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G E 9 T H I S W E E K ’ S P R O G R A M
Beethoven’s Fateful Fifth Elim Chan, conductor
P R O G R A M N O T E S : Suite from Pulcinella by Igor Stravinsky • PA G E 1 0
Trumpet Concerto in E-flat major by Franz Joseph Haydn • PA G E 1 4
Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67 by Ludwig van Beethoven • PA G E 1 8
Conductor & Artist Biographies • PA G E 2 3 P A G E 3 1
T C O S P O T L I G H T A Conversation with Michael Sachs P A G E 3 5
I N T H E N E W S Noteworthy happenings at The Cleveland Orchestra
P A G E 4 2
T H A N K Y O U
The community of supporters who bring the music to life
Create W here You Belong
T H E W O R D “ C L A S S I C A L” I S O F T E N U S E D as a catch-all term for Western art music, but it also has a more specific meaning, describing music that exhibits values of the Classical period (c. 1750–1820) clarity, order, balance, and refinement as opposed to characteristics associated with Romanticism passion, extreme emotion, and unpredictability.
Franz Joseph Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto is a fine example of the Classical style. The work was composed in 1796 for the newly invented keyed trumpet (see page 33), which enabled performers to play pitches not available on the natural trumpet, an advancement that Haydn eagerly exploited. The work’s three movements exemplify the values of Classicism through their clear structures, balanced phrases, and relatively narrow emotional range.
Ludwig van Beethoven’s renowned Fifth Symphony, premiered in 1808, represents both the culmination of the Classical style and the beginnings of a shift in musical values. The symphony’s structure is based on Classical forms, but Beethoven alters them in unpredictable, sometimes startling ways. Most importantly, he introduces the idea that this wordless music is about something more personal, a journey from darkness to light that represents his own thoughts and feelings.
Over the rest of the 19th century, Romantic values held sway. But after World War I, Europe was exhausted physically, emotionally, and spiritually, and many recoiled from both the overheated passions of Romanticism and the unsettling new sounds of Modernism, yearning for a return to the predictable and refined values of the Classical age. Igor Stravinsky’s ballet Pulcinella was an important early example of a style that came to be called Neoclassicism. Based on music from the mid-18th century, Stravinsky’s music eschews emotional involvement in favor of a coolness of expression, structural clarity, and a melodic and harmonic language that evokes the refined musical style of an earlier age Michael Strasser
Michael Strasser is professor emeritus of musicology at Baldwin Wallace University He has published numerous articles and reviews and presented papers at international conferences on fin- de-siècle France , Arnold Schoenberg , and colonial music in British North America and Mexico
THE MUSIC
Thank you for silencing your
Beethoven’s Fateful Fif th
Thursday, March 12, 2026, at 7:30 PM
Friday, March 13, 2026, at 7:30 PM
Saturday, March 14, 2026, at 7:30 PM
Sunday, March 15, 2026, at 3 PM
Elim Chan, conductor
Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971)
Concert Preview with Michael Strasser Reinberger Chamber Hall one hour prior to performance
Franz Joseph Haydn (1732–1809)
Suite from Pulcinella (1949 revision) 25 minutes
I. Sinfonia (Ouverture)
II. Serenata
III. Scherzino Allegro Andantino
IV. Tarantella
V. Toccata
VI. Gavotta con due variazioni
VII. Vivo
VIII. Minuetto Finale
Trumpet Concerto in E-flat major
I. Allegro
II. Andante
III. Finale: Allegro
Michael Sachs, trumpet
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)
Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67 30 minutes
I. Allegro con brio
II. Andante con moto
III. Allegro
IV. Allegro
This program will last approximately 1 hour 30 minutes
This concert is sponsored by Olympic Steel, Inc.
Michael Sachs’s performance is generously sponsored by John and Deborah Warner. Elim Chan’s performance is generously sponsored by Herb and Jody Wainer. Thursday evening’s concert is dedicated to the Mathews Family in recognition of their generous support of music.
Suite from Pulcinella (1949 revision)
by Igor Stravinsky
B O R N : June 17, 1882, in Oranienbaum (now Lomonosov), Russia
D I E D : April 6, 1971 , in New York City
▶ C O M P O S E D : 1919 – 20; suite extracted 1922 and revised 1949
▶ W O R L D P R E M I E R E : The ballet was first performed on May 15, 1920, at the Paris Opera , conducted by Ernest Ansermet. The suite was premiered on December 22 , 1922 , with Pierre Monteux conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra .
▶ C L E V E L A N D O R C H E S T R A P R E M I E R E : March 17, 1938 , led by Music Director Artur Rodziński. (Stravinsky himself conducted the full ballet with the Orchestra in December 1952 .)
▶ O R C H E S T R AT I O N : 2 flutes (2nd doubling piccolo), 2 oboes , 2 bassoons , 2 horns , trumpet , trombone, and strings
▶ D U R AT I O N : about 25 minutes
O N E S N E A K Y T R I C K for a music history exam would be to play the opening of Igor Stravinsky’s Pulcinella to a group of unsuspecting students. Those without prior knowledge of the work would be hard pressed not only to “name that tune” but even to identify the century in which it was written. The melody sounds Classical, yet there seem to be “wrong notes” here and there, and the orchestration sounds far too removed from the music of the Classical period.
Yet astute members of the class would probably guess from these very features that the author can be no one but Stravinsky. Creative appropriations from music history are central to Stravinsky’s so-called “neoclassical” period, which
covers the three middle decades of his career, roughly from 1920 to 1950.
Although we may find occasional nods to the past in some works written before 1919, it is in his ballet Pulcinella that we first hear Stravinsky’s Neoclassicism in full swing. This ostensible return to tradition came as something of a shock from a composer who had earned a reputation as the most radical of all composers only a few years earlier. As the world was soon to learn, however, the essence of Stravinsky’s personality lay not so much in the musical idiom he used as in his uncanny ability to do
Pablo Picasso created this sketch of Igor Stravinsky in December 1920, several months after the two collaborated on the ballet Pulcinella
the unexpected (and to make it work). Certainly, to go back 200 years and co-opt an earlier musical style was almost as unexpected as unleashing the fierce dissonances and wild rhythms of The Rite of Spring.
In his landmark study, Stravinsky and the Russian Traditions, musicologist Richard Taruskin notes that Pulcinella is not an independent composition but an arrangement and reorchestration of 18th-century originals. While it is true that Stravinsky followed his sources very closely, he differed from most arrangers in that he openly imposed his own personality on the borrowed material.
Just where was the material borrowed from? Although the score names Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710–36) as the author of the originals, most of the music is not actually by that composer. Recent scholarship has traced the original tunes to a handful of other 18th-century composers, including Domenico Gallo, Unico Wilhelm van Wassenaer, and Carlo Ignazio Monza. Stravinsky discovered this body of music, so remote from him in time and space, through the famous impresario of the Ballets Russes, Sergei Diaghilev. Diaghilev, who had commissioned Stravinsky’s three great ballets (The Firebird, Petrushka, and The Rite of Spring) in the years before World War I, was anxious to renew his collaboration with the composer. He had recently produced a ballet based on music by Scarlatti (The Good-Humored Ladies) and wanted to continue his exploration of Italian
Baroque music. At first, this music seemed to hold little interest for Stravinsky, but he, too, was eager to work with Diaghilev again and happily accepted the great impresario’s proposal.
