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Prokofiev 2 & 5 JANUARY 17 & 18, 2024
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2023/2024 SEASON J A C K , J O S E P H A N D M O RTO N M A N D E L C O N C E RT H A L L AT S E V E R A N C E M U S I C C E N T E R
Prokofiev 2 & 5 Wednesday, January 17, 2024, at 7:30 PM Thursday, January 18, 2024, at 7:30 PM
Franz Welser-Möst, conductor Sergei Prokofiev (1891–1953)
Anton Webern (1883–1945)
Sergei Prokofiev
Symphony No. 2 in D minor, Op. 40
35 minutes
I. Allegro ben articolato II. Theme and variations
Symphony, Op. 21
10 minutes
I. Ruhig schreitend II. Variationen I N TERMIS SI ON
20 minutes
Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major, Op. 100
45 minutes
I. Andante II. Allegro marcato III. Adagio IV. Allegro giocoso Total approximate running time: 1 hour 50 minutes
COVER: PHOTO BY ROGER MASTROIANNI
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AN I N TRO DU C TION
IMAGE COURTESY OF RMN-GRAND PALAIS (CENTRE POMPIDOU)
by Franz Welser-Möst THIS PROGRAM was conceived as part of Carnegie Hall’s festival, Fall of the Weimar Republic: Dancing on the Precipice, which looks at the 15 years of the Weimar era (1918–33), some of the wildest and most innovative for the arts in history. In pairing works by Sergei Prokofiev and Anton Webern, this concert provides a fascinating look at how two brilliant composers of this period use similar musical structures to create vastly different and unique masterpieces. Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 2, completed in 1925, and Webern’s Symphony, Op. 21, from 1928, seem to have much in common on the surface. They both have just two movements: the first largely built around sonata form; and the second, a theme and variations. While they both reference the same form and format, they arrive at divergent results. Prokofiev’s Second Symphony is loud and expansive — he described it as a work of “iron and steel” — requiring a huge orchestra and more than 30 minutes. He captures the raucous excitement of a new modern and machine-driven age that was in vogue in Paris during the roaring ’20s. In stark contrast, Webern’s Symphony reduces the symphonic form to its bare minimum with a small ensemble (scored only for violins, violas, cellos, a clarinet, a bass clarinet, two horns, and a harp) and lasts only 10 minutes long. This symphony resembles a finely detailed miniature painting, and every meticu-
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Artist Fernand Léger’s experience fighting for France in World War I lead to his exploration of a mechanic style of painting in the 1920s, such as in Elément mécanique (1924).
lously chosen note emits a tremendous amount of meaning. Following this intriguing juxtaposition, we end with Prokofiev’s Fifth Symphony, completed two decades later in 1944. Prokofiev reportedly said this symphony represented, “the greatness of the human spirit.” But, as with much art produced under Stalin’s brutal regime, we must take this statement with a grain of salt. In many respects, his Second Symphony, filled with the inventive spirit of the interwar period, better epitomizes the greatness and ambition of humankind. | 3
TH E MUSI C
Symphony No. 2 in D minor, Op. 40 by Sergei Prokofiev BORN : April 23, 1891, in Sontsivka, Ukraine DIED: March 5, 1953, Moscow
▶ COMPOSED: 1924–25 ▶ WORLD PREMIERE: June 6, 1925, in Paris, conducted by Serge Koussevitzky ▶ CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA PREMIERE: January 17, 2020, at Miami’s Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, before performing it in Cleveland that March. Music Director Franz Welser-Möst conducted all performances. ▶ ORCHESTRATION: 2 flutes, piccolo, 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion (triangle, snare drum, bass drum, cymbals, tambourine, castanets), piano, and strings ▶ DURATION: 35 minutes
PROKOFIEV’S SECOND SYMPHONY is a magnificent example of the craze for “machine music” that gripped composers in the 1920s. While musical depictions of a train whistle or the sound of an engine chugging had been represented in songs and piano pieces since their invention, the idea of noise as an aesthetic concept belongs wholly to the period after World War I, when mechanisms of progress and industrialization — including aeroplanes, motor cars, and factories — suddenly provided modernist composers with fresh sources of inspiration. Machine music was, in many ways, in direct conflict with the ideals of 19th-century Romanticism and turnof-the-century Impressionism. Its deliberate noisiness and its inescapably
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rhythmic beat were intoxicating elements — and a direct answer against earlier, lusher music. In Italy, composers explored nonmusical noises, including foghorns, sirens, and whistles. Soviet composers were encouraged to applaud the work of hydroelectric dams and large-scale machines in the guise of orchestral music. In France, where Sergei Prokofiev was based during the decade, musicians favored making traditional instruments imitate clocks, hammers, and other mechanical tools. Maurice Ravel wrote an article titled “Finding Tunes in Factories.” American composer George Antheil toured London, Berlin, and Paris from 1922 to 1923, giving concerts that
IMAGE COURTESY OF CHRONICLE / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO
Illustrator Alexis Kow designed this poster for French carmaker Panhard in 1932, celebrating the mechanical invention within the transportation industry.
