Cleveland Orchestra
Encyclopedia
The Cleveland Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cleveland, Ohio
. It is one of the five American orchestras informally referred to as the "Big Five
". Founded in 1918, the orchestra plays most of its concerts at Severance Hall
. The music director is Franz Welser-Möst
.
, with Nikolai Sokoloff
as its principal conductor
. From early in its existence, it toured throughout the eastern United States, made radio
broadcasts, and recorded many albums. Subsequent principal conductors, with the title of Music Director, were Artur Rodziński
(1933–1943), Erich Leinsdorf
(1943–1944), George Szell
(1946–1970), Pierre Boulez
(Musical Advisor 1970-1972), Lorin Maazel
(1972–1982), and Christoph von Dohnányi
(1984–2002). Franz Welser-Möst
has been Music Director since 2002 and is contracted to remain through the 2017-2018 season.
George Szell's long reign as Music Director has been largely credited for the orchestra's rise to eminence. He reformed the orchestra in the late-1940s, firing a dozen musicians in the process with a dozen more leaving of their own volition. Szell is also credited with giving the orchestra its distinct, European sound. He pushed an ambitious recording schedule with the orchestra, bringing its music to millions worldwide. Szell's influence has continued, even decades after his death.
Cleveland is the smallest city amongst the traditional "Big Five" orchestras; the others are based in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago. However, musicians in Cleveland are often treated as local celebrities, and, much like sports heroes elsewhere, fans seek autographs after performances and greet musicians on the street. Clevelanders are proud that their city boasts an orchestra that has several times been touted as America's finest, and compared favorably to many of the great orchestras in Central Europe. In the 1960s fans were known to "have airport rallies when the orchestra comes home from tour [and] chant, 'We're the best! We're the best!' and carry placards reading 'Bravo!'"
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
, Oliver Knussen
, Kurt Sanderling
, Yoel Levi
, Riccardo Chailly
, Michael Tilson Thomas
, and Louis Lane
(the orchestra's longtime Associate Conductor). Past assistant conductors of the Cleveland Orchestra include James Levine
, Alan Gilbert
, James Judd
and Michael Stern
.
Severance Hall
is the Cleveland Orchestra's home. It was built for the orchestra in 1931. The orchestra performs the majority of its concerts at Severance and also uses the hall for rehearsals and to house their administrative offices.
During the summer months, the orchestra presents their annual Blossom Festival
at the Blossom Music Center
in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
. Until 2005, the Blossom Festival had its own music director. The last person to serve in that capacity was Jahja Ling
. After he stepped down from that position, the orchestra eliminated the post, and now has current music director Franz Welser-Möst in charge of the classical music concerts at the Blossom Festival.
The orchestra also has long-term performing relationships in Lucerne
, Vienna
, New York City
, and Miami
, and has conducted multi-concert tours on the West Coast off and on since the 1960s.
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. It is one of the five American orchestras informally referred to as the "Big Five
Big Five (orchestras)
In the context of classical music in the United States, the Big Five refers to five symphony orchestras that were considered to be the most prominent and accomplished ensembles when the term gained widespread use by music critics in the late 1950s...
". Founded in 1918, the orchestra plays most of its concerts at Severance Hall
Severance Hall
Severance Hall is a concert hall located in the University Circle neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio. The hall has been the home of the Cleveland Orchestra since its opening on February 5, 1931...
. The music director is Franz Welser-Möst
Franz Welser-Möst
Franz Welser-Möst is an Austrian conductor who is currently the music director for the Cleveland Orchestra and the Vienna State Opera.- Biography :...
.
History
The orchestra was founded in 1918 by Adella Prentiss HughesAdella Prentiss Hughes
Adella Prentiss Hughes was a pianist and impresario best known as the main organiser of Cleveland Orchestra....
, with Nikolai Sokoloff
Nikolai Sokoloff
Nikolai Sokoloff , was a Russia-American conductor and violinist. He was born in Kiev, and studied music at Yale. From 1916 to 1917 he was musical director of the San Francisco People's Philharmonic Orchestra, where he insisted on including women in his orchestra and paying them the same as men...
as its principal conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
. From early in its existence, it toured throughout the eastern United States, made radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
broadcasts, and recorded many albums. Subsequent principal conductors, with the title of Music Director, were Artur Rodziński
Artur Rodzinski
Artur Rodziński was a Polish conductor of opera and symphonic music. He is especially noted for his tenures as music director of the Cleveland Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic in the 1930s and 1940s.-Biography:...
(1933–1943), Erich Leinsdorf
Erich Leinsdorf
Erich Leinsdorf was a naturalized American Austrian conductor. He performed and recorded with leading orchestras and opera companies throughout the United States and Europe, earning a reputation for exacting standards as well as an acerbic personality...
(1943–1944), George Szell
George Szell
George Szell , originally György Széll, György Endre Szél, or Georg Szell, was a Hungarian-born American conductor and composer...
(1946–1970), Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez is a French composer of contemporary classical music, a pianist, and a conductor.-Early years:Boulez was born in Montbrison, Loire, France. As a child he began piano lessons and demonstrated aptitude in both music and mathematics...
