^ Ouch, Strap, do you work for the PD now?  That was a bit of cold water to toss on the good news :-P

^Yeah.  Can't decide whether that would be a comment dreamed up by a PD reporter or editor or one of our friends on Cleveland.com

Oh man, sorry guys, I wasn't being gratuitously nasty.  But it's a real concern- maintaining that Orchestra in the top tier takes serious money, which is not easy to come by as the existing subscriber base passes on or moves to Florida and as corporate sponsor base dwindles.

Strap is right...and that's probably why the gift was made at this time. Timely and very, very generous.

I've been to Severance Hall many times from a child upward.  I absolutely love, love, love it.  Even my daughter had the opportunity to play there.

 

They are the greatest!

The Cleveland Orchestra has returned to University Circle as of this weekend:

 

http://www.cleveland.com/musicdance/index.ssf/2011/09/cleveland_orchestra_kicks_off_1.html

I have a feeling these tours are key to getting the Cleveland Orchestra rep in the international spotlight:

 

Cleveland Orchestra hopes to forge new ties on 2011 European tour

Published: Sunday, October 16, 2011, 6:00 AM

By Zachary Lewis, The Plain Dealer The Plain Dealer

 

 

Sure, there are fans to be made and concerts to play. Thirteen of them, in fact, over 17 days in five countries. But as the orchestra embarks this week on its 2011 European tour, forming and strengthening official bonds are equally high priorities.

 

"Any time we begin to develop a presence in a major music capital, we're always exploring a long-term relationship," said executive director Gary Hanson.

 

Broadly speaking, the tour follows a large, northeasterly arc, beginning Thursday in Madrid, Spain, and ending Saturday, Nov. 5, at the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria, where the group is set to collaborate with the famed Vienna Singverein in two performances of Mozart's C-Minor Mass.

 

In between are several shorter trips by plane, train and bus, as well as concerts in Valencia, Spain; Paris; Luxembourg; Cologne, Germany; and Linz, Austria, hometown of music director Franz Welser-Most.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/musicdance/index.ssf/2011/10/cleveland_orchestra_hopes_to_f.html

do these tours and residencies make money for the orchestra? anyone know?

In the last couple years I recall articles stating that the residencies are how the orchestra was keeping itself afloat.  I'd imagine the tours are similar that they have at least some margin.

Cleveland Orchestra to embark on West Coast tour, with prominent stops in San Francisco and Las Vegas

Published: Friday, April 06, 2012, 1:28 PM    Updated: Friday, April 06, 2012, 2:36 PM

  By Zachary Lewis, The Plain Dealer

 

The Cleveland Orchestra will perform Saturday, April 21, at the Smith Center for the Performing Arts, a brand-new hall downtown in Las Vegas.

 

Luck appears to be on the Cleveland Orchestra's side as it departs this week for an excursion to the West Coast.

With a stop in Las Vegas on the itinerary, surely the prevalence of the number seven in the tour's background is a good omen, a harbinger of musical success for the orchestra and music director Franz Welser-Most.

 

"It's pretty exciting, and an extraordinary opportunity," said Gary Ginstling, the orchestra's general manager, speaking of the seven-day trip through California and Nevada that begins with a concert on Sunday, April 15.

 

Most exciting, for Ginstling, is the tour's first leg: two concerts in Davies Symphony Hall, home of his former employer, the San Francisco Symphony. There, the orchestra and Welser-Most will roll seven at least two more times, playing a venue they last visited seven years ago and headlining a series featuring the "Big Seven" American orchestras.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/musicdance/index.ssf/2012/04/cleveland_orchestra_to_embark.html

Cool, but what are the Big Seven orchestras? I see the article include Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and New York -- plus Cleveland, of course. But what's the seventh? San Francisco?

San Francisco?

 

Yes.

According to this respected ranking of the world's greatest orchestras (as of 2008) - http://artsblog.ocregister.com/2008/11/27/the-worlds-greatest-orchestra-according-to-gramophone/4438/ - Philadelphia does not appear to be in the same echelon as the other 6 anymore.

 

Yes Philadelphia has fallen pretty far, as has New York.  Los Angeles is now considered to be in the ranks of the biggies, where Cleveland of course maintains its presense. 

