 

The orchestra sounded terrific, especially in its glittering, rhapsodic and beautifully textured performance of Strauss’s 50-minute tone poem, “An Alpine Symphony.” Still, few artists in recent years have drawn such disparate reactions from critics as Mr. Welser-Möst, 48, now in his seventh season as the orchestra’s music director.

 

Some of the qualities that have caused reservations were evident on Wednesday, notably a tendency in his performances to take refinement to the point of listlessness. But the concert on Wednesday was, for me, Mr. Welser-Möst’s strongest and most illuminating work. The audience, which responded with a prolonged ovation, clearly agreed.

i'm excited as we're going tonight so thanks for that review -- very timely!

 

here's tonight's program:

 

“radiant … vibrant yet sweetly tender”—New York Times

 

Program Details

 

The Cleveland Orchestra

Franz Welser-Möst, Music Director and Conductor

Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Piano

 

 

GEORGE BENJAMIN

 

Duet for Piano and Orchestra (NY Premiere)

 

SHOSTAKOVICH

 

Symphony No. 7, "Leningrad"

 

i'm excited as we're going tonight so thanks for that review -- very timely!

 

here's tonight's program:

 

“radiant … vibrant yet sweetly tender”—New York Times

 

Program Details

 

The Cleveland Orchestra

Franz Welser-Möst, Music Director and Conductor

Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Piano

 

 

GEORGE BENJAMIN

 

Duet for Piano and Orchestra (NY Premiere)

 

SHOSTAKOVICH

 

Symphony No. 7, "Leningrad"

 

 

okay, enjoy it...never mind, it's a quarter of 8--you're already there. expecting a review tomorrow...was going to go myself but I wasn't really that excited by any of the programs. I'm a philistine when it comes to classical music. I know Welser-Most is really into doing newer stuff, which reviewers love but the typical concertgoer (even in supposedly sophisticated NY) probably hates, regardless of how stellar the performance. The Shostakovich should be good though (although the Russian composers I really like--Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff-- predate his era). I think tomorrow they're doing Mozart. Whatever, sorry to babble on...

we had a great time, even up in the cheap seats. the sound is excellent. i fully enjoyed the opening george benjamin piano/orchestra duet (new, 15min). the french pianist, pierre-laurent aimard, the clevelanders artist in residence, is a friend of benjamin's so i imagine that helped his play. the opening of the shostatkovich 'leningrad' (1941, 70min) is full on russian war propaganda, which he then expanded to a full orchestra piece. i enjoyed it as an exercise in the play of the orchestra. everybody got a chance to shine, but i'd say the flutist joshua smith particularly stood out.

 

is there any doubt they left to long ovations in the end?  :clap:

 

btw if anyone can make it tonight will feature the chorus, so that would also be a real treat. there were some upper balcony seats available last night so i'd imagine you could still walk up for tickets, but the better seats were all sold out.

 

no photography allowed....so of course here are some quick sneaky shots i took

on the break between benjamin & shostakovitch (not recommended -- they can eject you)  :wink:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

shostakovitch's leningrad has quite a sensational back story (it's more comprehensively covered peter laki's playbill writeup):

 

 

The following is excerpted and adapted from Peter Laki’s program note on Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony, written for performances by The Cleveland Orchestra in February 1995: “Shostakovich began work on his Symphony No. 7 in the middle of July 1941, as Hitler’s troops were advancing on Leningrad, the composer’s native city. The first three movements were composed in the besieged city and the fourth was written in the provincial capital of Kuibyshev, after Shostakovich and his family had been evacuated from the blockaded Leningrad at the beginning of October. The symphony was completed in Kuibyshev on December 27, 1941, and was first performed there on March 5, 1942….

