The Cleveland Orchestra April 26-28 Concerts

2023/2024 SEASON

JACK, JOSEPH AND MORTON MANDEL CONCERT HALL AT SEVERANCE MUSIC CENTER

Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto

Friday, April 26, 2024, at 7:30 PM

Saturday, April 27, 2024, at 8 PM

Sunday, April 28, 2024, at 3 PM

David Afkham, conductor

Unsuk Chin (b. 1961)

Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873–1943)

subito con forza

Piano Concerto No. 2

5 minutes

30 minutes in C minor, Op. 18

I. Moderato

II. Adagio sostenuto

III. Allegro scherzando Beatrice Rana, piano

INTERMISSION

Béla Bartók (1881–1945)

20 minutes

Concerto for Orchestra 35 minutes

I. Introduzione: Andante non troppo —  Allegro vivace

II. Giuoco delle coppie: Allegretto scherzando

III. Elegia: Andante non troppo

IV. Intermezzo interrotto: Allegretto

V. Finale: Pesante — Presto

Total approximate running time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Thank you for silencing your electronic devices.

This week’s guest artist is supported by a generous gift from the Hershey Foundation.

Friday evening’s performance is dedicated to Mrs. Norma Lerner in recognition of her generous support of music. Saturday evening’s performance is dedicated to Dr. Hiroyuki and Mrs. Mikiko Fujita in recognition of their generous support of music.

THE THREE WORKS ON THIS WEEK’S CONCERT PROGRAM are brilliant showcases for the virtuoso ensemble. Each is demanding to play, yet direct and appealing; each demonstrates the subtlety and brilliance a modern orchestra can produce. Yet paradoxically, one common thread that runs through all three works is human frailty, vulnerability, and perseverance in the face of adversity.

In the case of subito con forza, the challenge that gave rise to the piece was not faced by composer Unsuk Chin, but to her inspiration: the iconic composer Ludwig van Beethoven, whose struggle with hearing loss led to deafness at age 44. Chin’s piece resulted from a unique commission that tasked several composers with responding to Beethoven’s “conversation books,” notebooks in which he communicated with friends and visitors. Her piece is fragmentary and stormy, yet also conveys nobility through recognizable citations of Beethoven’s works that surface within its fiery whorls.

Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto is one of his most popular works —  and among his most widely recognized, thanks to the three popular songs derived from each of its three movements: “I Think of You,” “All by Myself,” and “Full Moon and Empty Arms.” But the genesis of the work emerged from the pain and humiliation the young composer felt after the disastrous premiere of his First Symphony four years earlier: a setback that necessitated therapy and recovery from alcohol abuse. Premiered with Rachmaninoff at the piano (above) in 1901, the concerto was greeted fervently —  a response that continues today.

Béla Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra came at a similarly challenging point in its composer’s life, though not at the start but near the end. A committed anti-fascist, Bartók ran afoul of the Hungarian government after World War II started and emigrated to the US in 1940. Estranged from his homeland, financially challenged, and afflicted with leukemia, Bartók might have ceased composing had conductor Serge Koussevitzky not commissioned him to create a work for the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The result was Bartók’s most successful symphonic work, and an enduring highlight of the concert-music canon. — Steve Smith

EARN POINTS

•Attend concerts

•Watch videos

•Answer quizzes

•Give feedback   GET

•Exclusive content

• FREE season of Adella with 3000 Rewards points

• VIP experiences and more

Already a member?

Log in to your account at my.clevelandorchestra.com and click “Rewards” in the menu.

subito con forza

by Unsuk Chin

BORN : July 14, 1961, in Seoul

▶ COMPOSED: 2020

▶ WORLD PREMIERE: September 24, 2020, with Klaus Mäkelä conducting the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

▶ This weekend’s performances mark the first presentations of Unsuk Chin’s subito con forza by The Cleveland Orchestra.

▶ ORCHESTRATION: 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, percussion (vibraphone, xylophone, marimba, crotales, tubular bells, cymbals, tam-tam, triangle, 3 snare drums, tambourine, whip, güiro, 2 pitched gongs), piano, and strings

▶ DURATION: about 5 minutes

ON HEARING THE FIRST TWO CHORDS of subito con forza, a brief concert opener composed by Unsuk Chin in 2020, you might be seized by the thought, “Why does that sound so familiar?” — unless, of course, you recognize them instantly as the start of Beethoven’s Overture to Coriolan. But what immediately follows —  a frenetic outburst of jangling percussion and piano — is wholly Chin: the shattering response that might logically follow Beethoven’s hammer-blow gesture.

The portentous motto that opens Beethoven’s overture, composed in 1807 for a staging of Heinrich Joseph von Collin’s 1804 tragedy Coriolan, foreshadows the tragic fate of a possibly apocryphal ancient Roman general also immortalized by Shakespeare. For Chin, it sets the stage for a compact, high-intensity homage to Beethoven for the

250th anniversary of his birth. Snatches of other Beethoven works, including his Fifth Symphony and “Emperor” Concerto, flash past in a fiery tumult of fleeting impressions.

