Blossom Music Festival 2026 July 9 Concert

JULY 9, 2026

AN EVENING WITH ITZHAK PERLMAN

Thursday, July 9, 2026, at 7 PM

The Cleveland Orchestra Itzhak Perlman, violin and conductor

LUDWIG VAN Romance No. 1

BEETHOVEN in G major, Op. 40 (17 70 –1827)

LUDWIG VAN Romance No. 2

5 minutes

10 minutes BEETHOVEN in F major, Op. 50

LUDWIG VAN Over ture to Egmont, 10 minutes BEETHOVEN Op. 84

LUDWIG VAN Symphony No. 7

35 minutes BEETHOVEN in A major, Op. 92

I. Poco sostenuto Vivace

II. Allegret to III. Presto

IV. Allegro con brio

Total approximate running time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Tonight’s concert is sponsored by DLR Group | Westlake Reed Leskosky

Itzhak Perlman and friends

Emanuel Ax

Jean-Yves Thibaudet

Juilliard String Quartet

May 4, 7:30 p.m.

Monumental gathering of classical titans

Itzhak Perlman, a reigning virtuoso of the violin, is joined by a dream team of collaborators and friends: internationally celebrated pianists Emanuel Ax and Jean-Yves Thibaudet and the Juilliard String Quartet Their formidable program will take you from the elegance of Mozart to the intimate, interlocking Baroque complexity of Jean-Marie Leclair to the sweeping French romanticism of Chausson A one-of-a-kind event

Subscriptions on sale now starting at $65; individual concert tickets on sale in August.

Sphinx Virtuosi with mezzo-soprano

J’Nai Bridges

October 20

7:30 p.m.

James (Zijian) Wei, piano November 17 7:30 p.m. A Chanticleer Christmas November 28 3 p.m.

American Brass Quintet

February 9 7:30 p.m.

Audra

McDonald April 17 7:30 p.m.

INTRODUCTION

Violinist Itzhak Perlman is celebrated for his prowess both within the classical sphere and beyond. He has given performances across the world, won 16 Grammy Awards, played at President Barack Obama’s inauguration, appeared on Sesame Street and Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, and collaborated with John Williams on the scores for Schindler’s List and Memoirs of a Geisha, to name just a few career highlights. In recent years, alongside continuing to concertize on violin, Perlman has begun to branch out into conducting. He reflected on the still-relatively-new experience in an interview with The Seattle Times:

It’s a lot of fun and a pleasure. Also, there’s a particular kind of mystery in conducting. If you put four different people on a podium conducting the same downbeat, you get four different sounds. It’s a little mysterious and fascinating. There’s so much you can do with motions and body movements besides giving accurate beats. … It’s a wonderful addition to my musical activities, added to teaching and performing. I’m never bored.

For this evening’s concert, Perlman pulls double duty — as violinist and conductor — for music by Ludwig van Beethoven, a composer close to Perlman’s heart. The four works on the program loosely follow Beethoven’s artistic evolution, starting off as a successor to the Classical-era refinement of Haydn and Mozart before blazing a more revolutionary trail towards the experiments of the Romantic era and beyond.

Qualities of the more “Classical” Beethoven are reflected in the composer’s two romances for violin. Written on either side of the turn of the 19th-century, these delightful works brim with a tender, heart-on-sleeve sensibility. The musical waters become choppier in the composer’s Overture to Egmont, written to accompany Goethe’s play of the same name, before the Seventh Symphony offers a full-on musical tempest — though a delightful one — that showcases the mature Beethoven at his best.

With music like this, one certainly can never be bored, whether you’re Perlman on the podium, playing in the Orchestra, or listening in the audience.

— Kevin McBrien

Kevin McBrien is The Cleveland Orchestra’s Editorial & Publications Manager.

