NEWS
Review: Plain Dealer hails ‘all-Brett Mitchell weekend at Severance Hall’
Brett Mitchell leads The Cleveland Orchestra in his last-minute subscription debut at Severance Hall on Friday, March 7. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
CLEVELAND — The Plain Dealer has released full coverage of Brett Mitchell's three-program weekend at Severance Hall.
Cleveland Orchestra assistant conductor Brett Mitchell capped an unexpectedly eventful weekend at Severance Hall with a fine concert by the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra and Chorus Sunday night.
The previous two nights, Mitchell stood in for Franz Welser-Möst, who was indisposed by illness, and led subscription concerts that included works by Sibelius and various Strausses, as well as Benjamin Britten's sprawling Spring Symphony and a new work by Ryan Wigglesworth, not to mention a star turn by pianist Rudolf Buchbinder in Rachmaninoff's 'Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.'
As if that weren’t enough, there were scheduled rehearsals for Sunday night's COYO concert, which featured repertoire just as varied. The conductor, however, evidenced no signs of fatigue as he came onstage Sunday.
To read the complete review, please click here.
Review: Brett Mitchell ‘hits a home run’ in last-minute Cleveland Orchestra debut
Brett Mitchell leads The Cleveland Orchestra in his last-minute subscription debut at Severance Hall on Friday, March 7. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
CLEVELAND — Cultured Cleveland has published a review of Brett Mitchell’s last-minute subscription debut with The Cleveland Orchestra on Friday, March 7:
Rudolph Buchbinder was his usual brilliant self playing Rachmaninoff on Friday night. But the star of the show was the Cleveland Orchestra’s assistant conductor, Brett Mitchell. Like a pinch-hitter in baseball, Mitchell has to be prepared to step up to the plate every week, though he rarely gets the call. When Franz Welser-Möst phoned in sick on Friday afternoon, it was Mitchell’s time to shine.
Which he did immediately with Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. This is a piece that can become heavy and schmaltzy, and almost always does. The audience fixates on the familiar melody in the 18th variation, and if it gushes, everybody goes home happy. Mitchell took the opposite tack, starting with a light, agile sound that complemented the dramatic piano lines, providing a buoyant backdrop that didn’t get in the way. He stayed just shy of sentimental in the melody, letting it swell but keeping it clean and crisp, never overwhelming the soloist.
The abbreviated Friday program offered a brief nod to the Richard Strauss anniversary year, the composer’s 1888 tone poem Don Juan. Mitchell offered a brisk, lively reading… polished and bright… showing fine control of the orchestra.
And a quick follow-up from the other Strauss – Johann Jr. – was effervescent, brimming with gaiety and charm. The waltz From the Mountains sounded anything but clichéd, flush with warm tones, sharp percussion, burnished horns and a champagne brio. The brief pauses, a trademark of Strauss waltzes, were clear and precise, putting a fine edge on the whirling melodies. A closing Czárdás opened with a witty gasp from the violins, then set off on a free-spirited romp, galloping to a snappy finish.
A last-minute sub had just hit a home run.
To read the complete review, please click here.
Review: "Assistant conductor and University of Texas alum makes his debut in Austin"
Brett Mitchell leads his Cleveland Orchestra debut—while Giancarlo Guerrero narrates—at the Long Center in Austin, Texas on Saturday, March 1.
Review: "MLK Community Open House at Severance Hall"
ClevelandClassical has published a review of Brett Mitchell's performance with the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra that concluded Severance Hall's 2014 MLK Community Open House. "They brilliantly feted Dr. King with two separate Festive Overtures, by Shostakovich and African-American composer William Grant Still. 'Engelkonzert,' the first movement of Paul Hindemith’s Mathis der Maler Symphony, which COYO will perform in its entirety on March 9, glowed and surged... The performance and open house ended in suitably glorious fashion with the triumphant 'Great Gate of Kiev,' from Ravel’s orchestration of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition." To read the complete review, please click here.
Review: Cultured Cleveland raves about Brett Mitchell's first concert as COYO Music Director
Cultured Cleveland has reviewed Brett Mitchell's first concert as Music Director of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra. "Talk about setting the bar high: For his Severance Hall debut with the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, new [Cleveland Orchestra] Assistant Conductor Brett Mitchell programmed three 20th-century works, two of which would challenge any professional orchestra, along with Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. Thatʼs beyond bold. But it’s entirely in keeping with the career arc of Mitchell, 34, whose youthful demeanor and appearance belie his experience. The players responded [in Shostakovich’s Festive Overture] with a big, bright sound, particularly in the horns, and dexterous work in the strings and woodwinds. It was a brief but convincing display of outsized skills. The players handled [Wojciech Kilarʼs Orawa] with alacrity and poise, showing remarkable discipline and precision. Mitchell set a brisk pace for Pictures at an Exhibition, keeping the sound big rather than heavy. Overall the piece had a notably professional gloss, and finished with a satisfying sense of accomplishment. If their ambitious start with Mitchell is any indication, there’s an exciting two years ahead for players and audiences alike." To read the complete review, please click here.