The notion of something heard without registering clearly is important: subito con forza was commissioned by BBC Radio 3, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and the Kölner Philharmonie — the last as part of “the non bthvn projekt,” an idiosyncratic tribute in which contemporary composers were tasked with responding to Beethoven’s conversation books. Those notebooks, which Beethoven utilized from 1818 to 1827, facilitated daily interactions after he lost his hearing. For Chin, one line in particular stood out: “Dur und Moll. Ich bin ein Gewinner” (Major and minor. I am a winner).

Beethoven’s ceaseless innovation, an unquenchable thirst for the new, fired Chin’s imagination. “He was the first consciously modern composer, in the sense that every piece asked for original solutions, even if this meant breaking through existing forms,” she stated in a 2020 interview. “What particularly appeals to me are the enormous contrasts: from volcanic eruptions to extreme serenity.”

Those same qualities pertain not just to subito con forza, but also to the whole of Chin’s oeuvre. Born in Seoul, South Korea, in 1961, Chin grew up in a household of modest means: “We had a piano at home, but no records,” she reminisced. She taught herself to play the instrument, then augmented the family income by performing at weddings.

After starting her musical education in Korea, Chin moved to Germany in 1985. She studied with the prominent modernist composer György Ligeti in Hamburg, and then settled in Berlin. Her body of work is notable for its enviable balance of intensity and rigor with communicativeness and instant appeal: the music never sounds simple, but neither is it forbidding. Chin’s ability to fashion subtly complex tones and timbres, through application of unique instrumental techniques and combinations, goes hand-in-hand with her penchant for surrealism and madcap humor. In all that she does, a listener senses a composer intent on breaking boundaries, shrugging off limitations imposed by tools and techniques.

“I’m attracted by virtuosity,” Chin said in a 2014 New York Times profile. “This enthusiasm and virtuosity of a player trying to go beyond his or her boundaries: I like that. It’s a situation that I experience all the time as a composer: pushing the limits of your possibilities, not knowing whether you can do it — and then somehow succeeding.” That’s something Chin shares in common with Beethoven: an affinity underscored directly and dazzlingly in subito con forza. — Steve Smith

Steve Smith is a journalist, critic, and editor based in New York City. He has written about music for The New York Times and The New Yorker, and served as an editor for the Boston Globe, Time Out New York, and NPR.

Korean-born composer Unsuk Chin writes dizzyingly complex music that revels in wondrous and ear-catching sound combinations.

Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18

by Sergei Rachmaninoff

BORN : April 1, 1873, in Semyonovo, Russia

DIED: March 28, 1943, in Beverly Hills, California

▶ COMPOSED: 1900 – 01

▶ WORLD PREMIERE: October 14, 1901, featuring the composer as soloist and Alexander Siloti conducting the orchestra of the Moscow Philharmonic Society

▶ CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA PREMIERE: February 17, 1921, with pianist Ossip Gabrilowitsch, led by Music Director Nikolai Sokoloff

▶ ORCHESTRATION: 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani, percussion (cymbals, bass drum), and strings, plus solo piano

▶ DURATION: about 30 minutes

ON MORE THAN ONE OCCASION , Sergei Rachmaninoff described himself as a man chasing three hares, and not sure of having captured even one of them. The “three hares” were the three sides of Rachmaninoff s musical career — composing, piano-playing, and conducting.

During his life, there were indeed periods when he had to give up one of these activities for another. But his gifts as a creative artist and a performer were really only different aspects of the same musical personality.

He was surpassed by few pianists in the first half of the 20th century, but his repertoire was comparatively small and he was at his best when he played his own music. Conversely, he wrote most of his works with himself as a performer in

mind. A piano work by Rachmaninoff is therefore a personal communication coming from an artist who summed up his artistic creed in these words: “A composer’s music should express the country of his birth, his love affairs, his religion, the books that have influenced him, the pictures he loves. It should be the sum total of his experiences.”

Rachmaninoff wrote his Second Piano Concerto in 1900–01, shortly after what seemed to be the greatest trauma in his life. Three years earlier, his First Symphony was met with a disastrous reception at the St. Petersburg premiere. The fiasco was caused largely by the poor performance and the prejudices prevalent in St. Petersburg towards young people from Moscow, like Rachmaninoff, and

was therefore in no way the composer’s fault. Yet Rachmaninoff fell prey to a state of mental depression and became totally unable to write music. In his despair, he turned to psychiatrist Dr. Nikolai Dahl, who used the relatively new technique of hypnosis to restore Rachmaninoff’s faith in his creative powers. When Rachmaninoff was finally cured and able to finish the concerto he had long been trying to write, he expressed his gratitude by dedicating the score to Dr. Dahl.

As so often with Rachmaninoff, the principal vehicle to convey his “personal communication” is his own highly individual melodic writing. Rachmaninoff makes the piano “sing” with the passion of an operatic hero, though at the same time he also has it perform the most dazzling musical acrobatics with fiendish arpeggios (broken chords) and other types

of virtuoso passagework. The piano is the protagonist throughout, but the orchestra is equally important and there are many prominent solos. There are times when the pianistic fireworks merely serve as accompaniment to the melody that is presented by the orchestra.