The plot of the one-act ballet which also calls for soprano, tenor, and bass soloists was adapted from an old manuscript containing humorous anecdotes about Pulcinella, a traditional commedia dell’arte character from 18thcentury Italy. All the girls in the village are in love with Pulcinella, and their fiancés conspire to kill him. A lighthearted comedy of errors ensures that eventually ends without any bloodshed (a few fistfights, at most); in the end, everyone, including Pulcinella, marries their appropriate partner and all live happily ever after.
Pulcinella premiered at the Paris Opera in May 1920 with choreography by Léonide Massine and sets and costumes by Pablo Picasso and was generally well received by the public. Though most critics praised Stravinsky’s ingenious reworking of 18th-century music, others were disappointed in the composer’s stylistic detour from the radicalism of The Rite of Spring. Two years later, Stravinsky arranged an instrumental suite from the ballet, excising several movements and eliminating the need for vocal soloists.
adapted from a note by Peter Laki
Peter Laki is a musicologist and frequent lecturer on classical music He is a visiting associate professor of music , emeritus , at Bard College and was The Cleveland Orchestra’s program annotator from 1990 to 2007
En j oy a c o ck t a i l b e fo re t h e c o n c er t ,
o r rela x af t er w a rd i n t h e i nv i t i n g a m b ia n c e
o f t h e N E W S eve ra n c e Lo u n g e .
Trumpet Concerto in E-flat major
by Franz Joseph Haydn
B O R N : March 31 , 1732, in Rohrau , Austria
D I E D : May 31 , 1809, in Vienna
▶ C O M P O S E D : 1796
▶ W O R L D P R E M I E R E : March 28 , 1800, in Vienna , featuring Anton Weidinger as soloist
▶ C L E V E L A N D O R C H E S T R A P R E M I E R E : December 6, 1973, with Principal Trumpet Bernard Adelstein as soloist and Music Director Lorin Maazel conducting
▶ O R C H E S T R AT I O N : 2 flutes , 2 oboes , 2 bassoons , 2 horns , 2 trumpets , timpani, and strings , plus solo trumpet
▶ D U R AT I O N : about 15 minutes
T I M E S C H A N G E , and musical instruments change with them. In the case of the trumpet, original instruments could only play notes of the natural overtone series. In the Baroque era, air speed and embouchure pressure were used to make the most of this situation, but in the Classical period, composers and performers sought to fill the gaps in the instrument’s range and provide it with a full chromatic scale.
Several methods were devised to accomplish this, but none were entirely satisfactory until the first valve trumpets were constructed in the early 19th century. A transitional stage in the instrument’s evolution was represented by the keyed trumpet, championed by the Austrian virtuoso Anton Weidinger (1767–1852). Musicologist Reine
Dahlqvist explains: “The keys are
brought together on one side of the instrument so as to be operated by one hand only; the other hand merely holds the instrument. … The keys cover soundholes, and when opened, raised the pitch: the key nearest the bell a semitone, the next by a tone, etc.” (See page 33 for a picture of a ke yed trumpet.)
Weidinger had been a member of the court opera in Vienna since 1792. He probably met Franz Joseph Haydn when the latter returned from his second trip to London, by which time the first model of Weidinger’s keyed trumpet was ready. Haydn soon agreed to write a concerto for this instrument and produced a work that stands as a splendid example of his late style.
Franz Joseph Haydn’s music displays many essential elements of the Classical style, with clear forms , balanced melodies , and an overall refined sensibility
Trumpet players are certainly not oversupplied with concertos by major composers; it is therefore all the more curious that Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto remained virtually unknown until the 20th century. First published in 1931, it did not enter the repertoire until some years later, when English trumpeter George Eskdale recorded the second and third movements It was only in the 1950s that the concerto attained the popularity it has enjoyed ever since.
Classical concertos usually start with an orchestral exposition during which the soloist is silent. In this case, however, the soloist plays a single loud note and two short fanfare motives during the tutti section. As composer and author Jonathan Kramer suggested, “Perhaps the composer is providing the soloist with an opportunity to warm up during the performance, so that the instrument is not cold (and hence out of tune) by the time of the thematic entry.”
[Haydn] used the chromatic notes of the keyed trumpet to shape melodies of great sensitivity that alternate with more typical, fanfarelike trumpet writing .
The eventual solo exposition gave Weidinger the opportunity to demonstrate what his new-fangled instrument could do. But Haydn was evidently concerned with more than demonstrat-
ing. He used the chromatic notes of the keyed trumpet to shape melodies of great sensitivity that alternate with more typical, fanfare-like trumpet writing.
The second-movement Andante features a gentle lyrical tune that the solo trumpet takes over from the violins and flute. The chromatic notes of the trumpet, as well as its ability to play fastmoving ornaments, are put to good use in this brief but memorable movement.
The last movement is a typical Haydnesque finale, with buoyant themes woven into a brilliant rondo that displays the virtuosity of the soloist along with (one more time) the instrument’s sensational chromatic capacity.
Peter Laki
A detail from Giovanni Battista Tiepolo’s painting The Glorification of the Barbaro Family, created roughly 40 years before Haydn composed his Trumpet Concerto
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Symphony No . 5 in C minor, Op . 67
by Ludwig van Beethoven
B O R N : December 16, 1770, in Bonn
D I E D : March 26, 1827, in Vienna
▶ C O M P O S E D : 1804 – 08
▶ W O R L D P R E M I E R E : December 22 , 1808 , at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna , led by the composer
▶ C L E V E L A N D O R C H E S T R A P R E M I E R E : April 22 , 1919, conducted by Music Director Nikolai Sokoloff
▶ O R C H E S T R AT I O N : 2 flutes , piccolo, 2 oboes , 2 clarinets , 2 bassoons , contrabassoon , 2 horns , 2 trumpets , 3 trombones , timpani, and strings
▶ D U R AT I O N : about 30 minutes
H O W W O N D E R F U L T H AT S U C H FA M I L I A R pieces as Beethoven’s Fifth the most famous of all symphonies still “work” in performance Audiences of all kinds, occasional and frequent attenders alike, still enjoy its wonders 200 years after its premiere in an unheated concert hall one cold night in Vienna in December 1808. Even those few who arrive with trepidation at hearing an old warhorse one more time are inevitably drawn to the music’s opening drama, rousing ending, and innumerable discoveries in between.
Beethoven began this symphony in 1804, soon after completing his Third, which had been nicknamed “Eroica” (Heroic). That 45-minute work, which contemporary audiences felt was much too long for a symphony, was composed just after one of the composer’s most
anguishing life experiences, as he brought himself to terms with the growing affliction that would eventually rob him of all hearing.
After sketching the first two movements, Beethoven set it aside for more than two years while he wrote his opera Fidelio and the lively and untroubled Fourth Symphony He then worked diligently on the Fifth throughout 1807, while simultaneously writing the Sixth, nicknamed “Pastoral.” This kind of multitasking working on several compositions at once was a normal practice for Beethoven throughout his life, with the ideas originally intended for one work slipping across into a different work entirely.
This portrait of Ludwig van Beethoven from 1820, by artist Joseph Karl Stieler, is the only painting that the composer ever sat for
Throughout this middle period of Beethoven’s life, the composer was routinely strapped for funds and, in 1808, he developed plans for a special evening “Akademie” concert on December 22 to raise money for himself. He secured the Theater an der Wein and rehearsed with musicians in the days leading up to the concert. Beethoven, perhaps sensing the difficulty of scheduling future concerts, kept revising the evening’s program to include more and more music.