Romance No. 1 in G major, Op. 40

Romance No. 2 in F major, Op. 50

by Ludwig van Beethoven

B O R N : December 16, 17 70, in Bonn

D I E D : March 26, 1827, in Vienna

 COMPOSED: 1801– 02 (G -major Romance); 1798 (F-major Romance)

 WORLD PREMIERE: The exact premiere dates of these t wo works are uncer tain

 CLE VEL AND ORCHESTR A PREMIERE: The G -major Romance wa s f irs t per formed by The Cleveland Orches tra on Januar y 20, 197 7, with solois t Itzhak Perlman and Music Direc tor Lorin Ma azel. Music Direc tor George Szell previously led the f irs t Cleveland Orches tra per formance of the F-major Romance on Oc tober 22, 196 4, with violinis t Leonid Kogan.

 ORCHESTR ATION: Both pieces are scored for flute, 2 oboes , 2 ba ssoons , 2 horns , and strings, plus solo violin.

 DUR ATION: about 5 and 10 minutes, respectively

WE DON ’ T KNOW E X AC TLY WHE N or why Ludwig van Beethoven wrote his t wo romances for solo violin and orchestra, although it is fairly clear that they were published (and, thus, numbered) in reverse order of composition.

The t wo romances were, in par t , a nat ural expansion of the chamber music for v iolin and piano Beethoven had been writ ing throughout the late 1790s. W hile he wa s cer tainly a great pianist , he had also st udied v iolin a s a youth and understood the inst r ument with a prac t it ioner’ s insight s.

T he t wo roma nce s a re of t en looke d at a s ea rly t r ia l r uns t owa rd creat ing a f ull v iolin concer to (which would event ually appear in 1806). Each of the t wo one in G ma jor a nd the other in F ma jor is a compac t ve s sel for melody, invent ion, a nd plea singly Cla ssical contours. The music may not yet be the revolut ionar y Beethoven, who soon found his t r ue voice in the Third Sy mphony of 1803, but the melodic f low st ill heralds the emot ional expression of the Romant ic era .

T he Romance in G major of fers ample oppor t unit y for showca sing the solois t ’ s sk ills and ar t is t r y and ref lec t s Beethoven’s g reat abilit ies in sy nthesizing mater ia l across a work . From a quiet , ref lec t ive opening, it is ca s t in a rondo var iat ion for m (A–B –A– C –A– Coda), w ith t wo cont ra s t ing sec t ions (B and C) coming bet ween the ret ur ning var iat ions of the sy mmet r ica l A sec t ion.

The Romance in F major the longer and more complex of the t wo manifest s a Romant ic sensibilit y even more st rongly than does it s G-major companion. It is also ca st a s a rondo, with the beguiling main theme alternat ing with episodes in which the minor mode, always a harbinger of “ stormy ” moods, comes to the fore. These darker, Romant ic moment s are balanced by rapid v ir t uosic pa ssages. The f inal ret urn of the rondo theme closes the work on a dreamy note.

adapted f rom notes by Eric Sellen and Peter Lak i

Eric Sellen is The Cleveland Orchestra’s Editor Emeritus . He previously wa s Program Book Editor for 28 sea sons . Peter Laki is a musicologist and frequent lecturer on cla ssical music He is a visiting a ssociate professor of music , emeritus , at Bard College and wa s The Cleveland Orchestra’s program annotator from 1990 to 2007.

Over ture to Egmont, Op. 84

by Ludwig van Beethoven

 COMPOSED: 1809 –10

 WORLD PREMIERE: June 15, 1810, in Vienna , as par t of a new production of Goethe’ s Egmont

 CLE VEL AND ORCHESTR A PREMIERE: March 21, 1920, led by Music Director Nikolai Sokolof f

 ORCHESTR ATION: 2 flutes (2nd doubling piccolo), 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, and strings

 DUR ATION: about 10 minutes

OV E RT U R E S , some a s concer t works, several for his only opera (Fidelio), and the rest at tached to incidental music for dramatic stage works. All of them are serious in subject mat ter. Most of them are related to Beethoven’s lifelong faith in humanit y, encompa ssing its need to both “ fight for Good ” and for heroes to lead us for ward by example or sacrif ice.