Each of the concerto’s three movements contains numerous tempo changes in accordance with the evolution of the musical characters. But the unity of the work is ensured by the thematic recapitulations prescribed by Classical rules. Rachmaninoff counterbalanced his effusive, hyper-Romantic melodic writing by an almost academic adherence to traditional musical craft with regard to matters of form. He scored the secondmovement Adagio sostenuto in E major, a tonality far removed from C minor, the concerto’s home key; but he bridged the gap between these two keys by modulating passages that open both the first and the second movements. Both Beethoven in his Third Piano Concerto and Brahms in his First Symphony used this C-minor/ E-major relationship between the first and second movements; but in both cases, one may hear the jump between the two unrelated tonalities. Not so in Rachmaninoff. His “bridges” between movements exemplify something he strove to do throughout the concerto, namely to eliminate all “rough edges” and create a flow of great melodies unimpeded by breaks or jolts in the continuous unfolding of events.

— Peter Laki

Peter Laki is a musicologist and frequent lecturer on classical music. He is a visiting associate professor of music at Bard College.

Rachmaninoff was one of most celebrated pianists of the 20th century, boasting a massive hand span (see page 3) that could easily stretch across 13 white keys on the piano.

Concerto for Orchestra

by Béla Bartók

BORN : March 25, 1881, in Nagyszentmiklós, Hungary (now Sânnicolau Mare, Romania)

DIED: September 26, 1945, in New York City

▶ COMPOSED: 1943

▶ WORLD PREMIERE: December 1, 1944, at Carnegie Hall in New York, by the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Serge Koussevitzky

▶ CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA PREMIERE: January 3, 1946, led by Music Director George Szell

▶ ORCHESTRATION: 3 flutes (3rd doubling piccolo), 3 oboes (3rd doubling English horn), 3 clarinets (3rd doubling bass clarinet), 3 bassoons (3rd doubling contrabassoon), 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion (side drum, bass drum, tam-tam, cymbals, triangle), 2 harps, and strings

▶ DURATION: about 35 minutes

BÉLA BARTÓK WAS 59 YEARS OLD when he immigrated to the United States with his second wife and former pupil, Ditta Pâsztory-Bartók. His adjustment to the new environment was made difficult, even traumatic, by several factors. Bartók, who had been the foremost musical celebrity in his native Hungary, became an émigré composer who, although not entirely unknown in the Western Hemisphere, was far from being a household name and had to practically relaunch his career.

But Bartók was ill-equipped for such a struggle. He was not interested in university positions and concertized little as a pianist. He did receive a grant to transcribe a collection of recordings from Yugoslavia, preserved at Columbia

University, but the grant ran out before Bartók could finish the project. It was also at this time — late in 1942 — that Bartók’s health first began to deteriorate, with fevers, pain, and weakness, but with no immediate diagnosis (these were the first signs of the leukemia that would claim his life in 1945).

The situation was grave indeed when one day Bartók, lying in a New York hospital, received an unexpected visit from Serge Koussevitzky, the conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Koussevitzky commissioned a new orchestral work in memory of his wife

Béla Bartók found a new lease on life in writing the Concerto for Orchestra, an ensemble showpiece that presents his characteristic mixture of modernist and folk-like elements.

and left a check for half the amount of the commission on the composer’s bedside table. This commission quite literally gave Bartók, who had composed virtually nothing for the previous two years, a new lease on life. As Agatha Fassett, a close personal friend, recalled, “It seemed as if the obstructed forces within him were released at last, and the entire center of his being had been restored and reawakened, even though he was still lying limp on his bed, hardly any stronger than he was before he went to the hospital.”

Work on the score proceeded rapidly, thanks in part to the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP), which arranged for Bartók to spend the summer months of 1943 at a private sanatorium at Lake Saranac, New York. Bartók’s health improved and the full score of the Concerto for Orchestra was completed by October 8.

Bartók wrote an “Explanation” for the first performance, in which he stated:

“The title of this symphony-like instrumental work is explained by its tendency to treat the single instrument groups in a ‘concertant’ or soloistic manner. … The general mood of the work represents — apart from the jesting second movement — a gradual transition from the sternness of the first movement and the lugubrious death-song of the third, to the life-assertion of the last one.”

The first movement opens with a slow introduction played by cellos and basses, which creates the impression of a world

being born out of primeval chaos. The first “concertant” solo, for flute, still has something indecisive to it, but the second, for three trumpets, is a fully formed idea that borrows its formal structure (though not its actual melody) from Hungarian folk song. The tempo gradually increases and reaches Allegro vivace; this energetic music is only temporarily interrupted by a lyrical interlude in which the oboe and the harp seem to carry on an intimate conversation.

The second movement, “Giuoco delle coppie” (Game of Pairs), opens and closes with a brief side drum solo. Five pairs of wind instruments play their themes in parallel intervals; we hear, in turn, two bassoons in sixths, two oboes in thirds, two clarinets in sevenths, two flutes in fifths, and finally, two muted trumpets in major seconds. A lyrical “trio” section for brass follows, after which the five wind themes are repeated —  with some slight variances — before the movement’s close.