The concert lasted more than four hours and featured the world premieres of the Fifth and Sixth symphonies, the Fourth Piano Concerto (with Beethoven as soloist), and the Choral Fantasy as a grand finale, assembling all of the evening’s performing forces at once. Unfortunately, the weather that night was colder than usual and the building was unheated, so the conditions for comfortable listening and performing deteriorated as the hours passed.
From that chilly premiere, the Fifth Symphony’s reputation only increased, and by the end of the 19th century, it had attained its current status as a classical superstar. The association of the opening four-note motive, matching Morse code’s dot–dot–dot–dash for the letter “V,” came to be a shorthand to signify Allied victory during World War II, pushing it further into public consciousness.
The idea that those four notes represent the composer’s turbulent struggle with destiny was put into circulation by Beethoven himself, or at least by his fantasy-spinning amanuensis
Anton Schindler, who reported the composer’s explanation of the opening motive as, “So pocht das Schicksal an die Pforte” ( Thus Fate knocks at the door).
Fate struck Beethoven most cruelly in 1802 when, still in his early 30s, he acknowledged his deafness and began the long process of coming to terms with a handicap that was both a musical disability and, perhaps moreso, a social one His standing as a virtuoso pianist with excellent connections at court was seriously threatened, and his connections with friends, and especially with women, were now forever circumscribed
We might think that, as a composer, his reactions were far more violent than the situation warranted. The “Eroica” Symphony, the immediate product of that profound crisis, transformed the world of classical music forever.
But he did not stop there. One colossal pathbreaking piece followed another, combining unearthly beauty of invention, technical virtuosity, vastness of conception, and a radical freedom of expression and form.
Beethoven may have felt inordinately sorry for himself, but there is no selfpity in his music. Defiance, certainly, although the sense of triumph expressed in the conclusion of the Fifth Symphony is surely more than Beethoven thumbing his nose at Fate.
Whether you choose to listen to this work with the idea of “Fate knocking at the door,” as a path from darkness to light, mystery to certainty, ignorance to enlightenment; or merely a well-craft-
ed symphony, this piece is sure to take you on an exhilarating journey.
The four movements are concise and focused. The first movement is built almost entirely around the four-note opening motive stated again and again, as foreground then background, upside down and right side up again, in unison and harmonized.
The second movement takes a graceful line and works it through various guises, almost always with a sense of expectancy underneath, growing stronger and stronger.
The third movement alternates between quiet uncertainty and forthright
declamations. Near the end, a section of quietly forbidding darkness leads directly into the bright C-major sunshine of the last movement. Beethoven revels in the major key, then develops a strong musical idea through to an unstoppable finish, repeated and extended, emphatic and triumphant.
Eric Sellen
Eric Sellen is The Cleveland Orchestra’s Editor Emeritus He previously was Program Book Editor for 28 seasons .
Continue your journey with Beethoven and The Cleveland Orchestra on Adella .live with Beethoven’s Fifth, a digital production featuring Franz Welser-Möst conducting the composer’s Fifth Symphony. Try it free by visiting adella .live and using the promo code ADELLA30 at checkout .
This statue was carved in 1904 and resides in Berlin’s Tiergarten, as part of a joint memorial to Beethoven, Haydn, and Mozart.
Elim Chan
O N E O F T H E M O S T S O U G H T-A F T E R A RT I S T S of her generation, conductor Elim Chan embodies the spirit of contemporary orchestral leadership with her crystalline precision and expressive zeal. She served as principal conductor of the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra between 2019 and 2024 and principal guest conductor of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra between 2018 and 2023.
Having conducted the First Night of the Proms with the BBC Symphony Orchestra in 2024, Chan returned to the series in 2025 to conduct the renowned Last Night of the Proms. The summer of 2025 also saw her reunite with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and The Cleveland Orchestra, as well as touring with the Concertgebouworkest Young and making her debut at the Musikfest Berlin with the Staatskapelle Berlin.
Highlights in the 2025–26 season include return engagements with The Cleveland Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester, Staatskapelle Dresden, Luxembourg Philharmonic, and Orchestre de Paris, among others. She also makes her subscription debut with The Philadelphia Orchestra and debuts with the Münchner Philharmoniker, Orchester der Oper Zürich, Bamberger Symphoniker, and Orchestre symphonique de Montréal.
Chan’s previous debuts include performances with the San Francisco Symphony, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Wiener Symphoniker, and Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin.
Born in Hong Kong, Chan studied at Smith College in Massachusetts and at the University of Michigan. In 2014, she became the first female winner of the Donatella Flick Conducting Competition and went on to spend her 2015–16 season as assistant conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, where she worked closely with Valery Gergiev. In 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
Michael Sachs Principal Trumpet | Principal Cornet
M I C H A E L S A C H S J O I N E D The Cleveland Orchestra as Principal Trumpet in 1988. Currently celebrating his 38th season, he is the longest-serving Principal Trumpet in the Orchestra’s history.
During his tenure, Sachs has appeared as a soloist with the Orchestra on over 20 different works, including the world premieres of John Williams’s Concerto for Trumpet, Michael Hersch’s Night Pieces (both commissioned by The Cleveland Orchestra for Sachs), and Matthias Pintscher’s Chute d’Étoiles. Most recently, he premiered Wynton Marsalis’s Concerto for Trumpet with the Orchestra in April 2023. His recital disc Live from Se verance Hall, recorded with organist Todd Wilson, was released in 2005.
Since 2015, Sachs has served as music director of the Strings Music Festival in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. As a cofounder and lead artistic administrator of the National Brass Ensemble, Sachs performed on their 2014 Gabrieli recording and subsequent concert in Chicago’s Orchestra Hall, as well as their 2022 academy, concert, and recording, D eified. In fall 2024, Sachs joined the trumpet faculty at the Curtis Institute of Music. From 1988 until 2023, he served as chair of the brass division and head of the trumpet department at the Cleveland
Institute of Music. From 2018 to 2022, Sachs was also a lecturer of trumpet at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music.
Sachs was previously a member of the Houston Symphony and a faculty member at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. Originally from Santa Monica, California, he attended UCL A , receiving a bachelor’s degree in history before continuing his studies at The Juilliard School.
See page 31 for a converation with Sachs.
Continue your journey with Michael Sachs and The Cleveland Orchestra on Adella .live with Marsalis’s New World, a digital production featuring Sachs performing the world premiere of Wynton Marsalis’s Concerto for Trumpet . Try it free by visiting adella .live and using the promo code ADELLA30 at checkout .
Conductor Bernard Labadie with The Cleveland Orchestra during an Open Rehearsal
N O W F I R M LY I N I T S S E C O N D C E N T U RY , 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 Ne w 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 @ClevelandOrchestra
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.
Franz Welser -Möst, Music Director
K E LV I N S M I T H FA M I LY C H A I R
F I R S T V I O L I N S
Joel Link
C O N C E RT M A S T E R
Blossom-Lee Chair
Jung-Min Amy Lee
A S S O C I AT E
C O N C E RT M A S T E R
Gretchen D. and Ward Smith Chair
Zhan Shu
A S S I S TA N T
C O N C E RT M A S T E R
Clara G. and George P. Bickford Chair
Stephen Tavani
A S S I S TA N T
C O N C E RT M A S T E R
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 Hashizume
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 Trautwein
Trevor and Jennie Jones Chair
Katherine Bormann
Analise Handke
Gladys B Goetz Chair
Youngji Kim
Paul and Lucille Jones Chair
Genevieve Smelser
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
S E C O N D V I O L I N S
Stephen Rose*
Alfred M and Clara T Rankin Chair
Eli Matthews1
Patricia M. Kozerefski and Richard J Bogomolny Chair
Jason Yu2
James and Donna Reid Chair
Sonja Braaten Molloy
Carolyn Gadiel Warner
Elayna Duitman
Ioana Missits
Jeffrey Zehngut^
Kathleen Collins
Beth 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
V I O L A S
Wesley Collins*
Chaillé H and Richard B Tullis Chair
Gareth Zehngut1^
Charles M. and Janet G.
