News Release
The Cleveland Orchestra and Music Director Franz Welser-Möst
to continue Bruckner recordings in Austria
supported by Raiffeisenlandesbank Oberösterreich
Performances of Bruckner’s Symphony No. 4 to be recorded in at the Abbey of St. Florian near Linz in August 2012
Release date: November 4, 2011
The Cleveland Orchestra and Music Director Franz Welser-Möst announce they will record performances of Bruckner’s Symphony No. 4 at the Abbey of St. Florian near Linz, Austria in August, 2012, for future release on DVD. The Cleveland Orchestra gratefully acknowledges both Raiffeisenlandesbank Oberösterreich, the Upper Austrian bank, and Clasart production company for their generous support of the DVD release.
Dr. Ludwig Scharinger, CEO of Raiffeisenlandesbank Oberösterreich, commented, “We are proud to support Franz Welser-Möst and The Cleveland Orchestra in their deep commitment to recording Bruckner’s masterpiece symphonies and sharing them with the world.” As one of the largest corporate contributors to The Cleveland Orchestra, Raiffeisenlandsbank Oberösterreich has sponsored Cleveland Orchestra performances in both Austria and Germany, and supports the 2011 Cleveland Orchestra Residency at the Muskverein in Vienna. In addition, Raiffeisenlandsbank Oberösterreich has organized Cleveland Orchestra performances at the Brucknerhaus in Linz as well as at the Abbey of St. Florian, the church where Bruckner is entombed. The bank is committed to enriching Austria’s culture through the arts.
Dr. Herbert Kloiber, Chairman of The Cleveland Orchestra’s European Advisory Board said, “Franz Welser-Möst and The Cleveland Orchestra’s recordings of Bruckner’s symphonies create a legacy and a benchmark for years to come. It is incredible to witness these historic recordings come to life in the remarkable venues at St. Florian, the Musikverein, and at Severance Hall in Cleveland.”
Franz Welser-Möst, The Cleveland Orchestra, and Bruckner
“The orchestral playing was transcendently beautiful, with warm, burnished strings and radiant, weighty brass chorales that were particularly breathtaking. A roaring ovation rang out at the end, undiminished for more than five minutes.” – Bruckner Symphony No. 8, Lincoln Center Festival performance, The New York Times
“This splendid recording not only shows the orchestra in all its splendor, but also Welser-Möst in top form.” – Bruckner Symphony No. 7, American Record Guide
The Cleveland Orchestra “plays with polished ensemble and rich, beautiful tone under music director Franz Welser-Möst, an Austrian who understands this music and conducts with a big, patient vision.” – Bruckner Symphony No. 5 DVD, News & Observer
In July 2011, Mr. Welser-Möst led The Cleveland Orchestra in Bruckner’s Symphonies Nos. 5, 7, 8, and 9 to great acclaim during its Lincoln Center Festival Residency in New York City, and the Bruckner Society of America honored Mr. Welser-Möst with the Julio Kilenyi Medal of Honor.
From August of 2010 through July of 2011, Mr. Welser-Möst and The Cleveland Orchestra performed a total of 17 Bruckner symphony performances in Scotland, Switzerland, Japan, and the United States.
The Cleveland Orchestra and Clasart have a long-term partnership resulting in four Bruckner DVDs. Founded in Munich in 1977, Clasart is a Tele München Group producer of classical music programs, feature films, and TV programs. This new project follows Mr. Welser-Möst’s and the Orchestra’s four video recordings of Bruckner’s Symphony No. 5 (at the Abbey of St. Florian), Symphony No. 7 (at Severance Hall in Cleveland), Symphony No. 8 (at Severance Hall), and Symphony No. 9 (at the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria).
Franz Welser-Möst
Music Director
The Cleveland Orchestra
This season marks Franz Welser-Möst’s tenth year as Music Director of The Cleveland Orchestra, with a long-term commitment extending to the Orchestra’s centennial in 2018. He is also General Music Director of the Vienna State Opera, serving concurrently with his position in Cleveland.