The third-movement Elegy opens with ascending motifs that clearly allude to the first movement’s slow introduction. Throughout this mysterious music, glissandos on the harp and the soft woodwind figurations recall a moment in Bartók’s opera Bluebeard’s Castle, when the opera’s heroine, Judith, sees the Lake of Tears behind the sixth door of the castle. The middle section is based on the same quasi-folk song we heard in the introduction to the first movement. Played this time by the full orchestra,

it sounds much more tragic than before. The movement ends with a haunting piccolo solo, after which the boisterous string unisons of the fourth movement come as quite a jolt.

Bartók told his pupil, pianist György Sándor, a little story he associated in his mind with the fourth-movement “Intermezzo interrotto” (Interrupted Intermezzo): “A young man serenades his sweetheart. He is surprised by a gang of drunkards who smash his instrument.

But Bartók’s theme also bears striking similarity to the song “Da geh’ ich zu Maxim” (You’ll find me at Maxim’s) from Franz Lehar’s operetta The Merry Widow (a resemblance probably not intended by either Bartók or Shostakovich). Whatever its true intention, its function in Shostakovich’s symphony was to “interrupt” peaceful life, just as its Bartókian parody interrupts a peaceful serenade.

The general mood of the work represents ... a gradual transition from the sternness of the first movement and the lugubrious death-song of the third, to the life-assertion of the last one.

— Béla Bartók

Despite the pain he feels, he continues his serenade.” There are some clues in the movement, however, that reveal a meaning running deeper than this story might suggest.

The fifth-movement Finale belongs to the type of last movements inspired by the spirit of folk dance that Bartók used at the end of many of his major works. After the opening horn fanfare, the violins start a perpetual motion in rapid sixteenth-notes that runs through almost the entire movement. In the central section, a large-scale fugato (a section based on imitative counterpoint) unfolds. After a recapitulation, which includes a brief lyrical episode in a slower tempo, the work ends with a powerful climax.

— Peter Laki

Many people agree that the beautiful cantabile melody played by the violas is a modified version of a popular Hungarian operetta melody, though the musical “interruption” in this movement has caused a great deal of commentary. Bartók appeared to be quoting and parodying a prominent passage from Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony (“Leningrad”), which had recently created a major sensation in the United States. (Bartók’s son Peter tells the story of how his father listened to the radio broadcast of Shostakovich’s symphony and objected to what seemed endless repetitions of the same theme.)

Peter

Laki is a musicologist and frequent lecturer on classical music. He is a visiting associate professor of music at Bard College.

David Afkham

Known for his impeccable technique and compelling artistry, David Afkham has received worldwide acclaim and is one of the most sought-after conductors of his generation. Afkham is chief conductor and artistic director of the Orquesta y Coro Nacionales de España, a position he has held since September 2019. Prior to this, Afkham enjoyed a highly successful tenure as the orchestra’s principal conductor since 2014.

Afkham’s impressive career has been marked by a series of critically acclaimed performances and collaborations with some of the world’s leading orchestras, including the Concertgebouw Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, Seoul Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, and Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Recent successes in the opera pit include performances of Richard Strauss’s Arabella at the Semperoper Dresden and a new production of the work at the Teatro Real. Afkham has also conducted productions at the Frankfurt Opera, Staatsoper Stuttgart, and Glyndebourne Festival.

Highlights of the 2023–24 season include debuts with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, and Detroit Symphony Orchestra, as well as a return to the Minnesota Orchestra, among others. Afkham’s symphonic projects with the Orquesta y Coro Nacionales de España

this season encompass a diverse repertoire, including Beethoven’s Missa solemnis, Bruckner’s Symphony No. 8, Rachmaninnoff’s The Bells, Schmidt’s Symphony No. 4, and Zemlinsky’s Lyric Symphony. Born in Freiburg, Germany, Afkham studied piano, music theory, and conducting at the Freiburg Music University, before continuing his studies at the Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt in Weimar.

Afkham was the first recipient of the Bernard Haitink Fund for Young Talent and assisted Haitink on several major projects, including complete symphonic cycles with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Concertgebouw Orchestra, and London Symphony Orchestra. From 2009–12 he was assistant conductor of the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester.

Afkham won first prize at the Donatella Flick Conducting Competition in London in 2008 and was the inaugural recipient of the Nestlé and Salzburg Festival Young Conductors Award in 2010.

Beatrice Rana piano

Beatrice Rana has been shaking up the classical music world, arousing admiration from concert presenters, conductors, critics, and audiences around the world.

In the 2023–24 season, Rana tours Europe with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and Antonio Pappano, the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, and the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg. She debuts with the Berlin Philharmonic and The Cleveland Orchestra, and will return to the New York Philharmonic with Manfred Honeck

Rana’s 2017 recording of J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations was praised by reviewers worldwide, received Gramophone’s Young Artist of the Year award, and was named “Discovery of the Year” at the Edison Awards. Rana’s 2019 album of works by Stravinsky and Ravel was also awarded several prizes including Diapason d’Or de l’Année and Choc de l’Année Classica in France. In 2023 she released her fifth album featuring Clara and Robert Schumann’s concertos with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Rana’s latest album was released in March 2024, featuring works by Beethoven and Chopin

In 2017, Rana started her own chamber music festival, Classiche Forme, in her native town of Lecce, Puglia. The festival has become one of Italy’s major summer

events. She became artistic director of the Orchestra Filarmonica di Benevento in 2020.