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featured his compositions Mechanisms and Airplane Sonata. At the same time, Swiss composer Arthur Honegger was completing Pacific 231, which represents a mighty steam locomotive getting up to speed and braking to a halt. It first “pulled out of the station” at a concert in Paris on May 8, 1924, under the baton of Serge Koussevitzky, who would also lead the premiere of Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 2. Directly inspired by Honegger as well as new musical ideas and experimentation, Prokofiev composed his Second Symphony, describing it as a work “of iron and steel.” The music was clearly influenced by the era’s fascination with mechanistic rhythm and brutal noisiness. This is music that is exhilarating and exciting. Its unrelenting rhythm, heavy textures, and loudness are reinforced
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by intense dissonance, with crunching harmony high in the trumpets, low in the trombones, or everywhere all at once. All in all, it is a virtuoso performance in audacity and cheek. Much of the point was to signal that this is modern music. The year was 1925, and this was Prokofiev proving that he could be more advanced — or brutally noisy and clankery clangy-bangy — than Stravinsky. That he too could shock the intelligentsia as well as the bourgeoisie. Of course, not even in the first movement can the heavy artillery keep firing throughout. There is a very short moment where the tempo slackens, and later, some longer moments where the texture thins. Yet with only one or two prominent thematic ideas — a downward glissando in the trumpets, the octave leaps in the violins — the music is powered not by conventional melody and keys, but by power itself. Why Prokofiev chose to model the second movement as a theme and variations is a mystery, for although it provides some welcome repose after the bludgeoning of the first movement, the new mood does not last — and soon again every opportunity for renewed violence is seized. (Some commentators have suggested Beethoven’s final piano sonata, Op. 111, provided a model in key structure and the use of a theme and variations format. Franz Welser-Möst says he is reminded of another Beethoven sonata, the “Hammerklavier,” Op. 106, for the kind of wild and audacious experimentation pursued in these two pieces.)
IMAGE COURTESY OF ARCHIVART / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO
THE MUS I C
IMAGE COURTESY OF THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART / THE MERRILL C. BERMAN COLLECTION. THE ABBY ALDRICH ROCKEFELLER ENDOWMENT FOR PRINTS
Inspired by surrealism and cubism, French graphic designer A.M. Cassandre helped define a new Modernist style, seen in posters for the Nord Express train (1927, below left) and the Paris newspaper L’Intransigent (1925).
The musical theme of the second movement, begun by the oboe, is long and elegant, not unlike some motifs in Prokofiev’s later symphonies. Its comfortable harmony is welcome. In the first variation, the theme is heard in the lower strings, with delicate counterpoints wandering above and below it. The second variation is more inventive with some remarkable textures in the strings. In the third variation, a quicker tempo is reached. There are hints of forceful dissonance, but the temperature is largely under restraint. The fourth variation is a beautiful Larghetto. This is the last chance for our clevelandorchestra.com
ears to enjoy a peaceful resolution, because the fifth variation brings back madcap activity and crunching dissonance. Things intensify even more in the sixth variation, which builds to the most overwhelmingly brutal climax of all. In the midst of such turmoil, the theme is still heard, shouted out by trumpets and horns. This return of the theme offers much needed consolation, and the music ends on a magically mysterious chord in the strings, played pianissimo. — Hugh Macdonald Hugh Macdonald is Avis H. Blewett Professor Emeritus of Music at Washington University in St. Louis. He has written books on Beethoven, Berlioz, Bizet, and Scriabin, as well as Music in 1853: The Biography of a Year.
