NEWS
Audio: Brett Mitchell discusses "The Nutcracker," "It's a Wonderful Life," and The Cleveland Orchestra's annual holiday festival
Brett Mitchell will lead The Cleveland Orchestra and Pennsylvania Ballet in George Balanchine's production of The Nutcracker at the State Theatre in downtown Cleveland from Nov. 30 through Dec. 4. (Photo by Alexander Iziliaev)
Brett Mitchell recently spoke with WCLV Classical 104.9's Bill O'Connell about his upcoming performances with The Cleveland Orchestra of The Nutcracker (presented with the Pennsylvania Ballet), It's a Wonderful Life, and its annual holiday festival. To hear these interviews, please click here.
Preview: "Cleveland Orchestra, PA Ballet savoring fresh spin with Balanchine's 'The Nutcracker'"
On both sides of the Cleveland Orchestra-Pennsylvania Ballet production of Balanchine's "The Nutcracker" coming to Playhouse Square this week, performers claim to be reveling in a holiday classic they say remains fresh. (Photo by Alexander Iziliaev)
The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) has published a preview of The Cleveland Orchestra and Pennsylvania Ballet's joint production of The Nutcracker, which will be conducted by Brett Mitchell:
If the public enjoys the show half much as the artists creating it are enjoying the process, Pennsylvania Ballet's upcoming presentation of Balanchine's "The Nutcracker" with the Cleveland Orchestra will be sitting pretty.
No sense here of "The Nutcracker" as a holiday chore. On both sides of the production, on stage and in the pit, performers say they're reveling in a holiday classic that remains fresh....
Brett Mitchell, associate conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra and leader of the performances this week at Playhouse Square, also is having a mighty fine time, albeit for a different reason.
Tchaikovsky's ballet for Mitchell is proving a kind of treasure trove, a score full of musical riches beyond its popular excerpts.
"It's been a revelation," said Mitchell of his first exposure to the complete ballet. "There's a ton of music that only gets played every two or three years." ...
The Cleveland Orchestra may, in his words, be "the most flexible, sensitive orchestra on the planet," able to respond automatically to whatever nuanced request he might make, but "The Nutcracker" still contains a great deal of material with which the musicians aren't intimately familiar.
What's more, the score is different from what it might be otherwise. In addition to a main character named Marie (not Clara), a large cast of children, and an earlier appearance of the "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy," Balanchine's version of "The Nutcracker" contains an insert from Tchaikovsky's "Sleeping Beauty."
Then there's Mitchell himself. Not only is he new to conducting the complete "The Nutcracker." He's new to conducting ballet, period.
Which isn't to say he's inexperienced. Far from it. On top of time spent with Pennsylvania Ballet, learning "The Nutcracker" from the dancer's perspective, Mitchell cites as training his several years in Cleveland, conducting orchestra performances with film. (He also jokingly points to a third-grade stint as the Mouse King.) The difference now is that dancers and musicians can and do interact in real time.
"To learn how dependent the stage and pit are on each other, that's what's been the most interesting," Mitchell said, adding that after spending time with the ballet in rehearsal. "I know pretty well what they're looking for."
The same could be said of Pennsylvania Ballet and its audience. Aware that crowds for "The Nutcracker" are eager for a spectacle as well as great dancing and music, the company, Mitchell said, has brought to Playhouse Square a production every bit as lavish as Cleveland has come to demand.
"When you see it," Mitchell said, "you're going to say, 'That right there, that's exactly what it should look like.' It's exactly what you would expect."
To read the complete article, please click here.
Feature: "Colorado Symphony Looks Up — and Sees More Challenges"
Colorado Symphony Music Director Designate Brett Mitchell (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
The Colorado Symphony finally posted a budget surplus for the first time in its history. It’s back from the brink of death, with a growing multi-million-dollar endowment and a raft of new and returning corporate sponsors. It’s got a peppy new music director designate....
Now the musical directorship will transfer to the present associate conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra, 37-year-old Brett Mitchell, who takes up the position formally on July 1, 2017. Is Mitchell the kind of committed, charismatic leader the symphony needs?
[CEO Jerome] Kern is a staunch supporter, of course. “When you look at a guy like Brett Mitchell, who’s committed to spending no less than 25 weeks a year in Denver, to move here with his wife, well, we haven’t had that since Marin Alsop,” he says.