Rana won second prize and the Audience Award at the prestigious Van Cliburn Competition in 2013. She attracted international attention in 2011, at age 18, when she won first prize at the Montreal International Competition. In June 2018, she was chosen as Female Artist of the Year at the Classic BRIT Awards at the Royal Albert Hall for her recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations. Born to a family of musicians, Rana began her musical studies at age 4 and made her orchestral debut at age 9. She received her piano degree at the Nino Rota Conservatory of Music under the guidance of Benedetto Lupo. Rana later studied with Arie Vardi in Hannover and again with Lupo at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. She is based in Rome.

Ms. Rana records exclusively for Warner Classics. More information on Beatrice Rana can be found at beatriceranapiano.com. Management for Beatrice Rana: Primo Artists, New York, NY (primoartists.com)

Expect the Extraordinary

Whether escaping the bustle of daily life with a beloved classic or discovering new worlds with the less familiar, come share the extraordinary this season with The Cleveland Orchestra .

Subscriptions on sale now for the 2024–25 Season

When you subscribe, you provide vital support to your Cleveland Orchestra and enjoy these exclusive benefits:

•The best seats at the best prices

• Free and easy ticket exchanges

• Purchase your parking in advance

• 20% off additional ticket purchases

• 10% off at The Cleveland Orchestra Store

• Money back guarantee

ABOUT THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA

NOW IN ITS SECOND CENTURY , The Cleveland Orchestra, under the leadership of Music Director Franz Welser-Möst since 2002, is one of the most sought-after performing ensembles in the world. Year after year, the ensemble exemplifies extraordinary artistic excellence, creative programming, and community engagement. The New York Times has called Cleveland “the best in America” for its virtuosity, elegance of sound, variety of color, and chamber-like musical cohesion.

Founded by Adella Prentiss Hughes, the Orchestra performed its inaugural concert in December 1918. By the middle of the century, decades of growth and sustained support had turned it into one of the most admired globally.

The past decade has seen an increasing number of young people attending concerts, bringing fresh attention to The Cleveland Orchestra’s legendary sound and committed programming. More recently, the Orchestra launched several bold digital projects, including the streaming platform Adella, the podcast On a Personal Note, and its own recording label, a new chapter in the Orchestra’s long and distinguished recording and broadcast history. Together, they have captured the Orchestra’s unique artistry and the musical achievements of the Welser-Möst and Cleveland Orchestra partnership.

The 2023 – 24 season marks Franz Welser-Möst’s 22nd year as music director, a period in which The Cleveland Orchestra earned unprecedented acclaim around the world, including a series of residencies at the Musikverein in Vienna, the first of its kind by an American orchestra, and a number of acclaimed opera presentations.

Since 1918, seven music directors — Nikolai Sokoloff, Artur Rodziński, Erich Leinsdorf, George Szell, Lorin Maazel, Christoph von Dohnányi, and Franz Welser-Möst — have guided and shaped the ensemble’s growth and sound. Through concerts at home and on tour, broadcasts, and a catalog of acclaimed recordings, The Cleveland Orchestra is heard today by a growing group of fans around the world.

THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA

Franz Welser-Möst, Music Director

KELVIN SMITH FAMILY CHAIR

FIRST VIOLINS

Jung-Min Amy Lee

ASSOCIATE CONCERTMASTER

Gretchen D. and Ward Smith Chair

Jessica Lee

ASSISTANT CONCERTMASTER

Clara G. and George P. Bickford Chair

Stephen Tavani

ASSISTANT CONCERTMASTER

Dr. Ronald H. Krasney Chair

Wei-Fang Gu

Drs. Paul M. and Renate H. Duchesneau Chair

Kim Gomez

Elizabeth and Leslie Kondorossy Chair

Chul-In Park

Harriet T. and David L. Simon Chair

Miho Hashizume

Theodore Rautenberg Chair

Jeanne Preucil Rose

Larry J.B. and Barbara S.

Robinson Chair

Alicia Koelz

Oswald and Phyllis Lerner

Gilroy Chair

Yu Yuan

Patty and John Collinson Chair

Isabel Trautwein

Trevor and Jennie Jones Chair

Katherine Bormann

Analisé Denise Kukelhan

Gladys B. Goetz Chair

Zhan Shu

Youngji Kim

Genevieve Smelser

SECOND VIOLINS

Stephen Rose*

Alfred M. and Clara T. Rankin Chair

Jason Yu2

James and Donna Reid Chair

Eli Matthews1

Patricia M. Kozerefski and Richard J. Bogomolny Chair

Sonja Braaten Molloy

Carolyn Gadiel Warner

Elayna Duitman

Ioana Missits

Jeffrey Zehngut

Sae Shiragami

Kathleen Collins

Beth Woodside

Emma Shook

Dr. Jeanette Grasselli Brown and Dr. Glenn R. Brown Chair

Yun-Ting Lee

Jiah Chung Chapdelaine

Liyuan Xie

VIOLAS

Wesley Collins*

Chaillé H. and Richard B.