Bet ween 1809 and 1810, Beethoven created his over t ure and incidental music to Johann Wolfgang von Goe the’ s play Egmont (1788), at the inv itat ion of the German Nat ional Theater in Vienna . (Beethoven’s own First Sy mphony premiered at this same theat er in 180 0.) T he play t ells the s t or y of a 16th- cent ur y Dut ch hero, L amoral, Count of Egmont, who rallied the populace to f ight against Spanish subjugat ion of the Netherlands. Beethoven readily agreed to write incidental music for the play ’ s rev ival, given a plot so well at t uned to his own polit ical beliefs in f reedom and just ice.

T he over t ure, of t en playe d by it self in the concer t ha ll, is quint e s sent ia lly

Beethoven. Grand chords begin a slow, ominous introduction. The chords are repeated along with slow melodic themes before a sudden outburst of energ y carries us rapidly into eager anticipation The musical fight continues in strong jabs and tunef ul stirrings, building a nd developing not unlike one of B e e thoven’s g reat s y mphonic movement s . Event ua lly, a climac t ic a nd heroic ca ll is sue s f rom the bra s s , ca r r y ing the over t ure t o a shining, t r iumpha nt f inish.

Eric Sellen

Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92

by Ludwig van Beethoven

 COMPOSED: 1811–12

 WORLD PREMIERE: December 8, 1813, with the composer conducting

 CLE VEL AND ORCHESTR A PREMIERE: April 20, 1922, led by Music Director Nikolai Sokolof f

 ORCHESTR ATION: 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, and strings

 DUR ATION: about 35 minutes

THE YE AR 18 12 WA S A MOME NTOU S TIME FOR LU DWIG VAN B E E THOVE N, just a s it wa s for Napoleon B onapar t e. Ye t things t ur ne d out ba dly for both of them . Napoleon’s foolhardy inva sion of Russia , begun that year, led inev itably to his defeat at Wat erloo thre e yea r s lat er, a nd t o ex ile away f rom the excit ement a nd comma nding commot ion of huma n (a nd French nat iona l) socie t y. B e e thoven’s ow n inner ex ile wa s also coming to a new f inalit y in 1812, a s he had to face the social dif f icult ies arising f rom his deaf ne s s . It wa s clea r now that his f ut ure would b e quit e isolat e d f rom the ever yday world of other s .

1812 is also the year of Beethoven’s famous let ter to the “Immor tal Beloved,” likely Antonie Brentano, an aristocratic Viennese woman married to a Frankfur t businessman. The let ter is ambiguous in many ways, but it sug ge s t s a mut ua l pa s sion a nd a profound sense of re sig nat ion t o the impos sibilit y of a f ut ure t oge ther.

In any event, the great stream of music that had been f low ing abundantly since the “Heiligens t adt ” cr isis 10 years before the “middle-per iod ” ma s ter piece s that s temmed f rom his f irs t coming to ter ms w ith his g row ing deaf ne s s now b ega n t o dr y up T he re s t of the decade is marked by recur rent bout s of depression and the produc t ion of ver y lit tle music.

Out of these t roubles were ult imately born the t ranscendent works of his f inal years the

la st piano sonata s, the late st ring quar tet s, and the Ninth Sy mphony A lthough Beethoven completed his Seventh and Eighth symphonies before the cur tain of silence fell completely, he made lit tle progress with the Ninth, conceived at that time a s par t of a three-sy mphony group. The Seventh wa s, in fac t , mostly in place before the drama of 1812 unfolded.

The Seventh ha s always been regarded a s one of the might iest of the nine, less forcef ul perhaps than the Fif th, less ambit ious than the Ninth, smaller than the Third, but broader in range and spirit than any other. The key-color of A major is unusual in Beethoven’s orchest ral music, depending par tly on the exultant sound of horns in A major, one of that inst r ument ’ s highest registers. The sense of a “ divine dance,” a s Richard Wagner called the Seventh, is ver y strong in both f irst and la st movement s a s well a s in the scherzo, driven by power f ul rhy thmic energ y and heav y instrumentation. Meanwhile, the Allegret to, though f ull of charm, ha s a sense of inexorable fatalit y.

