Sun 8/1
The crown jewel of the vibrant Cleveland arts community is the globally acclaimed Cleveland Orchestra, whose illustrious sound was never fully extinguished by the COVID pandemic. The orchestra’s endeavor was provided to fans on the Adela App throughout the pandemic.
The orchestra returned to its summer home this July with the orchestra staff and Blossom Music Center personnel working diligently to safeguard the musicians and its admiringly enthusiastic audience with the highest safety measures and health protocols in place.
On Sunday August 1, no wind or torrential rain could stop the overzealous fans or songbirds from enjoying the Cleveland Orchestra’s all-Beethoven concert at the beautiful outdoor amphitheater.
Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58, was composed between 1805–1806. Beethoven was the piano soloist in the public premiere as part of the concert in December 1808 at Vienna’s Theater an der Wien. In 1808, Beethoven baffled his audience by opening a symphony with the piano as a solo instrument. The unaccompanied opening was unconventional and groundbreaking at the time
This past Sunday evening, under the admirable guidance of conductor Herbert Blomstedt, a robust and instinctive nonagenarian and fan favorite of the Cleveland Orchestra’s devoted audience, pianist Garrick Ohlsson and the orchestra dazzled its besotted listeners with Ohlsson’s tender mastery and virtuoso command. Ohlsson is a renowned pianist with a global reputation for artistic skill and artistry; he is a regular soloist with the Cleveland Orchestra, the only American to win first prize in the VIII International Chopin Piano Competition. Ohlsson’s powerful and fluid runs and restrained passion kept listeners breathless in anticipation of every nuanced measure.
The first part (Allegro Moderato) was so quiet that even the songbirds who cling to the rafters of the open-aired amphitheater seemed to be silent in awe. The second part (devised to resemble a musical analogy to Orpheus who triumphs over hardships) had to compete with a cloudburst and a torrential rainstorm. The packed audience on the waterlogged lawn hunkered down under protective cover in silent reverie, not wanting to miss a single note. Part three (Rondo Vivace) saw the rain lessening and joy spreading from the orchestra and Ohlsson’s elegant solos. Maestro Blomstedt lead his enraptured and rain-soaked audience to a joyful conclusion of Beethoven’s piano concerto with Ohlsson’s gentle luminosity lingering past numerous standing ovations and into an intermission bustling with children frolicking on the saturated lawn as the sun peaked out just before setting.
The second part of this momentous evening was the enchanting unfolding of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7. Beethoven called it “one of the happiest products of my poor talents.” He premiered it to benefit soldiers wounded in the battle of Hanau, a bloody and hard-fought battle which became a turning point in the Napoleonic Wars. Its premiere concert was a triumphant crowd-pleaser and became one of Beethoven’s most successful concerts performed in his lifetime. The concert foresaw imminent victory and was celebratory in nature.
The Cleveland Orchestra’s pandemic-weary audience on Sunday was in a buoyant mood following Beethoven’s piano concerto, and their exuberance rose with the progression of the symphony’s four movements. Blomstedt led the masterful orchestra through an elegant and refined first and second movement. The song birds in the rafters kept tune with the flute’s tranquility in the first movement. Beethoven’s seventh crescendos into joyousness in the third and fourth movements. This rapt audience kept pace and erupted into a frenzied acclamation with applause and cheers for innumerable ovations for this exceptional orchestra and its conductor for a riveting evening of music.
[Written by Lisa DeBenedictis]