Zweden brings freshness to Beethoven’s Fifth

By Sacha Evans, 28 November 2016

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“an unpretentious musician with a poet’s soul”

Reviewed at Severance Music Center: Mandel Concert Hall, Cleveland on 26 November 2016

Britten, Sinfonia da Requiem, Op.20

Mozart, Piano Concerto no. 23 in A major, K488

Beethoven, Symphony no. 5 in C minor, Op.67

Daniil Trifonov, Piano

The Cleveland Orchestra

Jaap van Zweden, 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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Sacha Evans

Sacha Evans is an American critic with a focus on vocal music, particularly Baroque opera. She is a communications consultant by day, culture vulture by night. She currently resides in New York City and sings with the Manhattan Choral Ensemble. Learn more about her at: http://sachaevans.com

Jaap van Zweden and the Cleveland Orchestra bring freshness to Beethoven’s Fifth