Severance Hall

Celebrated as one of the most magnificent concert venues in the world, Severance Hall has been home to The Cleveland Orchestra since its opening in 1931. According to a Cleveland newspaper editorial printed shortly after the first concert: “We believe that Mr. Severance intended to build a temple to music, and not a temple to wealth; and we believe it is his intention that all music lovers should be welcome there.” In the decades that followed, the Orchestra’s warm and welcoming hometown hall has become a bucket-list destination for music lovers and architecture aficionados alike. Severance Hall Severance Hall, home of The Cleveland Orchestra © Roger Mastroianni, courtesy of The Cleveland Orchestra.

The Orchestra chose to build its concert hall in the heart of Cleveland’s University Circle area — a picturesque setting on the city’s east side that serves as an epicenter of major cultural, education, and medical institutions, including the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland Institute of Music, and what is today Case Western Reserve University. Most of the funds needed to erect this majestic structure were donated by local businessman John L. Severance, president of the Musical Arts Association (1921-36), and his wife, Elisabeth.

Designed by the Cleveland firm Walker & Weeks, Severance Hall’s elegant Georgian exterior was crafted to complement the classical architecture of other notable buildings in the neighborhood. The interior of Severance Hall features a combination of styles, including Art Deco, Egyptian Revival, Neoclassical, and Modernism. In addition, the hall contains a massive Skinner pipe organ and a reflective stage that provides honest and clear acoustics — a stage on which legendary performers such as Béla Bartók, Sergei Rachmaninoff, and Leonard Bernstein once stood.

From the beginning, Severance Hall has been instrumental in shaping the Orchestra’s much-admired sound — allowing the ensemble to rehearse and perform in a consistent and idyllic acoustic environment. In the wake of a restoration project that was completed in 2000, the hall continues to play a major role in refining the Orchestra’s chamber-like sound under renowned music director Franz Welser-Möst. Said The New York Times, “The renovated concert hall sounds as seductive as it looks.”

Among the first concert facilities built with radio capability, Severance Hall helped usher The Cleveland Orchestra into living rooms across the country through weekly broadcasts. Of course, even the most memorable broadcast lacks the visual splendor that comes with actually visiting Severance Hall — from its glimmering ceiling, “like frosting on a wedding cake,” to its two-dozen red jasper marble columns imported from Italy to its brass torchères bearing the hall’s familiar lotus blossom design, a nod to Elisabeth Severance’s favorite flower, nothing compares to experiencing this stunning landmark in person. Free tours are available to the public across each season and more than a hundred times a year, the acclaimed Cleveland Orchestra delivers on Mr. Severance’s vision by filling his concert hall with glorious music. For more information please visit: clevelandorchestra.com