The slow introduction to the first movement is a huge f ree-standing st r uc t ure of it s own, only slowly giv ing way to the persistent Es that herald the star t of the main A llegro sec t ion and it s relentless dancing rhy thm. Two striking moments in this great movement should have our at tent ion. First , in the recapit ulat ion, the text ure suddenly lightens to allow the oboe to take the melody in a thinner, fresher texture, like a brief clearing of persistent clouds. A nd, at the end, the lower st rings set up a bizarre, gr umbling ostinato that seems to be st uck in a groove unt il the f inal cadences come to the rescue. This is the passage that elicited Carl Maria von Weber’ s famous remark that Beethoven had shown himself “ f it for the madhouse.”

So popular wa s the A llegret to second movement in the 19 th cent ur y that it wa s of ten played a s a concer t piece on it s own and even, on occa sion, subst it uted for the slow movement s of other symphonies. Yet , of the ent ire sy mphony, this is the movement that most st rongly looks for ward to the Romant ic sensibilit ies of Berlioz, Rober t Schumann, Mendelssohn, and others all of whom seem to have derived creat ive benef it s direc tly f rom it . Schuber t must have been bewitched by it s hy pnot ic rhy thm, which he of ten adopted. The opening A-minor pa ssage, gradually growing in sound like

The first page of the autograph manuscript of Beethoven’ s Seventh Symphony, writ ten at Tepliz in Bohemia where the composer wa s improving his health

an approaching procession, leads, somewhat surprisingly, to a glowing section in major, scored for winds over a st ill-pulsat ing st ring accompaniment . Each sec t ion is heard once more before the close, a charac terist ic par t ing pa ssage with melodic f ragment s thrown f rom one inst r ument to another. A lmost no other movement in all Beethoven leaves such haunt ing memories a s this.

The scherzo third movement is a persistent alternat ion of a loud and v ivacious triple-meter dance, with a calmer, static trio melody that weaves its way over low horns and ba sses. Thus, one par t of the movement takes wing, the other is rooted to the ground.

T he old t radit ion that sy mphonic f ina les should be light and breez y is f ir mly buried by the Seventh ’ s four th movement , the heav iest blockbuster in the sy mphonic reper tor y to date. Constant of f-beat hammer blows and a shor tage of quiet music puts Beethoven in the role of a prank ish ringma ster. Elsewhere, Beethoven’s humor takes the form of subtle subversions of the audience’s expectations. But here the trick is not subtle at a ll. We a re me smer ize d, a ma ze d, a nd dumbfounde d, even a s we se e exac tly how it ’ s done.

Hugh Macdonald

Hugh Macdonald is Avis H . Blewet t Professor Emeritus of Music at Wa shing ton Universit y in St . Louis. He has writ ten books on Beethoven, Berlioz, Bizet , and Scriabin, as well as Music in 1853: The Biography of a Year.

IT ZHAK PERLMAN

violin and conduc tor

Undeniably the reigning vir tuoso of the violin, Itzhak Perlman enjoys superstar status rarely af forded a classical musician. Beloved for his charm and humanit y as well as his talent, he is treasured by audiences throughout the world who respond not only to his remarkable ar t ist r y but also to his irrepressible joy for making music.

Having per formed with ever y major orchestra and at concer t halls around the globe, Perlman wa s granted a President ial Medal of Freedom by President Obama in 2015, a Nat ional Medal of Ar ts by President Clinton in 2000, and a Medal of Liber t y by President Reagan in 1986. He has been honored with 16 Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Kennedy Center Honor, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and a Genesis Prize.

In the 2025–26 season, Perlman celebrates his 80th bir thday season with a variet y of programs. He brings his iconic PBS special In the Fiddler’s House to New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Dallas, Santa Barbara, and Davis in celebration of the program ’ s 30th anniversar y. His orchestral engagements include Cinema Serenade programs with The Cleveland Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra, and Colorado Springs Philharmonic, as well as a play/conduct program with the San Francisco Symphony. Perlman also makes a special appearance with the Colorado Symphony at Carnegie Hall. He continues touring An Evening with Itzhak Perlman, which captures highlights of his career through narrative and multimedia elements inter t wined with per formance, and plays recitals across the US with long time collaborator Rohan De Silva.