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THE MUS I C
Symphony, Op. 21 by Anton Webern BORN : December 3, 1883, in Vienna DIED: September 15, 1945, in Mittersill, Austria
▶ COMPOSED: 1927–28 ▶ WORLD PREMIERE: December 18, 1929, at a League of Composer’s concert at Town Hall in New York City ▶ CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA PREMIERE: March 3, 1966, with Gunther Schuller conducting ▶ ORCHESTRATION: clarinet, bass clarinet, 2 horns, harp, violins, violas, and cellos ▶ DURATION: 10 minutes
LIKE PROKOFIEV’S SECOND SYMPHONY ,
Anton Webern’s only symphony was composed in the wildly exploratory 1920s and both works are in two movements, the second being a set of variations. In every other respect, they could not be more different. Where the Prokofiev is heavily scored, brutally noisy, and thickly textured, the Webern is for a tiny orchestra, never far from silence, and thin to a vanishing point. Where the Prokofiev is prodigally repetitive, the Webern is microscopically concentrated. What the listener hears in Webern’s Symphony and what the analyst can read in the score might seem to be worlds apart, although the composer would argue that the strict technical structure of the work accounts for its aesthetic effect. The most obvious feature is the isolation of notes, so that players generally have a space before 8 | 2023/2024 SEASON
and after each note and a pitch interval, sometimes very wide, between two consecutive notes. Every note is audible, and every note has a value, which it could not enjoy in a larger, fuller work. The pulse changes frequently. While the choice and sequence of notes is strictly organized according to the twelve-tone technique following the pioneering example of Schoenberg, Webern’s revered teacher, the composer’s work is not done there. He still has to determine the length, timing, dynamics, and attack mode of every note, the tempo and its alternations, and the general mood of the piece. A single pitch, such as a D flat, can be sounded at any octave.
Anton Webern (depicted in 1912) deployed the tenets of twelve-tone technique with the meticulous care of a watchmaker.
PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
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THE MUS I C
repeated notes and itself lasts only about 12 seconds. The variations run on from each other without breaks, the speed varying from one to the next. In a sense the whole work is built as a series of variations, since the same 12-note series is applied throughout. On paper (for the technically inclined) this work can be resolved into the rigorous application of a specially constructed symmetrical series of 12 notes, the second six of which are an inversion of the first six. The first movement is also a series of interlocking canons, which can be heard at the opening since the first three notes on the second horn are echoed in inversion by the first horn, a process that is elaborated throughout the movement. Furthermore, the first movement is mirrored around a point at the start of the second half, so that the music from that moment is played backwards, ending on the isolated notes with which it began, an inaudible effect since the timbre, pitch, and spacing of the notes are now quite different. Webern marked every note with meticulous directions on how each is to be played. It is clear that he worked with extreme precision and care, like a watchmaker, and he worked extremely slowly. The brevity and fierce concentration of this music has never been equaled. — Hugh Macdonald
Alban Berg (left) with Webern in 1923. The two, along with their teacher Arnold Schoenberg, were the major figures of the Second Viennese School.
