Cleveland Orchestra

Information about Cleveland Orchestra

The Cleveland Orchestra is one of the major symphony orchestras in the United States. It is based in Cleveland, Ohio. Of the "Big Five" orchestras of America, it is considered to be the most European.[1] It is often considered one of the finest orchestras in the world. Accolades include:
  • January 1994: Time magazine rated the Cleveland Orchestra "the Best Band in the Land".[2]
  • December 1994: It was ranked in the top ten of the world's finest orchestras in the Japanese book, Sekai no Okesutora 123 (Orchestras of the World).[3]
  • February 2005: The New Yorker proclaimed the orchestra "the finest in America", though it questioned the Cleveland Orchestra's ability to survive the next century.[4]

History

The orchestra was founded in 1918 by Adella Prentiss Hughes, 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, with a contract through the 2011-2012 season.

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 rated on par with or above those in much larger cities.[4][5] They have even been 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!'"[5]

George Szell's long reign as Music Director is largely responsible for the orchestra's rise to eminence. He reformed the orchestra in the 1950s, firing a dozen musicians in the process with a dozen more leaving of their own volition.[5] Szell is also credited with giving the orchestra its distinct, European sound.[5] He pushed an ambitious recording schedule with the orchestra, bringing its music to millions worldwide. Szell's influence lives on, even decades after his death.

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).

Locations

During the summer months, the orchestra plays at Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio while during the winter months they play at Severance Hall in Cleveland. 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.[6]

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..[7]

Conductors

See also

References

1. ^ Melinda Bargreen. "Is Cleveland Orchestra the best in the country?", The Seattle Times, 29 May 2005. Retrieved on 2007-07-15. 
2. ^ Michael Walsh. "The Finest Orchestra? (Surprise!) Cleveland", Time, 1 Jan 1994. Retrieved on 2007-07-15. 
3. ^ The Listing of World's Greatest Orchestras. Retrieved on 2007-07-15.
4. ^ Charles Michener. "The Clevelanders", The New Yorker, 7 Feb 2005, p. p. 47. Retrieved on 2007-07-15. 
5. ^ "The Glorious Instrument", Time, 22 Feb 1963. Retrieved on 2007-07-15. 
6. ^ Valerie Scher. "Ling bids farewell to fest: 'It is time for me to move on'", The San Diego Union-Tribune, 04 Sep 2005. Retrieved on 2007-07-15. 
7. ^ (09 May 2005). The Cleveland Orchestra and Miami Performing Arts Center announce 10-year agreement for annual residency appearances. Press release. Retrieved on 2007-07-15.

Further reading

  • Rosenberg, Donald (2000). The Cleveland Orchestra Story. Cleveland: Gray & Company. ISBN 1886228248. 

External links

 •  • [ e]
Cleveland Orchestra Music Directors
Nikolai Sokoloff (1918) • Artur Rodziński (1933) • Erich Leinsdorf (1943) • George Szell (1946) • Pierre Boulez (1970) • Lorin Maazel (1972) • Christoph von Dohnnyi (1984) • Franz Welser-Mst (2002)
orchestra is an instrumental ensemble, usually fairly large with string, brass, woodwind sections, and possibly a percussion section as well. The term orchestra derives from the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus.
..... Click the link for more information.
Motto
"In God We Trust"   (since 1956)
"E Pluribus Unum"   ("From Many, One"; Latin, traditional)
Anthem
..... Click the link for more information.
Cleveland, Ohio

Flag
Seal
Nickname: The Forest City
Motto: Progress & Prosperity
Location in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, USA
Coordinates:
Country
..... Click the link for more information.
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.
..... Click the link for more information.
Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of the Earth. Physically and geologically, Europe is the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, west of Asia. Europe is bounded to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the Mediterranean Sea,
..... Click the link for more information.
Time (whose trademark is capitalized TIME) is a weekly American newsmagazine, similar to Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report. A European edition (Time Europe, formerly known as Time Atlantic) is published from London.
..... Click the link for more information.
The New Yorker is an American magazine that publishes reportage, criticism, essays, cartoons, poetry and fiction. Originally a weekly, the magazine is now published 47 times per year with five (usually more expansive) issues covering two-week spans.
..... Click the link for more information.
Adella Prentiss Hughes was a pianist and impresario best known as the main organiser of Cleveland Orchestra.

