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Now firmly in its second century, The Cleveland Orchestra, under the leadership of Franz Welser-Möst since 2002, is one of the most sought-after performing ensembles in the world. Year after year, the ensemble exemplifies extraordinary artistic excellence, creative programming, and community engagement. In recent years, The New York Times has called Cleveland “the best in America” for its virtuosity, elegance of sound, variety of color, and chamber-like musical cohesion.
Founded by Adella Prentiss Hughes, the Orchestra performed its inaugural concert in December 1918. By the middle of the century, decades of growth and sustained support had turned the ensemble into one of the most admired around the world.
The past decade has seen an increasing number of young people attending concerts, bringing fresh attention to The Cleveland Orchestra’s legendary sound and committed programming. More recently, the Orchestra launched several bold digital projects, including the streaming platform Adella.live and its own recording label. Together, they have captured the Orchestra’s unique artistry and the musical achievements of the Welser-Möst and Cleveland Orchestra partnership.
The 2025–26 season marks Franz Welser-Möst’s 24th year as Music Director, a period in which The Cleveland Orchestra has earned unprecedented acclaim around the world, including a series of residencies at the Musikverein in Vienna, the first of its kind by an American orchestra, and a number of celebrated opera presentations.
Since 1918, seven music directors — Nikolai Sokoloff, Artur Rodziński, Erich Leinsdorf, George Szell, Lorin Maazel, Christoph von Dohnányi, and Franz Welser-Möst — have guided and shaped the ensemble’s growth and sound. Through concerts at home and on tour, broadcasts, and a catalog of acclaimed recordings, The Cleveland Orchestra is heard today by a growing group of fans around the world.
conductor
One of the most sought-after artists of her generation, Elim Chan epitomizes modern orchestral leadership through her crystalline precision and zeal. She was principal conductor of the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra from 2019 to 2024 and principal guest conductor of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra from 2018 to 2023.
Having made her highly acclaimed debut with the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the 2023 BBC Proms, Chan conducted the orchestra again at the First Night of the Proms in 2024. Summer 2024 also saw her reunite with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, appear with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra at the Edinburgh International Festival, and make her debuts with the Mozarteumorchester Salzburg at the Salzburg Festival and with the Kammerakademie Potsdam at the 2024 Beethovenfest Bonn.
Highlights of Chan’s 2024–25 season include touring projects with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and MCO Academy, her highly anticipated return to the Hong Kong Philharmonic, and her debut with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Other engagements include debuts with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, and NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester, and return appearances with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, and San Francisco Symphony.
A native of Hong Kong, Chan studied at Smith College and at the University of Michigan. In 2014, she was the first female winner of the Donatella Flick Conducting Competition, enabling her to spend the 2015–16 season as assistant conductor at the London Symphony Orchestra. The following season, Chan joined the Dudamel Fellowship program of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. She also owes much to the support and encouragement of Bernard Haitink, whose masterclasses she attended in Lucerne in 2015.
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Composer
Patricia Kopatchinskaja makes her much-anticipated Cleveland Orchestra debut with Bartóks fiery Violin Concerto No. 1, which remained unperformed for 50 years after its dedicatee rejected both the concerto and the composer's affections. Returning conductor Elim Chan pairs one Bartók favorite with another — the folk-inflicted Dance Suite — and rounds out the program with two marvelous works: Daniel Kidane's fatherhood-inspired Sun Poem and the rapturous mysticism of Scriabin's Poem of Ecstasy.
Elim Chan's performance is generously sponsored by Herb and Jody Wainer.
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