The Cleveland Orchestra Gala 2012

Gala 2012 THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA

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The Cleveland Orchestra is one of the few orchestras in the country with an in-depth early childhood program, engaging very young children in music and learning, right from the start. PNC Musical Rainbows introduce them to the instruments of the orchestra, one at a time (“Triumphant Trumpet� pictured at top), and Orchestra musicians work alongside Cleveland pre-school teachers using music to help children build school readiness skills (such as counting) in PNC Grow Up Great.

Gala 2012 THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA

A Gala Evening to Benefit the Orchestra’s Education and Community Programs across Northeast Ohio

Norma Lerner

Beth Mooney

Gala Chair

Gala Corporate Chair

THANK YOU

November 3, 2012 On behalf of the entire Cleveland Orchestra family, I want to thank Norma Lerner and Beth Mooney for their leadership and vision in creating this extraordinary benefit event.

Thanks go to all of this evening’s generous Gala sponsors and patrons, with special gratitude to our leading Diamond Sponsors, The Lerner Foundation and KeyBank, and to Platinum Sponsors Audrey and Albert Ratner. Through everyone’s generosity, this event is raising crucial funds to support the Orchestra’s many ongoing Education and Community Programs across Northeast Ohio.

Thanks also to our Board of Trustees under the leadership of President Dennis W. LaBarre for overwhelming support of tonight’s event. Their work for and generosity toward The Cleveland Orchestra symbolize the community spirit from which the Orchestra was created — and to which we are all dedicated.

I also express my thanks to tonight’s soloist, Yo-Yo Ma, and to conductor Carlos Miguel Prieto, for their artistic contributions to this Gala celebration.

And I extend my deepest gratitude to the wonderful musicians of The Cleve­ land Orchestra. Their artistry every week is a marvel to experience and a privilege to help make possible.

Finally, this benefit event would not be possible without the tireless staff and volunteers who have worked to make it an outstanding success. Thank you, and enjoy the concert.

Best wishes,

Gary Hanson Executive Director

From the Executive Director

welcome

Gala 2012 THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA

Dear Friends,

We are delighted to welcome you to this evening’s concert and celebration, featuring world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Please accept our heartfelt gratitude to all of you who have made this evening such a wonderful success. Without your support, this Orchestra could not continue as a source of pride and service for all of Northeast Ohio. With your support, The Cleveland Orches­tra is making a difference — through education, performance, and community involvement, for today’s audiences and for future generations.

This evening is raising funds to support The Cleveland Orchestra’s many and invaluable Education and Community Programs across Northeast Ohio. The photographs throughout this program book — of people engaged and interested in a wide variety of musical programs and activities — are testament to the Orchestra’s unflagging efforts and ongoing commitment to music education and community service.

Many thanks for joining us for this special occasion. And special thanks to executive chef Doug Katz, for his tireless efforts and creativity in planning this evening’s gala dinner.

Sincerely,

Norma Lerner Gala Chair

Beth Mooney Gala Corporate Chair

From the Gala Chairs

The Cleveland Orchestra believes that all children should have access to the countless benefits and sheer joy of active music-making. With their expertise and passion, Orch足 estra musicians support school music programs (through Music Mentors and Music Masters), lead important after-school programs (such as El Sistema@Rainey, pictured at top), and coach the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, passing down the hallmark artistic excellence of The Cleveland Orchestra to future generations.

Gala 2012 THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA

Diamond Sponsors

The Lerner Foundation KeyBank

Platinum Sponsors Audrey and Albert Ratner

Gold Sponsors BakerHostetler Alexander and Sarah Cutler Forest City Enterprises Medical Mutual of Ohio NACCO Industries, Inc.

Silver Sponsors Trevor and Jennie Jones Walter and Jean Kalberer Park-Ohio Holdings Corp.

The Payne Fund Quality Electrodynamics (QED) Thompson Hine LLP

Bronze Sponsors Cleveland Clinic Litigation Management, Inc. Nancy W. McCann David and Inez Myers Foundation The Plain Dealer Barbara S. Robinson Dr. and Mrs. Ronald J. Ross Tucker Ellis LLP University Hospitals Gala 2012

The Cleveland Orchestra is devoted to the citizens of Northeast Ohio, and is proud to serve as the region’s most prominent international ambassador. Whether celebrating the birth of our country with the annual Public Square Concert, remembering the fallen with the September 11 Anniversary Concert, or honoring the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. through the Orchestra’s annual MLK Concert and Community Open House, The Cleveland Orchestra draws people together through music in times of sorrow, joy, and celebration.

