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I love the Cleveland Orchestra. Conductor Franz Welser-Most is slated to stay until 2018, which is good news for us because he is also the Director of the Vienna Staatsoper (Vienna State Opera) and other ridiculously amazing musical appointments. Did you know that the Cleveland Orchestra is the only U.S. orchestra to play in the Musikverein? The Orchestra is world-class as one of the top 5 of the U.S.! We are sitting on a total gem in this city. If only we cheered the Orchestra on as we did our sports teams!
As a young musician, I listened to Cleveland Orchestra recordings to understand the feel of the music. I definitely have a special connection to this Orchestra, esp now that I love this city!
Severance Hall is beautiful. I really like Ferdinand H's description: "Severance Hall's seating area is actually quite intimate. The lighting and architecture really recalls the days of big steel and the type of opulance that the roaring 20s possessed. The lighting coupled with the amazing resonance really knocked my socks off."
One of my favorite places to listen to the Orchestra is during its Blossom Festival. I've been there every weekend now for picnics on the lawn during the concert. It's quite indulgent to be able to lie down under the stars in a national forest and listen to a world class orchestra play. Some of the notable works that I've heard were Beethoven's Violin Concerto (with Gil Shaham -- knocked my socks off), Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet, Shostakovich Symphony No. 5, Mahler, etc. I can't wait to listen to more.
On weekends like John Williams' tributes, Blossom is packed with close to 20,000 people in attendance. We were taken to another place while we sat on the lawn listening to soundtracks. The acoustics there are very bright and flow out over the lawn.
If you can't already tell, I love the Cleveland Orchestra!
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