Tullis Chair

Stanley Konopka2

Mark Jackobs

Jean Wall Bennett Chair

Lisa Boyko

Richard and Nancy Sneed Chair

Richard Waugh

Lembi Veskimets

The Morgan Sisters Chair

Eliesha Nelson

Anthony and Diane

Wynshaw-Boris Chair

Joanna Patterson Zakany

William Bender

Gareth Zehngut

CELLOS

Mark Kosower*

Louis D. Beaumont Chair

Richard Weiss1

The GAR Foundation Chair

Charles Bernard2

Helen Weil Ross Chair

Bryan Dumm

Muriel and Noah Butkin Chair

Tanya Ell

Thomas J. and Judith Fay

Gruber Chair

Ralph Curry

Brian Thornton

William P. Blair III Chair

David Alan Harrell

Martha Baldwin

Dane Johansen

Paul Kushious

BASSES

Maximilian Dimoff*

Clarence T. Reinberger Chair

Derek Zadinsky2

Charles Paul1

Mary E. and F. Joseph Callahan Chair

Mark Atherton

Thomas Sperl

Henry Peyrebrune

Charles Barr Memorial Chair

Charles Carleton

Scott Dixon

HARP

Trina Struble*

Alice Chalifoux Chair

FLUTES

Joshua Smith*

Elizabeth M. and William C. Treuhaft Chair

Saeran St. Christopher

Jessica Sindell2

Austin B. and Ellen W. Chinn Chair

Mary Kay Fink

PICCOLO

Mary Kay Fink

Anne M. and M. Roger Clapp Chair

OBOES

Frank Rosenwein*

Edith S. Taplin Chair

Corbin Stair

Sharon and Yoash Wiener Chair

Jeffrey Rathbun2

Everett D. and Eugenia S. McCurdy Chair

Robert Walters

ENGLISH HORN

Robert Walters

Samuel C. and Bernette K.

Jaffe Chair

CLARINETS

Afendi Yusuf*

Robert Marcellus Chair

Robert Woolfrey

Victoire G. and Alfred M. Rankin, Jr. Chair

Daniel McKelway2

Robert R. and Vilma L. Kohn

Chair

Amy Zoloto

E-FLAT CLARINET

Daniel McKelway

Stanley L. and Eloise M. Morgan Chair

BASS CLARINET

Amy Zoloto

Myrna and James Spira Chair

BASSOONS

John Clouser*

Louise Harkness Ingalls Chair

Gareth Thomas

Barrick Stees2

Sandra L. Haslinger Chair

Jonathan Sherwin

CONTRABASSOON

Jonathan Sherwin

HORNS

Nathaniel Silberschlag*

George Szell Memorial Chair

Michael Mayhew§

Knight Foundation Chair

Jesse McCormick

Robert B. Benyo Chair

Hans Clebsch

Richard King

Meghan Guegold Hege

TRUMPETS

Michael Sachs*

Robert and Eunice Podis Weiskopf Chair

Jack Sutte

Lyle Steelman2

James P. and Dolores D. Storer Chair

Michael Miller

CORNETS

Michael Sachs*

Mary Elizabeth and G. Robert Klein Chair

Michael Miller

TROMBONES

Brian Wendel*

Gilbert W. and Louise I. Humphrey Chair

Richard Stout

Alexander and Marianna C. McAfee Chair

Shachar Israel2

BASS TROMBONE

Luke Sieve

EUPHONIUM & BASS TRUMPET

Richard Stout

TUBA

Yasuhito Sugiyama*

Nathalie C. Spence and Nathalie S. Boswell Chair

TIMPANI vacant

PERCUSSION

Marc Damoulakis*

Margaret Allen Ireland Chair

Thomas Sherwood

Tanner Tanyeri

KEYBOARD INSTRUMENTS

Carolyn Gadiel Warner

Marjory and Marc L. Swartzbaugh Chair

LIBRARIANS

Michael Ferraguto

Joe and Marlene Toot Chair

Donald Miller

Gabrielle Petek

ENDOWED CHAIRS CURRENTLY UNOCCUPIED

Elizabeth Ring and William Gwinn Mather Chair

Blossom-Lee Chair

Virginia M. Linsdseth, PhD, Chair

Paul and Lucille Jones Chair

Charles M. and Janet G.

Kimball Chair

Sunshine Chair

Otto G. and Corinne T. Voss Chair

Mr. and Mrs. Richard K. Smucker Chair

Rudolf Serkin Chair

CONDUCTORS

Christoph von Dohnányi

MUSIC DIRECTOR LAUREATE

Daniel Reith

ASSISTANT CONDUCTOR

Sidney and Doris Dworkin Chair

Lisa Wong

DIRECTOR OF CHORUSES

Frances P. and Chester C. Bolton Chair

* Principal

§ Associate Principal

1 First Assistant Principal

2 Assistant Principal

This roster lists full-time members of The Cleveland Orchestra. The number and seating of musicians onstage varies depending on the piece being performed. Seating within the string sections rotates on a periodic basis.

THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA’S DIGITAL STREAMING

Experience The Cleveland Orchestra’s digital platform with new & improved features.

NEW Concert Experiences

Experience on-demand concerts with exclusive interviews and behind-the-scenes features!

Now available: In the Moment featuring Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 6.

NEW Livestreamed Concerts

Enjoy six concerts broadcast live from Severance throughout the 2024–25 season.

COMING SOON

Archival Audio Recordings

By popular demand, stream exclusive recordings from The Cleveland Orchestra’s audio archives.

NEW Educational Content

Access videos and learning resources for children, students, and teachers. Visit stream.adella.live/premium or scan the QR code to secure your subscription today!

Questions? Email adellahelp@clevelandorchestra.com or call 216-231-7300

CALENDAR

THE 2023/2024 SEASON

Pre-concert lectures are held in Reinberger Chamber Hall one hour prior to the performance.

CALENDAR

SPRING

APR 18 – 20

MAY 15–26

Pre-concert lectures are held in Reinberger Chamber Hall one hour prior to the performance.

THE RITE OF SPRING

Klaus Mäkelä, conductor

Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano

MILHAUD Le Bœuf sur le toit

SPRING

GERSHWIN Concerto in F STRAVINSKY The Rite of Spring

Pre-concert lecture by Caroline Oltmanns

APR 18 – 20 THE RITE OF SPRING

Last performances of this year’s Spring season!

