NEWS
Preview: Smetana, Grieg, and Dvořák with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
SURREY, B.C. — Peace Arch News has published a preview of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s “Surrey Nights” series, which includes a performance led by Brett Mitchell in February 2019:
“The Moldau & Grieg’s Piano Concerto” is the title of the VSO’s Feb. 7 concert at the Bell, with conductor Brett Mitchell and pianist Andrew von Oeyen. One of the most poetic and lyrical pianists of his generation, Andrew Von Oeyen tackles Grieg’s much-loved Piano Concerto in a concert that also features one of Dvorák’s greatest works [Symphony No. 8] and the famous melodies of “The Moldau” – all under the direction of conductor Brett Mitchell, making his VSO debut.
To read the complete article, please click here.
Preview: Brett Mitchell on 'Colorado & Company'
Brett Mitchell speaks with Jacquie Palisi on the set of ‘Colorado & Company.’ (Photo by Nick Dobreff)
DENVER — Brett Mitchell appeared on this morning's Colorado & Company — a daily magazine on NBC's Denver affiliate, 9NEWS — to discuss the Colorado Symphony's upcoming 2018-19 season, his second as Music Director. To watch this interview, please click here.
Preview: Brett Mitchell conducts Mahler 5
Brett Mitchell will close the Strings Music Festival's 2018 season with a performance of Gustav Mahler's Fifth Symphony at the Strings Pavilion in Steamboat Springs, CO.
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, CO — Steamboat Pilot & Today has published a brief preview of Brett Mitchell's upcoming performance of Mahler's Fifth Symphony with the Strings Music Festival:
Under the leadership of Music Director Michael Sachs, the classical season will reach its finale this weekend with the last classical show of the 2018 season.
For the orchestra's finale, Colorado Symphony Music Director Brett Mitchell is on the podium to conduct a unique arrangement of Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 by the Natalia Ensemble, one of Europe's leading chamber ensembles.
Whether a classical music fan or new to classical music, the show is bound to impress.
To read the complete preview, please click here.
Preview: Colorado Symphony reboots 'Beethoven and Brews'
DENVER — Westword has published a preview of Brett Mitchell's upcoming performance with the Colorado Symphony on Wednesday, October 10, at the Blue Moon brewery in Denver:
The Colorado Symphony has been taking classical music out of the concert halls for years, including at its 'Classically Cannabis' pot-friendly concert back in 2014, its Red Rocks performances and at 'Remix: Young Professionals of the Colorado Symphony' events.
Now, conductor Brett Mitchell, who was brought in to keep the orchestra's slate of programming relevant to up-and-coming generations, is rebooting its beer-and-classical pairings with Beethoven and Brews.
On October 10, the symphony will perform two overtures by Ludwig van Beethoven, cellist Judith McIntyre will solo on Edward Elgar’s "Sospiri," and the evening will conclude with works by Manuel de Falla and Zoltán Kodály.
This will be the fourteenth iteration in the series, which began back in 2015.
“The orchestra and I are so excited to bring Beethoven and Brews back to Blue Moon for another night of incredible music and beer," says music director Brett Mitchell in a statement. “One of the coolest things about playing at Blue Moon is that the atmosphere is really intimate, which helps us break down the wall between us and our audience. We can’t wait to share this fantastic music (and beer) with everyone on October 10!”
To celebrate the performance, Blue Moon will offer a Beethoven-themed beer, and ticket holders will be given two pints from the brewery's tap list to enjoy, along with hors d'oeuvres.
To read the complete preview, please click here.
Preview: 'Grunge, classical music and Leonard Bernstein'
Brett Mitchell will lead the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra's upcoming 'Bernstein At 100' concerts in Wellington and Auckland. (Photo by Peter Lockley)
WELLINGTON — Brett Mitchell joined host Zoë George in the Radio New Zealand studios to discuss his upcoming 'Bernstein At 100' concerts with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, presented at the Michael Fowler Centre in Wellington on Friday, May 11, and Auckland Town Hall on Friday, May 18. Hear the complete interview below, or read more.
Classical music, grunge, and musical theatre all have something in common – Leonard Bernstein according to effervescent conductor Brett Mitchell.