Gala 2012 THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA

Distinguished Patrons Bank of America-Merrill Lynch Mr. William P. Blair III Barbara Ann Davis Mr. and Mrs. Robert W. Gillespie Joyce Glickman Richard Horvitz and Erica Hartman-Horvitz James D. Ireland III Allan V. Johnson Dr. Nancy Kurfess Johnson, M.D. Richard L. Jones Mr. and Mrs. Joseph P. Keithley John D. Koch Tim and Linda Koelz Mr. and Mrs. Dennis W. LaBarre Larry and Chris Levey Mr. and Mrs. Jon A. Lindseth Robert P. Madison Materion Corporation Meg Fulton-Mueller William J. and Katherine T. O’Neill Clara T. Rankin Mrs. David Seidenfeld Dr. Michael Vogelbaum and Ms. Judith Rosman

Patrons

Jacqueline Acho and John LeMay Mr. and Mrs. William W. Baker Mr. and Mrs. Dean Barry Mr. Jeffrey and Dr. Sheila Berlin Ms. Loretta Borstein Jeanette G. and Glenn R. Brown Rebecca A. Brunotte Frank and Leslie Buck Marc and Viki Byrnes Marge and Harry Carlson Mr. and Mrs. William E. Conway Dr. Delia DiGregorio Drs. Brenda Ellner and Melvin Schoenstein The Fedeli Group Robert K. Gudbranson and Joon-Li Kim Mr. and Mrs. Robert N. Gudbranson Lainie Hadden and David Ford Iris and Tom Harvie Marguerite B. Humphrey Hyland Software Mr. and Mrs. Douglas A. Kern Kenneth and Audrey Koblitz Alicia Koelz Richard Lang and Lisa Kraemer Mr. and Mrs. Alex Machaskee The Milton and Tamar Maltz Family Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Sanford E. Marovitz Kay Mathieu William and Eleanor McCoy Donald W. Morrison Marjorie and Bert Moyar Deborah L. Neale Gary Oatey John & Linda Olejko Mr. and Mrs. Peter R. Osenar Randy and Amy Paine Scott Peters and Jeannine Gury Drs. Carmen Fonseca and Raymond Rackley James and Donna Reid Dr. Rod Rezaee and Ms. Sara Schiavoni Michael F. Roizen, M.D. Paul A. and Anastacia L. Rose Lincoln Russell and Nancy Fitzpatrick Raymond T. and Katherine S. Sawyer Mr. John Schambach Mary Ann K. Sholtis Laura and Alvin A. Siegal Naomi G. and Edwin Z. Singer Gretchen D. Smith Jack Sutte Lorraine S. Szabo Ulmer & Berne LLP Philip and Peggy Wasserstrom WCLV Mr. and Mrs. Norman E. Wells, Jr. Sandy and Ted Wiese listings as of October 31, 2012

Special thanks are extended to these Gala Sponsors for increasing their gifts from last year’s level:

KeyBank Audrey and Albert Ratner BakerHostetler Alexander and Sarah Cutler Thompson Hine LLP Nancy W. McCann With special gratitude to The Lerner Foundation for its continuing leadership support of the Gala.

Gala 2012

Education has always been an integral part of the Orchestra’s mission. Across nine decades, Education Concerts at Severance Hall have introduced over 4 million young people to symphonic music. And, for the first time in forty years, Franz Welser-MÜst has taken the entire Cleveland Orchestra to area high schools for in-school performances. In local elementary schools students are Learning Through Music, using music to support math, science, and language arts, with the help of Cleveland Orchestra teaching artists.

T h e C l e v e l a n d O r c h e s t r a f r a n z

w e l s e r - m Ö st m u s i c

d i r e c t o r

Gala 2012 THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA

Severance Hall

Saturday evening, November 3, 2012, at 7:00 p.m.

