News Release
Baroque specialist Ton Koopman becomes
Artist-in-Residence with The Cleveland Orchestra
Koopman to conduct The Cleveland Orchestra in Baroque repertoire each season through 2012-13
Artist-in-Residence masterclass announced with Case/CIM Baroque Orchestra
Early Music at Harkness series presents Koopman in solo keyboard recital
Release date: March 21, 2011
Ton Koopman
CLEVELAND – Ton Koopman, an internationally acclaimed specialist in Baroque repertoire, makes his first appearances as Artist-in-Residence conducting The Cleveland Orchestra in April and May. In his role as a regular guest conductor, Mr. Koopman will lead the Orchestra in multiple programs and concerts through the 2012-13 season. He will also teach public masterclasses annually for students in the community.
About Ton Koopman’s debut with The Cleveland Orchestra, the Akron Beacon Journal said, “Ton Koopman showed himself to be a terrific fit for the Cleveland Orchestra in this impressive debut.” Following that debut, Mr. Koopman was invited by Music Director Franz Welser-Möst to return as Artist-in-Residence to work regularly with the Orchestra in Baroque and Classical repertoire. Mr. Koopman said, “When you play baroque music with a symphony orchestra, you should try transfer as much as you can from the sound and style of the baroque orchestra. When I conducted in Cleveland last, I remember how excited I was that the same orchestra could make such a different sound.”
Ton Koopman will lead upcoming Cleveland Orchestra programs with music of J.S. Bach, C.P.E. Bach, and Handel in Baroque and Beyond Festival concerts April 28-May 8. As Artist-in-Residence, he will teach a masterclass on April 29 at the Cleveland Museum of Art, coaching an ensemble of students from the Case/CIM Baroque Orchestra. He will also perform a solo keyboard recital presented by Case Western Reserve University’s Chapel, Court & Countryside: Early Music at Harkness series on May 1.
The founder and conductor of the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and Choir, Mr. Koopman is also an accomplished harpsichordist and organist. His ensembles have toured extensively in Europe, the U.S., and Asia, and have recorded all of Bach’s secular and sacred cantatas.
SEVERANCE HALL CONCERTS
The first pair of Cleveland Orchestra concerts center on Handel’s Music for the Royal Fireworks, a Baroque favorite. Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 1 in C major and a Classical work, Haydn’s late Symphony No. 104 (“London”) are also on the program.
A matinee Cleveland Orchestra program on May 6 features early Classical music by J.S. Bach’s second son, C.P.E. Bach, including the Cello Concerto in A major. The concerto features cellist Steven Isserlis, who first appeared with the Orchestra at Severance Hall in 1994 and most recently with the ensemble in 1997. The program also includes the Symphony No. 98 by Joseph Haydn, known as the father of the Classical symphony and string quartet. These Cleveland Orchestra concerts mark rare performances by the Orchestra of music by C.P.E. Bach, whose crisp writing and tender, emotionally expressive style made the transition from the Baroque to the fully developed Classical style.
Ton Koopman said, “In his [C.P.E. Bach’s] symphonies it’s really Sturm und Drang, as they say in musicology—music going for extremes in harmonies and expression. People don’t say, ‘Oh, I’m going to the store and buy a lot of C.P.E. Bach, but when they hear the music, they really love it!
MUSICALLY SPEAKING
The Cleveland Orchestra’s Musically Speaking series is designed to allow anyone who loves classical music to delve deeper into its world. In a matinee presentation, speaking from the stage, Ton Koopman will examine the transition from the Baroque period into Classical forms and style. The program on May 8 includes two symphonies by C.P.E. Bach and the Cello Concerto in A major by C.P.E. Bach with soloist Steven Isserlis, along with Haydn’s Symphony No. 98.
A special Concert Prelude at Reinberger Chamber Hall one hour before the concert will present ensembles of Orchestra musicians, featuring Miho Hashizume, baroque violin; Scott Dixon, bass; Mary Kay Fink, baroque flute, and Joela Jones, keyboards. The musicians will incorporate elements of Baroque technique and style into their performances.
MASTERCLASS
Ton Koopman will coach the Case/CIM Baroque Orchestra, an ensemble of college students focusing on Baroque repertoire, in a masterclass at the Cleveland Museum of Art on April 29. The orchestra, made up of students from Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Institute of Music, regularly receives practical, pre-professional training in 17th- and 18th-century performance practice.
CHAPEL, COURT & COUNTRYSIDE: EARLY MUSIC AT HARKNESS
On May 1, Ton Koopman will give a solo keyboard recital presented by the Chapel, Court & Countryside early music series at Harkness Chapel of CWRU as part of the Baroque and Beyond Festival. A question-and-answer session with Mr. Koopman follows the program. Students from the CWRU Historical Performance Program will be performing as the audience arrives.
