NEWS
Review: "Cleveland Orchestra provides wonderful time with 'It's a Wonderful Life' film concert"
Brett Mitchell led two performances of Dmitri Tiomkin's score for It's a Wonderful Life with The Cleveland Orchestra on Dec. 8 and 9 at Severance Hall.
The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) has published a review of The Cleveland Orchestra's performances of It's a Wonderful Life:
Associate conductor Brett Mitchell led a massive orchestra, augmented by what seemed like close to a hundred angelic voices of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Chorus, in Dmitri Tiomkin's original score for the movie....
It hardly needs to be said that the Cleveland Orchestra sounded fantastic in this context. The youthful purity of the voices of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Chorus, however, added an exquisite note to the presentation -- much more heavenly than any of the Hollywood choruses available in the 1940s.
One felicitous touch was CineConcerts' decision to add subtitles to the movie, which meant that Mitchell and his forces were free to unleash waves of full fortissimo sound when called for, so that while dialogue was occasionally obscured, the sense of the story was never lost....
[Tiomkin] also called for a number of popular dance-band sequences, and it was a delight to hear the Cleveland Orchestra fit itself quite naturally into that mode. Their rendering of the Charleston in the graduation party sequence was as authentic as one could want.
The last segment of the film, the harrowing, Dickens-inspired sequence when angel Clarence vividly demonstrates how crucial George Bailey's life was to Bedford Falls and the well-being of its inhabitants, features the score's most dramatic passages, and Mitchell unleashed the orchestra's full force to devastating effect.
The happy ending was a glorious confection of musical holiday cheer, with the orchestra at its most sparkly and the ethereal voices of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Chorus going a long way to elicit a surge of emotion in the audience, which burst into sustained applause before the final credits had begun to roll.
To read the complete review, please click here.
Review: "Cleveland Orchestra Christmas Concert heads down merry pops path in 2016"
Brett Mitchell leads The Cleveland Orchestra and Choruses in their 2016 Christmas Concerts. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) has published a review of The Cleveland Orchestra's 2016 Christmas Concerts, led by associate conductor Brett Mitchell:
Gone away, for now, are certain old traditions. Here to stay, this season, are a few new ones.
Yes, the Cleveland Orchestra's 2016 Christmas Concerts stand apart from those of yore. With associate conductor Brett Mitchell on the podium in lieu of choral director Robert Porco, the program now running exudes a decidedly jaunty, lighthearted air....
Mitchell, for certain, proves an able and amusing host. Between numbers he offers not only interesting musical trivia but also a ready supply of jokes. He also engages Santa in witty banter and presides over the solo singings of "Five Gold Rings" with Porco-like aplomb, being kind to children but slaying an adult rendition with "That's terrible!"
No qualms about the professional singing or playing. At last Saturday's matinee concert, the combined Cleveland Orchestra Chorus and University of Akron Chamber Choir sounded lovely, especially in a poignant performance of "Oh, Holy Night" and the encore singing of "Silent Night." The orchestra, too, was in fine form throughout, hitting its stride right off the bat in James Beckel's sparkling "A Christmas Fanfare." ...
Perhaps the nicest twist was the involvement of Santa in concert. After teasing Mitchell about his youth and delivering a few zingers about the Browns and the election, the actor turned around Saturday and narrated "Twas the Night Before Christmas," joining the orchestra in a welcome and animated telling of his own story.
To read the complete review, please click here.
Audio: "Spend the holidays with The Cleveland Orchestra"
Brett Mitchell will lead The Cleveland Orchestra and Choruses in their 2016 Christmas Concerts. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
Brett Mitchell spoke with WCLV Classical 104.9's Bill O'Connell about The Cleveland Orchestra's 2016 Christmas Concerts, presented from December 10 through 18 at Severance Hall. To hear this interview, please click here.
Audio: Brett Mitchell discusses "It's a Wonderful Life" with The Cleveland Orchestra
Brett Mitchell will lead The Cleveland Orchestra in Dmitri Tiomkin's score for It's a Wonderful Life at Severance Hall on December 8 and 9 as part of its 2016 holiday festival.
Brett Mitchell spoke with WCLV Classical 104.9's Bill O'Connell about his performances with The Cleveland Orchestra of Dmitri Tiomkin's score for It's a Wonderful Life on December 8 and 9 at Severance Hall. To hear this interview, please click here.
Preview: "The Cleveland Orchestra and local choruses roll out the carols at Severance Hall"
Brett Mitchell will lead The Cleveland Orchestra's 2016 holiday festival at Severance Hall. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
Cool Cleveland has published a preview of Brett Mitchell's upcoming holiday concerts with The Cleveland Orchestra:
For much of this month, Severance Hall will be filled with the strains of carols as the Cleveland Orchestra brings back its annual holiday concerts for 10 performances.