Carlos Miguel Prieto, conductor Sensemayá

by Silvestre Revueltas (1899-1940)

Elegy (for solo cello and orchestra)

by John Williams (b. 1932)

Yo-Yo Ma, cello

El Salón México

by Aaron Copland (1900-1990)

Cello Concerto in B minor, Opus 104

by Antonín Dvorák (1841-1904) 1. Allegro 2. Adagio ma non troppo 3. Finale: Allegro moderato

Yo-Yo Ma, cello

Special thanks for generous ongoing support of:

Gala 2012

T h e

C l e v e l a n d

F r a n z W e l s e r - MĂś s t

M u s i c D i r e c to R Kelvin Smith Family Chair

FIRST VIOLINS William Preucil

SECOND VIOLINS Stephen Rose *

Alfred M. and Clara T. Rankin Chair

concertmaster

Blossom-Lee Chair

Yoko Moore

assistant concertmaster

Clara G. and George P. Bickford Chair

Peter Otto

First associate concertmaster

Emilio Llinas 2

James and Donna Reid Chair

Eli Matthews

1

Patricia M. Kozerefski and Richard J. Bogomolny Chair

Kim Gomez

Elayna Duitman Ioana Missits Carolyn Gadiel Warner Stephen Warner Sae Shiragami Vladimir Deninzon Sonja Braaten Molloy Scott Weber Kathleen Collins Beth Woodside Emma Shook Jeffrey Zehngut

Chul-In Park

VIOLAS Robert Vernon *

Jung-Min Amy Lee

Associate concertmaster

Gretchen D. and Ward Smith Chair

Lev Polyakin

assistant concertmaster

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

Takako Masame

Paul and Lucille Jones Chair

Wei-Fang Gu

Drs. Paul M. and Renate H. Duchesneau Chair Elizabeth and Leslie Kondorossy Chair Harriet T. and David L. Simon Chair

Miho Hashizume

Theodore Rautenberg Chair

Jeanne Preucil Rose

Dr. 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

Mark Dumm

Gladys B. Goetz Chair

Alexandra Preucil Katherine Bormann Ying Fu

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Lynne Ramsey 1

Charles M. and Janet G. Kimball Chair 2

Jean Wall Bennett Chair

Arthur Klima Richard Waugh Lisa Boyko Lembi Veskimets Eliesha Nelson Joanna Patterson Zakany Patrick Connolly

The Orchestra

Louis D. Beaumont Chair

Richard Weiss 1

The GAR Foundation Chair

Charles Bernard 2

Helen Weil Ross Chair

Bryan Dumm

Muriel and Noah Butkin Chair

Tanya Ell Ralph Curry Brian Thornton David Alan Harrell Paul Kushious Martha Baldwin Thomas Mansbacher BASSES Maximilian Dimoff *

Clarence T. Reinberger Chair

Kevin Switalski 2 Scott Haigh 1

Mary E. and F. Joseph Callahan Chair

ChaillĂŠ H. and Richard B. Tullis Chair

Stanley Konopka Mark Jackobs

cellos Mark Kosower*

Mark Atherton Thomas Sperl Henry Peyrebrune

Charles Barr Memorial Chair

Charles Carleton Scott Dixon Derek Zadinsky HARP Trina Struble *

Alice Chalifoux Chair

12 13

SEASON

O r c h e s t r a FLUTES Joshua Smith *

Elizabeth M. and William C. Treuhaft Chair

Saeran St. Christopher Marisela Sager 2

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

Mary Lynch Jeffrey Rathbun 2

Everett D. and Eugenia S. McCurdy Chair

Robert Walters english horn Robert Walters

Samuel C. and Bernette K. Jaffe Chair

clarinets Franklin Cohen *

Robert Marcellus Chair

horns Richard King *

timpani Paul Yancich *

Michael Mayhew §

Tom Freer 2

Jesse McCormick Hans Clebsch Richard Solis Alan DeMattia

percussion Jacob Nissly *

George Szell Memorial Chair Knight Foundation Chair

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 Massimo La Rosa*

Gilbert W. and Louise I. Humphrey Chair

Robert Woolfrey Daniel McKelway 2

Richard Stout

Linnea Nereim

Shachar Israel 2

E-flat clarinet Daniel McKelway

bass trombone Thomas Klaber

Robert R. and Vilma L. Kohn Chair

Stanley L. and Eloise M. Morgan Chair

bass clarINEt Linnea Nereim bassoons John Clouser *

Louise Harkness Ingalls Chair

Alexander and Marianna C. McAfee Chair

euphonium and bass trumpet Richard Stout tuba Yasuhito Sugiyama* Nathalie C. Spence and Nathalie S. Boswell Chair