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PHOTO COURTESY OF MEDIA STOREHOUSE
Such an approach does not require a Mahlerian timespan. Webern says all he has to say in 10 minutes, and the music makes a striking impression since it seems to negate all the assumptions behind traditional concepts of melody and harmony. Hearing it for the first time is like one’s first encounter with abstract art: it creates its own world of musical experience, to be judged on its own terms. Both movements are short, the first twice as long as the second. The first movement is in two repeated sections, ranging more widely in pitch and dynamics in the second half. Brief silences intervene from time to time. The second movement is a series of variations on a theme that begins with pairs of
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THE MUS I C
Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major, Op. 100 by Sergei Prokofiev
▶ COMPOSED: 1944 ▶ WORLD PREMIERE: January 13, 1945, with the composer conducting the USSR State Symphony Orchestra in Moscow
▶ ORCHESTRATION: 2 flutes, piccolo, 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets, E-flat clarinet, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion (triangle, snare drum, woodblock, bass drum, cymbals, tambourine, tam-tam), harp, piano, and strings ▶ DURATION: about 45 minutes
PROKOFIEV’S SEVEN SYMPHONIES represent nearly every phase of his diversely active life. The momentous events experienced by all Russians in the first half of the 20th century coincided with his own half-century as a composer, yet, oddly enough, not one of his seven symphonies stands out as distinctly Russian in the way that Tchaikovsky’s or Rachmaninoff’s symphonies do. His First Symphony, the “Classical” Symphony, was deliberately different from anything written in Russia (or anywhere else) at that time, exploring a modern take on a Haydn symphony and anticipating Stravinsky’s radical neoclassicism. The Second took its cue from the craze for noisy machine music popular in Italy and France. The Third and Fourth symphonies were salvaged from stage works which had not found
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success on the stage: the opera The Fiery Angel and the ballet The Prodigal Son, respectively. The first of these evoked the world of spirits and demons, the second the biblical parable. Perhaps it was because his melodic invention was so rich that he felt no need to draw on Russian folk song in his symphonic works. The last three symphonies are immediately recognizable as his work, with the Fifth particularly prized for its tunefulness and athletic energy. It was composed in 1944, but it is not a war-torn work. It is a purely symphonic work, reflective and introspective at times, but primarily a vehicle for the composer’s exultant delight in his own output. Composer Sergei Prokofiev captured circa 1918, during his time spent in the United States.
1064940_Cleveland Orchestra_Week 10_sw
▶ CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA PREMIERE: January 23, 1947, conducted by then– Music Director George Szell
PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
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THE MUS I C
Prokofiev accepts the classical pattern of four contrasted movements and within those movements draws on classical sonata and rondo forms (first and last movements) and ternary A-B-A form (second and third movements). Themes from the first movement are heard from time to time later in the symphony, sometimes modified or disguised. The abundance of melody is self-evident, with the composer’s fondness for themes that reach upwards in aspiration and promise, and for presenting themes at two levels, an octave apart, or, as in the slow movement, two octaves apart. This can be heard on clarinet with bass clarinet, on violins with cello support, or on other combinations. The first and third movements move at a stately pace, broad in design and expression, while the second and fourth movements remind us of Prokofiev’s great gift as a composer of ballet. Spiky rhythms and astringent harmonies suggest dance and, often, a sly sense of humor. The composer calls for a large orchestra for this symphony, used with constant virtuosity. The piano supplies rhythmic accents, supported by judicious percussion. The trumpets blare out strong melody. A special moment comes at the beginning of the last movement when, in a gradual disengagement from the slow movement, the tempo is still unhurried. Cellos divided into four sections quietly recall the opening theme of the symphony before a wily clarinet presents the main rondo theme of the finale. 14 | 2023/2024 SEASON
The symphony was well received at its first performance in 1945 (as was also the mellower Sixth Symphony in 1947). But Prokofiev’s health deteriorated soon after, and any euphoria the composer might have felt at the time was thrown to the winds when, in February 1948, the Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party issued a warning to musicians against “formalist and antipopular tendencies,” singling out Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Khachaturian, and several others for writing music that was “antidemocratic and foreign to the Soviet people and its artistic tastes.”
