SEPTEMBER 26 –28, 2025
E X PEC T T H E E X T R AOR DI NARY
Ravel’s Boléro
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2025 –2026 SEASON J A C K , J O S E P H A N D M O RTO N M A N D E L C O N C E RT H A L L AT S E V E R A N C E M U S I C C E N T E R
PAG E 3
A Message from André Gremillet, President & CEO of The Cleveland Orchestra PAG E 5
A REMEMBR A NCE The Life & Career of Christoph von Dohnányi PAG E 11
I N TROD UC T ION PAG E 13
THIS WEEK ’S PROGR AM
Ravel’s Boléro Franz Welser-Möst, conductor PRO GR AM NOTE S:
Urworte for Chorus and Orchestra by Bernd Richard Deutsch • PAGE 14
Salome’s Dance from Salome, Op. 54 by Richard Strauss • PAGE 20
Boléro by Maurice Ravel • PAGE 24
Sung Texts • PAGE 28 Conductor & Artist Biographies • PAGE 35
COVER: PHOTO OF FRANZ WELSER-MÖST BY ROGER MASTROIANNI
PAG E 4 5
TCO SP OTLIG H T A Conversation with Limmie Pulliam PAG E 4 8
I N T HE N EW S Noteworthy happenings at The Cleveland Orchestra PAG E 5 3
TH A N K YOU The community of supporters who bring the music to life clevelandorchestra.com
Thank you, music lovers! Donations from caring friends like you bring the 2025 – 26 Season to life. YOU believe in the power of music. YOU make Cleveland a brighter place. Thank you for sharing the joy of music with your community. Be a champion for music today! SCAN QR TO VISIT
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PHOTO BY ROGER MASTROIANNI
FRO M THE PRESID E N T & C EO ON BEHALF OF THE musicians, board, staff, and volunteers of The Cleveland Orchestra, I am honored to welcome you to our 2025 – 26 Season at Severance Music Center! As the Orchestra steps into its 108th season, we remain as committed as ever to expanding the repertoire, reaching new and younger audiences, and meeting people where they are — whether in the concert hall, across our community, or through our digital home, Adella.live. To start off the season, we are thrilled to welcome back Music Director Franz Welser-Möst for the first of 10 extraordinary programs this year. Among these will be the culmination of his eight-year project to record all of Prokofiev’s symphonies, with performances of the Seventh in October and the First in May. Also in October, we introduce our new Daniel R. Lewis Composer Fellow, Tyler Taylor, while continuing relationships with past fellows Bernd Richard Deutsch, whose Urworte opens the season, and the multitalented Jörg Widmann, who returns twice in the spring. Throughout the season, we reunite with international stars like Garrick Ohlsson, Augustin Hadelich, Barbara Hannigan, John Adams, and Cleveland-native Alisa Weilerstein, while featuring our very own musicians as soloists — English Horn Robert Walters in November, Principal Trumpet Michael Sachs in March, and Principal Harp Trina Struble in May. The Orchestra is also joined by our beloved Cleveland Orchestra Chorus for six programs, including tours to New York and Miami with Verdi’s Requiem, performances of Handel’s Messiah and Britten’s War Requiem, and a season-capping performance of Beethoven’s only opera, Fidelio, at the fourth annual Mandel Opera & Humanities Festival, which promises to unite a rich tapestry of artists and thinkers to reflect on a timely theme: Courage. As we look ahead with anticipation, we also pause to honor the exceptional legacy of Music Director Laureate Christoph von Dohnányi, who passed away on September 6 at the age of 95. His visionary leadership and artistic brilliance left an indelible mark on The Cleveland Orchestra and the world of classical music. I invite you to read the memorial tribute on pages 5 – 7 as we remember and celebrate a remarkable artist, colleague, and friend. Together with Family and Education Concerts, movie presentations, and our annual Holiday Concerts, this season truly offers a welcoming home for all. Whether you are a lifetime subscriber or attending your first concert, whether you join us in person or online, you are a vital part of the Cleveland Orchestra community, and I thank you for making us a central part of yours.
André Gremillet President & CEO, The Cleveland Orchestra
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A REMEMBR ANC E
IN MEMORIAM:
Christoph von Dohnányi THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA MOURNS THE PASSING of Music Director Laureate
Christoph von Dohnányi, who led the Orchestra with distinction from September 1984 to August 2002. Dohnányi passed away on September 6 at the age of 95, leaving behind a profound legacy of musical excellence,
IMAGE COURTESY OF THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA ARCHIVES
visionary leadership, and international acclaim. “Christoph von Dohnányi was a superb conductor and Music Director, respected the world over. His storied family history gave him a unique musical perspective, and The Cleveland Orchestra was fortunate to have him in Cleveland for such a significant part of its history. Maestro Dohnányi’s artistry and dedication led to a deep mutual respect with our musicians, which was felt sincerely by our audiences who had an enormous appreciation for him. We send condolences to his family and friends, and to all he touched with his music in Cleveland and beyond,” said André Gremillet, President & CEO of The Cleveland Orchestra. Dohnányi’s relationship with The Cleveland Orchestra began on December 3, 1981, when he stepped onto the podium as a guest conductor. In just three short months, he was announced as the Orchestra’s sixth Music Director. During his remarkable 18-year tenure, Dohnányi propelled The Cleveland Orchestra to new artistic heights. He Christoph von Dohnányi’s remarkable family lineage included Hungarian composer Ernő Dohnányi (his grandfather) and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer (his uncle and godfather).
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led the Orchestra in more than a thousand concerts, including regular tours of the United States, Europe (most notably establishing a long-standing and cherished residency at the Salzburg Festival in 1992), and Asia (including the first concert appearance by The Cleveland Orchestra in mainland China). In 1985, he presented the first fully staged opera at Blossom Music Center, the Orchestra’s summer home, with a production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute. Dohnányi’s tenure also marked a prolific era of recording for The Cleveland Orchestra. He recorded 109 works with the ensemble, contributing significantly to its international profile and documented artistry. This included the complete symphonies of Beethoven, Brahms, and Robert Schumann; selected symphonies by Bruckner, Dvořák, Mahler, Mozart, Schubert, and Tchaikovsky; works by John Adams, Bartók, Berlioz, Birtwistle, Busoni, Ives, Ravel, Richard Strauss, Varèse, and Webern; and two operas from Wagner’s Ring cycle (Das Rheingold and Die Walküre). In December 2001, | 5
A REMEM B R ANC E
The Cleveland Orchestra released the Christoph von Dohnányi Compact Disc Edition, a 10-CD retrospective featuring live performances with the Orchestra from 1984 through 2001. Dohnányi’s recording work was recognized with two Grammy Award nominations, further cementing his reputation as a conductor of exceptional musical insight. In 1994, Time magazine honored The Cleveland Orchestra as “the best band in the land,” a testament to Dohnányi’s standards. Two of his most enduring contributions were overseeing the comprehensive renovation of Severance Hall beginning in 1998 — transforming the historic venue into a state-of-the-art concert hall while preserving its architectural grandeur — and founding The Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra and Youth Chorus. Outside Cleveland, Dohnányi’s appointments included opera directorships in Frankfurt and Hamburg and orchestral conducting posts in England, Germany, and Paris. He enjoyed a long and productive partnership with the Philharmonia Orchestra, where he served as principal conductor and artistic adviser for 10 years before becoming Honorary Conductor for Life. Dohnányi led that ensemble on tour across Europe and the United States, and in a series of acclaimed opera presentations in Paris. In September 2015, he led the PhilharUnder Dohnányi’s direction, The Cleveland Orchestra performed and recorded a vast array of works, ranging from beloved classics by Beethoven and Mahler to new works by John Adams and Birtwistle to hidden gems by Crawford Seeger and Ruggles.
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monia Orchestra’s gala concert in London, celebrating the ensemble’s 70th anniversary. Dohnányi was a frequent guest conductor in concert with the Vienna Philharmonic and at the Vienna State Opera. Herbert von Karajan and his successor, Gerard Mortier, invited him regularly to participate in the Salzburg Festival. There he led the Vienna Philharmonic in productions of Richard Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier and Salome, Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle, Mozart’s Così fan tutte and The Magic Flute, and in the world premieres of Henze’s The Bassarids and Cerha’s Baal. With the orchestra, Dohnányi recorded works by Dvořák, Philip Glass, Mendelssohn, Schnittke, and Tchaikovsky, and several operas including Beethoven’s Fidelio, Berg’s Wozzeck and Lulu, Schoenberg’s Erwartung, and Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman.
PHOTOS BY ROGER MASTROIANNI
After the end of his tenure in Cleveland, Dohnányi appeared as a frequent guest conductor with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and Los Angeles Philharmonic, alongside returning for regular engagements in Cleveland. Other notable appearances included concerts with the Israel Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, and Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Dohnányi also led productions at the world’s great opera houses, including London’s Royal Opera House, Milan’s La Scala, and in Berlin and Paris. He also regularly appeared with the Zurich Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, and Metropolitan Opera. Born in Berlin, Dohnányi began as a law student at the University of Munich, but soon chose to pursue his music studies full-time. After winning the Richard Strauss Prize of Munich for conducting, he spent time studying with his grandfather, Ernő Dohnányi, clevelandorchestra.com
The Cleveland Orchestra rehearsing at the 1996 Salzburg Festival under Dohnányi’s direction.
at Florida State University. He started his career as assistant to Georg Solti in Frankfurt and, in 1957, became the youngest general music director in Germany. Dohnányi’s many accolades include honorary doctorates of music from the Eastman School of Music, Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Cleveland Institute of Music, Kent State University, Case Western Reserve University, and London’s Royal Academy of Music, as well as an honorary doctorate in humane letters from the Hebrew Union College/ Jewish Institute of Religion and the AntiDefamation League’s Torch of Freedom Award. He is the recipient of the Bartók Medal in Hungary and a member of the Order of Arts and Letters of France. In addition, he received the Verdienstkreuz of the Republic of Austria and the Bundesverdienstkreuz of the German Republic. We are deeply grateful for Christoph von Dohnányi’s extraordinary contributions to The Cleveland Orchestra and to the broader classical music world. | 7
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DETAIL FROM EL JALEO BY JOHN SINGER SARGENT / ISABELLA STEWART GARDNER MUSEUM, COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA HAS LONG BEEN CELEBRATED for embracing the inter-
section of innovation and tradition. As Music Director Franz Welser-Möst has observed, “The Cleveland Orchestra in our day is known for playing music of the last 70 years with an ease which is unmatched in our world.” Opening the 2025 – 26 Season, this weekend’s program offers the perfect microcosm of that quintessentially Cleveland dichotomy: each piece, in its own way, balances traditional ideas with groundbreaking sounds. The concert begins with the US premiere of Urworte by the Orchestra’s former Daniel R. Lewis Composer Fellow, Bernd Richard Deutsch. While it is the newest work on the program, it also has the oldest roots. The Goethe text at the basis of this mammoth piece is a reworking of Orphic texts on the nature of Fate, creating a “strong contrast between ancient and modern concepts of Fate,” as Deutsch says. The theme of grappling with age-old stories continues with Salome’s Dance from Richard Strauss’s opera Salome. Strauss set Oscar Wilde’s eyebrow-raising, risqué take on a biblical tale to tortured melodies that simultaneously pull at the bounds of tonality and trap themselves in obsessive repetition. Closing the concert, Maurice Ravel’s Boléro takes a similar sense of obsessive repetition to even further extremes. Named for a traditional Spanish dance and originally set to choreography as seductive as Salome’s dance, Ravel drew his inspiration from the entrancing monotony of factory machines. Kicking off his 24th season as Music Director, Franz Welser-Möst conducts three works that encapsulate The Cleveland Orchestra’s enduring legacy, contrasting ancient roots with modern creativity and honoring the inseparable connection between these two elements in the pursuit of human greatness. — Ellen Sauer Tanyeri Ellen Sauer Tanyeri is The Cleveland Orchestra’s archives & editorial assistant and is a PhD candidate in musicology at Case Western Reserve University.
