Thu 10/9 @ 7:30 PM
Fri 10/10 @ 7PM
Sat 10/11 @ 7PM
Sun 10/12 @ 3PM
Many of the classical musicians whose names are well known in the general culture are older. But there’s a new generation coming in. And Chinese pianist Lang Lang, who is 32, is at the forefront of it. With the pizzazz and passion he puts into both his music and presentation, and strategic high-profile appearances — the Olympics, the Grammys (performing with Metallica!), appearances on The Tonight Show and Good Morning America among others, a performance in the White House — he’s attracted a lot of attention outside traditional concert halls while still earning critical praise for his playing.
He’ll be adding some sizzle to the Severance Hall stage when he performs four concerts with the Cleveland Orchestra. On Thu 10/9 and Sun 10/12, he’ll be joining them for Chopin’s Andante spianato & Grand Polonaise brilliante and Strauss’ Burleske. The orchestra will also perform Strauss’ Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks and the world premier of a commissioned piece by Matthias Pintscher, idyl.
On Friday, for its first Fridays@7 concert of the season, Lang Lang will again join the orchestra, this time playing only the Burleske, while the orchestra reprises idyl and Till Eulenspiegel. That concert is performed without intermission and includes post-concert performances by gypsy jazz ensemble Hot Club of Detroit in the foyer and Brazilian guitarist Luca Munduca in the restaurant. Food and drinks are available, and the audience is invited to stick around and mingle.
Tickets are $35-$149.
What about Saturday? Well, that’s when serious music lovers (and serious Lang Lang fans) can come back to Severance Hall for a completely different program by Lang Lang and the Cleveland Orchestra. The Orchestra will get things warmed up with music from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker Act II (no, don’t freak — it’s not December yet!) After intermission Lang Lang takes his seat at the piano for Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1.
Tickets are $75-$140.