 

Depending on the list, Cleveland had typically been #3 in the world, by world or European standards (but best in the US), but then often only number 2 (behind Chicago) in the U.S. by U.S. standards.  Mainly because Cleveland is the most European and precise US orchestra. Where Chicago is more typically more potent and powerful.   

FWIW from this recent NYT piece:

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/26/arts/music/spring-for-music-festival-at-carnegie-hall.html?_r=1&scp=5&sq=Cleveland%20Orchestra&st=cse

 

Suddenly you don’t hear much about the Big Five, a term that had long outlived its usefulness in any case. The Philadelphia Orchestra’s filing for bankruptcy probably put the last nail in that coffin. But the New York Philharmonic, living on its reputation, and the Cleveland Orchestra, banking on residencies outside Cleveland, are both following courses fraught with peril. For various reasons, the Boston Symphony and the Chicago Symphony remain on surer footing, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the San Francisco Symphony are making substantial claims to be considered in the same breath.

 

Yes Philadelphia has fallen pretty far, as has New York.  Los Angeles is now considered to be in the ranks of the biggies, where Cleveland of course maintains its presense. 

 

Depending on the list, Cleveland had typically been #3 in the world, by world or European standards (but best in the US), but then often only number 2 (behind Chicago) in the U.S. by U.S. standards.  Mainly because Cleveland is the most European and precise US orchestra. Where Chicago is more typically more potent and powerful.   

I think New York Phil has gotten better under the new conductor, Alan Gilbert. They were always technically proficient but now they're back to playing with more gusto (if that's the right word), and get generally much better reviews than a few years back. The whole concept of ranking orchestras might be somewhat anachronistic at this point. As has been noted, the so-called Big Five ranking--while still used by those who live in the respective cities as a source of civic pride--is pretty much irrelevant. I think I read in the Times (could even be in the article referenced by StrapHanger--I guess I could actually re-read it!) that there are so many good classical musicians nowadays (unlike the years when the Big Five actually meant something) that orchestras can have their pick of them. Unfortunately this has coincided with a decline of interest in classical music among the young, which of course goes hand-in-hand with the dumbing down of American culture that's been happening for oohh...maybe the last 50 years!!? While I certainly don't advocate using Venezuela as a role model of how we should educate our young (particularly under the rule of someone like Hugo Chavez), that nation has for years (and I think it predates Chavez) provided classical music instruction/training for all children--even the poorest of poor. This is probably why Gustavo Dudamel, from Venezuela, the LA conductor and still in his 20's (I think) is held in such high regard. Likewise Finland, which also starts classical training for everyone at a young age, has produced many prominent figures in this genre over the past couple of decades despite its small population.

^"El Sistema."  And it is essentially being immitated in the US now, including in Clevo: http://www.cleveland.com/musicdance/index.ssf/2010/05/citymusic_cleveland_story.html

WQXR in New York will broadcast live the Cleveland Orchestra's Carnegie Hall performance this Wednesday, May 23, @ 8pm (Don't know if the classical station in Cleveland will simulcast)--

http://www.wqxr.org/#!/programs/carnegie/2012/may/23/

WQXR in New York will broadcast live the Cleveland Orchestra's Carnegie Hall performance this Wednesday, May 23, @ 8pm (Don't know if the classical station in Cleveland will simulcast)--

http://www.wqxr.org/#!/programs/carnegie/2012/may/23/

 

Very cool -- thanks!

FWIW from this recent NYT piece:

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/26/arts/music/spring-for-music-festival-at-carnegie-hall.html?_r=1&scp=5&sq=Cleveland%20Orchestra&st=cse

 

Suddenly you don’t hear much about the Big Five, a term that had long outlived its usefulness in any case. The Philadelphia Orchestra’s filing for bankruptcy probably put the last nail in that coffin. But the New York Philharmonic, living on its reputation, and the Cleveland Orchestra, banking on residencies outside Cleveland, are both following courses fraught with peril. For various reasons, the Boston Symphony and the Chicago Symphony remain on surer footing, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the San Francisco Symphony are making substantial claims to be considered in the same breath.

 

 

addressed by the peedee last month:

 

 

http://mobile.cleveland.com/advcleve/pm_29206/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=09ZtmEbB

 

Look what orchestra gets the lone positive story :D

 

http://www.wqxr.org/blogs/wqxr-blog/2012/oct/22/orchestra-watch/

This has been making the rounds nationwide on AP.....