Barrick Stees 2

Otto G. and Corinne T. Voss Chair

Margaret Allen Ireland Chair

Donald Miller Tom Freer Marc Damoulakis keyboard instruments Joela Jones *

Rudolf Serkin Chair

Carolyn Gadiel Warner Marjory and Marc L. Swartzbaugh Chair

librarians Robert O’Brien Donald Miller orchestra Personnel Carol Lee Iott director

Karyn Garvin Manager

Endowed chairs currently unoccupied assistant concertmaster

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

assistant principal harp

Sunshine Chair

* Principal §

1 2

Associate Principal First Assistant Principal Assistant Principal

Sandra L. Haslinger Chair

Jonathan Sherwin contrabassoon Jonathan Sherwin

The Orchestra

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The Cleveland Orchestra is committed to developing future generations of audiences for symphonic music. Discounted ticket offerings (subsidized through donor contributions) are attracting more young people to Severance Hall and Blossom than ever before. In the first two months of this season, more than twice as many students are attending the Orchestra’s classical concerts as last year. Varied programming ideas, including KeyBank Fridays@7 and the Celebrity Series, are also attracting new audiences.

Student Ticket Programs

“Under 18s Free,” Student Advantage membership, and Student Frequent FanCard offer affordable access to Cleveland Orchestra concerts all season long The Cleveland Orchestra is committed to developing one of the youngest audiences of any orchestra in the country. With the help of generous contributors, the Orch­estra has expanded its discounted ticket offerings through several new programs. In the opening two months of the current Severance Hall season, nearly 20% of the audience has been been students attending Orchestra concerts through these various programs and offers.

S T U D E N T A DVA N TAG E P R O G R A M

The Orchestra’s ongoing Student Advantage Program provides opportunities for students to attend Orchestra concerts at Severance Hall through discounted ticket offers. Membership in the Student Advantage Program is free.

A new Student Frequent FanCard was introduced this season. Priced at $50, the FanCard offers students unlimited single tickets (one per FanCard holder) to weekly Classical Subscription Concerts all season long. “ U nder 1 8 s F R E E ”

Introduced for Blossom Festival concerts two summers ago, the “Under 18s Free” program now includes select Cleveland Orchestra concerts at Severance Hall each season. This program offers free tickets (one per regular-priced adult paid admission) to young people ages 7-17 to the Orchestra’s Fridays@7, Friday Morning at 11, and Sunday Afternoon at 3 concerts.

All of these programs are supported by The Cleveland Orchestra’s Center for Future Audiences and the Alexander and Sarah Cutler Fund for Student Audiences.

The Center for Future Audiences was created with a $20 million lead endowment gift from the Maltz Family Foundation to develop new generations of audiences for Cleveland Orchestra concerts in Northeast Ohio.

Student Ticket Programs

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Conductor Carlos Miguel Prieto Carlos Miguel Prieto currently serves as music director of four ensembles: the Orquesta Mineria, Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de México, Louisiana Philharmonic, and the Youth Orchestra of the Americas. He is also founder and music director of the Mozart-Haydn Festival, an annual six-concert series featuring the symphonic music of these two composers. He is making his Cleveland Orchestra debut with this evening’s concert.

Mr. Prieto has appeared as a guest condutor with every major orchestra in Mexico and with many ensembles across the United States, including the orchestras of Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Memphis, Phoenix, San Antonio, Seattle, Toronto, and Vancouver, among others. He has also has led orchestras throughout Europe, Israel, Japan, Latin America, and Russia.

A champion of contemporary music, Carlos Miguel Prieto has conducted over fifty world premieres of works by Mexican and American composers, many of which he commissioned. His commitment to education is exemplified by his relationship with the Youth Orchestra of the Americas since its inception in 2002.