Brett is in the country to conduct the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra’s Bernstein at 100 and Vivaldi’s Four Seasons concerts in Wellington and Auckland over the next two weekends.
He says what mattered to Bernstein was the quality of the music, not the genre and he embraced everything during his 50 year career. As a result many in America and around the globe embraced him, according to Brett.
West Side Story is arguably one of his most famous works. It combined jazz, cha cha, and mambo and reflected New York in the 1950s. “For me that’s part of his legacy – his willingness to embrace all different aspects of music available to him,” Brett says.
Brett says he knew of Bernstein’s music before he realised how big a deal he was. It was in 1990, when Bernstein died, that Brett started to understand the composer’s reach.
Brett Mitchell at the Radio New Zealand studios on Tuesday, May 8. (Photo by Tom Cardy)
Bernstein’s music has been described as the sound of New York, and Brett agrees. “There’s an energy about it. It sounds distinctly American. That is not French music. That is not German music. It’s not Percy Granger! It could only come from America.”
“We call America the melting pot… and what is West Side Story if not a melting pot of musical cultures.”
That melting pot is also reflected in Bernstein’s On The Town which follows the adventures of three navy sailors on shore leave through New York City during 40s wartime. Bernstein was 26 when he wrote it and included not only stories about boys having fun, but themes around female empowerment. “He was always at the forefront of things,” Brett says. “He was young and progressive. It’s not hard to figure out why in a show about three sailors on shore leave, there’s a fair amount of feminism in there. As it should be!”
Brett, who was also a jazz pianist before he picked up the baton, says ‘Some Other Time’ from On The Town became a favourite to play. He is thrilled the NZSO are performing it this week.
Only one or two other musicians have had such an effect on Brett. “His is the towering figure of American 20th century classical music,” he says. “He broke down the barriers… and the boundaries.”
Just before Leonard Bernstein died he was awarded a lifetime Grammy award. That had a monumental effect on Brett. “Well here’s this high-brow classical musician who’s hanging with Michael Jackson, Tina Turner and pop musicians I was growing up with,” Brett says.
“I remember him saying ‘listen - there are better and worse Mozart symphonies. There are better and worse Schubert songs. There are better and worse Beatles songs’.
“All that mattered was the quality of the music.”
Preview: 'Is it time to reassess the legacy of one of the great musical figures of the 20th century?'
Leonard Bernstein at the piano. Brett Mitchell will lead two concerts celebrating Bernstein's centennial with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra this month in Wellington and Auckland. (Photo by Getty Images)
WELLINGTON — The New Zealand Herald has published a preview of Brett Mitchell's upcoming 'Bernstein At 100' concerts with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, presented at the Michael Fowler Centre in Wellington on Friday, May 11, and Auckland Town Hall on Friday, May 18.
Leonard Bernstein broke the rules, dared us to follow him, and was so profoundly musical that the results sounded right, even when they were wrong.
Conductor Brett Mitchell, who leads the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in two concerts to celebrate what would have been Bernstein's 100th birthday, has an example from "Lenny the composer".
Mitchell points to one of Bernstein's most famous compositions, the song Maria from West Side Story, which opens with a tritone. Also referred to as "a devil in music", a tritone is a dissonant interval between two notes and was used regularly in avant garde music of the early 20th century.
"What pop song opens with a tritone?" asks Mitchell. "Bernstein knew how to push the boundaries in terms of complexity and yet find his way into the wider culture. We all take Maria for granted now."
Ironically, Bernstein the composer came to see West Side Story, his masterpiece packed with songs still recognised and loved today, as a millstone, the work that defined him until his death in 1990.
"I think there's a perception that West Side Story is 'only' a Broadway show," says Mitchell, "as though there's some qualitative difference in whether it's performed on West 42nd Street in Times Square [ie, Broadway] or West 57th Street where Carnegie Hall is."
The NZSO concert, which also features sometime Postmodern Jukebox vocalist Morgan James, steers closer to Broadway than Carnegie Hall. It includes music from West Side Story, On the Town and the jazzy operetta Candide, recently in Auckland as part of the arts festival.
To read the complete preview, please click here.
