Find classical music concert, opera, ballet and dance reviews | The Cleveland Orchestra

Juho Pohjonen tackles the Prokofiev First Piano Concerto with real aplomb, but big thrills also come from a "French trio" of compositions by Debussy, Ravel and Florent Schmitt.

Baroque specialist Patrick Dupré Quigley shows impressive mastery of a large, modern ensemble in a smart performance of a period masterpiece.

Gustavo Gimeno conducted the Cleveland Orchestra in a colorful program inclusive of a pair of Spanish works, Stravinsky’s Firebird, and the Lalo Cello Concerto with soloist Johannes Moser.

Pianist David Fray was equally impressive as soloist in a subtly played Mozart Concerto no. 24.

Susanna Mälkki was guest conductor for The Cleveland Orchestra’s Summers@Severance concert, which also included Schumann’s “Rhenish” Symphony.

The Cleveland Orchestra’s first evening of the season at the Blossom Music Center also included a performance of Beethoven’s Second Symphony that was both sparkling and appropriately dramatic.

Franz Welser-Möst conducted the concert, which also included the world première of Anthony Cheung's Topos and two Haydn symphonies.

Franz Welser-Möst led a radiant performance of Debussy’s operatic masterpiece directed by Yuval Sharon, starring Elliot Madore, Martina Janková, and Hanno Müller-Brachmann.

Sir Andrew Davis also led superb performances of Delius’ Brigg Fair and Strauss’ Don Quixote, with Mark Kosower and Wesley Collins as soloists.

Guest conductor Harry Bicket transformed the chameleon-like Cleveland Orchestra for this program of Handel, Rameau, and Purcell.

Franz Welser-Möst leads a compelling performance of the seldom-heard Threni.

A high-minded approach to Bach's masterpiece is undercut by an uneven performance.

Cédric Tiberghien was the astonishing soloist in Saint-Saëns’s “Egyptian” Concerto, with works by Pintscher, Schoenberg and Debussy’s La Mer filling out the program.

Katia and Marielle Labèque were memorable in Mozart’s Concerto for two pianos, K.365.

  Michelle DeYoung and Paul Groves were the soloists in Mahler’s late “symphony with solo voices.” The concert opened with a classically balanced reading of Schubert’s “Unfinished” symphony.

The Cleveland Orchestra’s Chicago appearance with music director Franz Welser-Möst offered symphonies of Beethoven and Sibelius in performances that exuded both precision and beauty.

Yefim Bronfman was the astonishing piano soloist for the Cleveland premiere of of Jörg Widmann's Trauermarsch. Franz Welser-Möst then led a transporting performance of Bruckner's Seventh Symphony.

This unusual program had the unlikely pairing of Schoenberg's Piano Concerto and Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, for which Kirill Gerstein was a brilliant soloist. 

Paired with the Britten’s early Sinfonia da Requiem, Beethoven’s “Fateful Fifth” sounded unexpectedly fresh. 

In this all-Prokofiev concert James Ehnes was a refined, precise soloist in the Violin Concerto no. 1.

The program also included Martinů’s undeservedly neglected Parables and restrained, lyrical Brahms.

Colorful works by Mussorgsky, Dutilleux, and Ravel surround Shostakovich’s gray Soviet-era Violin Concerto no. 2.

An elegant performance of Beethoven’s Eighth Symphony opened an oddly-proportioned concert.

Paul Jacobs was a brilliant soloist in Copland’s unjustly neglected Symphony for Organ and Orchestra.

Guest conductor Nicholas McGegan also led pleasing performances of Haydn’s Symphony no. 99 and Mendelssohn’s “Scottish” Symphony. 

Pinchas Zukerman celebrated the 45th anniversary of his Cleveland Orchestra debut with Mozart’s “Turkish” concerto.

Jean-Yves Thibaudet was a stylish soloist in Grieg’s Piano Concerto. Guest conductor Jahja Ling also led precise, elegant performances of Stravinsky’s Four Norwegian Moods.

For his only appearance this season at The Cleveland Orchestra's summer home, Franz Welser-Möst led scintillating performances of scandalous Adès, Bartók's Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta, and Beethoven's "Eroica" Symphony.

A very warm concert hall and problems with musical balances worked against what was otherwise a genial reading of this contemplative work.

Rudolf Buchbinder was the perfect soloist for this ensemble in Beethoven's "Emperor" Concerto.

Kirill Gerstein displayed not just virtuosity in Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto no. 1, but a beautiful sense of musical line.

Mezzo-soprano Marie-Nicole Lemieux made her Cleveland Orchestra debut in a passionate performance of Chausson’s Poème de l’amour et de la mer.

The Cleveland Orchestra and Joffrey Ballet team up for staged performances of Bartók's The Miraculous Mandarin and Bluebeard's Castle. 

A new work by Anthony Cheung based on the Orpheus legend and thrilling excerpts from Wagner’s Götterdämmerung rounded out this week’s program.

Stephen Hough made light of the technical challenges of Dvořák's Piano Concerto; Carl Nielsen’s “Inextinguishable” symphony was an electrifying second half.

Berwald’s quirky Third Symphony opened the concert before a beautifully judged performance of Dvořák’s Seventh Symphony.

After a shaky start, Mitsuko Uchida showed why she is keen to revisit a well-established Mozart repertoire.

Vladimir Jurowski built on the Cleveland Orchestra’s existing mastery of Debussy, along with a virtuosic performance by Jean-Efflam Bavouzet of Ravel’s G major piano concerto, and a recent work by Marc-André Dalbavie.

Shostakovich’s sprawling Fourth Symphony filled the rest of the concert in an epic performance.

Yefim Bronfman was a magisterial soloist for Beethoven's Third Piano Concerto, plus a rousing Choral Fantasy.

Despite mostly solid work from soloists and chorus, several ensemble problems and overall stylistic decisions diminished this performance's success.

Bernard Rands' new concerto, with Robert Walters as soloist, the centerpiece of a concert that also included Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique.

Smetana’s Bartered Bride overture set the stage for an intriguing new concerto by Richard Sortomme for two violas, followed by Schubert’s “Great” C major symphony.

Petrassi’s modernist Partita for Orchestra and Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances fill out the program.

The Cleveland Orchestra Chorus joined for two of Verdi’s Four Sacred Pieces.

Pianist Joela Jones gives a virtuoso solo performance in Messian's *Couleurs de la cité céleste*.

Mezzo-soprano Kelly O’Connor proves herself a sensitive and dark-hued soloist, with fine support from the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus.

The “Jupiter” and “Alpine” Symphonies impress at Cleveland’s Severance Hall.

The orchestra's principal cellist Mark Kosower gave a performance of Haydn's Concerto in C notable for its transparency and grace at this late summer Blossom Festival concert.

Conductor Brett Mitchell also led worthy performances of Dvořák’s The Noon Witch and Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra, joined by student ensemble, the Kent/Blossom Chamber Orchestra.