Also an accomplished violinist, Mr. Prieto has performed with the National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico and at the Aspen, Cervantino, Interlochen, San Miguel Allende, and Tanglewood festivals. Continuing a family tradition of four generations, he has performed with the Cuarteto Prieto throughout Europe, Mexico, and the United States.

A graduate of Princeton and Harvard universities, Mr. Prieto studied conducting with Charles Bruck, Enrique Diemecke, Jorge Mester, and Michael Jinbo. He went on to serve as assistant conductor of the Houston Symphony, and later served as music director of the Mexico City Philharmonic (1998-2002), Orquesta Sinfónica de Xalapa (2002-2007), and of Alabama’s Huntsville Symphony (2003-2011).

Among Carlos Miguel Prieto’s honors are being named conductor of the year in 2002 by the Mexican Union of Music & Theatre Critics, and receiving the Mozart Medal of Honor from the governments of Mexico and Austria in 1998, and the Order of Orange-Nassau, Grade of Officer, from the Netherlands.

Mr. Prieto has recorded Latin American and Mexican music for the Urtext label. His discography also includes violin works on Avanticlassic, and a Grammy-nominated album on Naxos.

For additional information, visit www.carlosmiguelprieto.com. me x i can conductor

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Conductor

Soloist Yo-Yo Ma ce l l i st yo -yo ma ’s

multi-faceted career is testament to his continual search for new ways to communicate with audiences, and to his personal desire for artistic growth and renewal. Whether performing new or familiar works from the cello repertoire, coming together with colleagues for chamber music, or exploring cultures and musical forms outside the Western classical tradition, Mr. Ma strives to find connections that stimulate the imagination.

Yo-Yo Ma made his Cleveland Orchestra debut in January 1982, performing the Dvořák Cello Concerto in concert at Severance Hall. He returned frequently over the next decade, including concerto and recital performances at Severance Hall, as well as concertos at Blossom. Most recently, he led a Blossom Festival performance of his Silk Road Ensemble in August 2010. (He returns to Northeast Ohio in March 2013 with his Silk Road Ensemble as part of Akron’s Tuesday Musical 2012-13 season at E.J. Thomas Hall.)

Mr. Ma maintains a balance between his engagements as soloist with orchestras throughout the world, his recital and chamber music activities, and his work with the Silk Road Project, for which he serves as artistic director. He draws inspiration from a wide circle of collaborators, each fueled by the artists’ interactions. Mr. Ma is also widely recognized for his strong commitment to educational programs that bring the world into the classroom and the classroom into the world. While touring, he takes time whenever possible to conduct masterclasses as well as more informal programs for students — musicians and non-musicians alike. He has also reached young audiences through appearances on Arthur, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, and Sesame Street.

One of Yo-Yo Ma’s goals is the exploration of music as a means of communication and as a vehicle for the migrations of ideas across a range of cultures throughout the world. Expanding upon this interest, in 1998, Mr. Ma established the Silk Road Project to promote the study of the cultural, artistic, and intellectual traditions along the ancient Silk Road trade route that stretched from the Mediterranean Sea to the Pacific Ocean. Since the Project’s inception, more than sixty works have been commissioned specifically for the Silk Road Ensemble, which tours annually. At the invitation of the New York City Department of Education, in 2009, the Silk Road Project began a multi-year partnership with cultural and educational organizations to pilot Silk Road Connect, a multidisciplinary middle school engagement program designed to spark a lifelong passion for learning. In Silk Road Connect, visual and aural elements are

Soloist

15

used alongside the experiences of creating and collaborating, making direct connections to classroom work in subjects such as social studies, English language arts, science, and the arts.

Mr. Ma is an exclusive Sony Classical artist, and his discography of over 75 albums (including more than 15 Grammy Award winners) reflects his wideranging interests. He has made several successful recordings that defy easy categorization, among them Hush with Bobby McFerrin, Appalachia Waltz and Appalachian Journey with Mark O’Connor and Edgar Meyer, and three albums with the Silk Road Ensemble. Mr. Ma’s recent recordings include Mendelssohn Trios with Emanuel Ax and Itzhak Perlman. His album The Goat Rodeo Sessions, with Edgar Meyer, Chris Thile, and Stuart Duncan, was released in 2011.