 

“It was almost inevitable that the ‘Leningrad’ Symphony should be thoroughly politicized both in the Soviet Union and abroad: the Soviets made political capital of what they decided was a paean to the heroism of the people of Leningrad during the ‘Great Patriotic War.’ At the same time, the symphony became a major sensation in the West. The adventure-filled story of how the manuscript of the symphony reached the United States was itself made into a movie: the score was microfilmed near Moscow, flown to Teheran, driven from there to Cairo, and finally flown to New York from Casablanca. A whole crew of photographers worked for ten days to create paper prints of the 252-page score from which conductors could work and parts could be made. Some of the most prominent music directors in the U.S., including Serge Koussevitzky, Artur Rodzinski (then music director of The Cleveland Orchestra) and Leopold Stokowski, vied for the jus primae noctis (‘the right to the first night’), to quote Nicolas Slonimsky’s irreverent expression from the Musical Quarterly (October 1942). The race was finally won by Arturo Toscanini, who led the United States premiere on July 19, 1942, in a nationwide radio broadcast with the NBC Symphony Orchestra. Just a short time later, The Cleveland Orchestra gave its first performances of the Seventh Symphony, in October 1942 at a pair of subscription concerts conducted by Artur Rodzinski.

 

“Shostakovich was variously described in the press as the new Beethoven and the new Berlioz. Toscanini’s NBC broadcast was referred to in Newsweek as ‘the premiere of the year’; Time Magazine carried a drawing of the composer wearing a fire-helmet on its July 20, 1942, cover with the caption: ‘Fireman Shostakovich – Amid the bombs bursting in Leningrad he heard the chords of victory.’ It was clear that war propaganda helped to promote the symphony in ways quite unheard of in the annals of music.”

 

 

 

^Thanks, great summary and pics of Carnegie Hall (it’s been awhile since I’ve been there). I think the Times review will be in Monday’s edition (along with tonight’s performance). Let’s see if they’re similar... :-) :wink:

here's the link and the remarks from our night. i'd agree with it.

there is much more commentary on other highlights of the visit,

including the next evening, sat night, which had the chorus:

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/09/arts/music/09orch.html?_r=1&ref=arts

 

Music Review | Cleveland Orchestra

Music All Over the Map: Leningrad to the Balcony

 

By JAMES R. OESTREICH

Published: February 8, 2009

 

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2009/02/09/arts/Clev650.jpg

Franz Welser-Möst conducting the Cleveland Orchestra, which performed new works and classics at Carnegie Hall last week.

 

 

The big piece on Friday night was Shostakovichs Seventh Symphony, which chronicles the German siege of Leningrad in World War II, and its ultimate failure, in broad strokes. New York audiences have heard this piece interpreted often enough by Russian orchestras and conductors (most notably Yuri Temirkanov) to look for a brutal, caustic edge in the playing, often at some cost in refinement. The Cleveland Orchestra with a refinement bred in the bone, which served beautifully in the long string lines relied instead on sheer magnificent force to create a sense of indomitability if not brutalization.

 

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

 

^Sounded like a good concert...but the part about the brass players in the balcony seemed like it could be a little disconcerting; and after reading the review, I'm sorry I missed the Janacek piece on Saturday night.

 

Next year it appears the Cleve. Orch. will be doing only one Carnegie performance, and not until May:

 

Cleveland Orchestra slated to head back to Carnegie Hall in 2010

by Zachary Lewis / Plain Dealer Music Critic Wednesday January 21, 2009, 4:15 PM

 

New York's Carnegie Hall has announced its 2009-10 season -- and like the current season, it includes an appearance by the Cleveland Orchestra.

 

The performance, scheduled for May 21, 2010, features music director Franz Welser-Most leading the orchestra in Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 ("Eroica") and Henry Brant's recent orchestral arrangement of Charles Ives' "Concord" Piano Sonata.

 

The concert is part of Carnegie Hall's "Great American Orchestras" series, which next year includes the New York Philharmonic as well as the Chicago, San Francisco, St. Louis, Atlanta and Minnesota orchestras.

yeah, the brass on the balcony was jarring at first, even though as you can see we sat directly across from them and saw them -- so we were more prepared than most of the audience would have been. that idea didn't really work out overall, although it did get better. also, yes leningrad was probably played too refined for what it is. that seems to be very emblematic the cle orch's style.

 

we thought about going the next night too. i wish we would have, it must have been quite a treat.