For over 30 years, Perlman has been devoted to music education, mentoring gif ted young string players alongside his wife, Toby, in the Perlman Music Program, where he ha s taught each summer since it s founding in 1994. With close to 800 alumni, the program is shaping the f ut ure landscape of cla ssical music worldwide. Perlman also currently holds the Dorothy R ichard Starling Foundat ion Chair at The Juilliard School.

Perlman ha s an exclusive series of cla sses with Ma stercla ss.com, the premier online educat ion company that enables access to the world ’ s most brilliant minds, a s the company ’ s f irst cla ssical-music presenter.

THE CLE VEL AND ORCHE STR A

Fra nz Wel s er - Mös t Music Dir e c tor

K E LV I N S M I T H FA M I LY C H A I R

FIRST VIOLIN S

Joel Link

CONCERTMASTER

Blossom-Lee Chair

Elizabe th Faye t te

FIRST ASSOCIATE

CONCERTMASTER

Virginia M Lindseth, PhD, Chair

Jung- Min Amy Lee

ASSOCIATE CONCERTMASTER

Gretchen D and Ward Smith Chair

Zhan Shu

ASSISTANT CONCERTMASTER

Clara G and George P Bickford Chair

Stephen Tavani

ASSISTANT CONCERTMASTER

Dr Ronald H Krasney Chair

Wei- Fang Gu

Drs Paul M and Renate H Duchesneau Chair

Kim Gomez

Elizabeth and Leslie Kondorossy Chair

Chul- In Park

Harriet T and David L Simon Chair

Miho Ha shizume

Theodore Rautenberg Chair

Jeanne Preucil Rose

Larry J B and Barbara S Robinson Chair

Alicia Koelz

Oswald and Phyllis Lerner Gilroy Chair

Yu Yuan

Patty and John Collinson Chair

Isabel Traut wein

Trevor and Jennie Jones Chair

Katherine Bormann

Paul and Lucille Jones Chair

Analise Handke

Gladys B Goetz Chair

Genevieve Smelser

SECOND VIOLIN S

Stephen Rose*

Alfred M and Clara T Rankin Chair

Eli Mat thews1

Patricia M Kozerefski and Richard J Bogomolny Chair

Ja son Yu2

James and Donna Reid Chair

Sonja Bra aten Molloy

Carolyn Gadiel Warner

Elayna Duitman

Ioana Missit s

Jef frey Zehngut^

Kathleen Collins

Be th Woodside

Emma Shook

Dr Jeanette Grasselli Brown and

Dr Glenn R Brown Chair

Yun -Ting Lee

Deborah L Neale Chair

Jiah Chung Chapdelaine

Liyuan Xie

Gawon Kim

Dus tin Wilkes- Kim

VIOL AS

Wesley Collins*

Chaillé H and Richard B Tullis Chair

Gare th Zehngut 1^

Charles M and Janet G Kimball Chair

Stanley Konopka 2

Mark Ja ckobs

Jean Wall Bennett Chair

Lisa Boyko

Richard and Nancy Sneed Chair

Richard Waugh

Lembi Veskime t s

The Morgan Sisters Chair

Eliesha Nelson^

Anthony and Diane Wynshaw-Boris Chair

William Bender

Thomas Lauria and Christopher Lauria Chair

CELLOS

Mark Kosower*

Louis D Beaumont Chair

Richard Weiss 1

The GAR Foundation Chair

Charles Bernard2

Helen Weil Ross Chair

Br yan Dumm

Muriel and Noah Butkin Chair

Tanya Ell

Thomas J and

Judith Fay Gruber Chair

Ralph Curr y

Brian Thornton

William P Blair III Chair

David Alan Harrell

Mar tha Baldwin

Dane Johansen

Marguerite and James Rigby Chair

Paul Kushious

BAS SES

Ma ximilian Dimof f *

Clarence T Reinberger Chair

Charles Paul1

Mary E and F Joseph Callahan Chair

Derek Zadinsk y 2

Mark Ather ton

Thoma s Sperl

Henr y Peyrebrune

Charles Barr Memorial Chair

Charles Carle ton

Sco t t Dixon

Brandon Ma son

HARP

Trina Struble*

Alice Chalifoux Chair

FLUTES

Joshua Smith*

Elizabeth M and

William C Treuhaft Chair

Saeran St . Chris topher

Jessica Sindell2^

Austin B and Ellen W Chinn Chair

PICCOLO

Mar y Kay Fink

Anne M and M Roger Clapp Chair