Kimball Chair
Stanley Konopka2
Mark Jackobs
Jean Wall Bennett Chair
Lisa Boyko
Richard and Nancy
Sneed Chair
Richard Waugh
Lembi Veskimets
The Morgan Sisters Chair
Eliesha Nelson^
Anthony and Diane
Wynshaw-Boris Chair
Joanna Patterson Zakany
William Bender
Thomas Lauria and
Christopher Lauria Chair
C E L L O S
Mark Kosower*
Louis D Beaumont Chair
Richard Weiss1
The GAR Foundation Chair
Charles Bernard2
Helen Weil Ross Chair
Bryan Dumm
Muriel and Noah Butkin Chair
Tanya Ell
Thomas J and Judith Fay
Gruber Chair
Ralph Curry
Brian Thornton
William P. Blair III Chair
David Alan Harrell
Martha Baldwin
Dane Johansen
Marguerite and James Rigby Chair
Paul Kushious
B A S S E S
Maximilian Dimoff*
Clarence T. Reinberger Chair
Charles Paul1
Mary E . and F. Joseph
Callahan Chair
Derek Zadinsky2
Mark Atherton
Thomas Sperl
Henry Peyrebrune
Charles Barr Memorial Chair
Charles Carleton
Scott Dixon
Brandon Mason
H A R P
Trina Struble*
Alice Chalifoux Chair
F LU T E S
Joshua Smith*
Elizabeth M. and William C.
Treuhaft Chair
Saeran St. Christopher
Jessica Sindell2^
Austin B and Ellen W Chinn Chair
Mary Kay Fink
P I C C O L O
Mary Kay Fink
Anne M and M Roger Clapp Chair
O B O E S
Frank Rosenwein*
Edith S Taplin Chair
Corbin Stair
Sharon and Yoash Wiener Chair
Jeffrey Rathbun2
Everett D. and Eugenia S . McCurdy Chair
Robert Walters
E N G L I S H H O R N
Robert Walters
Samuel C and Bernette K
Jaffe Chair
C L A R I N E T S
Afendi Yusuf*
Robert Marcellus Chair
Robert Woolfrey
Victoire G and Alfred M
Rankin, Jr Chair
Daniel McKelway2
Robert R and Vilma L Kohn
Chair
Amy Zoloto
E-F L AT C L A R I N E T
Daniel McKelway
Stanley L and Eloise M
Morgan Chair
B A S S C L A R I N E T
Amy Zoloto
Myrna and James Spira Chair
B A S S O O N S
John Clouser*
Louise Harkness Ingalls Chair
Gareth Thomas
Catherine Van Handel2
Sandra L Haslinger Chair
Jonathan Sherwin
C O N T R A B A S S O O N
Jonathan Sherwin
H O R N S
Nathaniel Silberschlag*
George Szell Memorial Chair
Michael Mayhew§
Knight Foundation Chair
Jesse McCormick
Robert B Benyo Chair
Hans Clebsch
Richard King
Meghan Guegold Hege^
T RU M P E T S
Michael Sachs*
Robert and Eunice Podis
Weiskopf Chair
Jack Sutte
Lyle Steelman2^
James P. and Dolores D.
Storer Chair
Michael Miller
C O R N E T S
Michael Sachs*
Mary Elizabeth and G Robert Klein Chair
T RO M B O N E S
Brian Wendel*
Gilbert W and Louise I
Humphrey Chair
Richard Stout
Alexander and Marianna C McAfee Chair
Shachar Israel2
B A S S T RO M B O N E
Luke Sieve
E U P H O N I U M &
B A S S T RU M P E T
Richard Stout
T U B A
Yasuhito Sugiyama*
Nathalie C Spence and Nathalie S Boswell Chair
T I M PA N I
Zubin Hathi*
Otto G. and Corinne T. Voss Chair
Peter Nichols2
P E RC U S S I O N
Marc Damoulakis*
Margaret Allen Ireland Chair
Thomas Sherwood
Tanner Tanyeri
Peter Nichols
K E Y B OA R D I N S T RU M E N T S
Carolyn Gadiel Warner
Marjory and Marc L Swartzbaugh Chair
L I B R A R I A N
Michael Ferraguto*
Joe and Marlene Toot Chair
E N D O W E D C H A I R S
C U R R E N T LY
U N O C C U P I E D
Virginia M. Lindseth, PhD, Chair
Sunshine Chair
Rudolf Serkin Chair
Michael Miller C
Mr and Mrs Richard K
Smucker Chair
Christoph von Dohnányi †
Taichi Fukumura
Elizabeth Ring and William Gwinn Mather Chair
James Feddeck
Sidney and Doris Dworkin Chair
Lisa Wong
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
With sincere gratitude to the musicians of The Cleveland Orchestra for their in-kind contributions supporting community programs and securing funding opportunities
A Conversation with Michael Sachs
Principal Trumpet | Principal Cornet
with The Cleveland Orchestra , Principal Trumpet Michael Sachs has stepped into the spotlight on several occasions to premiere new works for trumpet and orchestra by leading contemporary composers such as Wynton Marsalis, Matthias Pintscher, Michael Hersh, and John Williams. For the Orchestra’s March concerts with Elim Chan, Sachs instead revisits an old favorite — Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto, arguably the most famous concerto in the instrument’s repertoire . We caught up with Sachs to learn more about this piece and his relationship with it .
T C O : What’s the history of Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto?
M I C H A E L S A C H S : This piece was a genesis moment for the modern trumpet. Haydn wrote the work in 1796 for Anton Weidinger. Not only was Weidinger a virtuoso trumpeter, but he was the inventor of the keyed trumpet, which, for the first time, allowed the instrument to play a chromatic scale, much like a piano. Before, the trumpet could only produce a select few notes in the harmonic series. But with Weidinger’s keyed trumpet, Haydn now had the ability to write things for the
Michael Sachs (right) and Wynton Marsalis share a bow after the world premiere of Marsalis’s Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra in April 2023 (which can be seen on Adella .live)
instrument that were not possible up to that moment.
Take the opening of the solo part, for instance. The first three notes would have been the first time that anybody would have heard the trumpet play those notes in that sequence! Besides the historical significance of this piece, it’s also one of the first major concertos that most trumpet students learn.
Was that the case for you?
I started learning the second movement when I was about 14. Then, during my senior year of high school, I performed the first movement with my school wind ensemble, which was my first real foray into the piece.
Will this be your first time playing this concerto with The Cleveland Orchestra?
It’ll actually be my third time I first performed it at Severance in 1993, which marked my concerto debut with the Orchestra on a subscription concert. I then played it again at Severance in 2006. That performance was particularly special because it was the first time my daughter, then 3 years old, heard me play with the Orchestra.