 

 

http://www.cleveland.com/arts/index.ssf/2009/03/cleveland_orchestra_plans_deep.html

 

Cleveland Orchestra plans 'deep' cuts; Welser-Most takes pay cut

by Zachary Lewis/Plain Dealer Music Critic

Tuesday March 24, 2009, 4:53 PM

 

Franz Welser-MostIn another sign that no one is immune from economic woe, the Cleveland Orchestra said Tuesday it is planning a series of "broad and deep" cuts in response to financial crisis. So serious is the orchestra's position, in fact, that music director Franz Welser-Most and executive director Gary Hanson have volunteered for annual pay cuts amounting to more than $300,000, according to public documents...

 

Post edited 9-4-09 to comply with terms of use

For all you Cleveland opera buffs: Great review of Cleveland Orchestra/Zurich Opera collaboration of Le Nozze di Figaro at Severance Hall :clap:and 3 more chances to hear it.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/25/arts/music/25nozz.html?ref=arts

 

 

MUSIC REVIEW | LE NOZZE DI FIGARO

Importing a Revival to Revisit the Past

 

By JAMES R. OESTREICH

Published: March 24, 2009

 

CLEVELAND In a city whose economic slump began long before the current national malaise, the Cleveland Orchestra has been swimming against the tide and reclaiming parts of its storied past.

 

In 2000 it completed a magnificent renovation of Severance Hall, the Art Deco monument that has been its home since 1931. And now it is reviving a venerable tradition of presenting fully staged opera in Severance with the players in the pit, something it once did in abundance (15 operas conducted by Artur Rodzinski from 1933 to 1938 alone, including the American premiere of Shostakovichs Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District) but has not done since the 1970s.

 

........

:The world-famous Cleveland Orchestra landed a multi-year residency at the prestigious Lincoln Center.  Kudos to Cleveland and its orchestra!  :clap:

 

http://www.cleveland.com/arts/index.ssf/2009/09/cleveland_orchestra_to_be_part.html

 

 

In 2000 it completed a magnificent renovation of Severance Hall, the Art Deco monument that has been its home since 1931.

 

Art Deco? I guess music critics don't necessarily make for competent architecture critics.

^It definitely has a lot of Art Deco in it. Here's a description that I found:

 

"Designed by local firm Walker and Weeks, the building's exterior is transitional between Classical, and the late flowering of Classical style known as Art Moderne or Art Deco. New York sculptor Henry Hering created an art-deco sculpture for the pediment. Inside, Severance Hall is one of America's greatest Art Deco interiors."

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Severance_Hall

 

^For real.  Only the exterior is not Art Deco/Art Moderne...which always struck me as a little weird, in fact.

:The world-famous Cleveland Orchestra landed a multi-year residency at the prestigious Lincoln Center.  Kudos to Cleveland and its orchestra!  :clap:

 

http://www.cleveland.com/arts/index.ssf/2009/09/cleveland_orchestra_to_be_part.html

 

 

same info, NY Times story:

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/23/arts/music/23festival.html?hp

 

Cleveland Orchestra Gets Its Toe in New York

 

By DANIEL J. WAKIN

Published: September 22, 2009

 

The Cleveland Orchestra will establish a colony in New York.

 

Having already sunk residency roots in Miami and Vienna, the Clevelanders plan an every-other-year presence at the Lincoln Center Festival, officials from the orchestra and the festival said on Tuesday.

^For real. Only the exterior is not Art Deco/Art Moderne...which always struck me as a little weird, in fact.

 

When I think Art Deco, I think Cincinnati Union Terminal.

^Sure- but not this too?  http://cleveland.about.com/od/architectureandbuildings/ig/Severance-Hall---A-Photo-Tour/Severance-Hall--Interior.htm (granted, "sound pillows" or whatever they're called on stage were only added in the 1990s renovation).

 

^^That NYT article has this kind of sad quote too:

 

“Cleveland isn’t large enough to maintain on its own a full season of orchestra activity,” said Gary Hanson, the orchestra’s executive director.

