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Timothy Robson

Timothy Robson

We are saddened to learn of the death of Tim Robson, a long-time Bachtrack contributor (2012-21). Tim was an organist in Cleveland, Ohio and his repertoire extended to all musical periods, with a special interest in contemporary music. As a blogger he was a regular contributor to ClevelandClassical.com. In his parallel career as a librarian, Tim was Associate Director for Academic Engagement at the Kelvin Smith Library of Case Western Reserve University. Our condolences to his family.

Author:Timothy Robson

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Tom Borrow makes brilliant Cleveland Orchestra debut with Ravel's G major concerto

By Timothy Robson, 11 November 2021

Conductor Thierry Fischer steps in at short notice to conduct an early work by Messiaen, Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition and Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major – a triumph for all concerned.

****1

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Tom Borrow makes brilliant Cleveland Orchestra debut with Ravel

By Timothy Robson

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Sheku Kanneh-Mason makes highly successful debut with The Cleveland Orchestra

By Timothy Robson, 04 November 2021

Jakub Hrůša conducts the program, which also includes stirring performances of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s rarely heard orchestral Ballade and Dvořák’s Symphony no. 6.

****1

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Kanneh-Mason makes highly successful debut with Cleveland Orchestra

By Timothy Robson

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The Cleveland Orchestra shows off all its talents in Korngold's sole symphony

By Timothy Robson, 21 October 2021

Franz Welser-Möst delivered a first-rate account of the Symphony in F sharp major, which was panned at its premiere but has seen a recent spike in popularity.

*****

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The Cleveland Orchestra shows its talent in Korngold's sole symphony

By Timothy Robson

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The Cleveland Orchestra makes a triumphant return to Severance Hall

By Timothy Robson, 14 October 2021

After 19 months without live performances, Franz Welser-Möst and The Cleveland Orchestra opened the 2021/22 season with brilliant performances of works by Strauss and Prokofiev, plus a new concerto by Joan Tower, written especially for cellist Alisa Weilerstein.

*****

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The Cleveland Orchestra makes a triumphant return to Severance Hall

By Timothy Robson

Karina Canellakis makes a strong impression in her debut with The Cleveland Orchestra

By Timothy Robson, 15 August 2021

The rising American conductor led works by Dvořák and Tchaikovsky, along with a fine performance of Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto no. 1 with Behzod Abduraimov and Michael Sachs as soloists.

****1

Karina Canellakis debuts with The Cleveland Orchestra

By Timothy Robson

Best of summer: Blomstedt, Beethoven and The Cleveland Orchestra at Blossom

By Timothy Robson, 01 August 2021

At age 94, Herbert Blomstedt led a superb all-Beethoven concert with the Cleveland Orchestra at the Blossom Music Center, with Garrick Ohlsson an exemplary soloist in the Fourth Piano Concerto.

*****

Best of summer: Blomstedt, Beethoven and The Cleveland Orchestra

By Timothy Robson

Jane Glover and Conrad Tao headline a superb all-Mozart concert in Cleveland

By Timothy Robson, 11 July 2021

Conductor Jane Glover capitalized on The Cleveland Orchestra’s affinity for Mozart in a Sunday evening concert at the Blossom Music Center, with the versatile pianist Conrad Tao.

****1

A superb all-Mozart concert in Cleveland

By Timothy Robson

A perfect pair: Barber’s Knoxville and Mahler's Fourth in Atlanta

By Timothy Robson, 10 June 2021

Robert Spano conducts a fine pairing of Romantic works in his final performance with Atlanta Symphony Orchestra after twenty years as their music director.

***11

A perfect pair: Barber’s Knoxville and Mahler's Fourth in Atlanta

By Timothy Robson

Delightful Bach and Schubert from McGegan in Seattle

By Timothy Robson, 13 May 2021

Bach’s First Orchestral Suite and Schubert’s Fifth Symphony were perfect vehicles for the Seattle Symphony’s transformation into a vivid Baroque/Classical ensemble under McGegan’s dynamic leadership.