Ton Koopman
Over the course of a forty-five-year career, Ton Koopman has appeared in the most important concert halls and festivals of five continents. As an organist he has performed on the most prestigious historical instruments of Europe, and as a harpsichord player and conductor of the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir he has been a regular guest at venues including the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Théatre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, the Philharmonie in Munich, the Alte Oper in Frankfurt, Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall in New York, and leading concert halls in Vienna, London, Berlin, Brussels, Madrid, Rome, Salzburg, Tokyo, and Osaka. He made his Cleveland Orchestra debut in 2008.
Mr. Koopman is in his inaugural season of a three-season term as the Malcolm E. Kenney Artist-in-Residence at The Cleveland Orchestra. His appearances as a guest conductor and presenter of masterclasses are made possible by the Malcolm E. Kenney Artist-in-Resident Fund.
TICKETS
For more information or to order tickets for The Cleveland Orchestra, call the Cleveland Orchestra Subscription Office at 216-231-1111 or 800-686-1141 or order online. Please refer to the calendar listings for details on how to obtain tickets for other events.
Calendar Listing
Cleveland Orchestra Artist-in-Residence Ton Koopman Performances and Masterclass
Baroque and Beyond Festival
Thursday, April 28, 2011, at 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 30, 2011, at 8:00 p.m.
The Cleveland Orchestra
Ton Koopman, conductor
J.S. Bach: Suite No. 1 in C major, BWV 1066
Handel: Music for the Royal Fireworks
Haydn: Symphony No. 104 in D major (“London”)
Tickets: (Add $5 for Saturday) $31, $44, $51, $66, $87, $117 (box; same price on Saturday)
To order: 216-231-1111, 800-686-1141, or online to select your own seats and print your tickets at home
Location: Severance Hall, 11001 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland
Friday, April 29, 2011, at 4:00 p.m.
Masterclass with Ton Koopman, featuring the CWRU/CIM Baroque Orchestra
Tickets: Free and open to the public. Priority seating available for students presenting college ID.
Location: Gartner Auditorium, Cleveland Museum of Art, 11150 East Blvd., Cleveland
Sunday, May 1, 2011, at 7:30 p.m.
Chapel, Court & Countryside: Early Music at Harkness
Solo Keyboard Recital
Ton Koopman, keyboards
Tickets: $25 for general admission; $21 for seniors (65 and older) and members of early music societies; free for CWRU/CIM/Oberlin students; $4 for K-12 students; $9 for other students (full-time). Group discounts are also available.
To order: 216-368-2402 or music.case.edu/ccc/
Location: Harkness Chapel, Case Western Reserve University, 11200 Bellflower Rd., Cleveland
Friday, May 6, 2011, at 11:00 a.m.
The Cleveland Orchestra
Ton Koopman, conductor
Steven Isserlis, cello
C.P.E. Bach: Sinfonia in G major, Wq. 183, No. 4
C.P.E. Bach: Cello Concerto in A major, Wq. 172
Haydn: Symphony No. 98 in B-flat major
Tickets: $25, $35, $45, $55, $80
To order: 216-231-1111, 800-686-1141, or online to select your own seats and print your tickets at home
Location: Severance Hall, 11001 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland
Sunday, May 8, 2011, at 2:00 p.m.
Concert Prelude in Reinberger Chamber Hall at Severance Hall
Cleveland Orchestra musicians perform chamber music selections. Free for all 3 p.m. concert ticket holders.
Sunday, May 8, 2011, at 3:00 p.m.
The Cleveland Orchestra
Musically Speaking
Ton Koopman, conductor
Steven Isserlis, cello
Musically Speaking concerts are designed for everyone who loves music, to delve deeper into the world of classical music. In this matinee presentation, host and conductor Ton Koopman examines the transition from the Baroque period into Classical forms and style.
C.P.E. Bach: Sinfonia in G major, Wq. 183, No. 4
C.P.E. Bach: Cello Concerto in A major, Wq. 172
C.P.E. Bach: Sinfonia in D major, Wq. 183, No. 1
Haydn: Symphony No. 98 in B-flat major
Tickets: (Add $5 for Saturday) $31, $44, $51, $66, $87, $117 (box; same price on Saturday)
To order: 216-231-1111, 800-686-1141, or online to select your own seats and print your tickets at home
Location: Severance Hall, 11001 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland
All artists and programs are subject to change.
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Press Contacts
Jennifer Schlosser, 216-231-7518; Email: jschlosser@clevelandorchestra.com
Ana Papakhian, Office: 216-231-7476; Cell phone: 216-370-2595; Email: anap@clevelandorchestra.com