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TH E MUSIC
Thank you for silencing your electronic devices.
Ravel’s Boléro Friday, September 26, 2025, at 7:30 PM Saturday, September 27, 2025, at 7:30 PM Sunday, September 28, 2025, at 3 PM
Season Preview with Orchestra President & CEO André Gremillet and Music Director Franz Welser-Möst Mandel Concert Hall one hour prior to performance
Franz Welser-Möst, conductor Bernd Richard Deutsch (b. 1977)
Urworte for Chorus and Orchestra
55 minutes
I. Daimon: Dämon (Demon) II. Tyche: Das Zufällige (The Accidental) III. Eros: Liebe (Love) IV. Ananke: Nötigung (Necessity) — V. Elpis: Hoffnung (Hope) The Cleveland Orchestra Chorus
PHOTO OF FRANZ WELSER-MÖST BY ROGER MASTROIANNI
US Premiere; Co-commissioned by The Cleveland Orchestra I N TERMIS SI O N
20 minutes
Richard Strauss (1864–1949)
Salome’s Dance from Salome, Op. 54
10 minutes
Maurice Ravel (1875–1937)
Boléro
15 minutes
Sunday’s performance will be livestreamed on Adella.live
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Total approximate running time: 1 hour 40 minutes
Support for The Cleveland Orchestra Chorus is provided by the Wesley Family Foundation, Robin Hitchcock Hatch, The Shari Bierman Singer Family, and Charles M. Hoppel and Marianne Karwowski Hoppel. | 13
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Urworte for Chorus and Orchestra by Bernd Richard Deutsch BORN : May 15, 1977, in Mödling, Austria
▶ COMPOSED: 2022 – 24 ▶ WORLD PREMIERE : February 7, 2025, in Hamburg, with Alan Gilbert conducting the NDR Vocal Ensemble, MDR Radio Choir, and NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra ▶ These concerts mark the first Cleveland Orchestra performances and the US premiere of Bernd Richard Deutsch’s Urworte, which was co-commissioned by The Cleveland Orchestra and the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra. ▶ ORCHESTRATION : 3 flutes (2nd and 3rd doubling piccolo), piccolo, 2 oboes, English horn, 3 clarinets (3rd doubling E-flat clarinet), bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion (marimba, vibraphone, xylophone, glockenspiel, crotales, snare drum, bass drum, cymbals, bell plate, metal chimes, tubular bells, tam-tam, woodblocks, temple blocks, bamboo wind chimes, tom-toms, tambourine, congas, maracas, shaker, güiro, sandpaper blocks, vibraslap, flexatone, spring coil, lion’s roar, whip, thunder sheet, ocean drum, wind machine), 2 harps, piano, celesta, strings, and mixed chorus ▶ DURATION : about 55 minutes See page 28 for the sung texts.
COMPOSERS OFTEN SET ASIDE IDEAS
that strike them in a flash of inspiration, waiting until the right moment arrives to wrestle them down in detail and give them an enduring form. For Bernd Richard Deutsch, one such idea was to write a work exploring the elemental forces that shape our lives. Franz Welser-Möst provided the occasion when he commissioned a score for The Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus, giving Deutsch carte blanche to choose whatever subject he wished. Cleveland audiences already know the Austrian 14 | 2025/2026 SEASON
composer from his tenure as the Orchestra’s Daniel R. Lewis Composer Fellow from 2017 to 2020, which saw performances of his organ concerto Okeanos and the world premiere of Intensity (performed here in 2019 and 2022, respectively). Deutsch searched for a text that could carry such breadth and universality and yet be pithy enough to resonate in music Bernd Richard Deutsch’s vivid musical imagination is captured across an output of orchestral works, chamber music, piano pieces, and several concertos, including ones for organ, accordion, and sheng (Chinese mouth organ), respectively.
PHOTO BY PERIKLIS LIAKAKIS
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rather than overwhelm it. He found it in Urworte. Orphisch (Primal Words: Orphic), a cycle of five poems Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote relatively late in his career. Deutsch realized that the cycle readily lent itself to a fivemovement form: each poem establishes a contrasting mood and atmosphere as Goethe traces the arc of a human life. Yet taken together, the five poems form a coherent whole, framed at the beginning and end by a cosmic perspective.
Because Goethe is not speaking from an individual perspective but to humanity as a whole, the score is conceived for chorus as a collective protagonist, without soloists. In the process, Deutsch found himself reflecting on questions that remain as relevant now as in Goethe’s time. “In Urworte, Goethe speaks about the forces that influence all of our lives. He does so by considering the whole lifespan of a human being and ending with the concept of hope,” Deutsch explains. Goethe wrote these enigmatic, eightline stanzas in the fall of 1817, giving each a subtitle that names its respective “primal word”: Daimon (“Demon,” referring to the inborn essence or genius 16 | 2025/2026 SEASON
of an individual), Tyche (“Chance” or “The Accidental”), Eros (“Love” or “Passion”), Ananke (“Necessity” or “Limitation”), and Elpis (“Hope”). The first four words derive from a late-Classical Roman source that lists Greek words naming divinities presiding over birth. Goethe’s own invention was to conclude with the forward-looking concept of Hope (not present in the ancient source). The full title, Urworte. Orphisch, evokes the ancient tradition of poetry attributed to the mythical singer Orpheus — texts dealing with wisdom, creation, and the ordering forces of the cosmos. By invoking this label, Goethe suggested that his five “primal words” are timeless formulas of Fate and existence, distilled for a modern age. To give these poems and concepts musical form, Deutsch understood that they demanded the largest forces at his disposal. Because Goethe is not speaking from an individual perspective but to humanity as a whole, the score is conceived for chorus as a collective protagonist, without soloists. The instrumentation is correspondingly lavish. Contrabassoon, bass clarinet, and other low winds, reinforced by brass and low strings, form the subterranean foundation of Deutsch’s soundworld, while piccolo, high woodwinds, divided strings, and glittering percussion reach into the stratosphere. This vast range creates a spatial dimension that mirrors the cosmic scale of Goethe’s vision. At various points throughout this ambitious score, the massive choral-
IMAGE COURTESY OF THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA ARCHIVES
In 2022, The Cleveland Orchestra premiered Deutsch’s orchestral work Intensity. Here, the composer provides a glimpse at the score in Begin Again, a filmed production that can be seen and heard on Adella.live, the Orchestra’s digital home.
orchestral forces recall the textures of Schoenberg’s Gurre-Lieder, while pounding ostinatos and stark harmonic repetitions carry a Stravinskian edge. Yet Deutsch refracts these antecedents into a language all his own — by turns playful, severe, luminous. In the opening preludial passage, a dense, brooding chord is sustained in the lowest and darkest register, setting the work in motion with a thick cluster of sound that seems to rumble up from an ancient source. From this emerges a motive stated by the contrabassoon that seeds the entire first clevelandorchestra.com
movement, while the brooding, cosmogenic sonority that launches Urworte returns at the very end, enclosing the whole work in a great arc. This lays the foundation for the Daimon movement. For Goethe and the ancient Greeks alike, “Demon” did not connote something diabolical. It refers to a neutral force or guiding spirit “that drives people,” according to Deutsch, and “signifies character, talent, that inner essence or charisma that is elusive and yet tangibly present.” But it also encompasses the creative force that makes artists unique, adds Deutsch, and was translated by the Romans into “genius.” The chorus enters not with melody but in close, hovering harmonies that create a suspended, almost ritualistic | 17
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atmosphere. At times, it declaims Goethe’s words in massive, block-like sonorities; at others, the writing dissolves into shimmering melismas, whispered consonants, or even spoken shouts. At a certain point in each movement, the chorus explicitly enunciates its primal word, as if sealing Goethe’s aphorisms in sound. Tyche, by contrast, is mercurial and scherzo-like, the music darting in unpredictable directions: sudden choral shouts, flickering orchestral colors, restless percussion that rattles and scrapes like Chance itself. The texture
who reflects the poet’s idea of Eros as “both love and creative energy.” Where Eros opened outward, Ananke closes in. The music pounds with motoric rhythms, circling obsessively around the same harmonic space as Deutsch implies the narrowing of possibilities with a claustrophobic sound world that refuses release. Goethe’s line that Ananke can cause “the most beloved is exiled from the heart” finds its echo in the relentless textures. Elpis begins in brightness: high strings shimmer, harps glisten, delicate percussion colors rustle like distant bells or
For Goethe as poet, the Daimon is above all the force that drives an artist creatively and makes him or her unique. A central theme of the piece is the question: Does freedom exist, and if so, what does it consist of? — Bernd Richard Deutsch
feels volatile, unstable, ready to veer off course. The chorus seizes on the stanza’s final verse—Die Lampe harrt der Flamme, die entzündet (The lamp awaits the flame that will ignite it)—and repeats it ecstatically, fanning the image into a blaze of sound. “No other phrase is repeated and illuminated musically so often,” according to the composer. The flame is revealed as Eros, which begins with the strains of a long flute solo, its voice wandering and searching. “Goethe says that Eros comes from chaos, emptiness, loneliness,” notes Deutsch, 18 | 2025/2026 SEASON
rushing wind. The chorus soars in expansive melismas before subsiding into hushed, sustained chords. Goethe’s final image is of a wingbeat that spans eons, placing human life in a cosmic frame. Deutsch’s music correspondingly becomes vast, elemental—and, ultimately, unresolved. “It’s more a question mark at the end,” he remarked. “I don’t give an answer.” — Thomas May Thomas May is a writer, critic, educator, and translator. A regular contributor to The New York Times, The Seattle Times, Gramophone, and Strings magazine, he is the English-language editor for the Lucerne Festival.