Preview: New Zealand Symphony Orchestra concerts celebrate Leonard Bernstein and 'The Four Seasons'
Brett Mitchell will lead the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in four performances in Wellington (May 11-12) and Auckland (May 18-19). (Photo by Jeff Nelson)
WELLINGTON — Scoop has published a preview of Brett Mitchell's upcoming performances with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.
The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra celebrates a giant of 20th-century music and one of the most popular works ever written for violin in two back-to-back concerts in Wellington and Auckland in May.
Bernstein at 100 marks the centenary of legendary American composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein, best known for the musical West Side Story. The Four Seasons will feature Vivaldi’s intoxicating concerti for violin, performed by acclaimed violinist Angelo Xiang Yu.
Both concerts will be conducted by American Brett Mitchell, Music Director of the Colorado Symphony, who has been hailed for his compelling performances of innovative and eclectic programmes.
Bernstein at 100 features American singer Morgan James, a talented Broadway star who is at home across genres. The concert will include the Symphonic Suite from On the Waterfront, dances from the musicals On the Town and West Side Story, alongside "Dream with Me" from Peter Pan and "Glitter and Be Gay" from Candide.
“When you think about American music in the 20th century, it’s impossible not to think of Leonard Bernstein,” Mitchell has said.
“It’s amazing to me to think Bernstein was music director of the New York Philharmonic from 1958 to 1969. It was literally the year before he started that they released West Side Story, which is one of the great Broadway hits of all time. You’ve got somebody that really was every bit as comfortable in the Broadway world as he was in the classical, orchestral world.”
Bernstein at 100 is performed on 11 May and The Four Seasons on 12 May in Wellington. The following week Bernstein at 100 is performed on 18 May and The Four Seasons on 19 May in Auckland.
To read the complete preview, please click here.
Preview: Colorado Symphony to bring 'RhapsodyRock' to the Fillmore
Brett Mitchell will lead a performance of George Gershwin’s ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ with pianist Natasha Paremski at the Colorado Symphony's 2018 Ball. (Photo by Peter Lockley)
DENVER — 303 Magazine has published an interview with Music Director Brett Mitchell about the Colorado Symphony's 2018 Ball, presented on Saturday, April 28.
303 Magazine: This event is very exciting and imperative for the Symphony’s annual funding. Last year's Ball raised over $1 million. What are the major goals for this year’s fundraising?
Brett Mitchell: The biggest focus this year (and every year) are our education initiatives that bring kids into the concert hall and bring outreach programs to them. These big fundraising events make these kinds of community engagement events possible.
303: The night is also about shedding light on the outstanding contributions that have been made to the Symphony in the last year, otherwise known as the recipients of the prestigious Margaret Phipps Award. Can you tell us what makes your personally excited about United Airlines being the recipient?
BWM: While I first moved to Denver last summer, it took my wife around eight months before she joined me. I can’t tell you how many times I heard Rhapsody in Blue during the United flights back and forth between Denver and Cleveland, so we're are thrilled to honor them.
303: If the event is successful, what can we expect from the Symphony in 2018?
BWM: We joke that if these events are as successful as we’d like, then we wouldn’t need them anymore! What a successful night will really enable us to do is to dream even bigger in the future, to expand what we can do in the 2019/2020 season and beyond.
303: For those who have never attended a Symphony event, what can we tell them that they might not know?
BWM: The biggest misperception I hear from people who haven't come to the orchestra before is, “But I’m just a regular guy.” Well, I and everyone playing on stage are all just regular guys and gals, too. This is not an elitist art form. If I—a guy who grew up on grunge music like Nirvana in Seattle—can fall in love with Beethoven and make a career of it, then everybody has an "in." If I can fall in love with this music, so can you.
To read the complete preview, please click here.
Preview: 'The Ring without Words' with the CIM Orchestra
CLEVELAND — Cleveland Scene has published a brief preview of Brett Mitchell's upcoming performance with the Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra:
Former Cleveland Orchestra associate conductor Brett Mitchell will return to town to lead the CIM Orchestra in the late Lorin Maazel’s The Ring Without Words, a compact, user-friendly, no-singers-in-sight version of Richard Wagner’s cycle of four operas based on old Norse Legends. The free concert takes place on Wednesday, March 28 at 8:00 pm in Kulas Hall at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Can’t make it to the performance? It’ll be broadcast live over WCLV, 104.9 FM.
