A Romantic Cleveland Orchestra debut for Petr Popelka

James Ehnes, Petr Popelka

By Sam Jacobson, 28 July 2024

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“a moment of pure poetry before the foot-tapping rambunctiousness of the finale”

Reviewed at Severance Music Center: Mandel Concert Hall, Cleveland on 25 July 2024

Franck, Le Chasseur maudit (The Accursed Huntsman)

Korngold, Violin Concerto in D major, Op.35

Dvořák, Symphony no. 6 in D major, Op.60

Ysaÿe, Violin Sonata no. 3 in D minor "Ballade", Op.27 no.3

Bach, Violin sonata no. 2 in A minor, BWV1003: Andante

James Ehnes, Violin

The Cleveland Orchestra

Petr Popelka, Conductor

Barbara Hannigan surveys American voices with The Cleveland Orchestra

Sam Jacobson, 14th February

Works by Crumb, Ruggles, Barber and Gershwin offer four distinct ideas of what American music can sound like in Barbara Hannigan’s explorative Cleveland Orchestra program.

***11

The Cleveland Orchestra at Carnegie Hall: symphonic extremes

Sam Jacobson, 21st January

Following a polished account of Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony, Shostakovich’s Eleventh erupted with visceral force, as Franz Welser-Möst led The Cleveland Orchestra in a performance of gripping intensity.

*****

A study in control and proportion: the Clevelanders’ Verdi Requiem

Edward Sava-Segal, 20th January

Asmik Grigorian leads a strong quartet of soloists and the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus shape the performance at Carnegie Hall.

****1

An uneven symphonic pairing from Franz Welser-Möst in Cleveland

Frank Kuznik, 10th January

Mozart and Shostakovich make an uncomfortable fit in a program designed to highlight their differences.

***11

Yuja Wang serves an iridescent musical feast in Cleveland

Sam Jacobson, 28th November

Yuja Wang does double duty in demanding piano concertos by Ravel and Ligeti, while conductor Petr Popelka shows his chemistry with the orchestra in Pictures at an Exhibition.

****1

Gripping, somber Mahler 6 from Sokhiev and The Cleveland Orchestra

Sam Jacobson, 13th November

Tugan Sokhiev memorably debuts with The Cleveland Orchestra to lead a recent concerto for English horn and Mahler’s Tragic.

****1

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Sam Jacobson

Sam Jacobson has been writing for Bachtrack since 2015 and is currently in Pittsburgh, having previously lived throughout the Midwest. A keen traveler, he endeavors to see all the great orchestras and opera houses across the US and abroad. Outside of music, he works as a software engineer. He also maintains a blog which can be read here.