I conceived of [the Fifth Symphony] as glorifying the grandeur of the human spirit ... praising the free and happy man — his strength, his generosity, and the purity of his soul. — Sergei Prokofiev
For the rest of his life (which ended, as fate would have it, on the same day as Stalin’s), Prokofiev worked under the shadow of official disapproval, the hardship it caused, and his failing health. Nevertheless, he produced a Seventh Symphony in 1952, full of nostalgia and melancholy, but lacking the personal conviction and the sense of joy that propels the Fifth Symphony. — Hugh Macdonald
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TH E CO N DU C TOR
Franz Welser-Möst Music Director KELVIN SMITH FAMILY CHAIR
PHOTO BY JULIA WESELY
FRANZ WELSER-MÖST is among today’s
most distinguished conductors. The 2023–24 season marks his 22nd year as Music Director of The Cleveland Orchestra. With the future of their acclaimed partnership extended to 2027, he will be the longest-serving musical leader in the ensemble’s history. The New York Times has declared Cleveland under WelserMöst’s direction to be “America’s most brilliant orchestra,” praising its virtuosity, elegance of sound, variety of color, and chamber-like musical cohesion. With Welser-Möst, The Cleveland Orchestra has been praised for its inventive programming, ongoing support of new music, and innovative work in presenting operas. To date, the Orchestra and Welser-Möst have been showcased around the world in 20 international tours together. In the 2023–24 season, Welser-Möst is a featured Perspectives Artist at Carnegie Hall, where he leads The Cleveland Orchestra and the Vienna Philharmonic as part of the series, Fall of the Weimar Republic: Dancing on the Precipice. In addition to his commitment to Cleveland, Welser-Möst enjoys a particularly close and productive relationship with the Vienna Philharmonic as a guest conductor. He has conducted its celebrated New Year’s Concert three times, and regularly leads the orchestra clevelandorchestra.com
at home in Vienna, as well as on tours. Welser-Möst is also a regular guest at the Salzburg Festival where he has led a series of acclaimed opera productions, including Rusalka, Der Rosenkavalier, Fidelio, Die Liebe der Danae, Aribert Reimann’s opera Lear, and Richard Strauss’s Salome. In 2020, he conducted Strauss’s Elektra on the 100th anniversary of its premiere. He has since returned to Salzburg to conduct additional performances of Elektra in 2021 and Giacomo Puccini’s Il trittico in 2022. In 2019, Welser-Möst was awarded the Gold Medal in the Arts by the Kennedy Center International Committee on the Arts. Other honors include The Cleveland Orchestra’s Distinguished Service Award, two Cleveland Arts Prize citations, the Vienna Philharmonic’s “Ring of Honor,” recognition from the Western Law Center for Disability Rights, honorary membership in the Vienna Singverein, appointment as an Academician of the European Academy of Yuste, and the Kilenyi Medal from the Bruckner Society of America. | 19
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AB OU T THE CLE VEL AN D ORC HESTR A 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.
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TH E CLEV EL A N D ORCHESTR A
Franz Welser-Möst, Music Director KELVIN SMITH FAMILY CHAIR FIRST VIOLINS
Eli Matthews1 Patricia M. Kozerefski and Richard J. Bogomolny Chair
Ralph Curry
ENGLISH HORN
Brian Thornton William P. Blair III Chair
Blossom-Lee Chair
Sonja Braaten Molloy
David Alan Harrell
Robert Walters Samuel C. and Bernette K. Jaffe Chair
Jung-Min Amy Lee
Carolyn Gadiel Warner
Martha Baldwin
ASSOCIATE CONCERTMASTER
Elayna Duitman
Dane Johansen
Gretchen D. and Ward Smith Chair
Ioana Missits
Paul Kushious
Jessica Lee
Sae Shiragami
BASSES
ASSISTANT CONCERTMASTER
Kathleen Collins
Maximilian Dimoff* Clarence T. Reinberger Chair
David Radzynski 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
Jeffrey Zehngut