 

To date, a banner season for Cleveland Orchestra

2:08 PM, Jan 26, 2013

 

CLEVELAND -- It's turning into a banner season for the Cleveland Orchestra.           

 

The orchestra says it's on track to set a season record for ticket revenue for its Severance Hall performances.           

 

Sales are up 24 percent over last year. They're on pace to set a season record of $7.6 million.

 

READ MORE AT:

http://www.wkyc.com/news/article/280148/45/To-date-a-banner-season-for-Cleveland-Orchestra

Cleveland wins a championship!!

 

I guess the international touring is helping??

 

Cleveland Orchestra voted 'World's Favorite Orchestra' in international online poll

 

The results are in, and the Cleveland Orchestra is the world’s favorite orchestra.

 

So, at least, says the London-based website Bachtrack.com, an international concert finder that ran a poll to learn which group the world loves best.

 

After a month of online voting, Cleveland emerged Tuesday in the top spot, earning 20.3 percent of 11,895 votes from 97 countries. Its closest competitors were Ireland’s RTE Concert Orchestra and the Berlin Philharmonic, which garnered 12.4 and 8.5 percent, respectively.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/musicdance/index.ssf/2013/10/cleveland_orchestra_voted_worl.html

 

 

^That was a fairly comfortable "win"

"@FreshWaterCLE: standing ovation for @CleveOrchestra and @COChorus performance at lincoln center http://t.co/DvC7oeczSq"

Wouldn't it be funny if in some bizzaro world arts/culture/science was the measuring stick for the perceived stature of a city as opposed to professional sports. Cleveland would be perrenial champions.

"@FreshWaterCLE: standing ovation for @CleveOrchestra and @COChorus performance at lincoln center http://t.co/DvC7oeczSq"

 

Bravo Cleveland-O!  From the NYT: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/07/arts/music/cleveland-orchestra-brings-messiaen-to-white-light-festival.html?_r=0

Wow, even the Frenchies like us! Vive La France!!

 

"@rlsmithpd: Cleveland Orchestra bathed in applause in Paris: http://t.co/AJo4OII89v"

Maintaining a Classical-Music Miracle in Cleveland

 

Craig Duff

New York Times

May 26, 2014

 

CLEVELAND — When Milton Maltz looked down from his box seat in Severance Hall — the stately home of the Cleveland Orchestra — he used to fear for its future. “I saw gray hair and no hair,” said the longtime orchestra benefactor. “And I said, ‘Where are the young people?’”

 

The aging of the audience is something all orchestras are grappling with, but Mr. Maltz decided to do something about it. He and his wife, Tamar, donated $20 million to help the orchestra build a younger audience by offering all-you-can hear “FanCards” to young concertgoers that allow them to attend as many concerts as they like each season for $50.

 

Their ambitious goal is for Cleveland to attract the youngest audience of any orchestra in America by its 100th birthday in 2018.

 

http://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/artsbeat/2014/05/26/maintaining-a-classical-music-miracle-in-cleveland/

Lorin Maazel, an Intense and Enigmatic Conductor, Dies at 84

 

By ALLAN KOZINN JULY 13, 2014

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/14/arts/music/lorin-maazel-brilliant-intense-and-enigmatic-conductor-dies-at-84.html?_r=0

 

 

While I'm sorry to see such talent lost, that's a good, long life.

^apparently he was still quite active and planning things for the future, but I guess with pneumonia at that age anything can happen. I didn't realize his tenure at the Cleveland Orchestra was so contentious.

^apparently he was still quite active and planning things for the future, but I guess with pneumonia at that age anything can happen. I didn't realize his tenure at the Cleveland Orchestra was so contentious.

 

Don't let old age fool you.  My grandparents are in their late 80s early 90s.  They act like they are 16!  I want to send them to their rooms all the time!

my first conductor. rip maazel.

Cleveland Orchestra aiming to open eyes, ears and minds with residency in Broadway Slavic Village

 

By  Zachary Lewis, The Plain Dealer 

Email the author

on April 02, 2015 at 6:45 AM, updated April 02, 2015 at 12:42 PM

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio - As the crow flies, the distance between University Circle and Broadway Slavic Village is just four miles. The gap being bridged by the Cleveland Orchestra's third local residency, however, is enormous.