OBOES

Frank Rosenwein*

Edith S Taplin Chair

Corbin Stair

Sharon and Yoash Wiener Chair

Jef frey Rathbun 2

Everett D and Eugenia S McCurdy Chair

Rober t Walters

ENGLISH HORN

Rober t Walters

Samuel C and Bernette K Jaffe Chair

CL ARINETS

Afendi Yusuf *

Rober t Marcellus Chair

Rober t Woolfrey

Victoire G and Alfred M Rankin Jr Chair

Daniel McKelway2

Rober t R and Vilma L Kohn Chair

Amy Zolo to

E- FL AT CL ARINET

Daniel McKelway

Stanley L and Eloise M Morgan Chair

BAS S CL ARINET

Amy Zolo to Myrna and James Spira Chair

BAS SOON S

John Clouser*

Louise Harkness Ingalls Chair

Gare th Thoma s

Catherine Van Handel2

Sandra L Haslinger Chair

Jonathan Sher win

CONTR ABAS SOON

Jonathan Sher win

HORN S

Nathaniel Silberschlag*

George Szell Memorial Chair

Michael Mayhew§

Knight Foundation Chair

Jesse Mc Cormick- Stepp

Rober t B Benyo Chair

Hans Clebsch

Richard King

Meghan Guegold Hege^

Gay Cull Addicott and Robert R Cull Chair

TRUMPETS

Michael Sa chs*

Rober t and Eunice Podis Weiskopf Chair

Ja ck Sut te

Lyle Steelman 2^

James P and Dolores D Storer Chair

Michael Miller

Mar y Kay Fink

With sincere gratitude to the musicians of The Cleveland Orchestra for their in-kind contributions suppor ting communit y programs and securing funding oppor tunities.

CORNETS

Michael Sa chs*

Mary Elizabeth and G Rober t Klein Chair

Michael Miller

TROMBONES

Brian Wendel* Gilber t W and Louise I Humphrey Chair

Richard Stout

Alexander and Marianna C McAfee Chair

Sha char Israel2

BAS S TROMBONE

Luke Sieve

EUPHONIUM & BAS S TRUMPET

Richard Stout

TUBA

Ya suhito Sugiyama*

Nathalie C Spence and Nathalie S Boswell Chair

TIMPANI

Pe ter Nichols2

Mr and Mrs Richard K Smucker Chair

PERCUS SION

Marc Damoulakis*

Margaret Allen Ireland Chair

Thoma s Sher wood

Tanner Tanyeri

Pe ter Nichols

KE YBOARD

IN STRUMENTS

Carolyn Gadiel Warner

Marjory and Marc L Swar tzbaugh Chair

LIBR ARIAN

Michael Ferraguto*

Joe and Marlene Toot Chair

ENDOWED CHAIRS

CURRENTLY UNOCCUPIED

Sunshine Chair

Otto G and Corinne T Voss Chair

Rudolf Serkin Chair

CONDUCTORS

Chris toph von Dohnányi †

MUSIC DIREC TOR L AURE ATE

Taichi Fukumura

ASSISTANT CONDUC TOR

Elizabeth Ring and William Gwinn Mather Chair

James Feddeck

PRINCIPAL CONDUC TOR & MUSICAL ADVISOR OF THE CLE VEL AND ORCHESTR A YOUTH ORCHESTR A

Sidney and Doris Dworkin Chair

Lisa Wong

DIREC TOR OF CHORUSES

Frances P and Chester C Bolton Chair

* Principal

§ Associate Principal

1 First Assistant Principal

2 Assistant Principal

^ Alum of The Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra

† In Memoriam

This roster lists full-time members of The Cleveland Orchestra The number and seating of musicians on stage varies depending on the piece being performed

Seating within the string sections rotates on a periodic basis

The Cleveland Orchestra, under the leadership of Music Director Franz Welser-Möst since 2002, is widely recognized a s one of the world ’ s leading ensembles. Praised by The New York Times a s “America’s Finest, ” the Orchestra is renowned for it s v ir t uosit y, elega nce of sound, a nd cha mb er-like musica l f lex ibilit y. In his 25th a nd f ina l sea son a s Music Dire c t or, Welser-Möst concludes a transformative par tnership that has been marked by exceptional ar tistic ambition, growing international recognition, and deep communit y connection.