“It’s not my first rodeo,” says Mitchell, who’s currently braving Denver’s insane housing market. In a short span of years, the conductor has accumulated a significant amount of experience, ranging from opera to leading the Cleveland Orchestra’s Youth Orchestra. He’s excited about the challenge ahead, praises the musicians (“They’ve been doing their part in this place for so long that it’s a labor of love”) and looks forward to conducting the full range of concert offerings.
“Hey,” the Seattle native says, “I am not the guy who did nothing but listen to Mozart growing up.” He confesses to playing a little alto sax à la David Sanborn – “Hey, it was the '80s!” – but he didn’t really feel the impulse to conduct until his freshman year in college.
“At first I thought I would be a band teacher,” he says. “Mr. Holland’s Opus.” Once he determined his career path, he studied extensively with such prominent conductors as Alsop, Kurt Masur and Lorin Maazel. However, he doesn’t disdain the popular fare.
“I think that, having been a staff conductor, I’ve played just about every kind of music there is for orchestra, and I love it all,” Mitchell continues. “I want to do the pop shows and the movies. My interest is to appear on every series, not just the masterworks. Those works need to be performed with the enthusiasm they deserve because they mean something. I mean, John Williams [composer of Star Wars et al.] was my intro to orchestra. That’s a gateway. Developing a broad footprint, having enormous diversity and variety — those are gateways.
“With an audience, you need to develop relatability," he goes on. "If you are doing the same thing over and over again, people can shut you out. The way that we have it is not as a museum, but as part of a continuum. How do you make music that opens ears in a new way that doesn’t make it intimidating? We want to be responsive, not reactive. We’re not dumbing down anything at all. The presentation is managed differently, and there’s more salesmanship to it. We’re just trying to have fun and share these extraordinary experiences.”
To read the complete article, please click here.
Article: "Rotary International Centennial"
Brett Mitchell with Judy and John Germ (Rotary International president) and Lynn and Ken Schupert (Rotary trustee vice chair) at a Severance Hall reception before The Rotary Foundation's Centennial Concert. (Photo by Peggy Turbett)
Currents News (Ohio) has published an article about Brett Mitchell's concert with The Cleveland Orchestra in October celebrating The Rotary Foundation's centennial:
The exquisite tones of the renowned Cleveland Orchestra filled Severance Hall with a program of Debussy, Beethoven and Liszt, customized to honor the Rotary Foundation’s 100th anniversary. But it was the encore that brought goose bumps. As conductor Brett Mitchell drew out a simple, familiar strain, 1,200 Rotarians, tentatively at first, then with swelling strength, sang along: “Let there be peace on earth, and let it being with me.”
The centennial concert, followed by dinner honoring donors at the InterContinental Hotel, included comments by Rotary International president John F. Germ, and videos showing the group’s efforts in immunizing children, particularly in war torn areas, against the disease of polio.
To read the complete article, please click here.
Preview: "Cleveland Orchestra & Pennsylvania Ballet to perform 'George Balanchine's The Nutcracker'"
ClevelandClassical has published a preview of The Cleveland Orchestra's upcoming production of The Nutcracker with Pennsylvania Ballet, conducted by Brett Mitchell:
Although the San Francisco Ballet produced the first complete Nutcracker in the United States in 1944, it was Russian-born choreographer George Balanchine’s production, premiered at City Center in New York on February 2, 1954, that is credited with making this holiday classic famous in the U.S.
Next week, The Cleveland Orchestra and Philadelphia’s Pennsylvania Ballet will join forces for seven performances of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker at the State Theatre in Playhouse Square beginning on Wednesday, November 30 at 7:00 pm. Brett Mitchell conducts these rare, full-orchestra performances of Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s delectable musical confection, which include the Cleveland Orchestra Children’s Chorus.
To read the complete preview, please click here.
Preview: "Holiday Arts Guide 2016: A wonderful, busy time for classical music and dance in Cleveland"
One of the longest and most revered holiday traditions in Northeast Ohio: The Cleveland Orchestra's Christmas Concerts. This year the popular programs will be led by associate conductor Brett Mitchell. (Photo by The Plain Dealer)
The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) has published its annual, curated selection of holiday performances in Northeast Ohio, including two programs presented by Brett Mitchell and The Cleveland Orchestra:
Cleveland Orchestra
Saturday-Sunday, Dec. 10-18; Severance Hall, 11001 Euclid Ave., Cleveland.
Performances at 7:30 p.m. (Dec. 10, 11, 15 and 16) and 2:30 p.m. (Dec. 10, 11, 17 and 18).
$45-$105; clevelandorchestra.com or 216-231-1111.