****1

Delightful Bach and Schubert from McGegan in Seattle

By Timothy Robson

From solo flute to thunderous pipe organ: a concise yet substantial program in Cleveland

By Timothy Robson, 08 April 2021

TCO principal flute Joshua Smith stood out in seminal works for solo flute by Debussy and Takemitsu. Organist Paul Jacobs was a capable soloist in Poulenc’s concerto, while Franz Welser-Möst led imaginatively orchestrated segments of Prokofiev’s Visions fugitives.

***11

From solo flute to thunderous pipe organ in Cleveland

By Timothy Robson

Kitty Whately and Joseph Middleton offer a superb recital of English song at Leeds Lieder

By Timothy Robson, 27 March 2021

Kitty Whately’s parents, Kevin Whately and Madelaine Newton, joined the mezzo and pianist Joseph Middleton, reading poetry to illuminate the themes of the song groups.

****1

The Other Eden: superb recital of English song at Leeds Lieder

By Timothy Robson

The Cleveland Orchestra plays Shchedrin’s Carmen ballet with phantasmagorical brilliance

By Timothy Robson, 11 March 2021

The Cleveland Orchestra string and percussion sections intensify the multi-hued quirkiness of Shchedrin’s 1967 musical love letter to his ballerina wife.

****1

Shchedrin’s Carmen ballet played with phantasmagorical brilliance

By Timothy Robson

Variations of style and texture make for an outstanding Atlanta Symphony concert

By Timothy Robson, 04 March 2021

New works by Michael Abels and Clarice Assad, coupled with Britten’s early Sinfonietta and Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto, with the impeccable Yefim Bronfman, made for an exceptional concert conducted by Robert Spano.

****1

Variations of style and texture in Atlanta

By Timothy Robson

Randall Goosby proves refined soloist in Joseph Bologne violin concerto in Buffalo

By Timothy Robson, 09 February 2021

The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by JoAnn Falletta, turn in an elegant performances that included Ellen Taaffe Zwilich’s Prologue and Variations, as well as a Joseph Bologne de Saint-Georges Violin Concerto.

***11

Randall Goosby proves refined soloist in Buffalo

By Timothy Robson

Chicago Symphony players show their brilliance as chamber musicians

By Timothy Robson, 14 January 2021

Contrasting Gounod, Mozart and Ravel works were combined into an exhilarating package of technical virtuosity and musical finesse.

****1

Chicago Symphony players show their brilliance as chamber musicians

By Timothy Robson

Kalena Bovell conducts Chineke! in inspired performance of Hailstork

By Timothy Robson, 14 December 2020

The excellent program opened with Coleridge Taylor's Ballade and also included favorites by Haydn and Dvořák.

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Kalena Bovell conducts Chineke! in inspired performance of Hailstork

By Timothy Robson

Nicholas McGegan leads The Cleveland Orchestra in a joyful concert with a nod toward Christmas

By Timothy Robson, 10 December 2020

Familiar works by Bach, Handel and Corelli were enhanced by a fine performance of Mendelssohn's rarely played String Symphony no. 7.

****1

McGegan leads TCO in a joyful concert with a nod toward Christmas

By Timothy Robson

You Have the Right to Remain Silent: Anthony McGill performs Anthony Davis in Cincinnati

By Timothy Robson, 21 November 2020

Music Director Louis Langrée leads a program of Schubert, Julia Perry's Homunculus CF and Anthony Davis's You Have the Right to Remain Silent, featuring Anthony McGill as an outstanding clarinet soloist.

***11

You Have the Right to Remain Silent: Anthony McGill in Cincinnati

By Timothy Robson

Aurora Orchestra and Louis Schwizgebel delight at Kings Place

By Timothy Robson, 07 November 2020

The streamed concert showed the Aurora players' prowess as chamber musicians, joined by the excellent Swiss pianist in music by Mozart, Ravel and a specially commissioned new work by Sasha Scott.

****1

Aurora Orchestra and Louis Schwizgebel delight at Kings Place

By Timothy Robson

Magisterial performance of Rothko Chapel by George Jackson and the Brussels Philharmonic

By Timothy Robson, 06 November 2020

Part of Brussels' Ars Musica festival, the concert also included a fun world premiere by Claire-Mélanie Sinnhuber, and the riveting Streaming Arhythmia by Anna Thorvaldsdottir.