Review: "Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra navigates difficult scores with panache under new music director's baton"
The Cleveland Plain Dealer has published a review Brett Mitchell's first concert as Music Director of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra. "Mitchell introduced himself to Cleveland audiences Sunday afternoon at Severance Hall, when he led the ensemble in an imaginatively programmed concert that featured mostly modern music. It was a pleasure to hear the young musicians navigate this difficult music with such maturity, alert to internal balances and complex intonations and, thanks to Mitchell’s very clear baton, confident with Stravinsky’s [Symphonies of Wind Instruments] peculiar rhetoric throughout. COYO’s strings were nothing short of breathtaking throughout. They played with supreme confidence and technical brilliance, and Mitchell’s grasp of the score ensured that [Wojciech Kilar’s] Orawa...was the surprise hit of the concert. In [Pictures at an Exhibition], one could sense that certain passages were pushing the young players close to their limits... But such individual moments were easily overcome by the players’ youthful energy and commitment to the score – and Mitchell’s leadership assured that the overall result was artistically sound and, for the young players, a real triumph." To read the complete review, please click here.
Review: ClevelandClassical.com praises Brett Mitchell's first performance as COYO Music Director
ClevelandClassical.com praised the "clear and crisp performances" delivered by the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra in their first concert under new music director Brett Mitchell. "A bright and chipper Festive Overture by Shostakovich opened the concert, revealing Mitchell to be a conductor full of charismatic energy and excitement as his enthusiasm prodded the musicians to exciting heights through sharp and precise gestures." Ravel’s orchestration of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition was "effectively played" with a "fine sense of contrast," by turns "confident, bold, reflective, contemplative, gnarly, haunting, playful, light, humorous, exciting, ominous, and spine-tingling... All the stops were pulled out as the COYO and Brett Mitchell played with a sense of arrival, mustering up all of the brilliance and grandeur needed to conclude Mussorgsky’s colorful work." To read the complete review, please click here.
Review: "Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra hits a milestone with Stravinsky"
Janet Martineau has published a review of the final concert of Brett Mitchell's third season at the helm of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra. “Quite simply the SBSO outdid itself, particularly in the performance of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring. Watching maestro Brett Mitchell swing and sway and sweat in conducting it made up for the missing dancers in this ballet piece celebrating its 100th birthday this month. At the end, after thunderous applause and a standing ovation, Mitchell held the score over his head in triumph to the stellar performance. They left us breathless and amazed.” To read the complete review, please click here.
Two Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra concerts named among best arts events of 2012
Two of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra's concerts are included on the Saginaw News' list of the best arts events of 2012. “Now in his third year at the helm of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra, Brett Mitchell still creates a new soundscape in Saginaw, drawing from classic and contemporary, telling a story in the process and occasionally sharing the stage with others in the Great Lakes Bay Region. 'Shakespearean Dreams'…was so beautiful…a beacon that made collaboration more than a buzzword.” The two performances featured in the article are February 2012's coproduction of Shakespeare's and Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream with Pit and Balcony and Saginaw Choral Society, as well as March 2012's collaboration with visual artist Kellie Schneider, whom the orchestra commissioned to create seven original illustrations based on Ravel's Mother Goose. The complete feature can be read here.
Review: "SBSO collaboration with artist Kellie Schneider a winner on all counts"
The Saginaw News has published a review of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra's most recent subscription concert. "The stage fell silent as Mitchell took a seat at the piano. The spotlight found him there as he pulled the rise and fall of Johannes Brahms’ Intermezzo from the keys, the lush melody sweeping across the underlying groundwork of the deeper tones. Even more, it caught Mitchell’s love of the piece, the emotion swelling through the work as we saw him, as he promised, with fresh eyes.... A running series of standing ovations screamed for an encore, and as this was a night of surprises, the [Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra] delivered on that note, too…drawing still another round of thunderous applause." To read the complete review, please click here.
Review: "Saginaw's 'Shakespearean Dreams' a true testament to the power of collaboration"
The Saginaw News has published a review of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra's most recent subscription concert, featuring a semi-staged production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream with Mendelssohn's Overture and complete Incidental Music. "Last May, when conductor Brett Mitchell closed the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra season with an eye-opening performance of Beethoven’s Ninth, his father warned him that he’d set the bar dangerously high for coming concerts. Saturday, Mitchell kicked it out of the stratosphere. Nothing could have prepared the Temple Theatre audience for the realization of 'Shakespearean Dreams,' the collaboration of the symphony, the Saginaw Choral Society and Pit and Balcony Community Theatre that somehow melded into an explosion of the senses." To read the complete review, please click here.