 

Not that residents of Broadway Slavic Village don't visit Severance Hall. They do. But hosting the orchestra, the pride of Northeast Ohio, on its turf, in its schools, shops and community centers, means more to the neighborhood than any outsider can imagine.

 

"It adds a bit of spice to the neighborhood. It's nice for people here to get attention for something other than the foreclosure crisis."

 

Launched officially last month, the residency kicks back off Friday, April 10, with a free community concert by the full orchestra at Our Lady of Lourdes Church and continues through Saturday, May 23, with a series of occasional appearances by individual musicians all over the neighborhood. Thus the "urgency" with which Alvarado said residents are sprucing up their properties.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/musicdance/index.ssf/2015/04/cleveland_orchestra_aiming_to.html

 

Cleveland Orchestra will perform as part of the Lincoln Center Festival July 15-18--

 

http://lincolncenterfestival.lincolncenter.org/2015/series/the-cleveland-orchestra?gclid=CLL9kInowcUCFQiRHwodJUEAqg

Love it.  Even something as small as being listed with London, New York, Amsterdam, and Boston on this google play roll out, Cleveland continues to reinforce its presence as a world-renowned orchestra/remain in the collective psyche...not to mention, we're pretty darn good.

 

Cleveland Orchestra helps launch Classical Live on Google Play Music

 

By  Chuck Yarborough, The Plain Dealer 

June 15, 2015 at 9:00 PM, updated June 15, 2015 at 11:36 PM

 

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland Orchestra is among five of the world's top orchestras who are featured in the launch of Google Play Music's new "Classical Live'' site.

 

Classical fans can download and stream performances from the Cleveland Orchestra, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam.

 

Additionally, the Boston, New York and Amsterdam orchestras are offering free downloads as part of the launch.

 

Cleveland is offering Beethoven's Symphony No. 3, "Eroica,'' and Wagner's "Tannhauser" Overture. Both feature music director Franz Welser-Most on the baton.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/arts/index.ssf/2015/06/cleveland_orchestra_helps_laun.html

good article/profile of Cleve. Orchestra in NY Times in anticipation of their Lincoln Center concerts next week--

 

Welser-Möst and the Cleveland Orchestra Head to Lincoln Center Festival

By ZACHARY WOOLFE JULY 9, 2015

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/12/arts/music/welser-most-and-the-cleveland-orchestra-head-to-lincoln-center-festival.html?_r=0

 

 

 

^Wow, that's a really terrific close-up of FWM and the Orchestra.  That Cunning Little Vixen production looked incredible. I really wish I has made it home for it last year.

Godspeed!

 

Cleveland Orchestra embarks on 2015 tour of Europe with goal of 'stoking the fire'

 

By  Zachary Lewis, The Plain Dealer 

Email the author

on October 14, 2015 at 6:00 AM, updated October 14, 2015 at 6:08 AM

 

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Northeast Ohio or Northeast Austria. Severance Hall or the Philharmonie de Paris. Blossom or Belgium. To the Cleveland Orchestra, location makes little difference.

 

Everywhere it goes, including every stop on its 2015 tour of Europe, the objective is the same: Make new fans and energize old ones. Its high standing long since secured, the orchestra's main goal abroad now is advancement.

 

"For me, it's always about stoking the fire," said Mark Williams, the orchestra's director of artistic planning.

 

"It's not about maintaining. It's about going to the next level and continuing to build our audiences. We can't rest on our laurels. We always have to go in and play better than the last time."

 

http://www.cleveland.com/musicdance/index.ssf/2015/10/cleveland_orchestra_heads_off.html

 

I'm glad they got their contract issues hammered out.

 

I heard Mahler 3 a couple weekends ago; they'll be performing that in several locations.  Simply superb.  Hopefully at their European concerts they won't have people there who don't know how to silence their cell phones.  I think the inexperienced should find a young person before the concert begins to help them ensure their phone is silent.  At the performance I heard, there were quiet sections of the 36 minute first movement that were interrupted TWICE by cell phones.  That annoying iPhone marimba sound!

It also helps there are far fewer lunatics on stage. Regardless of your political affiliation, you can tell it's night and day between these two groups.

It also helps there are far fewer lunatics on stage. Regardless of your political affiliation, you can tell it's night and day between these two groups.

 

I missed something. Between which two groups?

It also helps there are far fewer lunatics on stage. Regardless of your political affiliation, you can tell it's night and day between these two groups.