****1

Magisterial performance of Feldman's Rothko Chapel in Brussels

By Timothy Robson

Jacquelyn Stucker thrills in Strauss' Four Last Songs with the Detroit Symphony

By Timothy Robson, 23 October 2020

Donald Runnicles conducted an imaginative chamber version of Strauss' testamentary Lieder, plus Elgar's own take on the concerto grosso form in his Introduction and Allegro.

***11

Jacquelyn Stucker thrills in Strauss with the Detroit Symphony

By Timothy Robson

The Cleveland Orchestra emerges triumphant after a six-month pause

By Timothy Robson, 15 October 2020

The familiar qualities of blend and precision were in evidence in familiar works by Respighi and Tchaikovsky, as well as George Walker's thorny but arresting Antifonys.

****1

The Cleveland Orchestra emerges triumphant after a six-month pause

By Timothy Robson

Jader Bignamini makes a strong impression with the Detroit Symphony

By Timothy Robson, 18 September 2020

In one of his first assignments as Music Director in Detroit, Bignamini conducts rarely-heard works by two Americans, along with an 18th-century Classical symphony by the Chevalier de Saint-Georges.

***11

Jader Bignamini makes a strong impression with the Detroit Symphony

By Timothy Robson

Peter Mattei's moving Mahler in Gothenburg SO's digital season opener

By Timothy Robson, 10 September 2020

Baritone Peter Mattei brought both musical sensitivity as well as almost Berg-ian drama to Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, ably supported by Manfred Honeck and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, in a successful livestream concert.

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Peter Mattei's moving Mahler in Gothenburg season opener

By Timothy Robson

Meditations on Rilke: important new Michael Tilson Thomas work performed in Cleveland

By Timothy Robson, 22 February 2020

The outgoing music director of the San Francisco Symphony made a brilliant impression with his own Meditations on Rilke, with Sasha Cooke and Dashon Burton as soloists. Berlioz’ Symphonie fantastique was given a revelatory performance.

****1

Meditations on Rilke: important new MTT work performed in Cleveland

By Timothy Robson

Franz Welser-Möst leads Clevelanders in Prokofiev 6, plus picturesque works by Bridge and Dukas

By Timothy Robson, 30 January 2020

It’s been 97 years since The Cleveland Orchestra performed Frank Bridge’s The Sea, but this weekend’s performance was worth the wait. Paul Dukas’s evergreen The Sorcerer’s Apprentice received a precise and jovial performance.

***11

Franz Welser-Möst leads Clevelanders in Prokofiev 6, Bridge and Dukas

By Timothy Robson

Conductor Lorenzo Viotti makes a strong impression in Cleveland Orchestra debut

By Timothy Robson, 29 November 2019

Piano icon Yuja Wang was an often self-effacing yet effective soloist in Rachmaninov’s neglected Piano Concerto no. 4. Poulenc’s 1948 Sinfonietta received its first Cleveland Orchestra performance since its 1949 US premiere here.

***11

Lorenzo Viotti makes a strong impression in Cleveland Orchestra debut

By Timothy Robson

Jakub Hrůša leads The Cleveland Orchestra in John Adams’ On the Transmigration of Souls

By Timothy Robson, 14 November 2019

A brilliant programming decision paired Adams’s 9/11 memorial with Mahler’s life-affirming Symphony no. 4, with the fine soprano Joelle Harvey as soloist.

***11

Jakub Hrůša leads TCO in John Adams’ On the Transmigration of Souls

By Timothy Robson

Klaus Mäkelä makes a brilliant Severance Hall debut leading The Cleveland Orchestra

By Timothy Robson, 19 October 2019

The young Finnish conductor, stepping in on short notice, led an incandescent performance of Beethoven’s Symphony no. 7. Augustin Hadelich was an excellent soloist in Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto no. 2.