Associate conductor Brett Mitchell conducts a stage full of mighty musical firepower, including the Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus, and, on different nights, the Cleveland Orchestra Children’s Chorus, the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Chorus Chamber Ensemble, the College of Wooster Chorus and the University of Akron Concert Choir, in an evening of familiar holiday music. You will be invited to sing along — with the Cleveland Orchestra! There will be a “surprise visitor.” Gee, I wonder who that would be. Hint: it won’t be the ghost of George Szell.
To read the complete preview, please click here.
Preview: "The orchestra does 'It's a Wonderful Life' and 8 more classical music events to hit this week"
Brett Mitchell will lead The Cleveland Orchestra in Dmitri Tiomkin's score for It's a Wonderful Life on December 8 and 9 at Severance Hall.
Cleveland Scene has published a brief preview of Brett Mitchell's performances with The Cleveland Orchestra this weekend:
Last week, The Cleveland Orchestra gave you George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker in Playhouse Square. This week, the ensemble returns to Severance Hall to crank up more Christmas activities: two screenings of Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life on Thursday and Friday, December 8 and 9 at 7:30 pm, and ten Christmas Concerts beginning on Saturday afternoon, December 10 and running through Sunday evening, December 18 will all be led by the busy associate conductor Brett Mitchell. The Orchestra’s Youth Chorus joins in for the movies, and all the Severance Hall choruses, plus guests, will raise their voices for the holiday fare. Tickets can be ordered online.
To read the complete preview, please click here.
Review: "Cleveland Orchestra sublime..."
Brett Mitchell leads The Cleveland Orchestra and Pennsylvania Ballet in The Nutcracker on Wednesday, Nov. 30. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
Broadway World has published a review of The Nutcracker, presented by The Cleveland Orchestra under the baton of associate conductor Brett Mitchell with the Pennsylvania Ballet:
One thing [previous productions led by former Cleveland Ballet artistic director Dennis Nahat] didn't have was the Cleveland Orchestra, under the direction of Brett Mitchell, playing Tchaikovsky's glorious, pulse-increasing music. The Pennsylvania Ballet was blessed with the sound of the world-class musicians, normally housed in Severance Hall or taking much-praised journeys to Miami Beach and Europe. Nahat also didn't have the angelic voices of the Cleveland Orchestra Children's Chorus, to create the vocal segments of the score. Yes, the musical segments of the evening were sublime, gorgeous.
To read the complete review, please click here.
Review: "'The Nutcracker' returns to life in vibrant Cleveland Orchestra, PA Ballet production"
Brett Mitchell leads The Cleveland Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra Children's Chorus, and Pennsylvania Ballet in The Nutcracker on Wednesday, Nov. 30. The run of seven performances extends through Sunday, Dec. 4. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) has published a review of The Nutcracker, presented by The Cleveland Orchestra under the baton of associate conductor Brett Mitchell with the Pennsylvania Ballet:
Like its title character after he's been brought to life, Pennsylvania Ballet's production of Balanchine's "The Nutcracker" with the Cleveland Orchestra has a heart. A real, warm, beating heart.
No pall here of routine, of anyone going through the motions. Beyond the splendorous sets, costumes, and staging effects, from the top of the cast to the bottom, their account of Tchaikovsky's masterpiece exudes sincerity, the sense of artists enjoying themselves and actively striving to put on a good show.
And a good show it is. Whether one attends "The Nutcracker" for the dancing, the music, or simply the spectacle, this production, unveiled Wednesday night in the State Theatre at Playhouse Square, is almost certain to satisfy, to renew one's respect and love for the ballet....
Despite less-than-flattering acoustics in the pit, the Cleveland Orchestra under associate conductor Brett Mitchell manages to supply that special magic only live music can, all the while demonstrating supreme agility in response to the action on stage. Through Mitchell, in fact, the music lines up with the dancers exactly.
To read the complete review, please click here.
Review: "Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra: Bruckner and a Briggs premiere"
Music Director Brett Mitchell leads the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra in performance at Severance Hall on Friday, Nov. 18. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
ClevelandClassical has published a review of the first concert of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra's 2016-17 subscription season, led by music director Brett Mitchell:
Since taking the helm of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, Brett Mitchell has continued the long tradition of challenging the first-rate ensemble to achieve higher artistic standards with each program. On November 18 at Severance Hall, Mitchell and his young musicians took on what was arguably the most demanding program of his tenure, and the results were stellar.
The evening began with the world premiere of Roger Briggs’ Fountain of Youth....