Composer’s Note IN MY VIEW , Goethe’s five “primal words” encompass a kind of “Song of Destiny.”
I had long wanted to write a piece about the primal forces that shape our lives, and when I encountered this cycle of five poems, I realized that the ideas I wanted to express had been formulated there in exemplary fashion. These five stanzas cover the entire span of a human life: from childhood, youth, and early and middle adulthood through to old age. There is a strong contrast between ancient and modern concepts of Fate. In Greek mythology, people seem helpless before the gods — think of Oedipus, who fulfills the oracle despite every attempt to resist. To oppose Fate is futile, for greater forces prevail. Modern, enlightened thought, by contrast, focuses on the individual and on shaping one’s own destiny, a view that has led to great advances and revolutionary change. Yet the last word is not spoken, and there is always the danger of failing through hubris. For Goethe, Daimon (Demon) was an extremely important concept. It is a force that drives people: character, talent, that certain something, charisma; it represents an elusive yet tangible essence. For Goethe as poet, the Daimon is above all the force that drives an artist creatively and makes him or her unique. A central theme of the piece is the question: Does freedom exist, and if so, what does it consist of? The pair Daimon and Tyche (The Accidental) express a contrast between two principles: genetic disposition and environmental influences. Both are decisive. A key sentence in the Tyche poem reads: “The lamp awaits the flame that will ignite it.” For me, this is one of the most important thoughts in the entire cycle. No other phrase is repeated and illuminated musically so often in my composition. Eros (Love) follows immediately and reveals that flame: not only love, but another central driving force in every creative activity. Ananke (Necessity) personifies compulsion and restriction. She can even bring it about that “the most beloved is exiled from the heart,” and our alleged freedom ultimately proves to be an illusion. Elpis (Hope) is, like Fate, indestructible and, like Daimon, Tyche, and Eros, a force that drives us. It lifts and inspires us. The final line — “A wing flap! and behind us lie the eons” — suggests both immortality and the universal validity of the five principles across the ages. — Bernd Richard Deutsch (adapted from an interview with Kerstin Schüssler-Bach)
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Salome’s Dance from Salome, Op. 54 by Richard Strauss BORN : June 11, 1864, in Munich DIED : September 8, 1949, in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
▶ COMPOSED: 1905 ▶ WORLD PREMIERE : The full opera premiered on December 9, 1905, under the direction of Ernst von Schuch at the Königliches Opernhaus in Dresden. ▶ CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA PREMIERE : November 8, 1928, under Music Director Nikolai Sokoloff ▶ ORCHESTRATION : 3 flutes, piccolo, 2 oboes, English horn, heckelphone, 4 clarinets, E-flat clarinet, bass clarinet, 3 bassoons, contrabassoon, 6 horns, 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion (tam-tam, cymbals, bass drum, snare drum, triangle, xylophone, castanets, glockenspiel), 2 harps, celesta, organ, harmonium, and strings ▶ DURATION : about 10 minutes
UNTIL ABOUT 1900 , Richard Strauss concentrated largely on his great series of symphonic poems — from Don Juan (1888) to Ein Heldenleben (1898). His first two operas, Guntram (1893) and Feuersnot (1901), were failures; his third, Salome (1905), became a universally acclaimed masterpiece. Despite being one of his most celebrated operas, Salome is also one of his most provocative and controversial works. The premiere, in 1905, was a huge success, despite its shockingly modern musical style and a plot that struck many as an insult to morality. In Oscar Wilde’s one-act play Salomé (1892), the biblical story was modernized and turned into an erotic thriller focusing on the morbid aspects of the
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legend. As soon as Strauss had seen a performance of Wilde’s play in Max Reinhardt’s Little Theater in Berlin, he knew it had great operatic potential. Rather than having the drama adapted as a libretto, he set Wilde’s original text directly to music (in Hedwig Lachmann’s German translation), with only a few minor changes. At one pivotal point in the opera, Salome performs the shocking “Dance of the Seven Veils” for her stepfather, Herod, the ruler of Judea, who has given his word to grant her heart’s desire, whatever it may be, in return. Salome Richard Strauss caused a succès de scandale with Salome in 1905, capturing the attention of the music world. Present at the opera’s Austrian premiere in 1906 were composers Gustav Mahler, Arnold Schoenberg, Alban Berg, and Giacomo Puccini.
IMAGE COURTESY OF THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS / BAIN NEWS SERVICE
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does not name her prize until the dance is over. To Herod’s horror, she demands the head of John the Baptist (Jochanaan in the German translation), the imprisoned prophet who has pronounced a curse on Salome because of her shamelessness. The onstage musicians begin to play a fast and wild introduction for Salome, but the princess’s motions them to slow down so she can begin the dance in a languid mood. The music has a distinctly
where Jochanaan is imprisoned (the flutes and oboes play Salome’s theme at this moment), and then throws herself at Herod’s feet, sure of her imminent triumph. Following Salome’s dance — heard here as a stand-alone orchestral work — the opera moves quickly to its finish. Despite his promise to Salome, Herod cannot bring himself to order Jochanaan’s execution. Salome’s mother and Herod’s wife, Herodias (who hates
The strains of the waltz include a short, 4-note motive ... symbolizing Salome’s relationship to Jochanaan, a mixture of awe, revulsion, and strong sexual attraction. Jochanaan), removes the ring of death seductive character at the start, with long notes preceded by rapid ornaments, from her husband’s finger and gives it to the executioner. Thus, Herod is forced and the interval of the augmented by his oath to comply with Salome’s second — Strauss’s attempt to evoke murderous wish. Middle Eastern music. After a while, the In the final scene, we see the blooddance gives way to a waltz (slow at first thirsty princess being presented with but gradually getting more animated). Jochanaan’s head on a silver platter. The strains of the waltz include a short, 4-note motive that recurs throughout the She addresses the dead prophet in a solo that is in turn tender, ecstatic, mocking, opera, symbolizing Salome’s relationand mysterious. Herod then watches ship to Jochanaan, a mixture of awe, in horror as Salome kisses the severed revulsion, and strong sexual attraction. head before ordering his soldiers to For a moment, Salome seems exhausted, but she recovers her strength “kill this woman,” whereupon the curtain for the frenzied last section of her dance, falls and the opera ends. where the opening seductive motives — Peter Laki Peter Laki is a musicologist and frequent lecturer on are combined with the accelerated waltz classical music. He is a visiting associate professor of music theme. She briefly looks into the cistern at Bard College. 22 | 2025/2026 SEASON
ON V IEW AT
SEVERANCE MUSIC CENTER The Golden Age of Music Cover Art PAMELA HUMPHREY GREEN ROOM The early 19th century witnessed a global surge in sheet music production. Thanks to new printing technologies, many publishing houses took pride in creating elaborate covers adorned with whimsical designs, vibrant inks, and intricate illustrations. This season, see a variety of sheet music covers from several Orchestra collections in the Green Room.
TOP – MIDDLE: IMAGES COURTESY OF THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA ARCHIVES, BOTTOM: PHOTO BY SCOTT ESTERLY
From the Archives: Out of the Vault LERNER GALLERY Have you ever wondered what is stored in The Cleveland Orchestra’s Archives? Wonder no more! Check out the Lerner Gallery for photos, recordings, memorabilia, artifacts, and rarely seen treasures that have been released from “the vault.”
Growing Up with The Cleveland Orchestra: Over 100 Years of Education Concerts THE MAGICBOX outside the Grand Foyer Centered around a 1945 Braille version of From the Land of Make-Believe, The Cleveland Orchestra’s educational study guide, this exhibit in the Magic Box showcases photos and videos from our Education Concerts throughout the decades.
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THE MUSI C
Boléro by Maurice Ravel BORN : March 7, 1875, in Ciboure, Basses-Pyrénées (now Pyrénées-Atlantiques), France DIED : December 28, 1937, in Paris
▶ COMPOSED: 1928 ▶ WORLD PREMIERE : November 22, 1928, in a performance by Ida Rubinstein’s dance company, with the founder in the main role, choreography by Bronislava Nijinska, sets and costumes by Alexandre Benois, and the orchestra of the Paris Opéra conducted by Walther Straram. ▶ CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA PREMIERE : October 16, 1930, with Music Director Nikolai Sokoloff conducting ▶ ORCHESTRATION : 2 flutes (2nd doubling piccolo), piccolo, 2 oboes (2nd doubling oboe d’amore), English horn, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, E-flat clarinet, soprano saxophone (doubling tenor saxophone), 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 4 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion (bass drum, cymbals, 2 snare drums, tam-tam), harp, celesta, and strings ▶ DURATION : about 15 minutes
MAURICE RAVEL ONCE DESCRIBED
Boléro as “seventeen minutes of orchestral tissue without music.” Somewhat to the composer’s surprise, Boléro eclipsed most of his other works in popularity. Ravel himself considered it “an experiment in a very special and limited direction [that] should not be suspected of aiming at achieving anything different from, or anything more than, it actually does achieve.” What it does achieve, then, is a single drawn-out crescendo in which the instruments of the orchestra enter gradually to build up the closing climax. The melody, which is quite complex, with many irregularities in its phrase 24 | 2025/2026 SEASON
structure, never changes. More precisely, it alternates between two forms. Generally, we hear the first version twice, followed by two renditions of the second version, and then the first form again. The snare drums play the bolero rhythm without a moment’s interruption from beginning to end. The bass part is not exceedingly varied either: it consists of the same two notes, for all but eight measures of the piece. Over this clockwork ostinato, the wandering melody snakes its way through the orchestra, starting with solo In a 1931 interview, Maurice Ravel said of Boléro, “There are no contrasts, and practically no invention except the plan and the manner of execution.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF BIBLIOTHÈQUE NATIONALE DE FRANCE / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
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THE MUSI C
should not be rushed.) The original ballet’s storyline, if it may be called that, has been summarized by one writer as follows:
flute, then clarinet, followed by the bassoon, up through the high-pitched E-flat clarinet, before descending to the oboe d’amore (a double reed pitched between an oboe and English horn). More instruments take their turns: trumpet with flute, saxophones, twinkling celesta and horn, a quartet of reeds, an inebriated-sounding trombone sliding from note to note, the highest-pitched woodwinds, and finally, the strings. The texture continues to build, now with whole swaths of the orchestra jumping in until, almost unexpectedly, the piece tumbles to an end. Boléro was first conceived as a ballet for Ida Rubinstein’s dance company in Paris. (Interestingly, the original title was Fandango, another Spanish dance, which has a slower tempo; Ravel always insisted that the tempo of his piece 26 | 2025/2026 SEASON
Boléro was a sensation at its premiere in Paris in 1928 — the music overshadowing the choreography — and the piece quickly took on a life of its own in the concert hall. This independent success may have been due, in part, to the fact that the ballet’s scenario was not the only thing on Ravel’s mind when he composed the piece. In a 1932 interview printed by the London Evening Standard, Ravel said, “I love going over [to] factories and seeing vast machinery at work. It is awe-inspiring and great. It was a factory which inspired my Boléro. I would like it always to be played with a vast factory in the background.” The same idea had appeared in Ravel’s correspondence with musicologist and friend Alexis RolandManuel four years earlier, who had detected rhythmic similarities between
IMAGE COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Russian dancer and actress Ida Rubinstein commissioned and danced in the first performance of Ravel’s Boléro. (She also appeared as Salome in a 1908 production of Oscar Wilde’s original play.)
