News Release
The Cleveland Orchestra announces details of
2011 Vienna Musikverein Residency and
European tour performances with
Music Director Franz Welser-Möst
The Orchestra returns to Vienna in a four-concert residency at the Musikverein
that includes two performances of Mozart’s “Great” Mass in C minor
Tour includes thirteen concerts, in Madrid, Valencia, Paris, Luxembourg, Cologne, Vienna, and Linz
Release date: March 28, 2011 (Rev. 9-24-11)
The Cleveland Orchestra at the Musikverein in 2009
CLEVELAND – Music Director Franz Welser-Möst and The Cleveland Orchestra will embark on their eleventh international tour together, including the fifth biennial residency in Vienna’s historic Musikverein concert hall. The Orchestra will appear in thirteen performances in Europe from October 20 through November 5. In addition to the residency, the tour will include two concerts in Madrid, Paris, and Luxembourg, and single concerts in Valencia, Cologne, and Linz.
During the four-concert Musikverein Residency, the Orchestra will give two performances of Mozart’s “Great” Mass in C minor, featuring soprano Malin Hartelius, soprano Juliane Banse, tenor Martin Mitterrutzner, bass-baritone Ruben Drole, and the Vienna Singverein. Cellist Truls Mørk will perform as soloist with the Orchestra in one of the concerts in Luxembourg. The thirteen-concert, seven-city tour begins with performances in Madrid, Spain, on October 20 and 21 and ends with a concert at the Musikverein on November 5.
Sponsors for The Cleveland Orchestra's 2011 European Tour and Vienna Musikverein Residency include Raiffeisenlandesbank Oberösterreich, Tele München Group, Jones Day, LNE Group/Lee Weingart, Miba AG, and SEMAG GmbH, with additional generous support from the following individuals: Ms. Ginger Warner, Dr. Herbert G. Kloiber, Dr. and Mrs. Wolfgang C. Berndt, Mr. and Mrs. Harro Bodmer, Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Umdasch, and Elisabeth and Karlheinz Muhr.
Tour Facts and HIstory
- The Orchestra and Franz Welser-Möst will be performing together in Madrid and Valencia, Spain, for the first time.
- The Orchestra’s only previous performance in Valencia was in January 1999.
- The Orchestra previously performed in Madrid in May of 1957 (three concerts) and, in its first (and only previous) performance at the Auditorio Nacional, in January 1999.
- The Orchestra has previously performed in Paris 13 times, between June 1957 and October 2009. The previous performances at the Salle Pleyel were in September 1979 and January 1999.
- The Orchestra has performed in Luxembourg on five previous occasions, in October of 2005, 2007, and 2009. Performances at the Philharmonie took place in October 2007 (one concert) and October 2009 (two concerts).
- The Orchestra has previously performed in Cologne nine times, each at the Philharmonie, beginning with single concerts in June 1989 and August 1996, and three concerts in June 2000. Franz Welser-Möst led the Orchestra in pairs of concerts in Cologne in October 2005 and October 2007.
- The Orchestra has performed in Vienna a total of 36 times, beginning in June 1957, and most recently in October and November 2009, under the direction of Franz Welser-Möst. Twenty-five of those performances have been at the Musikverein. Under Franz Welser-Möst’s direction, the Orchestra has performed in Vienna for Musikverein Residencies in 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2009. The four residencies have included a total of 17 concerts in that historic venue.
- The Orchestra previously has performed in Linz a total of 10 times, beginning in September 1975 through the August 2010 performance at the Abbey of St. Florian led by Franz Welser-Möst. Seven of the concerts have taken place at the Brucknerhaus, and three at the Abbey of St. Florian. Franz Welser-Möst has conducted seven of the Linz concerts.
(A detailed tour schedule, brief Orchestra history, and biography of Franz Welser-Möst follow.)
THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA
EUROPEAN TOUR AND VIENNA MUSIKVEREIN RESIDENCY
OCTOBER 20 - NOVEMBER 5, 2011
Madrid, Spain
Thursday, October 20, 2011 at 7:30 p.m.
Auditorio Nacional
The Cleveland Orchestra
Franz Welser-Möst, conductor
MENDELSSOHN Symphony No. 3 (“Scottish”)
STRAVINSKY Agon
RAVEL Boléro
Friday, October 21, 2011 at 10:30 p.m.