*****

Mäkelä: brilliant Severance Hall debut leading The Cleveland Orchestra

By Timothy Robson

One to remember: Franz Welser-Möst and The Cleveland Orchestra play Mahler 5

By Timothy Robson, 26 September 2019

Olga Neuwirth’s complex but arresting Masaot / Clocks Without Hands opened the program, but it was the orchestra’s Mahler’s Symphony no. 5 that the audience will remember for the overpowering effect of this performance.

*****

Franz Welser-Möst and The Cleveland Orchestra play Mahler 5

By Timothy Robson

Fisch leads The Cleveland Orchestra in commanding performances of Liszt, Barber and Brahms

By Timothy Robson, 10 August 2019

There were no unorthodox interpretations in this program, which featured The Cleveland Orchestra’s associate concertmaster Jung-Min Amy Lee in Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto, just excellent, straightforward music making.

****1

Fisch leads TCO in commanding performances

By Timothy Robson

Australian Shuan Hern Lee, 16, wins Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition in Dallas

By Timothy Robson, 18 June 2019

We were in Dallas to follow the Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition: here is how it all went down.

Australian Shuan Hern Lee wins Cliburn Competition

By Timothy Robson

Sir Simon Keenlyside masterful in songs by Sibelius in Cleveland

By Timothy Robson, 23 May 2019

Sibelius’s rarely performed orchestral songs received memorable performances by Keenlyside and The Cleveland Orchestra conducted by Welser-Möst. Grieg’s Peer Gynt and Strauss’s early Aus Italien filled out the program.

****1

Sir Simon Keenlyside masterful in songs by Sibelius in Cleveland

By Timothy Robson

Labèques make a persuasive case for rare Bruch in Cleveland

By Timothy Robson, 09 May 2019

Semyon Bychkov was the guest conductor for a fine concert that also included the US premiere of Detlev Glanert’s evocative Wide Open Land, Music with Brahms, and expansive Smetana.

****1

Labèques make a persuasive case for rare Bruch in Cleveland

By Timothy Robson

Franz Welser-Möst leads American premiere of Okeanos, a new organ concerto, in Cleveland

By Timothy Robson, 14 March 2019

Paul Jacobs was soloist in Bernd Richard Deutsch’s Okeanos, which made a strong impression. Haydn’s Symphony No. 34 in D minor and Tchaikovsky’s indestructible Symphony No. 5 filled out this outstanding program.

****1

American premiere of Okeanos, a new organ concerto, in Cleveland

By Timothy Robson

François-Xavier Roth conducts colorful, brilliant Petrushka in Cleveland

By Timothy Robson, 28 February 2019

Debussy’s student work Rêve received its first Cleveland performance, and pianist Javier Perianes was an impeccable soloist for Ravel’s Concerto in G Major.

****1

Roth conducts colorful, brilliant Petrushka in Cleveland

By Timothy Robson

Ohlsson and Gilbert conquer Busoni’s Piano Concerto in Cleveland

By Timothy Robson, 07 February 2019

This titanic performance of Busoni’s 70-minute concerto was riveting, but exhausting to hear. It was preceded by a sparkling reading of Haydn’s “Military” Symphony.

*****

Conquering Busoni’s Piano Concerto in Cleveland

By Timothy Robson

Welser-Möst unveils a musically superb Ariadne auf Naxos in Cleveland

By Timothy Robson, 13 January 2019

Tamara Wilson was a top-notch Ariadne, supported by a strong cast, including Kate Lindsey as a passionate Composer, a thrilling Zerbinetta by Daniela Fally, and an unbeatable Bacchus in Andreas Schager.

****1

Welser-Möst unveils a musically superb Ariadne auf Naxos

By Timothy Robson

Pelléas et Mélisande without words: Alain Altinoglu in Cleveland

By Timothy Robson, 08 November 2018

The orchestra’s principal flute Joshua Smith was soloist for the local première of Matthias Pintscher’s Transir. Three Ravel favorites completed the program.

***11

Pelléas et Mélisande without words: Alain Altinoglu in Cleveland

By Timothy Robson

Kirill Gerstein plays a superb Rach 3 with The Cleveland Orchestra

By Timothy Robson, 01 November 2018

With his composer’s ear for detail, Pintscher also led a colorful performance of Bartók’s The Wooden Prince.