To prepare her for the concert, I played parts of the concerto so she would know what to recognize, and my wife gave her an overview of how to behave in the concert hall. The funny thing is that on the night of the performance, she was sitting on my wife’s lap and started looking really puzzled
lap puzzled p rf d
j e y ars in o bei c o e e
Having a piece that I performed just a few years into being with the Orchestra , a second time in the middle, and now again closer to the end of my career it’s become a signpost for me .
after the piece began. She turned to my wife and said, “What’s daddy doing?!” because I wasn’t playing during the orchestral introduction; I was just standing there. Then, once I finally started playing, she went, “Ooohhh,” and was dead silent the rest of the way, totally mesmerized.
This is my first time playing the concerto with the Orchestra since that performance, and it’s very special to me that my daughter can come back and hear it again 20 years later. Having a piece that I performed just a few years into being with the Orchestra, a second time in the middle, and now again closer to the end of my career it’s become a signpost for me.
What is your preparation process like, especially for a piece you know so well?
Even though I’ve been living with this piece for basically 50 years, there are always new things to discover. Any time I dust off a piece, I take it down to the studs and rebuild it from scratch, just to make sure that I’m not going on automatic pilot
First, I have my general conditioning, which is a healthy dose of daily fundamentals on the B-flat trumpet. I play E-flat trumpet in this concerto, so I start introducing the E-flat trumpet into some of that fundamental work until it starts feeling as natural as my primary instrument Then, as I begin a deep dive into the piece, I’m either reinforcing what I’ve done in past performances or evolving it into something even better. Over time, you learn more and find deeper meanings
Several years ago, I actually got to see Haydn’s original manuscript in Vienna, thanks to Otto Biba, who was then the archive director at the Musikverein. It was fascinating to see the adjustments
Haydn made based on Weidinger’s performance and input, and to copy those things into my own music.
I’ve also practiced a bit on a keyed trumpet (above) to get a sense of how Weidinger would have originally performed the piece. I’m using that sonic presence to inform what I do stylistically on the modern instrument.
How might audiences hear these historical considerations in your performance?
In Haydn’s time, composers often left an open space for the soloist to create their own cadenza. It is that one moment when the musician’s personal voice joins the composer’s stylistic framework. I wrote this particular cadenza in 1987, which reflects something that I would be able
A replica of a keyed trumpet (left) sits alongside modern E-flat (middle) and B-flat (right) trumpets. Sachs will play the E-flat trumpet in his performances.
to play on a keyed trumpet, instead of something that I would only be able to do on a modern instrument.
I’ve since tweaked my cadenza a bit, but the bones of it came from cobbling together things from my favorite recordings with a few of my own ideas. And that’s something very akin to what performers would have done in Haydn’s day.
You’ve played a lot of concertos with the Orchestra over the years. What does it mean to you to get to perform like this with your colleagues?
Whenever I stand in front of this orchestra, I feel enormously grateful and inspired, because I’m usually in the back of the ensemble with everyone in front of me. It’s like the feeling a professional surfer would get riding some giant wave, feeling this energy coming from the group and the incredible artistry happening around me. It’s just magnificent incredibly inspiring and humbling.
2026 Mandel Opera & Humanities Festival: Courage
T H E F O U RT H A N N UA L Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Opera & Humanities Festival kicks off in May with a bold lineup of music, visual and spoken art, and conversations. Held at Severance Music Center and partner locations from May 15 to 24, this year’s festival explores the theme of Courage and is anchored by three performances of Beethoven’s only opera, Fidelio, led by Music Director Franz Welser-Möst (May 16, 21 & 24).
For the first time, the festival welcomes a guest curator trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard, who is acclaimed for bridging classical music, jazz, and film Audiences can experience his genre-bending artistry firsthand at The World(s) of Terence Blanchard on May 15, a two-part evening that features music from his celebrated opera Fire Shut Up in My Bones, as well as a suite from his score for Spike Lee’s Malcolm X, with projections by Andrew F. Scott.
On May 18, renowned lawyer, advocate, and founder of the Equal Justice
Initiative Bryan Stevenson delivers the festival’s opening keynote address, reflecting on the meaning of courage in the pursuit of justice and his life’s work serving incarcerated individuals. The evening prior, May 17, Grammywinning spoken-word artist Tank Ball presents an intimate and uplifting evening of poetry and storytelling.
Throughout the festival, visitors to Severance can experience a special exhibition featuring an original series of works by visual artist Halim Flowers inspired by the festival’s theme. Imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit, Flowers’s advocacy and artwork embody courage in the face of injustice.
Returning festival-favorite events include United in Song! on May 16, bringing together voices from across the Greater Cleveland area, and The Moth Mainstage (May 19), featuring unforgettable true stories told live from Mandel Concert Hall.
See page 41 and/or visit clevelandorchestra .com/festival for additional events , details , and ticketing information
Tank Ball brings her inspiring poetry and captivating stage presence to Severance on May 17
TCO Audio Producer Elaine Martone Wins Seventh Grammy
O N F E B R UA RY 1 , The Cleveland Orchestra’s audio producer, Elaine Martone, won the Grammy Award for Producer of the Year, Classical. This marks her fourth victory in the category and third in a row and her seventh Grammy overall.
This latest Grammy win acknowledges Martone’s work on three recent recording projects by The Cleveland Orchestra
and Music Director Franz Welser-Möst Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique, Eastman & Tchaikovsky, and Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 27 and Symphony No. 20.
“With Franz and the Orchestra, I feel like I get to be another contributor, if not musician, in that great group,” Martone reflected in a recent interview with Cle veland Magazine. “I feel incredibly lucky that I get to do that.”
Join the TCO Summer Choral Institute
F RO M J U N E 2 2 T O 2 6 , The Cleveland Orchestra Chorus will host a week-long Summer Choral Institute, providing aspiring conductors, singers, and collaborative pianists the opportunity to work with director Lisa Wong, pianist Daniel Overly, Grammy-winning baritone Dashon Burton, and members of The Cleveland Orchestra and The Cleveland Orchestra Chorus.
The week includes masterclasses, coaching sessions, roundtable discussions, and more in a supportive and enriching
environment. The experience culminates in a vocal recital in Reinberger Chamber Hall and a performance of Craig Hella Johnson’s oratorio, Considering Matthe w Shepard, in Mandel Concert Hall.
Applications are now open until May 29 or until full. Visit clevelandorchestra .com or scan the QR code below for more information.
Tyler Taylor to Work with COYO Musicians
T H I S S P R I N G , Tyler Taylor and The Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra (COYO) are teaming up for a special collaboration. As The Cleveland Orchestra’s Daniel R Lewis Composer Fellow, Taylor has chosen to dedicate a portion of his fellowship to working with a group of COYO musicians in a series of intensive composition workshops.
These sessions will cover not only the tools of composition but also help the students identify their personal style, allowing them to refine their new works alongside a professional composer and project their own creative voices.