 

I missed something. Between which two groups?

 

the string section and the percussionists :evil:

This was a particularly hilarious "wrong thread" posting. Because of the literal stage involved.

I'm glad they got their contract issues hammered out.

 

I heard Mahler 3 a couple weekends ago; they'll be performing that in several locations.  Simply superb.  Hopefully at their European concerts they won't have people there who don't know how to silence their cell phones.  I think the inexperienced should find a young person before the concert begins to help them ensure their phone is silent.  At the performance I heard, there were quiet sections of the 36 minute first movement that were interrupted TWICE by cell phones.  That annoying iPhone marimba sound!

 

Hmmm, I think I was at the same concert (heard the phones).. 

 

This past weekend the Straus (Also Sprach) and Verdi were amazing...  The Messiaen I could do without. 

 

Also, its great that the student initiatives are filling seats, and most of them dress appropriately, but I some some wearing hoodies which really made me cringe. 

 

 

I'm glad they got their contract issues hammered out.

 

I heard Mahler 3 a couple weekends ago; they'll be performing that in several locations.  Simply superb.  Hopefully at their European concerts they won't have people there who don't know how to silence their cell phones.  I think the inexperienced should find a young person before the concert begins to help them ensure their phone is silent.  At the performance I heard, there were quiet sections of the 36 minute first movement that were interrupted TWICE by cell phones.  That annoying iPhone marimba sound!

 

Hmmm, I think I was at the same concert (heard the phones).. 

 

This past weekend the Straus (Also Sprach) and Verdi were amazing...  The Messiaen I could do without. 

 

Also, its great that the student initiatives are filling seats, and most of them dress appropriately, but I some some wearing hoodies which really made me cringe.

 

Yes... but there are also some adults that could use guidance.  A couple of people away from me was a middle aged man wearing jeans and a t-shirt.  To his credit, the t-shirt was monochromatic and tucked in.  All the same, I wished I had worn a suit.  I'm not letting my wife talk me out of it again!

This was a particularly hilarious "wrong thread" posting. Because of the literal stage involved.

 

That's funny. Ok, I was confused for good reason then.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/28/arts/jaap-van-zweden-and-the-future-of-the-new-york-philharmonic.html?_r=0

 

There was an appraisal last week by the chief classical music critic of the New York Times, Anthony Tommasini, of the newly appointed conductor of the NY Philharmonic. No need to get into the weeds of the article if you're not interested, but in the piece he paid a great compliment to the Cleveland Orchestra. The relevant paragraph--

 

"But the Philharmonic doesn’t need a technical overhaul. True, it must measure itself against all the distinguished American and international ensembles that pass through New York regularly. Franz Welser-Möst’s recent program of Hans Abrahamsen and Shostakovich at Carnegie Hall with the Cleveland Orchestra suggested that this may be America’s most brilliant orchestra. But the Philharmonic certainly holds its own. The institution needs continued artistic leadership more than technical bolstering."

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/28/arts/jaap-van-zweden-and-the-future-of-the-new-york-philharmonic.html?_r=0

 

There was an appraisal last week by the chief classical music critic of the New York Times, Anthony Tommasini, of the newly appointed conductor of the NY Philharmonic. No need to get into the weeds of the article if you're not interested, but in the piece he paid a great compliment to the Cleveland Orchestra. The relevant paragraph--

 

"But the Philharmonic doesn’t need a technical overhaul. True, it must measure itself against all the distinguished American and international ensembles that pass through New York regularly. Franz Welser-Möst’s recent program of Hans Abrahamsen and Shostakovich at Carnegie Hall with the Cleveland Orchestra suggested that this may be America’s most brilliant orchestra. But the Philharmonic certainly holds its own. The institution needs continued artistic leadership more than technical bolstering."

 

That is impressive!

 

And I know Miami loves having them down there as well.  Their arts district/area is very new and is an architectural stand-out (although the acoustics are terrible compared to Severance) and they do a great job advertising for the orchestra.  Considering the size of Cleveland as a city compared to many others (think Miami, or Houston, or many others), it makes me so happy and full of pride to hear the prestige the orchestra brings the city, to say nothing of how nice it is to be able to go listen to them so frequently!

 

Clevelander's should abandon the Browns and the soap opera surrounding them and embrace the orchestra instead.

 

(all right, it isn't the same demographic... nice wishful thinking though!)