To read the complete preview, please click here.
Preview: Brett Mitchell discusses John Williams's score for 'Star Wars'
Brett Mitchell in the Colorado Public Radio studios. (Photo by CPR/Monika Vischer)
DENVER — Before leading the Colorado Symphony in performances of the score of Star Wars: A New Hope this weekend, Brett Mitchell sat down with David Rutherford in the Colorado Public Radio Performance Studio to explore some of the highlights of John Williams's iconic soundtrack.
Mr. Mitchell talked about the discussions between Williams and director George Lucas that helped spawn some of the most memorable film music in history, and he showed how Williams used musical themes to represent different characters like Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Darth Vader.
"Watch: John Williams' Music For 'Star Wars' Is Brilliant In Ways You Never Realized."
Preview: Minnesota Orchestra's 2018-19 season includes Brett Mitchell's debut
Brett Mitchell will make his debut with the Minnesota Orchestra in a program of Puts, Shostakovich, and Beethoven in Orchestra Hall on November 15, 16, and 17, 2018.
ST. PAUL, MN — The St. Paul Pioneer Press has published an article about the Minnesota Orchestra's newly announced 2018-19 season, which will feature Brett Mitchell's debut on the orchestra's classical series.
Conductor Brett Mitchell makes his Minnesota Orchestra debut for a bill that includes Dmitri Shostakovich’s Second Cello Concerto [with Principal Cello Anthony Ross] and works by Ludwig van Beethoven and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Kevin Puts, who directs the orchestra’s Composer Institute (Nov. 15-17).
Read the article: "Minnesota Orchestra’s season includes an all-American fest, rapper Dessa, ‘Star Wars’ and yoga"
Preview: "Cleveland Orchestra stocks 2018-19 season with new, unusual and ambitious music"
Brett Mitchell will return to Severance Hall to lead The Cleveland Orchestra's 2018-19 season finale. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
CLEVELAND — The Plain Dealer has published an article about The Cleveland Orchestra's newly announced 2018-19 season, which features Brett Mitchell's return to the Severance Hall stage. Mr. Mitchell will lead three performances of George Gershwin's An American in Paris—accompanying the classic 1951 film—on May 30, 31, and June 1, 2019, the orchestra's season finale weekend.
Mr. Mitchell served on The Cleveland Orchestra's conducting staff from 2013 to 2017, first as Assistant Conductor (2013-15), then as Associate Conductor (2015-17). These performances mark Mr. Mitchell's second return to the orchestra since his departure to become Music Director of the Colorado Symphony in 2017.
Read the article: "Cleveland Orchestra stocks 2018-19 season with new, unusual and ambitious music"
Season Announcement: "A Peek At The Colorado Symphony's 2018-19 Schedule"
Music Director Brett Mitchell and the Colorado Symphony. (Photo by Brandon Marshall)
DENVER — Colorado Public Radio Classical has published a story about the Colorado Symphony's newly announced 2018-19 season, which will mark Brett Mitchell's second as Music Director:
The Colorado Symphony announced its plans for the 2018-19 season today. The lineup features masterworks, a smattering of pops concerts, and concerts by legendary violinists Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman.
There’s also a healthy dose of music by living composers—one of Music Director Brett Mitchell’s passions—including Jennifer Higdon, Mason Bates, and John Adams.
Here’s a look at some of the highlights:
Sept. 14-16: The opening weekend program includes Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2 and a new piece by composer and Colorado Symphony timpanist William Hill.
Sept. 28-30: The orchestra performs George Gershwin’s Concerto in F with pianist Joyce Yang. The program also includes Duke Ellington’s “Three Black Kings” and John Adams’ “City Noir.”
Nov. 2-4: The symphony marks the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I with a performance of Benjamin Britten’s "War Requiem" with the Colorado Symphony Chorus and Colorado Children’s Chorale.
Jan. 10, 2019: Violinist Itzhak Perlman makes an appearance with the symphony, playing Beethoven’s Violin Concerto.
