Music lovers alert!
The Cleveland Orchestra announced the 2024-2025 season on March 15 as part of an event for patrons (and reviewers). It looks to be a rich season with classic favorites (Strauss, Bach, Beethoven, and more) plus new works.
To begin the evening, Cleveland Orchestra violinist Katherine Bormann gave an engaging introduction to “TCO” in general. Next, Music Director Franz Welser-Möst answered questions from Andre Gremillet (TCO President and CEO) about the season.
And what a lineup. There seems to be a little something for everyone. In brief remarks, Welser-Möst touched on some aspects, especially the emphasis on Strauss and an opera by Leoš Janáček. Those who recall the orchestra’s previous performance of a Janáček opera, The Cunning Little Vixen in 2014, may now join me in looking forward to the composer’s Jenůfa in 2025.
Other notable orchestra concerts include pianist Igor Levit playing Beethoven concertos (over the course of three separate programs in November), “An American in Paris” program featuring saxophonist Steven Banks playing Guillaume Connesson’s “A Kind of Trane” (January 9-12), and Bach’s Easter Oratorio with The Cleveland Orchestra Chorus.
An engaging concert program (all too brief) followed the talks. It featured the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, conducted by Daniel Reith. They offered Brahm’s “Academic Festival Overture,” an appropriately youthful piece with drinking songs incorporated into the work’s more “orchestral” elements.
Next, The Cleveland Orchestra, also conducted by Reith, played Ravel’s “Rapsodie espagnole.” The orchestra skillfully evoked the charm inherent in the work (and in Spain, for that matter).
It was a short evening that left us, as intended, looking forward to more.
Bottom Line: Looks like another exciting season ahead. The full schedule is on The Cleveland Orchestra web site. It provides all the information needed to find just the right concert (or two or fifty).