The curtain rises on a dark, smoky room in a Spanish tavern. A woman enters, dressed as a gypsy, with a tall Spanish comb and a scarlet and black shawl. Atop a table, she begins to stamp out the rhythm of the bolero. Instantly the room fills with men. The music grows in passion and the woman is joined in the dance, first by one and then by a dozen or so men. The excitement increases. Knives are drawn. A fight is barely avoided. The gypsy woman is tossed from arm to arm. Then, suddenly, all comes to a stop as the music reaches its climax. Curtain.
Boléro and the “Fabrika” (Factory) movement in Prokofiev’s ballet Le pas d’acier (The Steel Leap), which was produced by the Ballets Russes in Paris in 1927, the year before Boléro. Whether you envision Spanish dancers in a smoky room, or the awe-
inspiring synchronization of factory automation, Ravel’s Boléro strikes a mesmerizing balance between stasis and momentum, as sure to entrance audiences today as it did almost a century ago. — adapted from a program note by Peter Laki
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THE S U NG TE XTS
Urworte for Chorus and Orchestra by Bernd Richard Deutsch Text by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe English translation by Kirk Wetters*
I. Δ AIM Ω N: DÄMON
I. DAIMON: DEMON
Wie an dem Tag, der Dich der Welt verliehen Die Sonne stand zum Gruße der Planeten, Bist alsobald und fort und fort gediehen, Nach dem Gesetz, wonach Du angetreten. So mußt Du sein, Dir kannst Du nicht entfliehen, So sagten schon Sibyllen, so Propheten, Und keine Zeit und keine Macht zerstückelt Geprägte Form die lebend sich entwickelt.
As on the day you were granted to the world, The sun stood to greet the planets, You likewise began to thrive, forth and forth, Following the law that governed your accession. You must be so, you cannot flee yourself, Thus sibyls long ago pronounced, thus prophets, And neither time nor any power can dismember Characteristic form, living, self-developing.
II. TYXH: DAS ZUFÄLLIGE
II. TYCHE: THE ACCIDENTAL
Die strenge Grenze doch umgeht gefällig Ein Wandelndes, das mit und um uns wandelt; Nicht einsam bleibst Du, bildest Dich gesellig, Und handelst wohl so wie ein andrer handelt. Im Leben ist’s bald hin- bald widerfällig, Es ist ein Tand und wird so durchgetandelt. Schon hat sich still der Jahre Kreis geründet, Die Lampe harrt der Flamme die entzündet.
Yet this strict limit is gently circumscribed By a fluctuation that flows around and with us; You are not alone, but shape yourself socially, And must certainly act just as another acts. In life things are often due, overdue, redone, It is a trinket, passed in makeshift thrift. The circle of the years is already silently closed, The lamp awaits the flame that will ignite it.
* From Demonic History: From Goethe to the Present. Evanston: Northwestern University Press, 2015
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III. EP Ω ∑ : LIEBE
III. EROS: LOVE
Die bleibt nicht aus! — Er stürzt vom Himmel nieder, Wohin er sich aus alter Öde schwang, Er schwebt heran auf luftigem Gefieder Um Stirn und Brust den Frühlingstag entlang, Scheint jetzt zu fliehn, vom Fliehen kehrt er wieder, Da wird ein Wohl im Weh, so süß und bang. Gar manches Herz verschwebt im Allgemeinen, Doch widmet sich das Edelste dem Einen.
And there she is! — He hurtles down from the heaven, Where he had lifted himself out of ancient chaos, He soars and surges forward on airy wings Surrounding brow and breast across the vernal day, Seems now to flee, but in flight he turns about, Creating pleasure in the pain, so happy and forlorn. Many a heart drifts away in generality, But the noblest devotes itself to the One.
IV. ANA Γ KH: NÖTIGUNG
IV. ANANKE: NECESSITY
Da ist’s denn wieder, wie die Sterne wollten: Bedingung und Gesetz und aller Wille Ist nur ein Wollen, weil wir eben sollten, Und vor dem Willen schweigt die Willkür stille; Das Liebste wird vom Herzen weggescholten, Dem harten Muß bequemt sich Will’ und Grille. So sind wir scheinfrei denn nach manchen Jahren, Nur enger dran als wir am Anfang waren.
Now all follows once again the stars’ will: The terms and laws and the wills of all Are but a single will, just because we have to, And before the will all choice is silenced; The most beloved is exiled from the heart, Desire and fancy submit to hard compulsion. Thus apparently then, after many years, we are Only more tightly bound than in the beginning.
V. EΛIII ∑ : HOFFNUNG
V. ELPIS: HOPE
Doch solcher Grenze, solcher eh’rnen Mauer Höchst widerwärt’ge Pforte wird entriegelt, Sie stehe nur mit alter Felsendauer! Ein Wesen regt sich leicht und ungezügelt, Aus Wolkendecke, Nebel, Regenschauer Erhebt sie uns, mit ihr, durch sie beflügelt, Ihr kennt sie wohl, sie schwärmt durch alle Zonen; Ein Flügelschlag! und hinter uns Äonen.
But such a limit, such a steely wall, Its most revolting portal is unlatched, Though it may stand with a mountain’s age! A being arises lightly, without reins, Out of the clouds’ cover, fog and rainfall, It lifts us up, with her, by her wings, You know her well, she swarms toward every zone; A wing flap! and behind us lie the eons.
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Meant to be Shared Picture a moment of quiet anticipation, as the first notes of a breathtaking symphony fill the air. We invite you to experience that special moment this season — where extraordinary music and unforgettable memories come together.
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THE CON DUC TOR
Franz Welser-Möst, Music Director
PHOTO BY SEBASTIAN FRÖHLICH
KELVIN SMITH FAMILY CHAIR
NOW IN HIS 24TH SEASON , Franz Welser-Möst continues to shape an unmistakable sound culture as Music Director of The Cleveland Orchestra. Under his leadership, the Orchestra has earned repeated international acclaim for its musical excellence, reaffirmed its strong commitment to new music, and brought opera back to the stage of Severance Music Center. In recent years, the Orchestra also launched its own streaming platform, Adella.live, and a recording label. Today, it boasts one of the youngest audiences in the United States. In addition to residencies in the US and Europe, Welser-Möst and the Orchestra perform regularly at the world’s leading international festivals. Welser-Möst will remain Music Director until 2027, making him the longest-serving music director of The Cleveland Orchestra. Welser-Möst enjoys a particularly close and productive artistic partnership with the Vienna Philharmonic. He regularly conducts the orchestra in subscription concerts at the Vienna Musikverein, at the Salzburg Festival, and on tour in Europe, Japan, China, and the US, and has appeared three times on the podium for their celebrated New Year’s Concert (2011, 2013, and 2023). At the Salzburg Festival, WelserMöst has set new standards in interpretation as an opera conductor, with a special focus on the operas of Richard Strauss. Among Welser-Möst’s many honors and awards, he was named an Honorary Member of the Vienna Philharmonic in 2024, one of the orchestra’s highest distinctions.
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THE CLEV EL AN D ORC HESTR A C HO RUS
Lisa Wong, Director of Choruses FRANCES P. AND CHESTER C. BOLTON CHAIR
The College of Wooster. As director of the award-winning Wooster Chorus, she elevated the ensemble to national prominence through annual tours, performances at state and regional conferences, and the premieres of 15 new works. Her expertise in music education is informed by 32 years of classroom experience and extensive work as a clinician, adjudicator, and guest conductor. A sought-after leader in the field, Wong has served as a grant panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts and Chorus America and presented at state and national conferences on varied topics. She is President-Elect of the Ohio Choral LISA WONG, A DISTINGUISHED CHORAL Directors Association and served as the CONDUCTOR AND EDUCATOR , serves as Repertoire and Resource Chair for World Director of Choruses for The Cleveland Music and Cultures and on the Committee Orchestra, where she has prepared The Cleveland Orchestra Chorus and Blossom for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the Ohio Music Education Association. Festival Chorus for acclaimed perforWith degrees from West Chester mances under conductors Franz WelserUniversity and the Indiana University Möst, Klaus Mäkelä, John Adams, Jacobs School of Music, Wong’s academic Jane Glover, Susanna Mälkki, and Eric foundation is complemented by a rich Whitacre, among others. career dedicated to inspiring and nurturWong served for 16 years as the Olive Williams Kettering Professor of Music at ing musicians of all ages.
The Cleveland Orchestra Chorus Now in its 74th season, The Cleveland Orchestra Chorus is celebrated for its versatility and refined musicianship, appearing regularly with The Cleveland Orchestra at Severance and Blossom Music Center. As one of the few all-volunteer, professionally trained choruses affiliated with a major American orchestra, it received the 2019 – 20 Distinguished Service Award, recognizing extraordinary service to the Orchestra. Visit cochorus.com for more information on the Chorus and auditions.