 

^May be true, in fact it could be very true...I am in no position to say....but it also could be read as good old Gary covering his ass...if we are not making $$$ as an orchestra don't blame me as executive director...it is the city.  And by the way I, as executive director, have done a very good job of convincing my board of this so my job is pretty secure.

^I think what he really means is that the city's not big enough to sustain a full season of an Orchestra with such a big budget; which is actually not a bad thing to say: compared to the other "big 5," the Cleveland punches WAY above its weight class (based on fan base population) when it comes to the Orchestra.

With the Clinic and the Orchestra both being in the news a lot lately, I can't think of better ambassadors for the city

OK -- this is getting serious.  Here is one major asset so much important to the city both cultural and in our international view.  Just wish we had some money going around.  I'm hoping we have the support--Or maybe it's time to RISE UP CLEVELAND!

 

Contract talks intensify at Cleveland Orchestra

By Zachary Lewis, The Plain Dealer

December 31, 2009, 4:18PM

 

 

Contract negotiations between the management and musicians of the Cleveland Orchestra have begun to harden, setting the stage for a possible strike or lockout as early as next week.

 

On the eve of 2010, the orchestra’s administration announced that the musicians had terminated the month-to-month extension under which they’ve been playing since September, and that as of midnight, no plan would be in place to pay the artists for work scheduled to begin Tuesday.

 

The extension was to a three-year contract signed in September 2006. Without a new contract or extension, the players, members of the Cleveland Federation of Musicians, are free to strike.

 

MORE AT http://www.cleveland.com/musicdance/index.ssf/2009/12/contract_talks_intensify_at_cl.html

 

 

and from IDEASTREAM: http://www.wcpn.org/WCPN/news/29140/

OH NO

 

Cleveland Orchestra Contract Negotiations Break Down, Strike Likely

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Negotiations between the Cleveland Orchestra and the union representing its musicians broke down yesterday, making a strike increasingly likely. ideastream®’s Dan Bobkoff has the latest.

 

http://www.wcpn.org/WCPN/news/29175/

 

 

Also, from the NYTimes http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/06/cleveland-orchestra-talks-break-down/

 

You've got to be kidding me:(

Cleveland Orchestra musicians strike over contract

Updated: Monday, January 18, 2010 - 12:56 PM

 

CLEVELAND -- About four dozen members of the Cleveland Orchestra wore their formal concert attire on the first day of their strike outside the steps of Severance Hall over a pay impasse with management.  Oboist Jeffrey Rathbun, who chairs the musicians' negotiating committee, said during a news conference today that their goal is to uphold standards. 

 

He says picketing will not begin until Tuesday in deference to Martin Luther King Jr. Day.  Several orchestra horn players were donating time today for an open house at Severance Hall that marks the holiday.

 

Full article at http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/01/18/cleveland-strike.html?sid=101

 

Ohh Boy...  This is not a good sign. 

This is really bad.  And ugh, the Cleveland.bomb comments are particularly, depressingly stupid, along the lines of "what are these people complaining about when they already make so much money," as if musicians were fungible. 

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.

You might enjoy the soundtrack to "Brideshead Revisited" tv series from 1981.

Cleveland.bomb  

HAHA

Orchestra, musicians reach tentative agreement

By Zachary Lewis, The Plain Dealer

January 19, 2010, 8:09AM

Chuck Crow, The Plain Dealer

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cleveland Orchestra and its musicians union have reached a tentative agreement after all-night negotiations.

 

Neither side of the discussions had issued an official statement on the matter, but a spokesman for the musicians said the parties had reached an accord early today and would meet to ratify the deal. In the meantime, the bulk of the orchestra's residency at Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind., has been postponed. During the night, it was announced that the orchestra's main stage concert there, scheduled to take place Wednesday night, and other planned activities had been postponed.

 

More at: http://www.cleveland.com/musicdance/index.ssf/2010/01/orchestra_musicians_reach_tent.html

Please only post the first paragraph of articles along with the link. In any case, glad to hear they're making progress.

NY Times article as well:

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/19/arts/music/20orchestra.html

NY Times article as well:

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/19/arts/music/20orchestra.html

and leave it to the New York Times to once again portray Cleveland in the most positive light: "The problem is especially acute here. Cleveland presents one of classical music’s great anomalies: a top international orchestra in a shrinking city, an ensemble in a Rust Belt town that plays with the greatest of ease among the Viennese."