****1

Kirill Gerstein plays a superb Rach 3 in Cleveland

By Timothy Robson

Christian Tetzlaff's superb Berg with the Cleveland Orchestra and Ingo Metzmacher

By Timothy Robson, 27 October 2018

Early works by Schoenberg and Webern filled out an austere program.

****1

Tetzlaff's superb Berg with the Cleveland Orchestra

By Timothy Robson

A richly detailed Mahler by The Cleveland Orchestra and Franz Welser-Möst

By Timothy Robson, 05 October 2018

This weekend’s performance of the Symphony no. 2 in C minor had innumerable beautifully detailed moments, with two excellent soloists and an immaculately prepared chorus.

****1

A richly detailed Mahler in Cleveland by Franz Welser-Möst

By Timothy Robson

Astonishing Bartók and Prokofiev in Cleveland

By Timothy Robson, 27 September 2018

Yefim Bronfman was the powerful soloist in Bartók’s Second Piano Concerto. Welser-Möst’s expressionistic reading of Prokofiev’s Third Symphony evoked nightmares of tormented souls.

*****

Astonishing Bartók and Prokofiev in Cleveland

By Timothy Robson

Two arresting new works in Cleveland season opener

By Timothy Robson, 22 September 2018

Pantheon, by Cleveland Orchestra oboist Jeffrey Rathbun, and Hans Abrahamsen’s Left, alone with pianist Alexandre Tharaud in his TCO debut showed the ensemble’s strengths.

****1

Two arresting new works in Cleveland season opener

By Timothy Robson

Carmina Burana at Blossom: A new look at an old friend

By Timothy Robson, 25 August 2018

A fresh and compelling performance of Carl Orff’s classic. Aaron Copland’s rarely-performed Statements filled out the orchestra’s last concert performance at the Blossom Music Festival for 2018.

****1

Carmina Burana at Blossom: A new look at an old friend

By Timothy Robson

Handel, Haydn, Mozart: A superb summer evening at Cleveland’s Severance Hall

By Timothy Robson, 24 August 2018

Jonathan Cohen led The Cleveland Orchestra in sparkling performances of works by Handel and Mozart, with pianist Kristian Bezuidenhout as a brilliant soloist in Haydn.

*****

A superb summer evening at Cleveland’s Severance Hall

By Timothy Robson

Perfect music for a summer evening: Gaffigan and The Cleveland Orchestra

By Timothy Robson, 18 August 2018

Excellent performances by James Gaffigan and The Cleveland Orchestra of music by Barber, Mendelssohn, and Sibelius made for an enjoyable summer evening at the Blossom Music Festival. Stephen Hough was an outstanding piano soloist.

****1

Perfect music for a summer evening

By Timothy Robson

A brilliant Beethoven 9 marks The Cleveland Orchestra's 100th anniversary season closer

By Timothy Robson, 18 May 2018

A line-up of well-matched vocal soloists and a chorus in top form, along with passionate conducting by Franz Welser-Möst made for a memorable closing concert of this important milestone season.

*****

Brilliant 100th anniversary season closer from The Cleveland Orchestra

By Timothy Robson

Jakub Hrůša leads Suk's monumental Asrael Symphony with The Cleveland Orchestra

By Timothy Robson, 07 April 2018

Suk's five-movement "dance of death" gets a rare Cleveland outing under guest conductor Jakub Hrůša after Sergey Khachatryan performed Brahms' Violin Concerto.

***11

Suk's monumental Asrael Symphony in Cleveland

By Timothy Robson

Stéphane Denève and The Cleveland Orchestra: witty Poulenc and gigantic Rachmaninov

By Timothy Robson, 24 March 2018

Jory Vinikour was the soloist for Poulenc’s rarely heard Concert champêtre. A performance of Rachmaninov's Symphony no. 2, in which thrilling excess ruled, completed the program.

***11

Witty Poulenc and gigantic Rachmaninov from The Cleveland Orchestra

By Timothy Robson