Across this full range of releases, Mr. Ma remains one of the best-selling recording artists in the classical field. In autumn 2009, Sony Classical released a box set of over 90 albums to commemorate Mr. Ma’s 30 years as a Sony recording artist.

Yo-Yo Ma was born in 1955 to Chinese parents living in Paris. He began to study the cello with his father at age four and soon came with his family to New York, where he spent most of his formative years. Later, his principal teacher was Leonard Rose at the Juilliard School. He sought out a traditional liberal arts education to expand upon his conservatory training, graduating from Harvard University in 1976.

Mr. Ma has received many awards, including the Avery Fisher Prize (1978), Glenn Gould Prize (1999), National Medal of the Arts (2001), Dan David Prize (2006), Sonning Prize (2006), World Economic Forum’s Crystal Award (2008), and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2010). Mr. Ma serves as a United Nations Messenger of Peace and as a member of the President’s Committee on the Arts & Humanities. He has performed for eight American presidents, most recently at the invitation of President Obama on the occasion of the 56th Inaugural Ceremony.

Yo-Yo Ma and his wife have two children. Mr. Ma plays two instruments, a 1733 Montagnana cello from Venice and the 1712 Davidoff Stradivarius.

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Yo-Yo Ma

About the Music Sensemayá

by Silvestre Revueltas (1899-1940)

Mexico in the early 20th century boasted two composers of prominence and promise: Carlos Chávez and Silvestre Revueltas. Chávez was the more conservative, firmly anchored in Western European art music (with careful additions of native ideas and musical spice). The more daring was Silvestre Revueltas, whose music continually agitated against the caging confines of classical tradition.

Much of Revueltas’s music was shaped from three issues: by the composer’s hopes to create a uniquely Mexican musical language, by the radicalness of his politics, and by the composer’s fiery personality. That Revueltas was born at the end of the 19th century and died at age 40 of alcoholism perfectly embodies his forward-looking yet consumingly passionate life.

Revueltas was born to a middle-class, arts-loving family. His siblings also became artists — including a painter, an actor, and a writer. Silvestre’s interest in music was discovered early, and his parents sent him to the Conservatorio Nacional de Música in Mexico City, and then to the Chicago Musical College, where he earned a diploma in violin, harmony, and composition. Afterward, his life as a composer wavered between happiness and despair, between creativity and stagnation, between poverty and bursts of momentary income.

Sensemayá is today Revueltas’s best-known work. It is a brief and intense work, embracing the idea of a specific ritual within an almost terrifying, relentless 7/8 meter. Composed in 1937, it started as a simple musical setting of a poem of the same name by his friend Nicolás Guillén. Revueltas then arranged it for large orchestra — and plenty of percussion.

The subject of Sensemayá is the killing of a snake — but there is an undercurrent of subtexts relating to cruelty in many forms, and especially to the unfairness that Guillén and Revueltas both wanted addressed in Mexican politics.

The text of Sensemayá follows here, in English translation. (The untranslatable “Mayombe-bomne-mayombe!” is a ritual incantation repeated throughout the poem.) “Mayombe-bombe-mayombe! The snake has eyes of glass. The snake coils on a stick. With his eyes of glass on a stick. — The snake can move without feet, the snake can hide in the grass. Crawling he hides in the grass, moving without feet. — Mayombe-bombe-mayombe! Hit him with an axe and he dies; Hit him! Go on, hit him! Don’t hit him with your foot or he’ll bite. Don’t hit him with your foot or he’ll get away. — Sensemayá, the snake, Sensemayá. Sensemayá, with his eyes. Sensemayá, with his tongue. Sensemayá, with his mouth, Sensemayá. — The dead snake cannot eat, the dead snake cannot hiss, he cannot move, he cannot run! — The dead

About the Music

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snake cannot drink, he cannot breathe, he cannot bite. —Mayombe-bombe-mayombe! Sensemayá, the snake. Sensemayá does not move . . . Sensemayá, the snake . . . Mayombe-bombe-mayombe! Sensemayá, he died!

Performance Time: about 7 minutes

Elegy (for solo cello and orchestra)

by John Williams (b. 1932)

The composer has written the following comments about the origins of this work, which he created between 1997 and 2001.