 

Some more feel good, rave reviews from NYTimes:

 

Cleveland’s Voluptuous ‘Lulu,’ Surrounded by Beethoven

By ANTHONY TOMMASINI

Published: May 23, 2010

 

 

In assessing an orchestra, classical music insiders and audiences can get too caught up with the issue of sound. Yes, to be enveloped in the sheer sonic splendor of a great orchestra is a wonderful thing. But I am willing to trade a little aural roughness for bracing performances when a conductor and players challenge themselves in the best sense and bring striking insights to standard repertory or champion living composers. There is more at stake for the American orchestra than the pursuit of glorious sound.

 

As a rebuttal to this point of view, however, there was the Cleveland Orchestra’s concert on Friday night at Carnegie Hall, conducted by Franz Welser-Möst. The opening work was Beethoven’s “Coriolan” Overture, and from the first moments — three vigorous statements of a stern, sustained C in the strings, each one bursting into a slashing chord — the sheer sound of the orchestra was mesmerizing.

 

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/24/arts/music/24franz.html

^It sounds like Anthony Tommasini, the chief classical music critic for the NY Times, is becoming a real softie. An amazing review.

Euro tour for the Cleveland Orchestra:

 

Cleveland Orchestra packs its bags for musical journey across Europe

Published: Sunday, August 15, 2010, 12:01 AM

Zachary Lewis, The Plain Dealer

 

 

After spending the last several weeks at Blossom Music Center, regaling listeners in Northeast Ohio, the Cleveland Orchestra is preparing to take its special show on the road, for a nearly two-week tour of Europe.

 

The journey, beginning Tuesday, will take the group to two of the continent's most famous music festivals and mark the ninth such trip undertaken by the orchestra with music director Franz Welser-Möst.

 

"Festivals are very much a focal point [in Europe]," said Welser-Möst, a native of Austria. "They always try to get the latest and hottest in a short period, and the audience comes to hear as much music as possible. It's a big, big injection of culture."

 

 

http://www.cleveland.com/musicdance/index.ssf/2010/08/cleveland_orchestra_packs_its.html

 

European critics lavish praise on touring Cleveland Orchestra

Published: Monday, August 23, 2010, 7:46 AM     

Zachary Lewis, The Plain Dealer

 

 

 

The Cleveland Orchestra's 2010 European Tour continues, and the reviews are pouring in. What's more, the mixed opinions expressed in the earliest reviews seem to have given way to glowing feedback.

 

On Monday, the orchestra was settling into Merano, Italy, for a performance Tuesday, Aug. 24 featuring Schubert's Symphony No. 4 and Strauss's "Ein Heldenleben."

 

Behind the group at this point are two concerts at Scotland's Edinburgh International Festival, a debut at Austria's Grafenegg Music Festival, and a return visit to the Abbey of St. Florian in Linz. On Thursday, Aug. 26, the orchestra begins its residency in Lucerne, Switzerland.

 

Reviewing the first concert in Edinburgh, MusicWeb International said the orchestra "laid down a standard that others will struggle to follow. The Clevelanders are arguably the finest orchestra playing in the US today."

 

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?action=post;topic=7533.0;num_replies=96

Cleveland Orchestra receives $20 million gift for Center for Future Audiences

 

By SCOTT SUTTELL

2:20 pm, October 26, 2010

 

With an eye on drawing a new generation of patrons, the Cleveland Orchestra today announced the creation of the Center for Future Audiences, made possible by a $20 million gift from Cleveland's Maltz Family Foundation of the Jewish Federation.

 

Gary Hanson, the orchestra's executive director, said the center will be fully funded and operational by 2018. By then, it will have “eliminated the major barriers to accessing the orchestra's live concert experience in Northeast Ohio,” he said.

 

http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20101026/FREE/101029876/1096/

^Awesome news.  Really awesome.  Can't let the Orchestra's finances degrade as the region stagnates.