Review: "Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra presents a fun ode to Shakespeare"
Janet Martineau has published a review of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra's most recent subscription concert, featuring a semi-staged production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream with Mendelssohn's Overture and complete Incidental Music. "And it probably goes without saying now, [as evidenced throughout] his short career here, that Mitchell conducted Mendelssohn’s wonderful score flawlessly." To read the complete review, please click here.
"5,000 Conroe ISD students get musical experience at Mitchell Pavilion"
The Courier of Montgomery County has published an article about Brett Mitchell's recent education concert with the Houston Symphony for 5,000 elementary schoolers at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. To read this article, please click here.
Review: "An ode to the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra's final concert of the season"
Janet Martineau has published a review of the final concert of Brett Mitchell's first season as Music Director of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra. "What a remarkable and fascinating piece of programming maestro Brett Mitchell came up with to conclude the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra’s 75th season. We can't stop mulling it over, and although Beethoven’s mighty Symphony No. 9 was the main feature of the night, it is the opening piece on the program [Christopher Theofanidis's Rainbow Body] that continues to enchant us. Can you tell? We loved it... The ensemble as a whole was superb." To read the complete review, please click here.
Review: "Truly a quality young conductor..."
"360 Main Street" has published a review of the third subscription concert of Brett Mitchell's inaugural season as Music Director of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra. "Led by Music Director Mitchell, a fine and engaging maestro, there were some glorious moments and times when the ensemble really shone. He is truly a quality young conductor and has a bright future ahead." To read the complete review, please click here.
Review: "SBSO's 'American Valentine' better than a box of chocolates"
Janet Martineau has published a review of the second subscription concert of Brett Mitchell's first season at the helm of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra. "All the orchestra and its maestro Brett Mitchell had to do was deliver on the goods... and oh my goodness did they ever deliver on the goods. Collectively every single section of the orchestra got its moment to shine. Those strings just ached and shimmered in the Barber. The brass was so bold in the Dvorák. The percussionists bombastic in the Bernstein. And ya gotta love a conductor who follows the full-of-energy, sassy, jazzy, cocky West Side Story Overture with the quiet and introspective Adagio for Strings that just builds from the deepest of the strings to a fevered high pitch of angst so intense one fears the violin strings will snap and break.”
Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra listed on "Top 10 arts events of 2010"
Brett Mitchell's first performance as Music Director of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra has been listed on Janet Martineau's "Top 10 Arts Events of 2010." "What would [Mitchell's] inaugural concert deliver? Goosebumps and fireworks. Mitchell said in program notes that he 'wanted to make a statement with this first concert.' Well, he and his musicians certainly did that to the rousing cheers of an appreciative audience." To read the complete article, please click here.
Review: "Symphony offering was raw, took risks"
The Peoria Journal Star has published a review of Brett Mitchell's recent guest appearance with the Peoria Symphony Orchestra on their subscription series finale. "The Beethoven, on the other hand, exploded. Symphony No. 7 is step-on-the-pedal, careen-around-the-corner music…and Mitchell and the musicians played it that way. The music hurried, even in the famous elegiac theme-and-variation second movement, now sounding urgent, desperate. Yes, this is majestic music; but Mitchell brought out its feverish, obsessive side as well. The third and fourth movements pulsated not with athleticism but with a crazy relentlessness. Even in the music’s most sublime moments, Mitchell emphasized how Beethoven likes to sneak up on his listeners." To read the complete review, please click here.
Review: "Music fit for a king, and a world, gone mad"
Incident Light has published a review of Brett Mitchell's recent guest appearance with the SOLI Chamber Ensemble, conducting and co-directing a production of Peter Maxwell Davies's Eight Songs for a Mad King. "It was repellent. It was horrific. It was ugly. And it was utterly riveting... Conductor and co-director Brett Mitchell led the proceedings with skill and conviction." To read the complete review, please click here.
Review: "Symphony shines on Russian sojourn"
The Houston Chronicle has published a review of Brett Mitchell's recent appearance on the Houston Symphony's classical subscription series. "Mitchell...opened the concert capably leading three short pieces by Shostakovich. He caught the playful novelty of Tahiti Trot. Mitchell also led two excerpts from...The Gadfly: the warmly lyrical 'Romance' and the exuberant 'Folk Festival', allowing the musicians to revel in its racing rhythms and brilliant orchestral colors." To read the complete review, please click here.