36 | 2025/2026 SEASON
Adam Landry Benjamin Low* Christian Maric David McCallum Matt Rizer Jacob Rumelfanger Nathan A. Russell John Sabol Lee Scantlebury Andrew Stamp J.R. Tomkinson
BASSES Simon Beck Nicholas Campagna Ronnie Dailey Christopher Dewald Jeffrey Duber Jeffrey D. Gershman Kurtis B. Hoffman
SOPRANOS
Jennifer Heinert O’Leary
Amy Foster Babinski
Katie Paskey
Kristi Krueger-O’Grady
Claudia Barriga
Victoria Peacock
Elise Leitzel
Jesse Bobbitt
Elizabeth Stockton Perkins
Danielle S. McDonald Karla McMullen
Sarah Peterson
Peggy A. Norman
Emily Carlson Signe Carlson Ruby Chen Caitlin DiFranco Maddie Dirrim Emily Engle Molly Falasco Lisa Fedorovich Emily Flood Jennifer Gilles Julia Halamek Rebecca S. Hall Casey Hasen Sarah Henley Lisa Hrusovsky Rachel Imhoff Shannon R. Jakubczak Kiersten Johnson Sarah Jones-Gould Katie Kitchen Hope Klassen-Kay
PHOTOS BY ROGER MASTROIANNI
Brianna Knapp* EvaCecilia Koh Kate Macy Gracie Mino Sarah Moldover Julie Myers-Pruchenski
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Rebecca King
Grace Prentice
Dawn Ostrowski
Jylian Purtee
Abigail Patton
Lisa M. Ramsey
Ellie Petro
Emma Russell
Toni Arnold Shreve
Ellie Kleber Smith
Ina Stanek-Michaelis
Megan Tettau
Melanie Tabak
Meagan Ulery
Rachel Thibo
Cassie Utt
Kristen Tobey
Sharilee Walker
Laure Wasserbauer
ALTOS Laurel Babcock Debbie Bates Riley Beistel Kristina Bodnar Carla Cashman
Haley Wheeler Maggie Fairman Williams Caroline Willoughby Leah Wilson
Kim Jacoby James Johnston Kevin Kutz Jaden Levine* Jason Levy Tyler Mason Glenn Obergefell Eddie Papp John Philipps Francisco Prado Brandon Randall Benjamin Schetter Charles Tobias Matt Turell Bob Winters Martin Young Paul Zito * Shari Bierman Singer Fellow
Jennifer R. Woda Debra Yasinow
Barbara J. Clugh
TENORS
Amber Dimoff
Rong Chen
Brooke Emmel
Jonathan Fuller
Colleen Endrizzi
Richard Hall
Megan Fought
Michael Heid
Shawna Hill
Corey Hill
Karen S. Hunt
Daniel M. Katz
Sarah Hutchins
Adam Kilo
Kayla Kim
Peter Kvidera
Daniel J. Singer Assistant Director Daniel Overly Collaborative Pianist Jill Harbaugh Director of Choral Operations Victoria Peacock Chorus Coordinator
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FORTE
A NIGHT OF SOUND, STYLE, AND CELEBRATION
SEVERANCE MUSIC CENTER OCTOBER 4, 2025, 7:30 PM – MIDNIGHT Set within the iconic spaces of Severance Music Center, which have been transformed for one-night only, Forte invites you into a world of curated cocktails, elevated bites, and genre-bending live performance. Tickets start at $150 per person
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EXPLORE THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA’S DIGITAL HOME ON ADELLA Named after our pioneering founder, Adella Prentiss Hughes, our streaming service offers access to exclusive livestreams, on-demand concerts, special interviews, and more. Available on the web, iOS, Android, Roku, Apple TV, Android TV, and Chromecast.
THE CLE VEL AND SOUND ANY TIME, ANY WHERE Try it free by visiting stream.adella.live/subscribe and using the promo code ADELLA30 at checkout 216-231-1111 | CLEVELANDORCHESTR A .COM
PHOTO BY ROGER MASTROIANNI
AB OU T TH E CLEV EL AN D O RCH ESTR A NOW FIRMLY IN ITS SECOND CENTURY , The Cleveland Orchestra, under the leadership of Franz Welser-Möst since 2002, is one of the most sought-after performing ensembles in the world. Year after year, the ensemble exemplifies extraordinary artistic excellence, creative programming, and community engagement. In recent years, The New York Times has called Cleveland “the best in America” for its virtuosity, elegance of sound, variety of color, and chamber-like musical cohesion. Founded by Adella Prentiss Hughes, the Orchestra performed its inaugural concert in December 1918. By the middle of the century, decades of growth and sustained support had turned the ensemble into one of the most admired around the world. The past decade has seen an increasing number of young people attending concerts, bringing fresh attention to The Cleveland Orchestra’s legendary sound and committed programming. More recently, the Orchestra launched several bold digital projects, including the streaming platform Adella.live and its own recording label. Together, they have captured the Orchestra’s unique artistry and the musical achievements of the Welser-Möst and Cleveland Orchestra partnership. The 2025 – 26 season marks Franz Welser-Möst’s 24th year as Music Director, a period in which The Cleveland
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@cleveorch
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.
@CleveOrchestra
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THE CLEV EL AN D ORC HESTR A
Franz Welser-Möst, Music Director KELVIN SMITH FAMILY CHAIR FIRST VIOLINS
SECOND VIOLINS
CELLOS
PICCOLO
Joel Link
Stephen Rose* Alfred M. and Clara T. Rankin Chair
Mark Kosower* Louis D. Beaumont Chair
Mary Kay Fink Anne M. and M. Roger Clapp Chair
CONCERTMASTER
Blossom-Lee Chair
Liyuan Xie FIRST ASSOCIATE CONCERTMASTER
Virginia M. Lindseth, PhD, Chair Jung-Min Amy Lee ASSOCIATE CONCERTMASTER
Gretchen D. and Ward Smith 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 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
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^
Charles Bernard2 Helen Weil Ross Chair Bryan Dumm Muriel and Noah Butkin Chair Tanya Ell Thomas J. and Judith Fay Gruber Chair Ralph Curry
Kathleen Collins
Brian Thornton William P. Blair III Chair
Beth Woodside
David Alan Harrell
Emma Shook Dr. Jeanette Grasselli Brown and Dr. Glenn R. Brown Chair
Martha Baldwin
Yun-Ting Lee Deborah L. Neale Chair
Dane Johansen Marguerite and James Rigby Chair
OBOES Frank Rosenwein* Edith S. Taplin Chair Corbin Stair Sharon and Yoash Wiener Chair Jeffrey Rathbun2 Everett D. and Eugenia S. McCurdy Chair Robert Walters
ENGLISH HORN Robert Walters Samuel C. and Bernette K. Jaffe Chair
CLARINETS
Paul Kushious
Afendi Yusuf* Robert Marcellus Chair
Gawon Kim
BASSES
VIOLAS
Maximilian Dimoff* Clarence T. Reinberger Chair
Robert Woolfrey Victoire G. and Alfred M. Rankin, Jr. Chair
Wesley Collins* Chaillé H. and Richard B. Tullis Chair
Charles Paul1 Mary E. and F. Joseph Callahan Chair
Daniel McKelway2 Robert R. and Vilma L. Kohn Chair
Stanley Konopka2
Derek Zadinsky2
Amy Zoloto
Mark Jackobs Jean Wall Bennett Chair
Mark Atherton
Lisa Boyko Richard and Nancy Sneed Chair
Henry Peyrebrune Charles Barr Memorial Chair
Jiah Chung Chapdelaine
Thomas Sperl
Richard Waugh
Charles Carleton
Lembi Veskimets The Morgan Sisters Chair
Scott Dixon
Analise Handke Gladys B. Goetz Chair
Eliesha Nelson^ Anthony and Diane Wynshaw-Boris Chair
Zhan Shu
Joanna Patterson Zakany
Youngji Kim Paul and Lucille Jones Chair
William Bender Thomas Lauria and Christopher Lauria Chair
Genevieve Smelser
Richard Weiss1 The GAR Foundation Chair
Gareth Zehngut^
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.
40 | 2025/2026 SEASON
Brandon Mason
HARP Trina Struble* Alice Chalifoux Chair
E-FLAT CLARINET Daniel McKelway Stanley L. and Eloise M. Morgan Chair
BASS CLARINET Amy Zoloto Myrna and James Spira Chair
BASSOONS John Clouser* Louise Harkness Ingalls Chair
FLUTES
Gareth Thomas
Joshua Smith* Elizabeth M. and William C. Treuhaft Chair
Jonathan Sherwin
Saeran St. Christopher
Jonathan Sherwin
Jessica Sindell2^ Austin B. and Ellen W. Chinn Chair Mary Kay Fink
CONTRABASSOON
HORNS
TROMBONES
PERCUSSION
CONDUCTORS
Nathaniel Silberschlag* George Szell Memorial Chair
Brian Wendel* Gilbert W. and Louise I. Humphrey Chair
Marc Damoulakis* Margaret Allen Ireland Chair
Christoph von Dohnányi †
Thomas Sherwood
Taichi Fukumura
Tanner Tanyeri
ASSISTANT CONDUCTOR
Jesse McCormick Robert B. Benyo Chair
Richard Stout Alexander and Marianna C. McAfee Chair
Hans Clebsch
Shachar Israel2
Richard King
BASS TROMBONE
KEYBOARD INSTRUMENTS
Meghan Guegold Hege^
Luke Sieve
TRUMPETS
EUPHONIUM & BASS TRUMPET
Michael Mayhew§ Knight Foundation Chair
Michael Sachs* Robert and Eunice Podis Weiskopf Chair
Carolyn Gadiel Warner Marjory and Marc L. Swartzbaugh Chair
ENDOWED CHAIRS CURRENTLY UNOCCUPIED
TIMPANI
Clara G. and George P. Bickford Chair
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Sidney and Doris Dworkin Chair DIRECTOR OF CHORUSES
Yasuhito Sugiyama* Nathalie C. Spence and Nathalie S. Boswell Chair
Michael Miller
PRINCIPAL CONDUCTOR & MUSICAL ADVISOR OF THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA YOUTH ORCHESTRA
Lisa Wong
Lyle Steelman2^ James P. and Dolores D. Storer Chair
Michael Sachs* Mary Elizabeth and G. Robert Klein Chair
James Feddeck
Michael Ferraguto* Joe and Marlene Toot Chair
TUBA
CORNETS
Elizabeth Ring and William Gwinn Mather Chair
LIBRARIAN
Jack Sutte
Michael Miller PHOTO BY AIREONNA McCALL-DUBE
Richard Stout
Peter Nichols
MUSIC DIRECTOR LAUREATE
Zubin Hathi* Otto G. and Corinne T. Voss Chair
Sandra L. Haslinger Chair
Peter Nichols2 Mr. and Mrs. Richard K. Smucker Chair
Sunshine Chair
Charles M. and Janet G. Kimball Chair
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
Rudolf Serkin Chair
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“We are paving a path for our next chapter by establishing connections now. We can keep enjoying our wonderful skyline views and musical activities, knowing our plan is in place.” Max Bunker and Tony Bianchi / Bratenahl
Membership
is Music to Our Ears! As a Judson at Home member, you’ll have access to an engaging community, cultural programs, wellness activities and an array of dining venues. Most of all, you have all the services and amenities of a retirement community at your fingertips while living in your own home.