In a change of pace, associate conductor Brett Mitchell presides over the Cleveland Orchestra's popular holiday show this year, in lieu of Robert Porco. The rest of the program, however, remains the same. Expect performances of traditional and lesser-known holiday music by the Cleveland Orchestra and Cleveland Orchestra Chorus, contributions by area choirs, sing-along selections and a visit from you-know-who.
Pennsylvania Ballet/Cleveland Orchestra
Wednesday, Nov. 30-Sunday, Nov. 4; State Theatre, Playhouse Square, Cleveland.
Performances at 7 p.m. (Nov. 30-Dec. 3), 11 a.m. (Dec. 2) and 2 p.m. (Dec. 3 and 4).
$15-$99; playhousesquare.org or 216-241-6000.
If you plan to attend only one production of "The Nutcracker" this season, this may be the one to catch. The great Philadelphia-based Pennsylvania Ballet returns to collaborate with the Cleveland Orchestra on a lavish account of the famous tale, in the version conceived by George Balanchine. This is the standard to which most other productions aspire.
To read the complete preview, please click here.
Preview: "The biggest name in American opera will sing with the Colorado Symphony next year"
Soprano Renée Fleming will join Brett Mitchell for his first concert as Music Director of the Colorado Symphony in September 2017. (Photo of Ms. Fleming by Decca/Andrew Eccles. Photo of Mr. Mitchell by Roger Mastroianni.)
The Denver Post has published a preview of Brett Mitchell's first concert as Music Director of the Colorado Symphony in September 2017, featuring special guest artist Renée Fleming:
Soprano Renée Fleming, the biggest name in American opera, will sing with the Colorado Symphony next year, accompanying conductor Brett Mitchell in his first official performance as CSO’s new music director.
The concert, set for Saturday, Sept. 9, kicks off the orchestra’s 2017/18 season. The repertoire is yet to be announced....
The event, at Boettcher Concert Hall, the orchestra’s home, will be a splashy kickoff for Mitchell, who comes to the CSO from Cleveland, where worked as the Cleveland Orchestra’s associate conductor and as music director of the organization’s Youth Orchestra.
To read the complete preview, please click here.
Review: "Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra has watershed moment with Bruckner, Briggs"
The Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra and music director Brett Mitchell kicked off their 2016-17 season Friday, Nov. 18 at Severance Hall with a momentous program pairing a commissioned work by Roger Briggs with the Fourth Symphony of Bruckner. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) has published a review of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra's first subscription performance of the 2016-17 season:
Never has the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra more closely resembled its namesake....
COYO's performance Friday of Bruckner and a brand-new work was...a watershed moment, a giant and bold stride in the footsteps of its elders.
Generating and performing new music isn't the usual work of a youth orchestra. COYO, however, is far from typical. To kick off his last season as music director, conductor Brett Mitchell hired North Carolina-based composer Roger Briggs, his former teacher, to pen the group's 15th world premiere.
He couldn't have chosen better. Not only does "Fountain of Youth," the piece Briggs produced, depict in music the youthful force COYO itself represents. Weighty and complex, it also constitutes a serious musical challenge, one right at the ensemble's ever-rising level....
All of this COYO handled with aplomb, bringing off a cinematic performance Friday night at Severance Hall marked on the one hand by churning, motoric energy and smooth lyricism on the other. No matter the intricacies or expansive gestures Briggs threw at them, the group as coached by Mitchell responded much as the Cleveland Orchestra would: with confidence, balance, and expression.
And that wasn't the group's only accomplishment. Also on the program: COYO's first Bruckner. Specifically, Bruckner's "Romantic" Symphony No. 4, in its revised 1878/80 edition, a mammoth work lasting over an hour.
But this was more than just a feat of endurance. Guided by Mitchell, COYO...accomplished something artistic of which they can be rightly proud.
All the big-picture elements were in alignment. Structurally, COYO's Bruckner was as sound as any, its pacing and thematic development perfectly organic. Each of the three large movements reached a hard-hitting peak at the end of a steady, gradual climb.
Likewise the details. The depth of the group's rehearsals was evident in the graceful lilt of the Andante, the solid brilliance of the brass in the Scherzo, and the sweet but forceful balance struck by the strings in the Finale. From a mere reading of the score, these touches elevated COYO's performance to a true, thoughtful interpretation....
All of which begs the question of where COYO goes from here. Wagner operas? Strauss tone poems? The later works of Shostakovich? At this point, with Bruckner under its belt, the group appears equal to just about anything.
To read the complete review, please click here.