March 1-3: The symphony plays two pieces by composer Mason Bates, including a Cello Concerto with cellist Joshua Roman. The program includes Symphony No. 7 by Beethoven.
May 24-26: The season ends with a performance of Carl Orff’s powerful “Carmina Burana,” with help from the Colorado Symphony Chorus and Colorado Children’s Chorale.
To read the complete article, please click here.
Preview: "Daphnis et Chloé" with the Colorado Symphony
Brett Mitchell will lead the Colorado Symphony and Chorus in works of Debussy, Salonen, and Ravel on February 2, 3, and 4 at Boettcher Concert Hall in downtown Denver. (Photo by Brandon Marshall)
DENVER — Westword has included Brett Mitchell's upcoming subscription weekend with the Colorado Symphony on its list of "The 21 Best Events in Denver, January 30-February 5":
Valentine's Day is still weeks away, but readers can get into the loverly spirit early at a trio of concerts from the esteemed Colorado Symphony. Conductor Brett Mitchell welcomes the Colorado Symphony Chorus (under the direction of Duain Wolfe) and soprano Jessica Rivera to bring Maurice Ravel's "choreographed symphony," Daphnis et Chloé, to thrillingly balletic life. Romantic interpretations of the Greek mythos thematically bind a music program that also includes Claude Debussy's "Syrinx" and "Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun," as well as Esa-Pekka Salonen's "Five Images After Sappho." Showtimes are at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, February 2, and Saturday, February 3, with an additional 1 p.m. matinee performance on Sunday, February 4; all performances will be at Boettcher Concert Hall, in the Denver Performing Arts Complex. Visit the Symphony's box-office page for tickets, $15 to $89, and more details.
To read the complete article, please click here.
Previews: Colorado Symphony will present "Star Wars: A New Hope"
Brett Mitchell will lead two performances of John Williams's iconic score for ‘Star Wars: A New Hope’ with the Colorado Symphony in March 2018.
DENVER — Westword has published a preview of two newly announced performances Brett Mitchell will lead during his inaugural season as Music Director of the Colorado Symphony:
The Colorado Symphony, led by ambitious new music director Brett Mitchell, will be performing the score of Star Wars: A New Hope, alongside two fortieth anniversary screenings of the film, in March 2018.
Back in 1977, this first Star Wars movie introduced such characters as Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and Darth Vader to the Hollywood pantheon. The score won composer John Williams an Academy Award; it has been designated the greatest American film score of all time by the American Film Institute.
The concert will take place at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 22, and 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 24, at Broomfield's 1STBANK Center.
From a preview by The Denver Post:
Whether you love or loathe “Star Wars,” it’s difficult to deny that its score is a masterpiece. As soon as the horns in the intro of “Main Theme” strike up, Earth becomes a distant memory, replaced by space ship battles, brother-sister bonding experiences and the beautiful sensibility of a universe where a greedy bounty hunter alien is named “Greedo.”
If you can’t hear the strings yet, you will soon. Led by Music Director Brett Mitchell, the Colorado Symphony announced it will bring John Williams’ massive score from “Star Wars: A New Hope” to Broomfield’s FirstBank Center in 2018 for what it claims is the first time in Colorado history.
Finally, 303 Magazine also has a preview:
We are mere weeks away from the opening of the latest movie to join the Star Wars franchise, Star Wars: The Last Jedi. But it’s not the only Star Wars event on the horizon worth looking forward to — descending upon the 1stBank Center for two days only, on March 22 and 24, 2018, The Colorado Symphony will present Star Wars: A New Hope. The event will feature live performances of the musical scores alongside screenings of the complete movie as conducted by Colorado Symphony Music Director, Brett Mitchell. John Williams’ Academy Award-winning score to A New Hope will surely provide an unforgettable symphonic experience for the many generations of Star Wars fans in Colorado.
Preview: "NZSO's Dynamic 2018 season"
WELLINGTON — Radio New Zealand has published a preview of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra's 2018 season, which will feature Brett Mitchell's debut as he leads four concerts in Auckland and Wellington in May 2018.
Music Director of Colorado Symphony Brett Mitchell will conduct two projects, including Vivaldi's Four Seasons with violinist Angelo Xiang Yu.
