THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA’S 2017 BLOSSOM FESTIVAL SEASON
8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, July 1 and 2
Jahja Ling, conductor; Aaron Diehl, piano
Shostakovich: “Tahiti Trot”
Gershwin: Concerto in F
Gershwin: “Porgy and Bess: A Symphonic Picture”
Tchaikovsky: “1812” Overture
8 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, July 3 and 4
Blossom Festival Band
Loras John Schissel, conductor
“A Salute to America”
8 p.m. Saturday, July 8
Franz-Welser-Most, conductor
Beethoven: Symphony No. 2
Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique
7 p.m. Sunday, July 9
Welser-Most, conductor; Erin Wall, soprano
Excerpts from operas by Mozart, Verdi and Strauss
8 p.m. Saturday, July 15
Welser-Most, conductor
Milhaud: “Le Boeuf sur le toit”
Roussel: Suite No. 2 from “Bacchus and Ariane”
Beethoven: Symphony No. 7
7 p.m. Sunday, July 16
Jack Everly, conductor; Kathy Voytko, Ted Keegan, Ron Remke and Ricky Todd Adams, vocalists; Blossom Festival Chorus
America’s Broadway legends
7 p.m. Saturday, July 22
With the Kent/Blossom Chamber Orchestra; Jahja Ling, conductor; Eli Matthews, violin
Rossini: Overture to “The Barber of Seville”
Paganini: Violin Concerto No. 1
Dvorak: Symphony No. 9
7 p.m. Sunday, July 23
Michael Krajewski, conductor; Liz Callaway, Allison Blackwell and Bryce Ryness, vocalists
“The Carole King Songbook”
8 p.m. Saturday, July 29
Vasily Petrenko, conductor; David Fray, piano
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 24
Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 2
8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 5
Robert Trevino, conductor; Behzod Abduraimov, piano
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5
7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 6
Juraj Valcuha, conductor; Stefan Jackiw, violin
Strauss: “Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks”
Rota: Suite from “La Strada”
Korngold: Violin Concerto
Strauss: Suite from “Der Rosenkavalier”
8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 12
Gustavo Gimeno, conductor; Johannes Moser, cello
Ravel: “Alborada del gracioso”
Lalo: Cello Concerto
Falla: Suite from “El Amor Bruho”
Stravinsky: Suite from “The Firebird”
7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 13
Richard Kaufman, conductor
“Hollywood Heroes and Superheroes”
8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 19
Fabien Gabel, conductor; Juho Pohjonen, piano
Schmitt: “Le Palais Hante”
Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 1
Debussy: “Iberia”
Ravel: “Bolero”
8 pm. Saturday, Aug. 26
Cristian Macelaru, conductor; Augustin Hadelich, violin; Women of the Blossom Festival Chorus
Dvorak: Violin Concerto
Holst: “The Planets”
7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 27
Randall Craig Fleischer, conductor; Capathia Jenkins, Harolyn Blackwell and Aisha de Haas, vocalists
“A Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald”
8:30 p.m. Friday-Sunday, Sept. 1-3
Brett Mitchell, conductor
Movie Night: “E.T.”
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Forget Punxsutawney Phil. The real sign that spring is near is the annual announcement of the Blossom Festival.
That time, happily, is now.
On Sunday, while traveling home from Miami, the Cleveland Orchestra revealed what it will be doing this summer, when Northeast Ohio is as warm as South Florida is now.
It announced a season that will feel familiar to all: a pleasant, 21-concert mix of classical standards, pops and family programs, and a few surprises.
Blossom, said chief marketing officer Ross Binnie, is “a port of entry. It’s an accessible place for people to come and hear what we do. There’s nothing to lose by going out to Blossom.”
Former resident conductor and Blossom Festival director Jahja Ling kicks off the summer, returning to his old stomping grounds with a program of Gershwin and Tchaikovsky. He then returns two weeks later to lead Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 and the concerto debut of Cleveland Orchestra first assistant principal second violinist Eli Matthews.
After Ling comes Franz Welser-Most. The music director has committed this summer to conducting not one or two but three programs in a row, including an evening of opera, two symphonies by Beethoven and Milhaud’s rarely-heard ballet “Le Boeuf sur le toit.”
In Blossom, Binnie said, the orchestra sees the ideal place to make new fans, to woo would-be listeners with the prospect of a relaxing night on the lawn.
“It’s such a good place to play the other card,” Binnie said. “People don’t have to base their whole decision on the program, like they do at Severance.”
The rest of the summer is a parade of guest artists.
Some, like pianist David Fray, violinist Augustin Hadelich and cellist Johannes Moser, are well-known. Others are what might be called rising stars: pianist Juraj Valcuha and conductors Juho Pohjonen and Cristian Macelaru, for example.
Between them, they’ll cover Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 24, Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5, the Korngold and Dvorak Violin Concertos, “Holst’s The Planets” and the Lalo Cello Concerto. Also listen for Strauss’ “Till Eulenspiegel,” Debussy’s “Iberia,” and Falla’s Suite from “El Amor Bruho.”
“It’s the U.N. [United Nations] of guest artists,” Binnie said. “When they start making debuts at other big orchestras, that’s when we pick them up.”
The pops lineup is equally expansive, catering to a multitude of ages and tastes. In addition to nights devoted to Broadway hits, there are programs focused on jazz icon Ella Fitzgerald, singer-songwriter Carole King and Hollywood superheroes.
Still, the program likely to attract the biggest audience is the season finale: John Williams’ “E.T.,” in a live performance in time with the film. Wise to the popularity of film concerts, the orchestra has scheduled three performances of “E.T.,” in an effort to prevent overcrowding.
“Never in its 49 years has Blossom been healthier,” Binnie said. “Never in our history have we had these kinds of numbers.”
Books of 10 lawn tickets are available now for $160, and include two pavilion upgrades.
Pavilion subscriptions, also available now, range from $84 to $360 and include free parking in Lot B.
Individual pavilion tickets, $24-$120, and individual lawn tickets, $24, go on sale in early May at the Cleveland Orchestra’s website or by calling 216-231-1111.
Blossom Music Center is at 1145 W. Steels Corners Road, in Cuyahoga Falls.
All concerts are eligible for the Cleveland Orchestra’s ongoing “Under 18s Free” program, through which two free lawn passes are available (for children 17 and under) for every adult admission.
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