Preview: "'The Nutcracker' and Five More Classical Music Events to Hit This Thanksgiving Weekend"
Cleveland Scene has published a brief preview of Brett Mitchell's upcoming performances of The Nutcracker:
The Cleveland Orchestra and Philadelphia’s Pennsylvania Ballet will join forces for seven performances of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker at the State Theatre in Playhouse Square beginning on Wednesday, November 30 at 7:00 pm. Brett Mitchell conducts these rare, full-orchestra performances of Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s delectable musical confection, which include the Cleveland Orchestra Children’s Chorus. More performances on Thursday, December 1 at 7:00 pm; Friday, December 2 at 11:00 am and 7:00 pm; Saturday, December 3 at 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm; and Sunday, December 4 at 2:00 pm. Tickets are available online.
To read the complete preview, please click here.
Audio: Intermission interview on WCLV
Photo by Roger Mastroianni
WCLV Classical 104.9 broadcast live the first concert of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra's 2016-17 season on Friday, Nov. 18. At intermission, Bill O'Connell spoke with COYO Music Director Brett Mitchell. To hear this interview, please click here.
Program
BRIGGS - Fountain of Youth [WORLD PREMIERE, commissioned by the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra
BRUCKNER - Symphony No. 4 ("Romantic")
Preview: "Twelve things to do in Northeast Ohio through Nov. 24"
Music director Brett Mitchell leads the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra in performance at Severance Hall. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
Crain's Cleveland Business has published a brief preview of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra's first concert of the 2016-17 season:
Watch youth be served as the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra performs at Severance Hall. The youth orchestra bills itself as one of northern Ohio's premier musical destinations for aspiring student musicians. In its opening night of its Severance Hall season, the youth orchestra will host a program featuring Bruckner's Symphony No. 4 and the world premiere of Roger Briggs' Fountain of Youth, commissioned by the youth orchestra. The group is led by Brett Mitchell. (Friday, Nov. 18, at 8 p.m.)
To read the complete preview, please click here.
Preview: "Classical music events to catch this week"
Brett Mitchell leads the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra in performance at Severance Hall. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
Cleveland Scene has published a brief preview of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra's opening concert of the 2016-17 season, presented this weekend under the baton of music director Brett Mitchell:
The Cleveland Orchestra is off on Friday evening, but the lights will be on at Severance Hall for a concert by the orchestral musicians of the future. Brett Mitchell will lead the impressive Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra in the world premiere of Roger Briggs’ Fountain of Youth and in Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 4.
To read the complete preview, please click here.
Audio: Brett Mitchell discusses Bruckner and a world premiere
Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra music director Brett Mitchell (Photo by Peter Lockley)
Brett Mitchell spoke with WCLV's Bill O'Connell about the first concert of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra's 2016-17 season, presented on Friday, November 18 at Severance Hall.
On the program will be the world premiere of Roger Briggs's Fountain of Youth and Bruckner's Fourth Symphony.
To listen to or download the complete interview, please click here.
For more information or to purchase tickets for this event, please click here.
Preview: "Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra takes the stage at Severance Hall"
The Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra and music director Brett Mitchell onstage at Severance Hall. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
CoolCleveland has published a brief preview of the first subscription concert of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra's 2016-17 season on Friday, November 18:
The Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra will take over the stage at Severance Hall for its autumn concert to show off the high-level talents of these advanced adolescent musicians.
The group’s director, Brett Mitchell, will conduct the ensemble as they perform a program that includes the world premiere of Briggs’ Fountain of Youth, which was commissioned by the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra and Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No 4, one of his best-known works.
To read the complete article, please click here.
Preview: "Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra premiere"
ClevelandClassical has published the final installment in a three-part series previewing the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra's world premiere this weekend of Roger Briggs's Fountain of Youth, led by music director Brett Mitchell:
Music director Brett Mitchell leads the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra in performance at Severance Hall. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
Like youth in all its exuberance, fountains make a powerful ascent until the water reaches its highest point. Then, like growing old, it begins to fall back down into the pool. In his new work, composer Roger Briggs uses this metaphor as the inspiration for his eighteen-minute tone poem. On Friday, November 18 at 8:00 pm at Severance Hall, the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra (COYO) under the direction of Brett Mitchell will present the world premiere of Briggs’ Fountain of Youth, commissioned by COYO. The program will also include Bruckner’s Symphony No. 4 (“Romantic”).