“A few years ago, an acquaintance of mine, a brilliant young violinist, lost her two young children in tragic circumstances. For the memorial service for little Alexandra and Daniel, a group of composer colleagues and I each contributed a small piece to mark this occasion, which was not only heart-rending, but also one that was suffused with a great deal of love.

“A short time before this event, Yo-Yo Ma appeared as soloist on my soundtrack recording of Seven Years in Tibet. The score included a short melodic fragment that I thought might be expanded, so I shaped it into the form of the present Elegy, always with the cello in mind. The original version of the piece was for piano and cello and was beautifully performed at the memorial service by John Walz, an outstanding Los Angeles cellist. When the opportunity to record an album with Yo-Yo Ma emerged, I decided to orchestrate the Elegy and Yo-Yo kindly agreed to record it.”

Performance Time: about 7 minutes

El Sálon México

by Aaron Copland (1900-1990)

The success of El Salón México helped launch Copland’s worldwide fame. It was inspired by a visit (or perhaps several) that the composer made in 1932 to a colorful nightclub of the same name in Mexico City. Here, a variety of the city’s populace mingled to dance (some barefoot, some in shoes or boots). A Cuban-Mexican band played a mixed dance repertoire (slow, swirling, fast, furious, drunk, sober) firmly grounded in Mexican everyday musical tastes. “I was attracted by the spirit of the place and by the Mexican people,” Copland later said. “Using Mexican melodies in my version seemed appropriate. My purpose was not merely to quote literally, but to heighten without in any way falsifying the natural simplicity of Mexican tunes.”

Performance Time: about 10 minutes

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About the Music

Cello Concerto in B minor, Opus 104

by Antonín Dvorák (1841-1904)

Although Dvořák was well into middle age before his gifts as a composer were widely recognized, he soon thereafter emerged as one of Central Europe’s greatest composers and was frequently mentioned as a worthy successor to Brahms as the leading proponent of Germanic symphonic traditions. Even so, his Czech upbringing also brought him face-to-face with the waves of nationalism cresting across mid-19th-century Europe. Throughout his life, Dvořák deftly applied the notion of homeland to his musical creations, borrowing freely from Czech music traditions while working within accepted classical forms.

Dvořák wrote his Cello Concerto at the age of fifty-five, as a fully mature composer of international standing. He created it in 1894-95, during the last of his three winters living in New York City as director of the National Conservatory of Music — although he subsequently completed the orchestration and reworked the ending after returning to Europe to live that spring. He was at least partially inspired by the example of his colleague at the Conservatory, the cellist-composer Victor Herbert, whose own Second Cello Concerto he had heard premiered in March 1894 by the New York Philharmonic.

Dvořák had, in fact, attempted to write a cello concerto thirty years before, but had become frustrated with the challenges that concertos for a middle-voiced string instrument often cause — requiring careful balance so that the soloist’s part is not buried in the midst of the surrounding orchestral sound. He had set his youthful effort aside, incomplete. Dvořák the mature composer had no such difficulties. While successfully managing the dialogue and balance between orchestra and soloist, he also imbued his new concerto with a strong chamber music character, in part by at times reducing the orchestral forces that play against the cello at any one time. And like Beethoven and Brahms before him, Dvořák included plenty of moments filled with orchestral grandeur — while, in fact, creating one of the greatest concertos for any instrument. From its sober, almost melancholy opening to its strong-willed ending, with strong musical statements and passages carefully balanced against wistful, even elegaic sections, this concerto breathes with dramatic life and character.

Performance Time: 40 minutes

program notes by Eric Sellen

About the Music

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THE M usic al Arts Association

operating The Cleveland Orchestra, Severance Hall, and Blossom Festival

O ffi cers and e x ecut ive comm ittee Dennis W. LaBarre, President Richard J. Bogomolny, Chairman The Honorable John D. Ong, Vice President

Norma Lerner, Honorary Chair Raymond T. Sawyer, Secretary Beth E. Mooney, Treasurer

Jeanette Grasselli Brown Alexander M. Cutler Matthew V. Crawford Michael J. Horvitz Douglas A. Kern