During his tenure, the Orchestra has achieved major institutional milestones, including g roundbrea k ing re sidencie s at the Musik verein in V ienna the f ir s t by a n A mer ica n orchestra and at the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami. In 2023, The Cleveland Orchestra launche d the a nnua l Jack , Joseph a nd Mor t on Ma ndel Op era & Huma nit ie s Fe s t iva l, presenting acclaimed opera productions alongside ar t exhibits, communit y events, and civic conversations.

Through concer ts, broadcasts, recordings, tours, and digital initiatives, The Cleveland Orchest ra reaches an ever-growing audience around the world. It s in-house recording label and st reaming plat form, Adella .live, capt ure and share per formances f rom the Welser-Mös t era while int roducing new generat ions of fans to the Orches t ra ’ s ar t is t r y.

Founde d by Adella Pren t is s Hughe s, T he Clevela nd Orche s t ra gave it s inaug ura l concer t in December 1918 . O ver more than a cent ur y, it ha s g row n into a t rea sured communit y ins t it ut ion, enr iching lives through music, educat ion, and a deep commitment t o Nor thea s t Ohio. Today, more tha n 4 0 0,0 0 0 p e ople at t end Clevela nd Orches t ra concer t s each year. From it s year-round home at Severance Music Center to it s summer sea son at Blossom Music Center in Cuya hoga Va lley Nat iona l Park , the Orches t ra cont inues to ser ve audiences across the reg ion.

Seven Music Directors Nikolai Sokolof f, Ar tur Rodziński, Erich Leinsdorf, George Szell, Lorin Maazel, Christoph von Dohnányi, and Franz Welser-Möst have shaped the ensemble’s distinctive musical identit y and celebrated “Cleveland sound.” Welser-Möst ’ s tenure as the longest-ser ving Music Director in Cleveland Orchestra histor y stands as a defining chapter in that evolution.