Drawing a full, clear sound from his players, who were at the top of their game from beginning to end, Mitchell led an energetic, rhythmically secure performance of the captivating eighteen-minute tone-poem. The audience and the orchestra cheered as Roger Briggs came on stage to take a bow. It was a pleasure to be introduced to Briggs’s music and hopefully we will hear more of it in the future.
Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 4 (“Romantic”) is a monumental work that requires an orchestra to have a mature understanding of large ensemble playing, individual musical prowess, and — with a duration of 65 minutes — a concentration level not often required of a youth orchestra. However, Mitchell and the Orchestra proved they were more than up to the task during their impressive performance...
Mitchell’s pacing of the opening “Bewegt, nicht zu schnell,” allowed the music to breathe, and never become stagnant. The strings sounded full-bodied, never tiring during the movement’s long phrases, and the winds and brass played with a warmth that was never overpowering.
Mitchell led a nuanced Andante, and the cellos and violas produced beautiful section solos.... The Orchestra unleashed a huge sound during the Finale. Here too, Mitchell’s thoughtful pacing, combined with subtle tempo changes, kept the very long movement sounding fresh and captivating. This was a spectacular performance, and the large audience showed their appreciation with an immediate and long ovation.
To read the complete review, please click here.
Review: "Cleveland Orchestra & Pennsylvania Ballet: 'George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker'"
Brett Mitchell leads The Cleveland Orchestra and Pennsylvania Ballet in The Nutcracker on Wednesday, Nov. 30. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
ClevelandClassical has published a review of The Nutcracker, presented by The Cleveland Orchestra under the baton of associate conductor Brett Mitchell with the Pennsylvania Ballet:
Holding all this choreography in a warm embrace was Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s evocative score, expertly played by The Cleveland Orchestra. Conductor Brett Mitchell led a finely-paced performance... Flutes sounded wonderful in the Mirliton, horns splendid in the Waltz of the Flowers, and Tchaikovsky’s addition of a new instrument, the celesta, added the requisite sparkle to the Sugarplum Fairy, courtesy of Joela Jones. Balanchine’s own innovation, tucking in an violin solo interlude from The Sleeping Beauty into the end of the first act, slowed the flow of the show, though concertmaster William Preucil played it beautifully on Wednesday....
This excellent production by Pennsylvania Ballet and The Cleveland Orchestra is a delectable show that will brighten anybody’s holiday season. Don’t miss it.
To read the complete review, please click here.
Article: "Cleveland Orchestra performs at Arsht Center for 4,000 Miami-Dade fourth-graders"
Brett Mitchell leads The Cleveland Orchestra at Knight Concert Hall in Miami. (Photo by Catalina Briola)
The Miami Herald has published a story about Brett Mitchell's recent education concerts with The Cleveland Orchestra at Knight Concert Hall in Miami:
School bus after school bus and student after student lined up outside the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts after hearing the news: The Cleveland Orchestra was in town.
Led by associate conductor Brett Mitchell, the Cleveland Orchestra opened season 11 by performing “The Sounds of the Orchestra,” an educational concert for 4,000 Miami-Dade fourth-graders....
Cleveland Orchestra Miami launched in 2007 with the goal of inspiring music exploration in local students through its community and education programs — including the free education concerts that teach students about the sounds of brass, string, woodwind and percussion sections, and how composers put all those groups together to create diverse music.
“This experience is part of Miami-Dade’s Cultural Passport program,” said Montserrat Balseiro, managing director of Cleveland Orchestra Miami. “It’s great to be part of this initiative to provide various opportunities for students who probably wouldn’t experience this otherwise.” ...
“Students always enjoy the concerts and sometimes get to talk to musicians after,” Balseiro said. “We are looking forward to next year.”
To read the complete story, please click here.
Preview: "Renée Fleming To Help Kick Off Colorado Symphony's Next Season"
Soprano Renée Fleming will join Brett Mitchell in his first concert as Music Director of the Colorado Symphony in September 2017. (Photo by Timothy White)
Colorado Public Radio has published a preview of Brett Mitchell's first concert as Music Director of the Colorado Symphony, featuring special guest artist Renée Fleming:
One of the world's best-known opera singers will help the Colorado Symphony kick off its next season.
Soprano Renee Fleming—who has appeared on countless opera stages, won Grammy awards and performed at the Super Bowl—will sing at Boettcher Concert Hall on Sept. 9, 2017, the orchestra announced recently.
The performance will also celebrate conductor Brett Mitchell's first concert as music director of the Colorado Symphony. (He's serving as music director designate this season, and spoke with CPR Classical in September about his new job.)
Details on what Fleming will sing in Denver, as well as Colorado Symphony's full 2017-18 season schedule, will be announced later.
To read the complete preview, please click here.
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.