She was born on 29 November 1869 in Cleveland, Ohio and played piano in early-1890s as soloist and accompanist. Then she became more interested in promoting music.
..... Click the link for more information.
Nikolai Sokoloff (28 May 1886 – 25 September 1965), was a Russia-American conductor and violinist. He was born in Kiev and studied at Yale. He started his career as a violinist.
..... Click the link for more information.
Conducting is the act of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. Orchestras, choirs, concert bands and other musical ensembles often have conductors.
..... Click the link for more information.
Radio is the wireless transmission of signals, 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.
..... Click the link for more information.
Erich Leinsdorf (Erich Landauer) (February 4, 1912 – September 11, 1993) was an Austrian-born American conductor.[1] He performed and recorded with leading orchestras and opera companies throughout the United States and Europe, earning a reputation for
..... Click the link for more information.
George Szell (IPA: /ˈsɛl/) (June 7, 1897 – July 30, 1970), originally György Széll or Georg Szell,[1] was a Hungarian-born American conductor and composer.
..... Click the link for more information.
Pierre Boulez (IPA: /pjɛʁ.buˈlɛz/) (b. March 26 1925) is a French composer of contemporary classical music and conductor .

Biography

Early years

Boulez was born in Montbrison, France.
..... Click the link for more information.
Lorin Varencove Maazel (born March 6, 1930) is a conductor, violinist and composer.

Biography

Maazel was born to American parents in Neuilly-sur-Seine in France and brought up in the United States.
..... Click the link for more information.
Christoph von Dohnányi (born September 18, 1929) is a German conductor, and founding conductor of the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne.

Biography

Dohnányi was born in Berlin, Germany to jurist Hans von Dohnanyi and Christine Bonhoeffer.
..... Click the link for more information.
Franz Welser-Möst (born 16 August 1960) is an Austrian conductor, and the seventh and current music director of The Cleveland Orchestra. He has also served tenures with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Zurich Opera House, the Vienna Philharmonic.
..... Click the link for more information.
Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazy (Russian: Влади́мир Дави́дович А́шкенази,
..... Click the link for more information.
Oliver Knussen (born June 12, 1952 in Glasgow, Scotland) is a UK composer and conductor.

Biography

His father, Stuart Knussen, was principal double bass of the London Symphony Orchestra.
..... Click the link for more information.
Kurt Sanderling (born September 19, 1912) is a German conductor.

Biography

Born in Arys, East Prussia, Sanderling, after early work at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Sanderling left for Russia in 1936, where he worked with the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra.
..... Click the link for more information.
Yoel Levi (1950—) 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.
..... Click the link for more information.
Riccardo Chailly (IPA: [ʃɑ.i]) (b. February 20, 1953) is an Italian conductor. He started his career as an opera conductor and gradually extended his repertoire to encompass symphonic music.
..... Click the link for more information.
Michael Tilson Thomas (b. December 21, 1944), aka MTT, is an American conductor, pianist and composer who directs the San Francisco Symphony.

Biography

Family and education


..... Click the link for more information.
Blossom Music Center, located in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, is the summer home of the Cleveland Orchestra and also hosts a full summer schedule of popular music acts and symphonic performances.
..... Click the link for more information.
Cuyahoga Falls

Seal
Location within the state of Ohio
Location within Summit County, Ohio
Coordinates:
Country United States
State Ohio
County Summit

..... Click the link for more information.
Severance Hall is one of the world's most admired concert halls. It is located in the University Circle district of Cleveland, Ohio, United States. The hall has been the home of the Cleveland Orchestra since its opening on February 5, 1931.
..... Click the link for more information.
Jahja Ling (Chinese 林望傑, born in Jakarta, Indonesia) 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.
..... Click the link for more information.
Lucerne (German: (help info ) ) is a city in Switzerland. It is the capital of the Canton of Lucerne and seat of the district with the same name.
..... Click the link for more information.
Vienna (German: Wien [viːn], see also ) is the capital of Austria, and also one of the nine States of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primate city; with a population of about 1.
..... Click the link for more information.
City of New York
New York City at sunset

Flag
Seal
Nickname: The Big Apple, Gotham, The City that Never Sleeps
Location in the state of New York
Coordinates:
..... Click the link for more information.

This article is copied from an article on Wikipedia.org - the free encyclopedia created and edited by online user community. The text was not checked or edited by anyone on our staff. Although the vast majority of the wikipedia encyclopedia articles provide accurate and timely information please do not assume the accuracy of any particular article. This article is distributed under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License.