The students’ works will be heard in a performance before COYO’s spring concert on May 10
W I N T E R
R E C I TA L
M A R 1 7
I S ATA K A N N E H - M A S O N
I N R E C I TA L
Isata Kanneh-Mason, piano
Works by Beethoven, Ravel, and
Dobrinka Tabakova
M A R 1 9 – 2 1
C H A N C O N D U C T S
B A RTÓ K
Elim Chan, conductor
Patricia Kopatchinskaja, violin
D A N I E L K I D A N E Sun Poem*
B A RT Ó K Violin Concerto No. 1
B A RT Ó K Dance Suite*
S C R I A B I N The Poem of Ecstasy
S
P R I N G
A P R 2 – 4
D E B U S S Y ’ S L A M E R
Daniele Rustioni, conductor
Paul Jacobs, organ
FA U R É Suite from Pelléas et Mélisande
P O U L E N C Concerto for Organ, Strings , and Timpani
C A S E L L A Italia
D E B U S S Y La mer
A P R 9 – 1 1
S C H U B E RT &
S H O S TA KOV I C H
Santtu-Matias Rouvali, conductor
Sol Gabetta, cello
S H O S TA KO V I C H Cello Concerto No. 2
S C H U B E RT Symphony No. 9, “ The Great”
C A L E N D A R
R E C I TA L
A P R 1 6
A LE X A N D R E
K A N TO RO W I N R E C I TA L
Alexandre Kantorow, piano
Works by J.S. Bach, Medtner, Chopin, Scriabin, and Beethoven
A P R 2 3 , 2 5 & 2 6
B R I T T E N ’ S WA R
R E Q U I E M
Daniel Harding, conductor
Tamara Wilson, soprano
Andrew Staples, tenor
Ludwig Mittelhammer, baritone
The Cleveland Orchestra Chorus
The Cleveland Orchestra Children’s Chorus
B R I T T E N War Requiem
A P R 3 0 & M AY 2
M E N D E L S S O H N ’ S
R E F O R M AT I O N
S Y M P H O N Y
Jörg Widmann, conductor
J Ö R G W I D M A N N Fanfare for Ten Brass Instruments
J Ö R G W I D M A N N Con brio
J Ö R G W I D M A N N Danse macabre
M E N D E L S S O H N Symphony No 5, “Reformation”
R E C I TA L
M AY 5
M A RC - A N D R É H A M E LI N I N R E C I TA L
Marc-André Hamelin, piano
Works by Haydn, Beethoven, Weinberg, and Rachmaninoff
M AY 7 – 9
WAG N E R ’ S
G ÖT T E R DÄ M M E RU N G
Franz Welser-Möst, conductor
Jörg Widmann, clarinet
P RO KO F I E V Symphony No 1, “Classical”
O L G A N E U W I RT H Zones of Blue*
WA G N E R Excerpts from Götterdämmerung
M AY 1 6 , 2 1 & 24
B E E T H OV E N ’ S F I D E LI O
Franz Welser-Möst, conductor
Malin Byström, soprano (Leonore)
David Butt Philip, tenor (Florestan)
Tomasz Konieczny, bass-baritone (Don Pizarro)
Martin Summer, bass (Rocco)
Dashon Burton, bass-baritone (Don Fernando)
Ashley Emerson, soprano (Marzelline)
Owen McCausland, tenor (Jaquino)
The Cleveland Orchestra Chorus
B E E T H O V E N Fidelio
Opera presentation sung in German with projected supertitles
M AY 2 2
H E RO ’ S S O N G
Franz Welser-Möst, conductor
Leila Josefowicz, violin
Trina Struble, harp
A D O L P H U S H A I L S T O R K
Epitaph for a Man Who Dreamed
B A C E W I C Z Symphony No. 4
J Ü R I R E I N V E R E Concerto for Violin, Harp, and Orchestra
D V O Ř Á K Hero’s Song
* Not performed on the Friday matinee concert
Generous support for the 2025 – 26 Recital Series provided by the Art of Beauty Company, Inc.
M AY 1 5 – 2 4
Join us for the fourth annual Jack , Joseph and Morton Mandel Opera & Humanities Festival, which delves into the many facets of Courage and how it shapes our hopes , our fears , and our actions .
A P R I L 9 – M AY 24
Halim Flowers: It Takes Courage to Love All Unconditionally
In this special exhibit at Severance Music Center, celebrated artist Halim Flowers unveils a new body of work created in Cleveland expressly for the Mandel Opera & Humanities Festival, drawing its energy and vision from the festival’s central theme of Courage
F R I D AY, M AY 1 5
The World(s) of Terence Blanchard
This genre-bending opening night of the festival features selections from Terence Blanchard’ s groundbreaking opera Fire Shut Up in My Bones and a suite from his score for Spike Lee’ s Malcolm X, paired with immersive projections
S AT U R D AY, M AY 1 6
United in Song! A Community Choral Celebration
An afternoon of joyous vocal performances representing the rich diversity of the Greater Cleveland choral community
S AT U R D AY, M AY 1 6
T H U R S D AY, M AY 2 1
S U N D AY, M AY 24
Beethoven’s Fidelio Franz Welser-Möst lifts The Cleveland Orchestra and an all-star cast of soloists to the life-affirming heights of Beethoven’ s only opera , a testament to courage and human resilience .
S U N D AY, M AY 1 7
Courage and Poetry: An Af ternoon with Tank Ball
Grammy-winning artist Tarriona “ Tank” Ball shares her spellbinding blend of spoken word and poetry in a performance that digs deep into the meaning of courage, featuring music by Terence Blanchard.
M O N D AY, M AY 1 8
Bryan Stevenson on Courage
In this keynote address , acclaimed civil rights leader, bestselling author, and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative Bryan Stevenson reflects on the meaning of courage: how we confront injustice, stay proximate to suffering, and choose to hope in the face of overwhelming odds
T U E S D AY, M AY 1 9
The Moth Mainstage: Live from Severance
Five extraordinary storytellers share true stories inspired by the festival theme of Courage tales of risk and resilience, of stepping into the unknown, and of finding courage amid fear
F R I D AY, M AY 2 2
Hero’s Song
Franz Welser-Möst leads The Cleveland Orchestra in a wideranging program inspired by the festival theme, featuring works by Adolphus Hailstork, Bacewicz, Jüri Reinvere, and Dvořák
Heritage Society
The Heritage Society recognizes dedicated supporters who have entrusted their legacy with The Cleveland Orchestra by including the Orchestra in their estate plans . Thank you to these individuals for their generous support .
To learn more about the Heritage Society, contact Legacy Giving at legacy@clevelandorchestra .com
Leonard Abrams*
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Norman* & Marjorie Allison
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Trust Fund
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Estate of Dawn M. Full
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Mr.* & Mrs . Robert M. Ginn
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Ronald & Carol Godes*
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Mr.* & Mrs . Henry J. Goodman
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In Memory of Margaret Goss
Mr. Michael Gotwald
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David S. Goodman
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Mr. & Mrs . Donald M. Jack , Jr.*
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Pamela Jacobson
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David* & Gloria Kahan
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Bruce* & Eleanor Kendrick
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Mr Clarence E Klaus , Jr *
Fred* & Judith Klotzman
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O’Neill-László
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Linda* & Saul Ludwig
Patricia MacDonald
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Mrs . H. Stephen Madsen
Mr. & Mrs . Donald Malpass , Jr.
