Cleveland Orchestra

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The Cleveland Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Cleveland , Ohio . Since it was founded in 1918, the orchestra has been heard on numerous radio and vinyl recordings. It is counted among the Big Five , the five largest symphony orchestras in the USA, and is considered to be the “most European”. Franz Welser-Möst currently leads the orchestra as chief conductor.

history

Severance Hall

The Cleveland Orchestra was founded in 1918 by Adella Prentiss Hughes ; Nikolai Sokoloff was the first chief conductor ( Music Director ). The hour of birth was a benefit concert on December 11, 1918 for St. Ann's Parish Church in Cleveland Heights . In the 1920s, the orchestra became better known by touring Ohio, the US East Coast , Canada and Cuba . Concerts in Cleveland itself initially took place in the Masonic Auditorium and in the Public Auditorium . In 1931, Severance Hall was built as its own concert hall.

In the years 1946–1970, when George Szell was chief conductor, the orchestra achieved its present day fame. Szell renewed the Cleveland Orchestra according to his ideas and placed very high demands on the musicians. Those who made too many mistakes or questioned their authority were fired. Many of the stories deal with Szell's strict, autocratic style, especially his rehearsal work was feared. His saying has become famous: The Cleveland Orchestra gives seven concerts a week and the public is invited to two. ( The Cleveland Orchestra gives seven concerts a week, the audience is invited to two ). Allegedly, Szell even gave the cleaning staff in Severance Hall precise instructions on how to wipe the floor and which toilet paper to buy.

But last but not least, Szell's strict working methods led the Cleveland Orchestra from regional fame to worldwide fame. At the end of the 1950s, the orchestra had already been on many national and international tours and was known for its precision and high standard. Szell's influence continued long after his death.

In an interim phase from 1970–1972, Pierre Boulez took over the direction of the orchestra before Lorin Maazel was confirmed as the new chief conductor. In the 1990s, Boulez kept returning to Cleveland to record for Deutsche Grammophon . Lorin Maazel and Christoph von Dohnányi , who followed as chief conductors, continued to take the orchestra on international tours and published numerous recordings. Under Christoph von Dohnányi, the Cleveland Orchestra was the first American orchestra to perform at the Salzburg Festival in 1992 .

Franz Welser-Möst has been chief conductor since 2002, his current contract runs until 2027.

In addition to the recordings with its chief conductors, the orchestra also released recordings with Wladimir Aschkenasi , Oliver Knussen , Kurt Sanderling , Yoel Levi , Riccardo Chailly , Michael Tilson Thomas and Louis Lane , who was deputy chief conductor under George Szell for a long time. The orchestra's other deputy conductors were James Levine , Alan Gilbert , James Judd and Michael Stern . In March 1937, Artur Rodziński was briefly represented for two weeks by the Istanbul- born German conductor Hans Lange , who was a guest conductor with the New York Philharmonic .

Performance locations

Cleveland is the smallest city to have a Big Five orchestra. The others are in Boston , New York , Philadelphia, and Chicago . However, musicians are highly regarded in the city and are often treated as local celebrities. In the 1960s, for example, it was common among fans to cheerfully greet the orchestra returning from a tour at the airport.

The orchestra currently performs mainly in two halls: the Masonic Auditorium and the Severance Hall. The "Summer Home" is the Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls , where a number of summer concerts are played during the Blossom Festival .

Other popular venues are Lucerne , Vienna , New York and Miami .

Chief conductor

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Charles Michener: The Clevelanders , in: The New Yorker , February 7, 2005. Quotation: "The Cleveland is [...] widely regarded as the most 'European' of the American orchestras."
  2. ^ Press release of the Cleveland Orchestra of December 3, 2015 with translated quotes from the European press. See quote from Le Soir , Brussels, October 14, 2015: “[…] The orchestra has long been considered as the most European of American orchestras. Today, it is quite simply the best. "
  3. ↑ a b Cleveland Orchestra. In: The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Retrieved February 24, 2012 .
  4. ^ A b The Glorious Instrument. In: Time. February 22, 1963. Retrieved February 24, 2012 .
  5. ^ Donald Rosenberg: The Cleveland Orchestra Story: Second to None . Gray & Company Publishers, Cleveland 2000, ISBN 1-886228-24-8 , pp. 238 .
  6. ^ Ted Libbey: The NPR Listener's Encyclopedia of Classical Music . Workman Publishing Company, 2006, ISBN 0-7611-3642-8 .
  7. ^ The Cleveland Orchestra and Music Director Franz Welser-Möst extend acclaimed partnership to 2027. In: clevelandorchestra.com. 2019 (English).;
  8. ↑ John Kappes: Cleveland Orchestra extends Welser-Most's contract until 2018, plans staged operas. In: cleveland.com. June 6, 2008, accessed February 23, 2012 .
  9. ↑ Milwaukee Sentinel, Sep. 16, 1936, German conductor scales high in American music
  10. ^ Blossom Music Center clevelandorchestra.com
  11. ^ Blossom Music Festival clevelandorchestra.com