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(216) 791-2436 judsonsmartliving.org Read more about Max and Tony’s experience at judsonsmartliving.org/blog.
TCO SPOTLIG HT
A Conversation with
Limmie Pulliam IN EARLY SEPTEMBER , we had a chance to sit down with tenor
Limmie Pulliam, who will join the Orchestra for Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth) on October 2 & 5. He shared stories from his long relationship with The Cleveland Orchestra, insights into his preparation process, and thoughts on Mahler. TCO: We’re so excited to welcome you
back to Cleveland! What was your first experience with The Cleveland Orchestra, and what has it been like singing with them?
IMAGE COURTESY OF LIMMIE PULLIAM
LIMMIE: Each opportunity I’ve had to perform in Cleveland has been an unforgettable, moving experience. To call it a dream come true would still be an understatement. My first exposure to The Cleveland Orchestra was as an undergrad on Oberlin’s campus, and I still remember the first time I saw them in Severance — it was in 1996 and featured Frederica von Stade singing Berlioz’s Les Nuits d’été. But my first time singing with The Cleveland Orchestra actually came the year before that, when the Oberlin College Choir had the opportunity to perform Mahler’s Eighth Symphony with the Orchestra and the great In March 2022, the San Francisco Chronicle praised Limmie Pulliam’s “full-throated vocal power and intimate lyricism.” Later that spring, he made his debut with The Cleveland Orchestra in the title role of Verdi’s Otello.
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Robert Shaw conducting (see next page). After performances with The Cleveland Orchestra Chorus at Severance, we joined the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus, Cincinnati May Festival Chorus, and American Boychoir for a performance at Carnegie Hall. It truly was a “Symphony of a Thousand.” To this day, that is still my most moving musical experience. My friends from Oberlin and I still reminisce about it. What was your first experience with Das Lied von der Erde? When did you first perform it? My first exposure to Das Lied von der Erde was in college. I remember listening to a recording with Fritz Wunderlich singing the tenor part. It was thrilling to hear a voice like his, especially in the first movement. My first opportunity to sing it was supposed to be last season with The Cleveland Orchestra, but it was postponed to this season. So, these concerts will mark my official debut in this work. | 45
TCO SPOTLI G HT
To have the privilege of singing with this orchestra on multiple occasions has been one of the greatest joys of my life. Each time I return, it feels like coming home. ... I’m looking forward to reuniting with this great orchestra under the direction of Franz Welser-Möst. Is there anything unique to your preparation for this piece, as opposed to an opera role? My preparation is very similar to many of the operas I sing, in that the roles for my voice type often call for two different tenors. There is the tenor that has enough weight and heft to cut through the orchestra and deliver those loud, dramatic moments, but there is also the lyrical tenor for those softer and more fluid moments. In April 1995, Robert Shaw led The Cleveland Orchestra in a performance of Mahler’s mammoth Eighth Symphony. Among the many choristers was Limmie Pulliam, then a student at Oberlin.
46 | 2025/2026 SEASON
Both types of singing exist in Das Lied. It’s a wonderful challenge to keep the voice flexible and moving for that duality — the drama as well as the lyricism. Do you have a favorite movement to sing, or a particular moment that really sticks out to you? The first movement is like jumping into the deep end — there’s no time to warm up, you’d better be ready! When I found out I was doing this piece, I reached out to a colleague who has sung it quite a bit. His advice was: “In the first orchestra rehearsal, don’t sing as loud as you can. Just sing it comfortably. That way, the orchestra enters at a reasonable level.” Everyone is going to be excited, and the adrenaline is going to be pumping, but my job is not to feed into it by trying to compete with them. The entire work is a joy to sing. I love the way Mahler uses orchestral colors to create dynamics, going from a fortississimo to a pianississimo and everything in between. I have to say my favorite part is singing the word Lebens (life) in the first movement — I start on a long, high B-flat and then “melt” down. It’s absolutely thrilling.
PHOTOS BY ROGER MASTROIANNI
For those who may not be familiar with Mahler’s music or with this piece, can you offer some things to listen for?
Limmie Pulliam last appeared at Severance in 2023, as bandit Dick Johnson in a concert production of Puccini’s The Girl of the Golden West, featuring The Cleveland Orchestra led by Music Director Franz Welser-Möst.
Das Lied is so special because it combines a symphony with a song cycle. I often wonder what Mahler would have created if he had written an opera, since he wrote so well for the voice, and this may be as close as we get. I would say enjoy the lush orchestration, but also listen for how Mahler uses the voice. There’s also a recurring word: ewig (forever). It comes up throughout, and the whole piece ends with the baritone repeating ewig, ewig, as the music fades out. At the time, Mahler was dealing with deep personal losses and facing his own mortality, so he took translations
of Chinese poems and created what he thought was the most personal piece he had ever written.
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Any final thoughts? I’m just excited to reunite with friends and Iurii Samoilov, and to have two wonderful evenings of music with the Cleveland audience. To have the privilege of singing with this orchestra on multiple occasions has been one of the greatest joys of my life. Each time I return, it feels like coming home, and I hope to be able to continue this relationship for many years to come. | 47
I N THE N E WS
SUPPLEMENTING LIVE CONCERTS at
Severance, there is an ever-growing repository of exciting content to discover this season on Adella.live, the digital home of The Cleveland Orchestra. Beginning with the season opener (Ravel’s Boléro), six concerts from the 2025 – 26 season will be available as Live from Severance broadcasts, streamed in real-time from Mandel Concert Hall. Celebrate Thanksgiving early with Dalia Stasevska leading Dvořák’s famous “New World” Symphony on November 23, or ring in the New Year with Music Director Franz Welser-Möst and the Orchestra in a January performance of Mozart’s “Jupiter” Symphony. At the peak of Cleveland winter, composer and conductor John Adams and pianist Aaron Diehl join the Orchestra for a celebration of North and South American music sure to warm both body and soul. 48 | 2025/2026 SEASON
The live broadcasts conclude with a March concert highlighting guest conductor Elim Chan and the music of Bartók, and an April performance of Benjamin Britten’s powerful War Requiem, led by Daniel Harding. In addition, eight Adella Premieres will be released through July 2025, comprising recent digital concerts with exclusive behind-the-scenes content and interviews with guest artists and TCO musicians. These productions include Welser-Möst and other guests on the podium, including Esa-Pekka Salonen, David Robertson, and Osmo Vänskä. This season’s features run the gamut from the timelessness of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony to the frenetic energy of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, with a bonus deep-dive into the Orchestra’s annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Concert premiering January 18. One particularly notable production drops on May 26, 2026, featuring Welser-Möst leading the Orchestra in works by Beethoven and Janáček, a thrilling program The New York Times praised as “invigorating and full of ravishing playing.” Likewise, performances for the Richard Strauss double-header scheduled for July 21 gained praise from the Times: “[The Orchestra’s] clarity … has long been its trademark, and lets every instrument shine in a super-dense score.” Visit clevelandorchestra.com/adella for more information. Try Adella for free by visiting stream.adella.live/subscribe and using the code ADELLA30 at checkout.
PHOTO BY ROGER MASTROIANNI
Adella Season Launches with 14 Digital Events
IN MEMORIAM : Jeanette Grasselli Brown DR. JEANETTE GRASSELLI BROWN , Trustee for Life, passed away on July 15 at the age of 96. Brown was a pioneering scientist, civic leader, and lifelong advocate for education, the arts, and the advancement of women in science. Her groundbreaking work in analytical chemistry and leadership at BP America set a precedent for generations to come. As a Trustee since 1991 and Chair of the Education Committee for 22 years, Brown served The Cleveland Orchestra with the same integrity, thoughtfulness, and intellectual rigor that she brought to her scientific career. Her enduring legacy includes the Dr. Jeanette Grasselli Brown and Dr. Glenn R. Brown Chair, currently held by Second Violinist Emma Shook,
which Brown and her late husband established in 1996. We remember Brown’s extraordinary life and send our heartfelt condolences to her family and loved ones.
New Audio Recording Featuring Mozart
ABOVE: IMAGE COURTSEY OF THE BROWN FAMILY
THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA and Music Director Franz WelserMöst’s latest audio recording is a brilliant celebration of Mozart: his contemplative Piano Concerto No. 27, featuring pianist Garrick Ohlsson, paired with the youthful energy of Symphony No. 29. Captured live at Severance Music Center, this digital-only recording was produced by Elaine Martone, who
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earned her sixth Grammy this year, and marks the Orchestra’s second audio release of 2025. Prepare for Ohlsson’s performances of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23 this fall (October 30, November 1 & 2) by checking out this new recording — which is available to stream and purchase on all major platforms — or by discovering these works on Adella.live, the Orchestra’s digital home. Visit clevelandorchestra.com/discover/ recordings for more information on the Orchestra’s latest releases.