Auditorio Nacional
The Cleveland Orchestra
Franz Welser-Möst, conductor
WEBER Overture to Euryanthe
ADAMS Doctor Atomic Symphony
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 4
Valencia, Spain
Sunday, October 23, 2011 at 8:30 p.m.
Palau de la Musica
The Cleveland Orchestra
Franz Welser-Möst, conductor
MENDELSSOHN Symphony No. 3 (“Scottish”)
STRAVINSKY Agon
RAVEL Boléro
Paris, France
Tuesday, October 25, 2011 at 8:00 p.m.
Salle Pleyel
The Cleveland Orchestra
Franz Welser-Möst, conductor
STRAVINSKY Agon
R. STRAUSS Metamorphosen, A Study for 23 Solo Strings
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 4
Wednesday, October 26, 2011 at 8:00 p.m.
Salle Pleyel
The Cleveland Orchestra
Franz Welser-Möst, conductor
MENDELSSOHN Symphony No. 3 (“Scottish”)
ADAMS Doctor Atomic Symphony
RAVEL Boléro
Luxembourg
Thursday, October 27, 2011 at 8:00 p.m.
Philharmonie
The Cleveland Orchestra
Franz Welser-Möst, conductor
MENDELSSOHN Symphony No. 3 (“Scottish”)
STRAVINSKY Agon
RAVEL Boléro
Friday, October 28, 2011 at 8:00 p.m.
Philharmonie
The Cleveland Orchestra
Franz Welser-Möst, conductor
Truls Mørk, cello
WEBER Overture to Euryanthe
SHOSTAKOVICH Cello Concerto No. 1
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 4
Cologne
Sunday, October 30, 2011 at 4:00 p.m.
Philharmonie
The Cleveland Orchestra
Franz Welser-Möst, conductor
WEBER Overture to Euryanthe
ADAMS Doctor Atomic Symphony
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 4
Vienna, Austria
Monday, October 31, 2011 at 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011 at 7:30 p.m.
Musikverin
The Cleveland Orchestra
Franz Welser-Möst, conductor
Malin Hartelius, soprano
Juliane Banse, soprano
Martin Mitterrutzner, tenor
Ruben Drole, bass-baritone
Vienna Singverein
R. STRAUSS Metamorphosen, A Study for 23 Solo Strings
MOZART Mass in C minor, K. 427 (“The Great”)
Linz, Austria
Thursday, November 3, 2011 at 7:30 p.m.
Brucknerhaus
The Cleveland Orchestra
Franz Welser-Möst, conductor
MENDELSSOHN Symphony No. 3 (“Scottish”)
STRAVINSKY Agon
RAVEL Boléro
Vienna, Austria
Friday, November 4, 2011 at 7:30 p.m.
Musikverein
The Cleveland Orchestra
Franz Welser-Möst, conductor
MENDELSSOHN Symphony No. 3 (“Scottish”)
STRAVINSKY Agon
RAVEL Boléro
Saturday, November 5, 2011 at 7:30 p.m.
Musikverein
The Cleveland Orchestra
Franz Welser-Möst, conductor
WEBER Overture to Euryanthe
ADAMS Doctor Atomic Symphony
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 4
A Brief History of The Cleveland Orchestra
Under the leadership of Music Director Franz Welser-Möst, The Cleveland Orchestra has become one of the most sought-after performing ensembles in the world. In concerts at its winter home at Severance Hall and at each summer’s Blossom Festival, in residencies from Miami to Vienna, and on tour around the world, The Cleveland Orchestra sets standards of artistic excellence, creative programming, and community engagement.
The partnership with Franz Welser-Möst, begun in 2002, has earned The Cleveland Orchestra unprecedented residencies in the United States and around the world, including one at the Musikverein in Vienna, the first of its kind by an American orchestra. In autumn 2010, the Orchestra toured to Asia and performed a residency at Tokyo’s famed Suntory Hall. The Orchestra regularly appears at European festivals, including an ongoing series of biennial residencies at the Lucerne Festival (featuring Roche Commissions, a project involving the Orchestra, the Festival, and Carnegie Hall). In the United States, Mr. Welser-Möst and the Orchestra have toured from coast to coast, including regular appearances at Carnegie Hall, and in January 2007 began an unprecedented long-term residency project in Miami, Florida, where they perform annually at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County and provide a wide array of community and educational activities. In early 2011, they inaugurated a new residency with Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, and July 2011 marks the first of a series of biennial residencies with New York’s Lincoln Center Festival.