(Musical Advisor 1970-1972), Lorin Maazel
Lorin Maazel
Lorin Varencove Maazel is an American conductor, violinist and composer.- Early life :Maazel was born to Jewish-American parents in Neuilly-sur-Seine in France and brought up in the United States, primarily at his parents' home in Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood. His father, Lincoln Maazel , was...
(1972–1982), and Christoph von Dohnányi
Christoph von Dohnányi
Christoph von Dohnányi is a German conductor of Hungarian ancestry.- Youth and World War II :Dohnányi was born in Berlin, Germany to jurist Hans von Dohnányi and Christine Bonhoeffer. His uncle on his mother's side was Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran pastor and theologian/ethicist...
(1984–2002). Franz Welser-Möst
Franz Welser-Möst
Franz Welser-Möst is an Austrian conductor who is currently the music director for the Cleveland Orchestra and the Vienna State Opera.- Biography :...
has been Music Director since 2002 and is contracted to remain through the 2017-2018 season.
George Szell's long reign as Music Director has been largely credited for the orchestra's rise to eminence. He reformed the orchestra in the late-1940s, firing a dozen musicians in the process with a dozen more leaving of their own volition. Szell is also credited with giving the orchestra its distinct, European sound. He pushed an ambitious recording schedule with the orchestra, bringing its music to millions worldwide. Szell's influence has continued, even decades after his death.
Cleveland is the smallest city amongst the traditional "Big Five" orchestras; the others are based in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago. However, musicians in Cleveland are often treated as local celebrities, and, much like sports heroes elsewhere, fans seek autographs after performances and greet musicians on the street. Clevelanders are proud that their city boasts an orchestra that has several times been touted as America's finest, and compared favorably to many of the great orchestras in Central Europe. In the 1960s fans were known to "have airport rallies when the orchestra comes home from tour [and] chant, 'We're the best! We're the best!' and carry placards reading 'Bravo!'"
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 Ashkenazy
Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazy is a Russian-Icelandic conductor and pianist. Since 1972 he has been a citizen of Iceland, his wife Þórunn's country of birth. Since 1978, because of his many obligations in Europe, he and his family have resided in Meggen, near Lucerne in Switzerland...
, Oliver Knussen
Oliver Knussen
Oliver Knussen CBE is a British composer and conductor.-Biography:Oliver Knussen was born in Glasgow, Scotland. His father, Stuart Knussen, was principal double bass of the London Symphony Orchestra. Oliver Knussen studied composition with John Lambert, between 1963 and 1969 and also received...
, Kurt Sanderling
Kurt Sanderling
Kurt Sanderling, CBE was a German conductor.-Biography:Kurt Sanderling was born in Arys, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire to Jewish parents. After early work at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, he left for the Soviet Union in 1936, where he worked with the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra...
, Yoel Levi
Yoel Levi
Yoel Levi is a musician and conductor. Born in Romania, he grew up in Israel. He studied at the Tel Aviv Academy of Music, earning a Master of Arts degree with distinction. He also studied at the Jerusalem Academy of Music under Mendi Rodan. Levi won the 1978 International Besançon Competition...
, Riccardo Chailly
Riccardo Chailly
Riccardo Chailly, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI is an Italian conductor. He started his career as an opera conductor and gradually extended his repertoire to encompass symphonic music.-Biography:...
, Michael Tilson Thomas
Michael Tilson Thomas
Michael Tilson Thomas is an American conductor, pianist and composer. He is currently music director of the San Francisco Symphony, and artistic director of the New World Symphony Orchestra.-Early years:...
, and Louis Lane
Louis Lane
Louis Lane is an American conductor.Louis Gardner Lane 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 in 1943, and with Bohuslav Martinů at the Tanglewood Music Center , and with Bernard...
(the orchestra's longtime Associate Conductor). Past assistant conductors of the Cleveland Orchestra include James Levine
James Levine
James Lawrence Levine is an American conductor and pianist. He is currently the music director of the Metropolitan Opera and former music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Levine's first performance conducting the Metropolitan Opera was on June 5, 1971, and as of May 2011 he has...
, Alan Gilbert
Alan Gilbert
Alan David Gilbert AO, was a historian and academic administrator who was until June 2010 the President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Manchester....
, James Judd
James Judd
James Judd is a British conductor. He is considered one of the pre-eminent interpreters of English orchestral music and the music of Gustav Mahler....
and Michael Stern
Michael Stern (conductor)
Michael Stern is a noted American symphony conductor. Currently, he serves as the music director and lead conductor of the Kansas City Symphony in Kansas City, Missouri. He is also the founding music director of the IRIS Orchestra in Germantown, Tennessee.- Early life and education :Stern is the...
.
Locations
Severance Hall
Severance Hall is a concert hall located in the University Circle neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio. The hall has been the home of the Cleveland Orchestra since its opening on February 5, 1931...
is the Cleveland Orchestra's home. It was built for the orchestra in 1931. The orchestra performs the majority of its concerts at Severance and also uses the hall for rehearsals and to house their administrative offices.