Virginia M. Lindseth Alex Machaskee Nancy W. McCann John C. Morley Larry Pollock

Alfred M. Rankin, Jr. Audrey Gilbert Ratner Barbara S. Robinson

res ident trustees George N. Aronoff Dr. Ronald H. Bell Richard J. Bogomolny Charles P. Bolton Jeanette Grasselli Brown Helen Rankin Butler Scott Chaikin Paul G. Clark Owen M. Colligan Robert D. Conrad Matthew V. Crawford Alexander M. Cutler Terrance C. Z. Egger Hiroyuki Fujita Paul G. Greig Robert K. Gudbranson Iris Harvie Jeffrey A. Healy Stephen H. Hoffman David J. Hooker Michael J. Horvitz Marguerite B. Humphrey David P. Hunt

Christopher Hyland James D. Ireland III Trevor O. Jones Betsy Juliano Jean C. Kalberer Nancy F. Keithley Douglas A. Kern John D. Koch S. Lee Kohrman Charlotte R. Kramer Dennis W. LaBarre Norma Lerner Virginia M. Lindseth Alex Machaskee Robert P. Madison Nancy W. McCann Thomas F. McKee Beth E. Mooney John C. Morley Donald W. Morrison Meg Fulton Mueller Gary A. Oatey Katherine T. O’Neill

The Honorable John D. Ong Larry Pollock Alfred M. Rankin, Jr. Clara T. Rankin Audrey Gilbert Ratner Charles A. Ratner James S. Reid, Jr. Barbara S. Robinson Paul Rose Steven M. Ross Raymond T. Sawyer Luci Schey Neil Sethi Hewitt B. Shaw, Jr. Richard K. Smucker R. Thomas Stanton Thomas A. Waltermire Geraldine B. Warner Paul E. Westlake Jr. David A. Wolfort

Non- res i dent truS tees Virginia Nord Barbato (NY) Wolfgang C. Berndt (Austria) Laurel Blossom (SC)

Richard C. Gridley (SC) George Gund III (CA) Loren W. Hershey (DC)

Herbert Kloiber (Germany) Ludwig Scharinger (Austria)

trustees e x-off i cio Faye A. Heston, President, Volunteer Council of The Cleveland Orchestra Beth Schreibman Gehring, President, Women’s Committee of The Cleveland Orchestra Ruth Ann Krutz, State Chair, Blossom Women’s Committee truS tees emerit i Clifford J. Isroff Samuel H. Miller David L. Simon past pres i dents D. Z. Norton 1915-21 John L. Severance 1921-36 Dudley S. Blossom 1936-38 Thomas L. Sidlo 1939-53

Carolyn Dessin, Chair, Cleveland Orchestra Chorus Operating Committee Dr. Lester Lefton, President, Kent State University Barbara R. Snyder, President, Case Western Reserve University

h onorary trustees for life Allen H. Ford Gay Cull Addicott Robert W. Gillespie Francis J. Callahan Dorothy Humel Hovorka Mrs. Webb Chamberlain Robert F. Meyerson Oliver F. Emerson Percy W. Brown 1953-55 Frank E. Taplin, Jr. 1955-57 Frank E. Joseph 1957-68 Alfred M. Rankin 1968-83

Ward Smith 1983-95 Richard J. Bogomolny 1995-2002, 2008-09 James D. Ireland III 2002-08

THE C LEVELAND ORCHESTRA Franz Welser-Möst, Music Director

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Gary Hanson, Executive Director

Board of Trustees

Special Thanks . . .

Grateful thanks are extended to:

Executive Chef Douglas Katz Fire Food & Drink Consolidated Graphics Group D.K. Vanderbrook Inc. DC Rentals EventSource Kristen Flynn Designs Jody Guinn Lasting Impressions Dennis Lewin Dan Maier Roger Mastroianni Daniel Milner NOW Valet Service Oliver Printing Sammy’s Standard Parking Vincent Lighting Cleveland Orchestra photography by Roger Mastroianni.

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, when ushers will help you to your seats.

These seating breaks are at the discretion of the House Manager in consultation with the conductor and performing artists.

Photography and Recording For the safety of and as a cour­tesy to guests and performers, photography and videography are strictly prohibited during concerts at Severance Hall.

CELLPHONES and watch alarms Cellphones and watch alarms should be turned off before the start of the concert.

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.