Thu 2/16 @ 7:30PM
Fri 2/17 @ 7:30PM
Sat 2/18 @ 8PM
Over the last two weeks, Cleveland Orchestra patrons have had the chance to hear one of the rising stars of the conducting world, 27-year-old Finnish conductor Klaus Mäkelä, currently chief conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, music director of Orchestra de Paris and artistic partner of the famed Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra, where he’s slated to move up to Chief Conductor in 2027. And they got to hear some modern music, pieces composed in 2018 and 2019, along with repertoire staples Debussy, Ravel and Mahler.
This week it’s all about tradition and well-established figures in the classical music world, jumping from one of the youngest conductors to lead major orchestras to one of the oldest active conductors: 95-year-old Herbert Blomstedt, who retired in 1995 after a decade as music director of the San Francisco Symphony.
The program couldn’t be more traditional and crowd-pleasing, consisting of Beethoven’s upbeat Symphony No. 7 and Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 18 (“Paradis”). And the solo artist for the concerto is another musician who’s earned his reputation over a long career: 73-year-old pianist Emanuel Ax.
clevelandorchestra/severance/wk-13-Blomstedt/