During the summer months, the orchestra presents their annual Blossom Festival
Blossom Festival
The Blossom Festival is a summer music festival of orchestral music located at the Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. The festival was originally created to provide a summer concert vehicle for the Cleveland Orchestra and the Blossom Music Center was specifically built to host the festival...
at the Blossom Music Center
Blossom Music Center
Blossom Music Center is an amphitheatre located in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. The pavilion seats 5,700 people, with space for about 13,500 more on the lawn. It is the summer home of the Cleveland Orchestra, which performs its annual Blossom Festival there. The venue is also host to a full summer...
in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 49,374 people, 21,655 households, and 13,317 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,932.9 people per square mile . There were 22,727 housing units at an average density of 889.7 per square mile...
. Until 2005, the Blossom Festival had its own music director. The last person to serve in that capacity was Jahja Ling
Jahja Ling
Jahja Ling is an orchestra conductor. He is of Chinese descent and is now an American citizen. He began to play the piano at age 4 and studied at the Yayasan Pendidikan Musik School of Music. At age 17, he won the Jakarta Piano Competition and, one year later, was awarded a Rockefeller grant to...
. After he stepped down from that position, the orchestra eliminated the post, and now has current music director Franz Welser-Möst in charge of the classical music concerts at the Blossom Festival.
The orchestra also has long-term performing relationships in Lucerne
Lucerne
Lucerne is a city in north-central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of that country. Lucerne is the capital of the Canton of Lucerne and the capital of the district of the same name. With a population of about 76,200 people, Lucerne is the most populous city in Central Switzerland, and...
, Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, and Miami
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
, and has conducted multi-concert tours on the West Coast off and on since the 1960s.
Music directors
- 1918-1933 Nikolai SokoloffNikolai SokoloffNikolai Sokoloff , was a Russia-American conductor and violinist. He was born in Kiev, and studied music at Yale. From 1916 to 1917 he was musical director of the San Francisco People's Philharmonic Orchestra, where he insisted on including women in his orchestra and paying them the same as men...
- 1933-1943 Artur RodzińskiArtur RodzinskiArtur Rodziński was a Polish conductor of opera and symphonic music. He is especially noted for his tenures as music director of the Cleveland Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic in the 1930s and 1940s.-Biography:...
- 1943-1944 Erich LeinsdorfErich LeinsdorfErich Leinsdorf was a naturalized American Austrian conductor. He performed and recorded with leading orchestras and opera companies throughout the United States and Europe, earning a reputation for exacting standards as well as an acerbic personality...
- 1946-1970 George SzellGeorge SzellGeorge Szell , originally György Széll, György Endre Szél, or Georg Szell, was a Hungarian-born American conductor and composer...
- 1970-1972 Pierre BoulezPierre BoulezPierre Boulez is a French composer of contemporary classical music, a pianist, and a conductor.-Early years:Boulez was born in Montbrison, Loire, France. As a child he began piano lessons and demonstrated aptitude in both music and mathematics...
(Musical advisor) - 1972-1982 Lorin MaazelLorin MaazelLorin Varencove Maazel is an American conductor, violinist and composer.- Early life :Maazel was born to Jewish-American parents in Neuilly-sur-Seine in France and brought up in the United States, primarily at his parents' home in Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood. His father, Lincoln Maazel , was...
- 1984-2002 Christoph von DohnányiChristoph von DohnányiChristoph von Dohnányi is a German conductor of Hungarian ancestry.- Youth and World War II :Dohnányi was born in Berlin, Germany to jurist Hans von Dohnányi and Christine Bonhoeffer. His uncle on his mother's side was Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran pastor and theologian/ethicist...
- 2002–present Franz Welser-MöstFranz Welser-MöstFranz Welser-Möst is an Austrian conductor who is currently the music director for the Cleveland Orchestra and the Vienna State Opera.- Biography :...
See also
- Cleveland Orchestra DiscographyCleveland Orchestra DiscographyThe Cleveland Orchestra, which was founded in 1918, was first recorded in 1924. Most of the orchestra's recordings have been made either in its concert home, Severance Hall, or in nearby Masonic Auditorium.-Recording labels:...
- Cleveland Philharmonic OrchestraCleveland Philharmonic OrchestraThe Cleveland Philharmonic Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cleveland, Ohio. It was founded in 1938 and its current music director is Victor H...
- Cleveland Women's OrchestraCleveland Women's OrchestraThe 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 the oldest women's orchestra in the world....
- Cleveland Chamber SymphonyCleveland Chamber SymphonyThe 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:...
- CityMusic ClevelandCityMusic ClevelandCityMusic Cleveland is an American chamber orchestra based in Cleveland, Ohio. It was founded in the summer of 2004 to give free concerts throughout the Northeast Ohio area...
- Red (an orchestra)
- The Contemporary Youth Orchestra
External links
- The Cleveland Orchestra Official website from the Telarc website.
- Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra
- Cleveland Orchestra Musicians