Klaus Mäkelä, conductor

APR 26 – 28

Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano

MILHAUD Le Bœuf sur le toit

SECOND PIANO

GERSHWIN Concerto in F STRAVINSKY The Rite of Spring

RACHMANINOFF’S SECOND PIANO CONCERTO

Pre-concert lecture by Caroline Oltmanns

David Afkham, conductor

Beatrice Rana, piano

APR 26 – 28

piano

UNSUK CHIN subito con forza

RACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No. 2

BARTÓK Concerto for Orchestra

RACHMANINOFF’S SECOND PIANO CONCERTO

Pre-concert lecture by James O’Leary

David Afkham, conductor

Beatrice Rana, piano

MAY 2 – 4

UNSUK CHIN subito con forza

2024 MANDEL OPERA & HUMANITIES FESTIVAL For more information on festival events visit:

LANG LANG PLAYS SAINT-SAËNS

MAY 16, 18, 24 & 26

MAY 21

RACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No. 2

MOZART’S MAGIC FLUTE

Franz Welser-Möst, conductor

BARTÓK Concerto for Orchestra

Franz Welser-Möst, conductor

Pre-concert lecture by James O’Leary

LANG LANG PLAYS , ,

Lang Lang, piano *

SAINT-SAËNS Piano Concerto

MAY 2 – 4

SAINT-SAËNS Piano Concerto No. 2 *

Nikolaus Habjan, director

For more information on festival events visit: clevelandorchestra.com/festival

Julian Prégardien, tenor

Ludwig Mittelhammer, baritone

TERENCE BLANCHARD & FRIENDS: A CELEBRATION OF WAYNE SHORTER

Terence Blanchard, trumpet

BERLIOZ

LANG LANG PLAYS

BERLIOZ Symphonie fantastique

SAINT-SAËNS

Pre-concert lecture by Caroline Oltmanns

* Not performed on the Friday matinee concert

Franz Welser-Möst, conductor

Lang Lang, piano *

* Not performed on the Friday matinee concert

SAINT-SAËNS Piano Concerto No. 2 *

BERLIOZ Symphonie fantastique

Pre-concert lecture by Caroline Oltmanns

* Not performed on the Friday matinee concert

Pre-concert lecture by Caroline Oltmanns

MAY 16, 18, 24 & 26

Christina Landshamer, soprano

The Cleveland Orchestra Chorus

MOZART’S MAGIC FLUTE

MOZART The Magic Flute

MAY 16, 18, 24 & 26

Franz Welser-Möst, conductor

Nikolaus Habjan, director

Staged production sung in German with projected supertitles

MOZART’S MAGIC FLUTE

Julian Prégardien, tenor

Ludwig Mittelhammer, baritone

Franz Welser-Möst, conductor

MAY 17

Christina Landshamer, soprano

Nikolaus Habjan, director

Julian Prégardien, tenor

The Cleveland Orchestra Chorus

Ludwig Mittelhammer, baritone

MOZART The Magic Flute

Christina Landshamer, soprano

CONRAD TAO IN RECITAL: POWER AND INFLUENCE

The Cleveland Orchestra Chorus

Conrad Tao, piano

Staged production sung in German with projected supertitles

MOZART The Magic Flute

Dane Johansen, cello

MAY 17

Staged production sung in German with projected supertitles

MAY 17

CONRAD TAO IN RECITAL: POWER AND INFLUENCE

CONRAD TAO IN

Conrad Tao, piano

Dane Johansen, cello

Conrad Tao, piano

MAY 21

Featuring the E-Collective and Turtle Island Quartet

Dane Johansen, cello

MAY 23 & 25

MAY 21

MOZART’S GRAN PARTITA

Terence Blanchard, trumpet

TERENCE BLANCHARD & FRIENDS: A CELEBRATION OF WAYNE SHORTER

Franz Welser-Möst, conductor

Leila Josefowicz, violin

Featuring the E-Collective and Turtle Island Quartet

Terence Blanchard, trumpet

TERENCE BLANCHARD & FRIENDS: A CELEBRATION OF WAYNE SHORTER

MAY 23 & 25

Featuring the E-Collective and Turtle Island Quartet

BERG Violin Concerto

MOZART’S GRAN PARTITA

WAGNER Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde

MAY 23 & 25

Franz Welser-Möst, conductor

MOZART Serenade No. 10, “Gran Partita”

Leila Josefowicz, violin

MOZART’S GRAN PARTITA

Pre-concert lecture by Michael Strasser

Franz Welser-Möst, conductor

WAGNER Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde

BERG Violin Concerto

Leila Josefowicz, violin

MOZART Serenade No. 10, “Gran Partita”

WAGNER Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde

RECITAL: POWER AND INFLUENCE MAY 15–26 2024 MANDEL OPERA & HUMANITIES FESTIVAL

BERG Violin Concerto

Pre-concert lecture by Michael Strasser

MOZART Serenade No. 10, “Gran

Partita”

Pre-concert lecture by Michael Strasser

YOUR VISIT

HEALTH & SAFETY

The Cleveland Orchestra is committed to creating a comfortable, enjoyable, and safe environment for all guests at Severance Music Center. While mask and COVID-19 vaccination are recommended they are not required. Protocols are reviewed regularly with the assistance of our Cleveland Clinic partners; for up-to-date information, visit: clevelandorchestra. com/attend/health-safety

LATE SEATING

As a courtesy to the audience members and musicians in the hall, late-arriving patrons are asked to wait quietly until the first convenient break in the program. These seating breaks are at the discretion of the House Manager in consultation with the performing artists.

PAGERS, CELL PHONES & WRISTWATCH ALARMS

As a courtesy to others, please silence all devices prior to the start of the concert.

PHOTOGRAPHY, VIDEOGRAPHY & RECORDING

Audio recording, photography, and videography are prohibited during performances at Severance. Photographs can only be taken when the performance is not in progress.

HEARING AIDS & OTHER HEALTH-ASSISTIVE DEVICES

For the comfort of those around you, please reduce the volume on hearing aids and other devices that may produce a noise that would detract from the program. For Infrared Assistive-Listening Devices, please see the House Manager or Head Usher for more details.

FREE MOBILE APP TICKET WALLET

Download today for instant, secure, and paperless access to your concert tickets.

For more information and direct links to download, visit clevelandorchestra.com/ticketwallet or scan the code with your smartphone camera to download the app for iPhone or Android.

Available for iOS and Android on Google Play and at the Apple App Store.

IN THE EVENT OF AN EMERGENCY

Contact an usher or a member of house staff if you require medical assistance. Emergency exits are clearly marked throughout the building. Ushers and house staff will provide instructions in the event of an emergency.

AGE RESTRICTIONS

Regardless of age, each person must have a ticket and be able to sit quietly in a seat throughout the performance. Classical Season subscription concerts are not recommended for children under the age of 8. However, there are several age-appropriate series designed specifically for children and youth, including Music Explorers (for 3 to 6 years old) and Family Concerts (for ages 7 and older).

The Cleveland Orchestra is grateful to the following organizations for their ongoing generous support of The Cleveland Orchestra: the State of Ohio and Ohio Arts Council and to the residents of Cuyahoga County through Cuyahoga Arts and Culture.

Cleveland Orchestra performances are broadcast as part of regular programming on ideastream/WCLV Classical 90.3 FM, Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 4 PM.

The Cleveland Orchestra is proud of its long-term partnership with Kent State University, made possible in part through generous funding from the State of Ohio. The Cleveland Orchestra is proud to have its home, Severance Music Center, located on the campus of Case Western Reserve University, with whom it has a long history of collaboration and partnership.

© 2024 The Cleveland Orchestra and the Musical Arts Association Program books for Cleveland Orchestra concerts are produced by The Cleveland Orchestra and are distributed free to attending audience members.

EDITORIAL

Kevin McBrien, Publications Manager

The Cleveland Orchestra kmcbrien@clevelandorchestra.com

DESIGN

Elizabeth Eddins, Eddinsdesign eddinsdesign@gmail.com

ADVERTISING

Live Publishing Company, 216-721-1800

clevelandorchestra.com

Bianchi / Bratenahl

SETTING THE STAGE

We believe that all Cleveland youth should have access to high-quality arts education. Through the generosity of our donors, we have invested more than $12.6 million since 2016 to scale up neighborhood-based programs that serve thousands of youth year-round in music, dance, theater, photography, literary arts and curatorial mastery. That’s setting the stage for success. Find your passion, and partner with the Cleveland Foundation to make your greatest charitable impact. (877) 554-5054

www.ClevelandFoundation.org/Success