In the last of three feature articles, we speak with two orchestra members: violinist Daniel Fields and cellist James Hettinga. Click here to read an interview with conductor Brett Mitchell, and here to read an interview with composer Roger Briggs.
To read the complete article, please click here.
Preview: "Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra: a conversation with composer Roger Briggs"
ClevelandClassical has published the second installment in a three-part series previewing the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra's upcoming world premiere of Roger Briggs's Fountain of Youth, led by music director Brett Mitchell:
Composer Roger Briggs
Whether you’re a member of a “Big Five” orchestra or not, the prospect of performing a newly-composed work is always exciting. On Friday, November 18 at 8:00 pm at Severance Hall, the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra (COYO) under the direction of Brett Mitchell will have that opportunity when they present the world premiere of Roger Briggs’ Fountain of Youth, commissioned by COYO. The program will also include Bruckner’s Symphony No. 4 (“Romantic”).
For composer Roger Briggs, the COYO commission was immediately attractive to him for two reasons: first, it provided him with the opportunity to write a new work that would be conducted by a former student. “Brett Mitchell studied composition and conducting with me at Western Washington University. He was a marvelous talent,” Briggs said during a telephone conversation.“I remember playing Billy Joel’s Just the Way You Are on the piano in class one day, and afterwards he politely came up and told me that I had left out a note of a chord, and he sat down and played the chord adding the note.” Briggs recalled. “I told him I didn’t think he was correct, so I immediately went to the score, and he was right!”
Second, it would be his first commission for a large-scale symphonic work from a youth orchestra. “The Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra has the reputation of being one of the finest youth orchestras in the world, so I wrote the piece as though I was writing for a professional orchestra — I knew I didn’t need to write down to them,” the composer said.
To read the complete article, please click here.
Review: "Cleveland Orchestra helps Beachwood schools open new auditorium"
Brett Mitchell acknowledges Beachwood High School students after performing Maurice Ravel's Boléro side-by-side with The Cleveland Orchestra. (Photo by Bob Jacob)
Cleveland Jewish News has published a review of Brett Mitchell's concert last weekend with The Cleveland Orchestra:
The world-famous Cleveland Orchestra’s second number was a fitting tribute for the unveiling of Beachwood High School’s new auditorium on Nov. 5.
Under the direction of Brett Mitchell, associate conductor of the orchestra, the nearly 75 musicians played Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Overture: The Consecration of the House.”
Two pieces later, members of the Beachwood music programs sat side-by-side with the professionals on stage, for the evening’s finale in the state-of-the-art facility that seats more than 600.
“We’ve been waiting years for this. I could not think of a better way to open this auditorium and thank our community than to bring in The Cleveland Orchestra. The tagline with The Cleveland Orchestra is that they’re one of the top five orchestras in the world and the fact that they’re playing in our high school is it blows my mind and I couldn’t be happier,” Hardis said.
To read the complete review, please click here.
Brett Mitchell leads The Cleveland Orchestra and musicians from Beachwood High School in Maurice Ravel's Boléro. (Photo by Bob Jacob)
Audio: Brett Mitchell discusses John Williams and the Colorado Symphony
Brett Mitchell is featured in the current episode of Comic Book Central, discussing the music of John Williams immediately following his performance of selections from Superman with The Cleveland Orchestra. From his studio at Severance Hall, Mr. Mitchell also speaks about his upcoming appointment as Music Director of the Colorado Symphony.
To listen to or download this episode, please click here; Mr. Mitchell's interview begins at 9:45.
Video: Brett Mitchell takes The Cleveland Orchestra into community schools
CMSD News (Cleveland Metropolitan School District) has produced a video about Brett Mitchell's recent education program—called "The Sounds of the Orchestra"—presented with The Cleveland Orchestra at the East Professional Center. The video includes footage of the performance and a post-concert interview with Mr. Mitchell.
To view this video on Facebook, please click here. To view this video on Twitter, please click here.
Preview: "This Week's Classical Music Event Picks"
Brett Mitchell leads The Cleveland Orchestra in performance at Severance Hall. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
Cleveland Scene has published a preview of Brett Mitchell's concert this weekend with The Cleveland Orchestra:
The Cleveland Orchestra will join Beachwood High School Ensembles under the baton of Brett Mitchell to celebrate the renovation of the Beachwood High School Auditorium on Saturday, November 5 at 7:00 pm. There’ll be music by John Williams, Ludwig van Beethoven, Michael Daugherty, and a side-by-side performance of an excerpt from Maurice Ravel’s Bolero. Free tickets will be distributed on the school’s website.
To read the complete article, please click here.