Beth Woodside Emma Shook Dr. Jeanette Grasselli Brown and Dr. Glenn R. Brown Chair Yun-Ting Lee Jiah Chung Chapdelaine Liyuan Xie
VIOLAS
Derek Zadinsky2 Charles Paul1 Mary E. and F. Joseph Callahan Chair Mark Atherton Thomas Sperl Henry Peyrebrune Charles Barr Memorial 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
Wesley Collins* Chaillé H. and Richard B. Tullis Chair
Charles Carleton
BASS CLARINET
Scott Dixon
Amy Zoloto Myrna and James Spira Chair
Stanley Konopka2
HARP
Mark Jackobs Jean Wall Bennett Chair
Trina Struble* Alice Chalifoux Chair
Lisa Boyko Richard and Nancy Sneed Chair Richard Waugh Lembi Veskimets The Morgan Sisters Chair
BASSOONS John Clouser* Louise Harkness Ingalls Chair
FLUTES
Gareth Thomas
Joshua Smith* Elizabeth M. and William C. Treuhaft Chair
Barrick Stees2 Sandra L. Haslinger Chair
Saeran St. Christopher
Jonathan Sherwin
Jessica Sindell Austin B. and Ellen W. Chinn Chair
CONTRABASSOON
Mary Kay Fink
HORNS
William Bender
PICCOLO
Gareth Zehngut
Nathaniel Silberschlag* George Szell Memorial Chair
CELLOS
Mary Kay Fink Anne M. and M. Roger Clapp Chair
Michael Mayhew§ Knight Foundation Chair
Mark Kosower* Louis D. Beaumont Chair
OBOES
Richard Weiss1 The GAR Foundation Chair
Frank Rosenwein* Edith S. Taplin Chair
Hans Clebsch
Genevieve Smelser
SECOND VIOLINS
Charles Bernard2 Helen Weil Ross Chair
Meghan Guegold Hege
Stephen Rose* Alfred M. and Clara T. Rankin Chair
Bryan Dumm Muriel and Noah Butkin Chair
Corbin Stair Sharon and Yoash Wiener Chair
Jason Yu2 James and Donna Reid Chair
Tanya Ell Thomas J. and Judith Fay Gruber 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
24 | 2023/2024 SEASON
Eliesha Nelson Anthony and Diane Wynshaw-Boris Chair Joanna Patterson Zakany
2
Jeffrey Rathbun2 Everett D. and Eugenia S. McCurdy Chair Robert Walters
Jonathan Sherwin
Jesse McCormick Robert B. Benyo Chair Richard King
TRUMPETS
BASS TROMBONE
LIBRARIANS
CONDUCTORS
Michael Sachs* Robert and Eunice Podis Weiskopf Chair
Luke Sieve
Michael Ferraguto Joe and Marlene Toot Chair
Christoph von Dohnányi
EUPHONIUM & BASS TRUMPET
Donald Miller
Daniel Reith
Lyle Steelman2 James P. and Dolores D. Storer Chair
Richard Stout
ENDOWED CHAIRS CURRENTLY UNOCCUPIED
Michael Miller
Yasuhito Sugiyama* Nathalie C. Spence and Nathalie S. Boswell Chair
Elizabeth Ring and William Gwinn Mather Chair
Michael Sachs* Mary Elizabeth and G. Robert Klein Chair
TIMPANI
Paul and Lucille Jones Chair
Michael Miller
PERCUSSION
TROMBONES
Marc Damoulakis* Margaret Allen Ireland Chair
Jack Sutte
CORNETS
PHOTO BY ROGER MASTROIANNI
Brian Wendel* Gilbert W. and Louise I. Humphrey Chair Richard Stout Alexander and Marianna C. McAfee Chair Shachar Israel2
clevelandorchestra.com
TUBA
vacant
Thomas Sherwood Tanner Tanyeri
KEYBOARD INSTRUMENTS Carolyn Gadiel Warner Marjory and Marc L. Swartzbaugh Chair
MUSIC DIRECTOR LAUREATE
ASSISTANT CONDUCTOR
Virginia M. Linsdseth, PhD, 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
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.
| 25
TH E 2023/2024 SEAS ON
CALE N DAR Pre-concert lectures are held in Reinberger Chamber Hall one hour prior to the performance.
WINTER JAN 17 & 18 PROKOFIEV 2 & 5 Franz Welser-Möst, conductor PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 2 WEBERN Symphony PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 5 Pre-concert lecture by Eric Charnofsky
FEB 1 RECITAL
Beethoven for Three Leonidas Kavakos, violin Yo-Yo Ma, cello Emanuel Ax, piano BEETHOVEN Piano Trio, Op. 70, No. 1, “Ghost” BEETHOVEN/WOSNER Symphony No. 1 BEETHOVEN Piano Trio, Op. 70, No. 2
FEB 9 – 11 BEETHOVEN’S FATEFUL FIFTH Jukka-Pekka Saraste, conductor SCHUBERT Symphony No. 6 BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 5 Pre-concert lecture by James O’Leary
FEB 15 & 17 RAVEL’S MOTHER GOOSE George Benjamin, conductor Tim Mead, countertenor The Cleveland Orchestra Chorus DIETER AMMANN glut GEORGE BENJAMIN Dream of the Song KNUSSEN The Way to Castle Yonder RAVEL Ma mère l’Oye (complete ballet) Pre-concert lecture by James Wilding