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Mr. & Mrs . Anthony M. Martincic
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Dr. Lee Maxwell &
Michael M. Prunty
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Nancy B McCormack
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Ms . Linda Meixner
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The Honorable John Doyle Ong
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Nancy* & W. Stuver Parry
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Michael J. & Roberta W. Rusek
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In Memory of Hyman and Becky Schandler
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Ms . Marian Schluembach
Robert & Betty Schmiermund
Richard B & Cheryl A Schmitz
Mr * & Mrs Richard M Schneider
Jeanette L Schroeder*
Frank Schultz
Carol & Albert Schupp*
Raymond B. Scragg
Lawrence M. Sears & Sally Z . Sears
Roslyn S. & Ralph M. Seed
Nancy F. Seeley
Meredith M. Seikel
Reverend Sandra Selby
Eric Sellen
Holly Selvaggi
Thomas & Ann Sepúlveda
The Seven Five Fund
B Kathleen Shamp*
Jill Semko Shane
David Shank
Helen & Fred D. Shapiro*
Dr. & Mrs . William C. Sheldon
John F. Shelley &
Patricia Ann Burgess*
Frank* & Mary Ann Sheranko
Kim Sherwin*
Reverend* & Mrs . Malcolm K . Shields
Robyn Shifrin
Mr. & Mrs . David L . Simon*
Dr.* & Mrs . John A . Sims
H Scott Sippel & Clark T Kurtz
Ellen J Skinner
Ralph* & Phyllis Skufca
Janet Hickok Slade
Bartholomew Slak
Drs . Charles Kent Smith &
Patricia Moore Smith
Ms . Mary C. Smith
Sandra & Richey* Smith
Roy Smith
Mr.* & Mrs . Ward Smith
Drs Pat & Jeff Spiess
Myrna* & James Spira
Barbara J Stanford & Vincent T Lombardo
George R . & Mary B.* Stark
Sue Starrett & Jerry Smith
Lois & Tom Stauffer*
Elliott K . Stava and Susan L . Kozak Fund
Saundra K . Stemen
Dr. Myron Bud & Helene* Stern
Mr. & Mrs . John M. Stickney
Dr. & Mrs . William H. Stigelman, Jr.
Arthur J. & Nancy L . Stokes
Mr.* & Mrs . James P. Storer
The Strawbridge Family Foundation/Holly Strawbridge
In Memory of Marjory Swartzbaugh
Dr Elizabeth Swenson
Lorraine S. Szabo
Nancy & Lee Tenenbaum
Mr. Joseph F. Tetlak*
Carol Tevis
Dr. & Mrs . Friedrich Thiel
Christina & Thomas Thoburn
Gary & Beryl Tishkoff
Mr. & Mrs . William M. Toneff
Joe & Marlene Toot
Alleyne C. Toppin
Janice & Leonard Tower
Dr & Mrs James E Triner
Mrs Ellen Tschappat*
William & Judith Ann Tucholsky
Mr. Jack G. Ulman
Robert & Marti* Vagi
Robert A . Valente
Nicholas J. Velloney*
Steven Vivarronda
Hon. & Mrs . William F.B. Vodrey
Roy C. Waas*
Pat & Walt* Wahlen
Mrs . Clare R . Walker*
John & Deborah Warner
Mr & Mrs Russell Warren
Joseph F & Dorothy L * Wasserbauer
Richard & Barbara Watkins*
Reverend Thomas L . Weber
Lucile Weingartner
Max W. Wendel
William Wendling* & Lynne Woodman
Robert C. Weppler
Paul & Suzanne Westlake
Marilyn J. White
Yoash & Sharon* Wiener
Linda R . Wilcox
Helen Sue & Meredith Williams*
Dr Paul R & Catherine Williams
Carter & Genevieve* Wilmot
Paul F & Barbara Wingenfeld
Nancy L Wolpe
Mrs . Alfred C. Woodcock*
Katie & Donald Woodcock
Dr.* & Mrs . Henry F. Woodruff
Nancy R . Wurzel
Michael & Diane Wyatt
Tony & Diane Wynshaw-Boris
Mary Yee
Carol Yellig
Libby M. Yunger
William Zempolich & Beth Meany
Anonymous (52)
Whatever greatness The Cleveland Orchestra has achieved is because of all the people here in this community, who believe in what the power of music can do.
Franz Welser-Möst , TCO Music Director
The Cleveland Orchestra Endowment
For over a century, The Cleveland Orchestra has sought to inspire and unite people through the extraordinary power of music . The Cleveland Orchestra’s Endowment provides vital funds each season and is a long-term investment in the institution’s future .
We share our deepest gratitude to the following supporters who have established and contributed to a named fund in the Cleveland Orchestra Endowment . Their leadership support creates a legacy of music that will be shared for generations .
General Operating endowed funds provide foundational support for The Cleveland Orchestra’s programs , from artistic initiatives to education and community programs , and beyond
Gay Cull Addicott & Robert R . Cull Art of Beauty Company, Inc.
Randall & Virginia Barbato
John P. Bergren & Sarah S. Evans
William P. Blair III
Cynthia R . Boardman & Jane R Horvitz
Clarence E Klaus
Elizabeth Ring Mather & William Gwinn Mather
Margaret Fulton-Mueller
Amy & Stephen Hoffman
Virginia M. & Jon A . Lindseth
The Jack , Joseph and Morton
Mandel Foundation
Nancy McCann
MJH Foundation
Harlan & Elizabeth Peterjohn
Barbara Robinson
Leighton A . Rosenthal Family
Naomi G. & Edwin Z . Singer
Artistic endowed funds support a variety of programmatic initiatives ranging from guest artists and radio broadcasts to the all-volunteer Cleveland Orchestra Chorus and the commissioning of new works
Artistic Excellence
George Gund III
Artistic Collaboration
Dr Feite F Hofman
Joseph P & Nancy F Keithley
Artistic Initiatives
Barbara Robinson
Young Composers
Daniel R Lewis
Friday Morning Concerts
Mary E . and F. Joseph Callahan Foundation
Radio Broadcasts
Robert & Jean Conrad
Dr. Frederick S. & Priscilla Cross
The Cleveland Orchestra Chorus
Jerome & Shirley Grover
Meacham Hitchcock & Family
American Conductors Fund
Douglas Peace Handyside
Holsey Gates Handyside
Severance Guest Conductors
Roger & Anne Clapp
James & Donna Reid
Concert Previews
Dorothy Humel Hovorka
Guest Artists
Kulas Foundation
The Payne Fund
Julia & Larry Pollock Family
James S. Reid Jr.
Timothy J. & Jennifer C. Smucker
International Touring
Frances Elizabeth Wilkinson
Mandel Opera & Humanities Festival
The Jack , Joseph and Morton
Mandel Foundation
Center for Future Audiences
supports programs to develop new generations of audiences for The Cleveland Orchestra .
Center for Future Audiences
Marguerite B. Humphrey
Maltz Family Foundation
Saul & Linda Ludwig
Student Audiences
Alexander & Sarah Cutler
Severance Music Center endowed funds support maintenance of keyboard instruments and the facilities of the Orchestra’s concert home in Cleveland.
Keyboard Maintenance
Mary Freer Cannon
William R . Dew
The Frederick W. and Janet P. Dorn Foundation
Mr & Mrs Richard A Manuel
Vincent K & Edith H Smith
Memorial Trust
Organ
D. Robert & Kathleen L . Barber
Arlene & Arthur Holden
Kulas Foundation
Descendants of D.Z . Norton
Oglebay Norton Foundation
Severance Music Center
Preservation
Severance family and friends
Blossom Music Center and Blossom Festival endowed funds support the Orchestra’s summer performances and maintenance of Blossom Music Center.
Blossom Festival Guest Artists
Dr. & Mrs . Murray M. Bett
The Hershey Foundation
The Payne Fund
Mr & Mrs William C Zekan
Blossom Festival Family Concerts
David E . & Jane J. Griffiths
Landscaping and Maintenance
The William Bingham Foundation
Emily Blossom family members and friends
The GAR Foundation
John S. and James L . Knight Foundation
Education and Community endowed funds support programs that deepen connections to symphonic music at every age and stage of life, including music instruction, performances , and classroom resources for thousands of students and adults each year.