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25 /26 SEAS ON
CALE N DAR FALL OCT 2 & 5 MAHLER’S SONG OF THE EARTH Franz Welser-Möst, conductor Limmie Pulliam, tenor Iurii Samoilov, baritone HONEGGER Symphony No. 3, “Symphonie liturgique” MAHLER Das Lied von der Erde
OCT 9 – 11 TRIFONOV PLAYS BRAHMS Franz Welser-Möst, conductor Daniil Trifonov, piano PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 7 BRAHMS Piano Concerto No. 2
OCT 23 – 26 BEETHOVEN’S ODE TO JOY Franz Welser-Möst, conductor Joélle Harvey, soprano Taylor Raven, mezzo-soprano Miles Mykkanen, tenor Dashon Burton, bass-baritone The Cleveland Orchestra Chorus SIBELIUS Tapiola BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 9, “Choral”
RECITAL OCT 29 BEATRICE RANA IN RECITAL Beatrice Rana, piano Works by Prokofiev, Debussy, and Tchaikovsky
OCT 30 & NOV 1 – 2 OHLSSON PLAYS MOZART Franz Welser-Möst, conductor Garrick Ohlsson, piano TYLER TAYLOR Permissions MOZART Piano Concerto No. 23 R . SCHUMANN Symphony No. 3, “Rhenish”
NOV 13 – 15 MAHLER’S SIXTH SYMPHONY Tugan Sokhiev, conductor Robert Walters, English horn GEOFFREY GORDON Mad Song MAHLER Symphony No. 6, “Tragic”
NOV 20 – 23 DVOŘÁK’S NEW WORLD SYMPHONY Dalia Stasevska, conductor REVUELTAS La Noche de los Mayas* DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 9, “From the New World”
NOV 28 – 30 YUJA WANG PLAYS RAVEL Petr Popelka, conductor Yuja Wang, piano RAVEL Piano Concerto for the Left Hand LIGETI Concerto for Piano and Orchestra MUSSORGSKY/RAVEL Pictures at an Exhibition
DEC 4 – 6 HANDEL’S MESSIAH Bernard Labadie, conductor Liv Redpath, soprano Tim Mead, countertenor Andrew Haji, tenor Philippe Sly, bass-baritone The Cleveland Orchestra Chorus HANDEL Messiah
WINTER JAN 8 – 10 MOZART’S JUPITER SYMPHONY Franz Welser-Möst, conductor MOZART Symphony No. 41, “Jupiter” SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 11, “The Year 1905”
JAN 15, 17 & 18 VERDI’S REQUIEM Franz Welser-Möst, conductor Asmik Grigorian, soprano Deniz Uzun, mezzo-soprano Joshua Guerrero, tenor Tareq Nazmi, bass The Cleveland Orchestra Chorus VERDI Requiem
FEB 5 – 7 HADELICH PLAYS MENDELSSOHN Antonello Manacorda, conductor Augustin Hadelich, violin MENDELSSOHN Violin Concerto SCHOENBERG Chamber Symphony No. 2 SCHUBERT Symphony No. 8, “Unfinished”
FEB 12 & 14 HANNIGAN CONDUCTS GERSHWIN Barbara Hannigan, conductor Johanna Wallroth, soprano CRUMB A Haunted Landscape RUGGLES Sun-Treader BARBER Knoxville: Summer of 1915 GERSHWIN Porgy and Bess: A Symphonic Picture (arr. Bennett)
RECITAL FEB 17 MAO FUJITA IN RECITAL Mao Fujita, piano Works by Beethoven, Wagner, Berg, Mendelssohn, and Brahms
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FEB 19 – 21 FRENZIED TANGO John Adams, conductor Aaron Diehl, piano IVES From Greenland’s Icy Mountains* TIMO ANDRES Made of Tunes JOHN ADAMS Frenzy: a short symphony PIAZZOLLA La Mufa (arr. Adams)* PIAZZOLLA Oblivion (arr. Adams)* PIAZZOLLA Libertango (arr. Adams)
FEB 26 – 28 STRAUSS’S DON JUAN Alain Altinoglu, conductor Alisa Weilerstein, cello UNSUK CHIN Cello Concerto R . STRAUSS Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks R . STRAUSS Don Juan
MAR 5, 7 & 8 BRAHMS’S THIRD SYMPHONY Jakub Hrůša, conductor BRAHMS Symphony No. 3 MARTINŮ Symphony No. 3 KAPRÁLOVÁ Military Sinfonietta
MAR 12 – 15 BEETHOVEN’S FATEFUL FIFTH Elim Chan, conductor Michael Sachs, trumpet STRAVINSKY Suite from Pulcinella HAYDN Trumpet Concerto BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 5
RECITAL MAR 17 THE KANNEH-MASONS IN RECITAL Sheku Kanneh-Mason, cello Isata Kanneh-Mason, piano Works by Mendelssohn, N. Boulanger, R. Schumann, and Clarke
MAR 19 – 21 CHAN CONDUCTS BARTÓK Elim Chan, conductor Patricia Kopatchinskaja, violin
SPRING APR 2 – 4 DEBUSSY’S LA MER
RECITAL MAY 5 MARC-ANDRÉ HAMELIN & MARIA JOÃO PIRES IN RECITAL
Daniele Rustioni, conductor Paul Jacobs, organ
Marc-André Hamelin, piano Maria João Pires, piano
FAURÉ Suite from Pelléas et Mélisande POULENC Concerto for Organ, Strings, and Timpani CASELLA Italia DEBUSSY La mer
Program to be announced
APR 9 – 11 SCHUBERT & SHOSTAKOVICH Santtu-Matias Rouvali, conductor Sol Gabetta, cello SHOSTAKOVICH Cello Concerto No. 2 SCHUBERT Symphony No. 9, “The Great”
RECITAL APR 16 ALEXANDRE KANTOROW IN RECITAL Alexandre Kantorow, piano Works by J.S. Bach, Medtner, Chopin, Scriabin, and Beethoven
APR 23, 25 & 26 BRITTEN’S WAR REQUIEM Daniel Harding, conductor Tamara Wilson, soprano Andrew Staples, tenor Ludwig Mittelhammer, baritone The Cleveland Orchestra Chorus The Cleveland Orchestra Children’s Chorus BRITTEN War Requiem
APR 30 & MAY 2 MENDELSSOHN’S REFORMATION SYMPHONY Jörg Widmann, conductor JÖRG WIDMANN Fanfare for Ten Brass Instruments JÖRG WIDMANN Con brio JÖRG WIDMANN Danse macabre MENDELSSOHN Symphony No. 5, “Reformation”
MAY 7 – 9 WAGNER’S GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG Franz Welser-Möst, conductor Jörg Widmann, clarinet PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 1, “Classical” OLGA NEUWIRTH Zones of Blue* WAGNER Excerpts from Götterdämmerung
MAY 16, 21 & 24 BEETHOVEN’S FIDELIO 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 BEETHOVEN Fidelio Opera presentation sung in German with projected supertitles
MAY 22 HERO’S SONG Franz Welser-Möst, conductor Leila Josefowicz, violin Trina Struble, harp ADOLPHUS HAILSTORK Epitaph for a Man Who Dreamed BACEWICZ Symphony No. 4 JÜRI REINVERE Concerto for Violin, Harp, and Orchestra DVOŘÁK Hero’s Song * Not performed on the Friday matinee concert
DANIEL KIDANE Sun Poem* BARTÓK Violin Concerto No. 1 BARTÓK Dance Suite* SCRIABIN The Poem of Ecstasy
Generous support for the 2025 – 26 Recital Series provided by the Art of Beauty Company, Inc.
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Your Concert Getaway . . .
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THAN K YOU
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Individual Support Behind every powerful performance is a community of supporters who bring the music to life. We are deeply thankful for the generosity of every member of The Cleveland Orchestra family. To learn more, visit clevelandorchestra.com/give Adella Prentiss Hughes Society Gifts of $1,000,000 & more Mr. & Mrs.* Geoffrey Gund Haslam 3 Foundation Joan Y. Horvitz* Anne H. & Tom H. Jenkins Milton & Tamar Maltz Mrs. Jane B. Nord Mr. & Mrs.* Richard K. Smucker
LISTINGS AS OF SEPTEMBER 2025
Gifts of $200,000 to $999,999 The Musicians of The Cleveland Orchestra (in-kind contribution for community programs and opportunities to secure funding) Bruce* & Eleanor Kendrick Dr.* & Mrs. Anthony T. Lauria Mrs. Norma Lerner Jan R. Lewis Robert Lugibihl Deborah L. Neale Mr. & Mrs. Albert B. Ratner Jenny & Tim Smucker Richard & Nancy Sneed Roy C. Waas* Gifts of $100,000 to $199,999 Art of Beauty Company, Inc. Mr. Yuval Brisker Rebecca Dunn Dr. Michael Frank & Patricia A.* Snyder Dr. Hiroyuki & Mrs. Mikiko Fujita Mr. & Mrs. Michael J. Horvitz The Walter and Jean Kalberer Foundation Dr. & Mrs. Herbert Kloiber (Europe) Thomas & Jessica Lauria (Miami) Ms. Beth E. Mooney Estate of Bernadette Norwood Jim & Myrna Spira Mr.* & Mrs. Donald W. Strang, Jr. Ms. Ginger Warner Paul & Suzanne Westlake Tony & Diane Wynshaw-Boris Anonymous (3)
Lillian Baldwin Society Gifts of $75,000 to $99,999 Mr. & Mrs. Alexander M. Cutler Mr.* & Mrs. Bernard H. Eckstein JoAnn & Robert Glick Mr. & Mrs. Douglas A. Kern Richard & Christine Kramer Mr. & Mrs. Dennis W. LaBarre Ms. Cathy Lincoln Mr. & Mrs. Alfred M. Rankin, Jr. George Szell Society Gifts of $50,000 to $74,999 Randall & Virginia Barbato Brenda & Marshall B. Brown Mr.* & Mrs. Robert W. Gillespie Ms. Alexandra Hanna Richard & Michelle Jeschelnig Elizabeth B. Juliano Cynthia Knight Mr. & Mrs. Ben Mathews Nancy W. McCann The Oatey Foundation (Cleveland, Miami) William J. & Katherine T. O’Neill Mr. & Mrs. Benjamin N. Pyne Mrs. Alfred M. Rankin, Sr.* Ilana & Chuck Horowitz Ratner Saul & Mary Sanders (Miami) Astri Seidenfeld The Seven Five Fund R. Thomas & Meg Harris Stanton Holly Strawbridge (Miami) Mr. & Mrs. Franz Welser-Möst Barbara & David Wolfort Mrs. Jayne M. Zborowsky Elisabeth DeWitt Severance Society Gifts of $25,000 to $49,999 Victor & Abby Alexander Mr. & Mrs. A. Chace Anderson Gerrie E. Berena Dr. & Mrs. Wolfgang Berndt (Europe) Robin Dunn Blossom Mr. Richard J. Bogomolny & Ms. Patricia M. Kozerefski Dr. Ben H. & Julia Brouhard Jeanette Grasselli Brown* & Glenn R. Brown*