FEB 22 – 25 BEETHOVEN’S PASTORAL Philippe Herreweghe, conductor Jean-Guihen Queyras, cello BEETHOVEN Overture to Egmont HAYDN Cello Concerto No. 1 BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 6, “Pastoral” Pre-concert lecture by David Rothenberg
FEB 29 – MAR 2 KANNEH-MASON PLAYS SCHUMANN Susanna Mälkki, conductor Isata Kanneh-Mason, piano
MAR 7 – 9 BRAHMS’S FOURTH SYMPHONY Fabio Luisi, conductor Mary Kay Fink, piccolo WEBER Overture to Oberon ODED ZEHAVI Aurora BRAHMS Symphony No. 4 Pre-concert lecture by Francesca Brittan
MAR 10 RECITAL
Chopin & Schubert Yefim Bronfman, piano SCHUBERT Piano Sonata No. 14 R . SCHUMANN Carnival Scenes from Vienna CHOPIN Piano Sonata No. 3
MAR 14, 16 & 17 LEVIT PLAYS MOZART Franz Welser-Möst, conductor Igor Levit, piano MOZART Piano Concerto No. 27 BRUCKNER Symphony No. 4, “Romantic” Pre-concert lecture by Cicilia Yudha
J.S. BACH/WEBERN Ricercare from Musical Offering * C. SCHUMANN Piano Concerto HINDEMITH Mathis der Maler Symphony Pre-concert lecture by Eric Charnofsky
For tickets & more information visit:
clevelandorchestra.com
* Not performed on the Friday matinee concert
SPRING
APR 14
MAR 21 – 23 SIBELIUS’S SECOND SYMPHONY
Schumann & Brahms
MAY 2 – 4 LANG LANG PLAYS SAINT-SAËNS
Evgeny Kissin, piano Matthias Goerne, baritone
Franz Welser-Möst, conductor Lang Lang, piano *
R . SCHUMANN Dichterliebe BRAHMS Four Ballades, Op. 10 BRAHMS Selected Songs
SAINT-SAËNS Piano Concerto No. 2 * BERLIOZ Symphonie fantastique
Dalia Stasevska, conductor Josefina Maldonado, mezzo-soprano RAUTAVAARA Cantus Arcticus PERRY Stabat Mater SIBELIUS Symphony No. 2 Pre-concert lecture by Kevin McBrien
APR 4 & 6 CITY NOIR John Adams, conductor James McVinnie, organ Timothy McAllister, saxophone GABRIELLA SMITH Breathing Forests DEBUSSY Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun JOHN ADAMS City Noir Pre-concert lecture by Eric Charnofsky
APR 11 – 13 ELGAR’S CELLO CONCERTO Klaus Mäkelä, conductor Sol Gabetta, cello Thomas Hampson, baritone * The Cleveland Orchestra Chorus *
RECITAL
Pre-concert lecture by Caroline Oltmanns
APR 18 – 20 YUJA WANG PLAYS RAVEL & STRAVINSKY Klaus Mäkelä, conductor Yuja Wang, piano RAVEL Concerto for the Left Hand STRAVINSKY Concerto for Piano and Wind Instruments STRAVINSKY The Rite of Spring Pre-concert lecture by Caroline Oltmanns
APR 26 – 28 RACHMANINOFF’S SECOND PIANO CONCERTO Lahav Shani, conductor Beatrice Rana, piano UNSUK CHIN subito con forza RACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No. 2 BARTÓK Concerto for Orchestra Pre-concert lecture by James O’Leary
JIMMY LÓPEZ BELLIDO Perú negro ELGAR Cello Concerto WALTON Belshazzar’s Feast *
MAY 16, 18, 24 & 26 MOZART’S MAGIC FLUTE Franz Welser-Möst, conductor Nikolaus Habjan, director Julian Prégardien, tenor Ludwig Mittelhammer, baritone Christina Landshamer, soprano The Cleveland Orchestra Chorus MOZART The Magic Flute Staged production sung in German with projected supertitles
MAY 23 & 25 MOZART’S GRAN PARTITA Franz Welser-Möst, conductor Leila Josefowicz, violin Trina Struble, harp WAGNER Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde JÜRI REINVERE Concerto for Violin and Harp MOZART Serenade No. 10, “Gran Partita” Pre-concert lecture by Michael Strasser
Pre-concert lecture by James Wilding
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YOU R V IS IT 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
IN THE EVENT OF AN EMERGENCY
As a courtesy to others, please silence all devices prior to the start of the concert.
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.
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.
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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.
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.
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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.
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