Education Programs
Hope & Stanley I Adelstein
Kathleen L Barber
Isabelle & Ronald Brown
Dr. Jeanette Grasselli Brown & Dr. Glenn R . Brown
The Brown and Kunze Foundation
Joan Y. Horvitz
Frank & Margaret Hyncik
Junior Committee of The Cleveland Orchestra
Mr. & Mrs . David T. Morgenthaler
John & Sally Morley
Jane B. Nord & the Eric and Jane Nord Family Fund
The William N Skirball Endowment
Family Concerts
Stanley & Barbara Meisel and the Meisel and Pesses Foundation
In-School Performances
Alfred M Lerner
Make Music a Part of Your Legacy
Classroom Resources
Charles & Marguerite C Galanie
Education Concerts
Courtney & Marguerite Rankin
Burton
Malcolm E . Kenney
Jane B. Nord & the Eric and Jane Nord Family Fund
The Max Ratner Education Fund, given by the Ratner, Miller, and Shafran families and by Forest City Enterprises , Inc
The Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra
William E . Dean Jr. & Gloria P. Dean
Geoffrey & Sarah Gund
The George Gund Foundation
Christine Gitlin Miles , in honor of Jahja Ling
Jules & Ruth Vinney
Music Explorers
Pysht Fund
Community Programming
Alex & Carol Machaskee
Your support for the Endowment creates a long-lasting connection to The Cleveland Orchestra . Whether you endow a chair or establish an endowed fund, your generosity is a powerful investment in classical music that will endure for years to come .
To learn more about ways to support The Cleveland Orchestra’s Endowment , contact : Marta Kelleher, Esq., Senior Major Gift and Planned Giving Officer
216 - 456 -8400 | legacy@clevelandorchestra .com
The Cleveland Orchestra Board of Trustees
O F F I C E R S
Richard J. Kramer
Chair
André Gremillet
President & CEO,
Richard K . Smucker Chair
Richard K Smucker
Immediate Past Chair
Richard J. Bogomolny Chair Emeritus
Dennis W. LaBarre Chair Emeritus
Norma Lerner
Honorary Chair
David J. Hooker
Secretary
Victor Alexander
Treasurer
Victor Alexander
Robin Dunn Blossom
Yuval Brisker
Helen Rankin Butler
Nancy Slocum Callahan
Irad Carmi
Bill Clawson
Matthew V Crawford
Lisa Fedorovich
Michael Frank , MD JD
Hiroyuki Fujita
Robert Glick
Arthur C. Hall III
Iris Harvie
Dee Haslam
Stephen H. Hoffman
David J. Hooker
Michelle Shan Jeschelnig
Sarah Liotta Johnston
Elizabeth B. Juliano
Nancy F Keithley
Douglas A Kern
John D Koch
Richard J Kramer
Dennis W. LaBarre
Heather Lennox
Cathy Lincoln
Robert W. Malone
Ben Mathews
Nancy W. McCann
Stephen McHale
Scott C. Mueller
Christine Myeroff
Katherine T. O’Neill
Hyun Park
Alfred M Rankin, Jr
Charles A Ratner
Zoya Reyzis
Richard K . Smucker
James C. Spira
R . Thomas Stanton
Richard Stovsky
Russell A . Trusso
Daniel P. Walsh
Thomas A . Waltermire
Jes Warren
Jeffery J. Weaver
Anya Weaving
Meredith Smith Weil
Paul E Westlake Jr
David A Wolfort
Anthony Wynshaw-Boris
Virginia Nord Barbato (NY)
Mary Jo Eaton (FL)
Michael J. Horvitz (FL)
Thomas E Lauria (FL)
Loretta Mester (PA)
Benjamin N Pyne (NY)
Geraldine B Warner (OH)
Tony White (OH)
Wolfgang C. Berndt (Austria)
Herbert Kloiber (Germany)
André Gremillet
Todd Diacon
Sarah Hutchins
Eric Kaler
Judith E . Matsko
Beverly J Schneider
Thomas F McKee
Richard J. Bogomolny
Charles P. Bolton
Robert D Conrad
Alexander M Cutler
Richard C Gridley
Norma Lerner
Virginia Lindseth
Alex Machaskee
Robert P. Madison
Milton S. Maltz
Beth E . Mooney
John D. Ong
Audrey Gilbert Ratner
Hewitt B. Shaw
Luci Schey Spring
L AT E S E AT I N G
As a courtesy to audience members and musicians , late-arriving patrons are asked to wait quietly until the first convenient break in the program. These seating breaks are at the discretion of the House Manager in consultation with the performing artists .
C E L L P H O N E S , WAT C H E S &
O T H E R D E V I C E S
To ensure a quiet and respectful listening environment , please silence all electronic devices .
P H O T O G R A P H Y, V I D E O G R A P H Y & R E C O R D I N G
Audio recording, photography, and videography are not allowed during performances at Severance Photographs can only be taken when the performance is not in progress .
In consideration of others , please reduce the volume on hearing aids and other health-assistive devices that may produce noise. For Infrared Assistive-Listening Devices , please see an usher. To request one in advance, email info@cleveland orchestra .com.
I N T H E E V E N T
O F A N E M E RG E N C Y
Contact an usher or a member of house staff if you require medical assistance. Emergency exits are clearly marked throughout the building Ushers and house staff will provide instructions in the event of an emergency A G E G U I D E L I N E S
Regardless of age, each person must have a ticket and be able to sit quietly in a seat throughout the
T H E C L E V E L A N D O R C H E S T R A A P P
Official Mobile App of TCO
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
performance. Classical Season subscription concerts are not recommended for children under 8. However, there are several ageappropriate series designed specifically for children and youth, including Music Explorers (for 3 to 6 years old) and Family Concerts (for ages 7 and older) F O O D & M E RC H A N D I S E
Beverages and snacks are available at bars throughout the building and in the Lounge at Severance Only bottled water is permitted in the hall. For Cleveland Orchestra apparel, recordings , and gift items , visit the Welcome Center.
T E L L U S A B O U T YO U R
E X P E R I E N C E
We are so glad you joined us! Want to share about your time at Severance? Send your feedback to cx@clevelandorchestra .com. Hearing directly from you will help us create the best experience possible.
The Cleveland Orchestra is grateful to the following organizations for their ongoing generous support of The Cleveland Orchestra: the State of Ohio and Ohio Arts Council and to the residents of Cuyahoga County through Cuyahoga Arts and Culture
Cleveland Orchestra performances are broadcast as part of regular programming on ideastream/WCLV Classical 90.3 FM, Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 4 PM.
The Cleveland Orchestra is proud of its long-term partnership with Kent State University, made possible in part through generous funding from the State of Ohio
The Cleveland Orchestra is proud to have its home, Severance Music Center, located on the campus of Case Western Reserve University, with whom it has a long history of collaboration and partnership.
©2026 The Cleveland Orchestra and the Musical Arts Association Program books for Cleveland Orchestra concerts are produced by The Cleveland Orchestra and are distributed free to attending audience members
E D I T O R I A L
Kevin McBrien, Editorial & Publications Manager, The Cleveland Orchestra kmcbrien@clevelandorchestra .com
Ellen Sauer Tanyeri, Archives & Editorial Assistant, The Cleveland Orchestra
D E S I G N
Elizabeth Eddins, Eddinsdesign eddinsdesign@gmail com
A D V E R T I S I N G Live Publishing Company, 216-721-1800