The partnership between Franz Welser-Möst and The Cleveland Orchestra has resulted in unprecedented residencies, including ongoing regular appearances at Vienna’s Musikverein, in Miami, at the Lucerne Festival, and at the Lincoln Center Festival in New York. Mr. Welser-Möst and the Orchestra perform annually at Carnegie Hall and in international tours. They have appeared in residence at Suntory Hall in Tokyo, and on tour in Japan and South Korea. Mr. Welser-Möst has re-established the Orchestra’s reputation as an operatic ensemble with performances of Dvořák’s Rusalka at the Salzburg Festival and fully staged productions of the Mozart/Da Ponte opera series performed in Cleveland.
Franz Welser-Möst has led the Orchestra in multiple acclaimed recordings on DVD and CD. Live performances of Bruckner’s Symphonies Nos. 5, 7, 8, and 9 have been recorded at the Abbey of St. Florian in Austria, Vienna’s Musikverein, and at Severance Hall, the Orchestra’s home in Cleveland. Mr. Welser-Möst has also led new recordings of works by Beethoven and Wagner on Deutsche Grammophon.
Since September 2010, Franz Welser-Möst has also served as General Music Director of the Vienna Staatsoper, continuing a close affiliation with the company that has included acclaimed performances of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, a new production of Wagner’s Ring cycle with director Sven-Eric Bechtolf, and critically praised new productions of Hindemith’s Cardillac and Janáček’s Katya Kabanova, as well as a concert performance of Beethoven’s Fidelio at La Scala in Italy. During the 2011-12 season, Mr. Welser-Möst continues his survey of the operas of Janáček with a new production of From the House of the Dead, and he will lead a new production of Verdi’s Don Carlo.
Franz Welser-Möst appears frequently with the Vienna Philharmonic. Recently, he led the 2011 New Year’s Concert in Vienna, viewed by telecast in 70 countries worldwide. During his decade-long tenure with the Zurich Opera, he led more than 40 new opera productions, many of which were released on DVD.
For his talents and dedication, Mr. Welser-Möst has received honors from the Western Law Center for Disability Rights, honorary membership in the Vienna Singverein, appointment as an Academician of the European Academy of Yuste, a Gold Medal from the Upper Austrian government for his work as a cultural ambassador, and the Kilenyi Medal of Honor from the Bruckner Society of America. Franz Welser-Möst is the co-author of Cadences: Observations and Conversations, published in a German edition in 2007.
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 the highest standards of artistic excellence, creative programming, and community engagement.
The partnership with Franz Welser-Möst, now in its tenth season, has earned The Cleveland Orchestra frequent international tours and ongoing residencies in Lucerne, Miami, and Vienna – the first of its kind by an American orchestra. Performances in New York in summer 2011 launched an ongoing residency at the Lincoln Center Festival, and in fall 2010, the Orchestra toured to Asia and performed a residency at Tokyo’s famed Suntory Hall. The Orchestra’s U.S. tours under Mr. Welser-Möst include regular appearances at Carnegie Hall. Through an unprecedented long-term residency project, the Orchestra has performed annually since January 2007 in Miami, Florida, providing a wide array of community and educational activities in addition to concerts.
Since its founding in 1918 by a group of local citizens, The Cleveland Orchestra has been guided by 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 (2002-present).
Continuing the Orchestra’s long and distinguished recording and broadcast history, new DVD and CD recordings under the direction of Franz Welser-Möst have recently been added to a widely praised catalog of more than 600 recordings. Cleveland Orchestra concerts are heard in syndication each season on radio stations throughout North America and Europe, providing access to the Orchestra’s music-making to a broad and loyal constituency around the world.
The Cleveland Orchestra acknowledges these corporations and individuals for their generous support of the 2011 Vienna Residency and European tour: Ms. Ginger Warner, Dr. Herbert G. Kloiber, Raiffeisenlandesbank Oberösterreich, Dr. and Mrs. Wolfgang C. Berndt, Tele München Group, Mr. and Mrs. Harro Bodmer, Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Umdasch, Jones Day, LNE Group/Lee Weingart, Miba AG, SEMAG GmbH, and Elisabeth and Karlheinz Muhr.
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