@ClevelandOrchestra

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JUL 11 & 12

HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS IN CONCERT

Bret t Mitchell, conductor

JUL 18

BR AHMS & SHOSTAKOVICH

Semyon Bychkov, conductor

Karen Gomyo, violin

SHOSTAKOVICH

V iolin C oncer to No 1

BR AHMS Symphony No. 4

JUL 25

R ACHMANINOFF’S SYMPHONIC DANCES

Kevin John Edusei, conductor

Mark Kosower, cello with the Kent Blossom Chamber Orchestra

KODÁLY Dances of Galánta

MARTINŮ C ello C oncer to No. 1

R ACHMANINOFF Symphonic Dances

JUL 26

AN EVENING WITH IDINA MENZEL

Andy Einhorn, conductor

Idina Menzel, vocals

AUG 1

SCHUMANN’S SECOND SYMPHONY

Kazuki Yamada, conductor Blossom Festival Chorus

TAKEMITSU Dreamtime

STR AVINSK Y Symphony of Psalms

R. SCHUMANN Symphony No. 2

AUG 8

THE VOICES THAT CHANGED MUSIC

Lucas Waldin, conductor

Capathia Jenkins, vocals

Ryan Shaw, vocals

AUG 15

PROKOFIEV’S ROMEO & JULIET

Tabita Berglund, conductor

Simone Lamsma, violin

SIBELIUS Finlandia

SIBELIUS V iolin C oncer to

PROKOFIE V Suite No 2 from Romeo and Juliet

AUG 20

JON BATISTE WITH THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTR A

Jonathan Taylor Rush, conductor

Jon Batiste, vocals and piano 2026

AUG 22

R AVEL’S

PIANO CONCERTO IN G

Antonello Manacorda, conductor

Nelson Goerner, piano

Youth Chorus

The Cleveland Orchestra

DEBUS SY Prelude to the Af ternoon of a Faun

R AVEL Piano C oncer to in G

DEBUS SY Noc turnes

R AVEL Suite from Mother Goose

AUG 23

COLE PORTER: LET’S MISBEHAVE

Steven Reineke, conductor

Tony DeSare, vocals and piano

AUG 29

SUMMER IN VIENNA

Franz Welser-Möst, conductor

R . STR AUS S Introduc tion and Finale to Daphne

MOZ ART Symphony No. 3 4

J STR AUS S , JR Over ture and Ballet Music from The Carnival in Rome

J . STR AUS S , JR . Entr ’ ac te from A Night in Venice

J STR AUS S , JR Bauern-Polka

JOS STR AUS S Friedenspalmen Walzer

J . STR AUS S , JR . Quadrille from The Gypsy Baron

SEP 4 – 6

PRESENTED BY SEASON PARTNER

THE MUSIC OF JOHN WILLIAMS

Sarah Hicks, conductor

MOVIE NIGHT PRESENTER

Aubrey Logan, trombone and vocals

John Manzari, tap dancer and vocals

FAMILY ENGAGEMENT PARTNER

YOUR VISIT

L ATE SEATING

Gues t s w ith Pav ilion seat s who arrive af ter the s t ar t of the concer t may be a sked to wait out side the Pav ilion unt il the f irs t convenient pause in the music, af ter which our ushers w ill help you to your seat s

L AWN SEATING

Gues t s on the L aw n may br ing their ow n chairs, but g ues t s w ith high-backed chairs that obs t r uc t others’ v iews may be a sked to relocate to the rear of the L aw n. Rent al chairs are available for a fee of $10 per evening. Tent s, f lags, balloons, or other s t r uc t ures that might obs t r uc t v iews or present a ha zard are not allowed. Open f lames are also prohibited.

PHOTOGR APHY, VIDEOGR APHY & RECORDING

Audio recording, photography, and videography a re not a llowe d dur ing p er for ma nce s at Blossom. Photographs and videos can only be taken when the per formance is not in progress. As a cour tesy to others, plea se silence all elec t ronic dev ices prior to the s t ar t of the concer t .

SMOKING

All Blossom Music Festival events are presented in a smoke-free environment Smoking or vaping are not allowed any where on the grounds or in buildings once you have entered through the ticket gates A smoking area is available outside the gates in a designated area of Park ing Lot A

WEATHER INFORMATION

In the event of severe weather, a coordinated campus-w ide aler t w ill be issued. Gues t s and s t af f w ill be direc ted to safet y by venue staf f and the public address system. Download T he Clevela nd Orche s t ra a pp or v isi t clevelandorches tra .com/weather for weather updates and more informat ion.

FREE TR AM & ADA VAN SERVICE

Free t ram ser v ice bet ween the park ing lot s and Smith Pla za and the Pav ilion is available on a cont inuous ba sis before and af ter each concer t . The ADA Van Ser v ice can pick up at the Main Gate w ith ser v ice to the Tram Circle.

QUESTION S?

Visit our Informat ion Center, hos ted by the Blossom Friends of The Cleveland Orches t ra , inside the Main Gate on Smith Pla za

Explore upcoming concerts , purchase and access your tickets , receive performance updates , and more .

For more information and direct links to download, visit clevelandorchestra .com/visit/ tco-app or scan the QR code with your smartphone camera . Available for iOS and Android on Google Play and at the Apple App Store . T H E C L E V E L A N D O R C H E S T R A A P P

© 2026 The Cleveland Orchestra and the Musical A r ts Association

Program books for Cleveland Orches tra concer t s are produced by The Cleveland Orches tra and are dis tributed free to at tending audience members

EDITORIAL

Kevin McBrien, Editorial & Publications Manager, The Cleveland Orches tra k mcbrien@clevelandorchestra .com

Ellen Sauer Tanyeri, Archives & Editorial

Assistant, The Cleveland Orches tra

DESIGN

Judy Baraba s, Red Swing Creative

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PLE ASE REC YCLE

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