Mitchell will also be conducting Bernstein at 100, marking the birthday of Leonard Bernstein. Broadway performer and Postmodern Jukebox vocalist Morgan James will lend her voice to the iconic pieces of music.
To read and listen to the complete preview, please click here. (Mr. Mitchell's programs are discussed from 11:30 to 17:00.)
For more information on Mr. Mitchell's programs with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, please click here.
Preview: "Five Classical Music Events To Hit This Week"
Brett Mitchell (pictured here in performance with The Cleveland Orchestra) will lead the Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra's first Severance Hall performance of the 2017-18 season on Wednesday, October 4. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
CLEVELAND — Cleveland Scene has published a preview of Brett Mitchell's concert this week with the Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra:
Brett Mitchell recently left his post as associate conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra to take the reins of the Colorado Symphony — but he’s back to lead the Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra in the first of its performances this season at Severance Hall. On Wednesday, October 4 at 8:00 pm, the evening will begin with Arnold Schoenberg’s Five Pieces for Orchestra, and feature Mason Bates’ The B-Sides for Orchestra and Electronica (2009) before concluding with Beethoven’s ever-popular Fifth Symphony. The concert is free, but you’ll need a ticket from the Severance Hall Box Office.
To read the complete preview, please click here.
Live Broadcast Alert: Brett Mitchell Conducts the Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra (Wed, Oct 4)
Brett Mitchell (pictured here in performance with The Cleveland Orchestra) will lead the Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra's first Severance Hall performance of the 2017-18 season on Wednesday, October 4. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
CLEVELAND — Brett Mitchell will lead the Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra in their first Severance Hall performance of the 2017-18 season on Wednesday, October 4. This performance will be broadcast live at 8 p.m. Eastern on WCLV Classical 104.9 in Cleveland and online at WCLV.org.
The program features three revolutionary works composed in the first decade of the 19th, 20th, and 21st-centuries:
SCHOENBERG - Five Pieces for Orchestra
BATES - The B-Sides: Five Pieces for Orchestra and Electronica
BEETHOVEN - Symphony No. 5
Learn more and purchase tickets at the concert listing on CIM's website.
Live Broadcast On Friday: Colorado Symphony Welcomes Its New Music Director
The Colorado Symphony performs at Boettcher Concert Hall in Denver. (Photo by Paul Brokering)
DENVER — From Colorado Public Radio:
The Colorado Symphony marks the beginning of a new era on Friday, as conductor Brett Mitchell officially begins his tenure as music director.
Listen at 7:30 p.m. Friday for a live broadcast on CPR Classical from Boettcher Concert Hall in Denver. Hear it at 88.1 FM in Denver, 99.9 FM in Boulder or online at CPRClassical.org.
The program features two 21st-century pieces as well as one of the most beloved symphonies of all time:
Brett Mitchell, music director of the Colorado Symphony (Photo by Peter Lockley)
Kevin Puts: "Millennium Canons"
Mason Bates: "The B-Sides: Five Pieces for Orchestra"
Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 in C minor
Mitchell, a 38-year-old conductor whose previous post was with the Cleveland Orchestra, begins a four-year term with the symphony on Friday.
Check out this Facebook Live conversation between Mitchell and CPR Classical's David Rutherford for a preview of the live broadcast:
Preview: "Relive 'E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial' with the Cleveland Orchestra"
CLEVELAND — Cleveland Magazine has published a brief preview of Brett Mitchell's his upcoming performances with The Cleveland Orchestra:
The mysterious world of Steven Spielberg’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial takes over the forest-surrounded Blossom Music Center Sept. 1-3. As a nod to our favorite alien encounter, the Cleveland Orchestra performs John Williams’ spectacular sounds, which were so moving that it compelled Spielberg to re-edit the last 15 minutes of his film. “In the last 15 minutes, you go from fast-action music to this lyrical, tender music and then a celebratory, majestic fanfare to cap off the movie,” says conductor Brett Mitchell. “He captures the emotion of every single scene.” When the movie and music end, live fireworks fill the sky to top off the immersive showing of this 35-year-old, bike-flying, moonlit masterpiece.
To read the complete preview, please click here.