The Cleveland Orchestra has a long and distinguished recording and broadcast history. A series of DVD and CD recordings under the direction of Franz Welser-Möst has recently been added to an extensive and widely praised catalog of audio recordings made during the tenures of the ensemble’s former music directors. In addition, Cleveland Orchestra concerts are heard in syndication each season on radio stations throughout North America and Europe.
The Cleveland Orchestra was founded in 1918 by a group of local citizens intent on creating an ensemble worthy of joining America’s top rank of symphony orchestras. Over the next decades, the Orchestra grew from a fine regional organization to being one of the most admired symphonic ensembles in the world. Seven music directors (Nikolai Sokoloff 1918-33, Artur Rodzinski 1933-43, Erich Leinsdorf 1943-46, George Szell 1946-70, Lorin Maazel 1972-82, Christoph von Dohnányi 1984-2002, and Franz Welser-Möst from 2002) have guided and shaped the ensemble’s growth and sound. Touring performances throughout the United States and, beginning in 1957, to Europe and across the globe have confirmed Cleveland’s place among the world’s top orchestras. Year-round performances became a reality with the first Blossom Festival in 1968, presented at an award-winning, purpose-built outdoor facility located just south of the Cleveland metropolitan area near Akron, Ohio. Today, touring, residencies, radio broadcasts, and recordings available by internet download and on DVD and CD provide access to the Orchestra’s music-making to a broad and loyal constituency around the world.
Franz Welser-Möst
Music Director
Kelvin Smith Family Endowed Chair
The Cleveland Orchestra
Franz Welser-Möst’s tenure as Music Director of The Cleveland Orchestra began in 2002. He holds the Kelvin Smith Family Endowed Chair as Music Director. Mr. Welser-Möst’s long-term commitment extends to the Orchestra’s centennial in 2018.
Under Mr. Welser-Möst’s leadership, The Cleveland Orchestra holds an annual Miami Residency that includes three weeks of subscription concerts and more than a dozen partnerships with Miami-Dade organizations and educational institutions. In addition, the Orchestra has ongoing residencies at Vienna’s famed Musikverein hall and Switzerland’s Lucerne Festival. The Orchestra has also added residencies at Indiana University, in Japan, and in 2011 launches a biennial residency at New York’s Lincoln Center Festival featuring The Cleveland Orchestra in concert and, in future years, in Vienna State Opera productions.
In his first nine seasons, Franz Welser-Möst has led The Cleveland Orchestra in twelve world and fifteen United States premieres. Across three seasons beginning in 2009, they have presented fully staged Zurich Opera productions of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, Così fan tutte, and Don Giovanni.
Mr. Welser-Möst became General Music Director of the Vienna State Opera in September 2010, serving concurrently with his Cleveland post. At the start of 2011, he conducted the Vienna Philharmonic’s celebrated New Year’s Concert, the most widely watched classical music event on television. And in June 2010, he directed Vienna’s internationally televised Sommernachtskonzert at Schönbrunn Palace. Both of these Viennese performances are now available on DVD and CD.
Franz Welser-Möst first appeared at the Salzburg Festival in 1985, made his American debut in 1989, and served as music director of the London Philharmonic (1990-96). Across a decade-long tenure with the Zurich Opera, culminating in three seasons as General Music Director (2005-08), he the company in more than 40 new productions and numerous revivals.
Mr. Welser-Möst’s recordings and videos have won international awards and two Grammy nominations. Mr. Welser-Möst has led The Cleveland Orchestra in video recordings of live performances of Bruckner Symphonies Nos. 5, 7, 8, and 9. Together they have released a recording of Wagner’s Wesendonck Songs with soprano Measha Brueggergosman in 2010 and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in 2007, both on Deutsche Grammophon.
Franz Welser-Möst has been recognized by the Western Law Center for Disability Rights and is an honorary member of the Vienna Singverein. Musical America named him the 2003 Conductor of the Year. He is the co-author of Cadences: Observations and Conversations, published in a German edition in 2007.
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