Dr. Robert Brown & Mrs. Janet Gans Brown J. C. & Helen Rankin Butler Irad & Rebecca Carmi Jim & Mary Conway Judith & George W. Diehl Budd & Judy Dworkin Mary Jo Eaton (Miami) Drs. Wolfgang & Gabi Eder (Europe) Peter & Christina Gold (Miami) David & Robin Gunning Sondra & Steve Hardis Iris & Tom Harvie Mary & Jon* Heider (Cleveland, Miami) Mrs. Lynn Heisler Amy & Stephen Hoffman David & Nancy Hooker Richard Horvitz & Erica Hartman-Horvitz (Cleveland, Miami) Mrs. Marguerite B. Humphrey* Allan V. Johnson Mr. & Mrs. Joseph P. Keithley Rob & Laura Kochis Jon A. & Virginia M. Lindseth, PhD Mr. Stephen McHale Loretta J. Mester & George J. Mailath Randy & Christine Myeroff Jennifer & Alexander Ogan The Honorable John Doyle Ong Mr. J. William & Dr. Suzanne* Palmer Catherine & Hyun Park Douglas & Noreen Powers Mr. & Mrs. James A. Ratner James & Marguerite Rigby Mark & Shelly Saltzman The Ralph and Luci Schey Foundation Mr. Eric A. Seed & Ms. Ellen Oglesby Donna E. Shalala (Miami) Dr. Elizabeth Swenson Dr. Russell A. Trusso Herbert Wainer & Jody Bernon-Wainer Tom & Shirley* Waltermire John & Deborah Warner Anya Weaving & Tom Mihaljevic Meredith & Michael Weil Tony & Christine White Anonymous (2)
* DECEASED
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THAN K YOU
Dudley S. Blossom Society Gifts of $15,000 to $24,999 Mr. & Mrs. William Winfield Baker Ms. Viia R. Beechler Mr. & Mrs. Jules Belkin Mel Berger & Jane Haylor Mr. & Mrs. C. Perry Blossom Mr. & Mrs. Charles P. Bolton Dr. Christopher P. Brandt & Dr. Beth Sersig Mr. D. McGregor Brandt, Jr. Meghan & Trent Brown Mr. & Mrs. Timothy J. Callahan Ellen E.* & Victor J. Cohn Kathleen A. Coleman Ted & Donna Connolly Mr. & Mrs. Kevin C. Conway Mrs. Barbara Cook Mr. & Mrs. Matthew V. Crawford Maureen A. Doerner & Geoffrey T. White Nancy & Richard Dotson Peter & Sandy Earl Dr. & Mrs. Robert Ehrlich (Europe) Mr. Brian L. Ewart & Mr. William McHenry Mr. & Mrs. Richard C. Fedorovich Friends of The Cleveland Orchestra Richard & Ann Gridley Gary L. & Cari T. Gross Mr. & Mrs. Harley I. Gross Ms. Marianne Gymer Kathleen E. Hancock Jack Harley & Judy Ernest Matthew & Elizabeth Horvitz Gerald Hughes Mr. & Mrs. Brinton L. Hyde Sarah Liotta Johnston & Jeff Johnston Eeva & Harri Kulovaara (Miami) Mr. & Mrs. S. Ernest Kulp Ms. Heather Lennox In honor of Emma Skoff Lincoln Linda Litton Mr. Jeff Litwiller Anne R. & Kenneth E. Love Mr. & Mrs. Alex Machaskee Mr. & Mrs. Robert W. Malone Alan Markowitz MD & Cathy Pollard Mr. Fredrick W. Martin Mr.* & Mrs. Arch J. McCartney Miba AG and Dr. & Mrs. Peter Mitterbauer (Europe) Ann Jones Morgan Sally S. & John C. Morley* Mr. & Mrs. Scott C. Mueller Richard Organ & Jamie Nash Mr. Winthrop Quigley & Ms. Bonnie Crusalis Dr. Isobel Rutherford Rachel R. Schneider
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Dr. & Mrs. James L. Sechler Meredith M. Seikel Hewitt & Paula Shaw Robyn Shifrin Roy Smith Mr. & Mrs. Richard P. Stovsky Kathryn & Duncan Stuart Alan & Barbara Taylor Bruce & Virginia Taylor Philip & Sarah* Taylor Mr. & Mrs. Alfred Umdasch (Europe) Karen Walburn Mr. Daniel & Mrs. Molly Walsh Mr. & Mrs. Jeffery J. Weaver Robert C. Weppler Sandy* & Ted Wiese Katie & Donald Woodcock Max & Beverly Zupon Anonymous (3) Frank H. Ginn Society Gifts of $10,000 to $14,999 Dr. & Mrs. D. P. Agamanolis Mr. & Mrs.* Eugene J. Beer Deena & Jeff Bellman Laura & Jon Bloomberg Mrs. Catharina M. Caldwell Mr. & Mrs. Chester F. Crone Mr. & Mrs. Manohar Daga Allan* & Connie Dechert Gregory Dobbins Michael Dunn Dr.* & Mrs. Lloyd H. Ellis Jr. Joan Alice Ford Dr. Edward S. Godleski André & Ginette Gremillet Calvin & Sherry Griffith Mr. & Mrs. Michael Gröller (Europe) Alfredo & Luz Maria Gutierrez (Miami) Robin Hitchcock Hatch Dr. Robert T. Heath & Dr. Elizabeth L. Buchanan Dr. Fred A. Heupler Donald* & Joyce Ignatz Donna Jackson Barbara & Michael J. Kaplan Jonathan & Tina Kislak (Miami) John D. & Giuliana C. Koch David C. Lamb Dr. Edith Lerner Dr. David* & Janice Leshner Drs. Amy & James Merlino Claudia Metz & Thomas Woodworth John & Rebecca Minnillo Mr. Bert & Dr. Marjorie Moyar Brian & Cindy Murphy Patricia Perry Nock Mr. & Mrs. John Olejko Mr. David A. Osage & Ms. Claudia C. Woods Dr. Roland S. Philip & Dr. Linda M. Sandhaus
Julia & Larry Pollock Ms. Rosella Puskas* Beth & Clay Rankin Mr. & Mrs. Roger F. Rankin Mrs. Vicki Ann Resnick Amy & Ken Rogat Kim Russel & Dirk Brom Dr. & Mrs.* Martin I. Saltzman David M. & Betty Schneider Gary Schwartz & Constance Young Kenneth Shafer Rev. George Smiga Sandra & Richey* Smith Taras Szmagala & Helen Jarem Joe & Marlene Toot Dr. Gregory Videtic & Rev. Christopher McCann Susanne Wamsler & Paul Singer (Europe) Mr. & Mrs. Fred A. Watkins Denise G. & Norman E. Wells, Jr. Sandy Wile* & Sue Berlin Anonymous (7) The 1929 Society Gifts of $5,000 to $9,999 Ms. Nancy A. Adams Mr. & Mrs. Todd C. Amsdell Mr. James Babcock Claudia Bacon Robert & Dalia Baker Thomas & Laura Barnard Dr. James Bates Fred G. & Mary W. Behm Marilyn & Jeffrey Bilsky Dr. & Mrs. Eugene H. Blackstone Doug & Barbara* Bletcher Laurel Blossom Jeff & Elaine Bomberger Mitchell & Caroline Borrow Ms. Kristina E. Boykin Mr. & Mrs. David* Briggs James & Mary Bright Dr. Thomas Brugger* & Dr. Sandra Russ Frank & Leslie Buck Mr. Gregory & Mrs. Susan Bulone James Burke Michael & Linda Busta Joseph & Susan Carney William & Barbara Carson Ms. Maria Cashy Victor A. Ceicys MD & Mrs. Kathleen Browning Ceicys Mr. & Mrs. James B. Chaney Mr. & Mrs. Kerry Chelm Ellen Chesler & Matthew Mallow (Miami) Drs. Wuu-Shung & Amy Chuang Drs. Mark Cohen & Miriam Vishny Diane Lynn Collier & Robert J. Gura Marjorie Dickard Comella Mr.* & Mrs. Ralph Daugstrup
LISTINGS AS OF SEPTEMBER 2025
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Ronald J. Davis & Cheryl A. Davis Pete & Margaret Dobbins Henry & Mary* Doll Brian & Renae Durdle Carl Falb Regis & Gayle Falinski Dagmar & Frederick Fellowes Mr. & Mrs. Mark Filippell Bruce* & Nancy Fisher Jan & John Fitts Ms. Nancy Flogge Mr. & Ms. Dale Freygang Barbara & Peter* Galvin Joy E. Garapic Mr. James S. Gascoigne & Ms. Cynthia Prior Anne* & Walter Ginn Brenda & David Goldberg Mrs. Florence Goodman Barbara H. Gordon Nancy Hancock Griffith Candy & Brent Grover The Thomas J. and Judith Fay Gruber Charitable Foundation Nancy* & James Grunzweig Agnes Gund Graham* & Ann Gund (Miami) Mr. Arthur C. Hall III Mr. Newman T. Halvorson, Jr. Mr.* & Mrs. David P. Handke, Jr. Gary Hanson & Barbara Klante Clark Harvey & Holly Selvaggi Mr. & Mrs. Jonathan Hatch Barbara L. Hawley & David S. Goodman Matthew D. Healy & Richard S. Agnes Anita & William Heller Ms. Susan K. Hemry Malcolm & Vivian Henoch Mr. & Mrs. Jerry Herschman Mr. & Mrs. Martin R. Hoke Dr. Keith A. & Mrs. Kathleen M. Hoover James* & Claudia Hower Elisabeth Hugh Ms. Mary Joe Hughes David & Dianne Hunt Ms. Kimberly R. Irish Dr. & Mrs. Paul C. Janicki Richard & Jayne Janus Robert & Linda Jenkins Mr. David* & Mrs. Cheryl Jerome Mr. Jeremy V. Johnson Karmendot Fund Andrew & Katherine Kartalis Rod Keen & Denise Horstman Mr. & Mrs. Kenneth H. Kirtz* Audrey Knight Mr. & Mrs. S. Lee Kohrman* Dr. Ronald H. Krasney & Vicki Kennedy* Douglas & Monica Kridler
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Peter* & Cathy Kuhn Dr. Jeanne Lackamp Mr. & Mrs.* Arthur J. Lafave, Jr. Dr. & Mrs. John R. Lane Kenneth M. Lapine & Rose E. Mills John N.* & Edith K. Lauer Charles & Josephine Robson Leamy* Michael Lederman & Sharmon Sollitto Joan & Young Sei Lee Mr. & Mrs. Roger J. Lerch in Memory of Carl J. & Winifred J. Lerch Judith & Morton Q . Levin Dr. Stephen B. & Mrs. Lillian S. Levine Dr. Alan & Mrs. Joni Lichtin Drs. Todd & Susan Locke Eric Logan David & Janice* Logsdon Joan C. Long Caetano R. Lopes (Miami) Neil & Susan Luria Peter & Pamela Luria (Miami) Dr. Kalle J. Lyytinen David Mann & Bernadette Pudis Janet A. Mann Diann & Tom Mann Mr. Ryan T. Marrie Mr. & Mrs. Christopher J. McKenna Ms. Nancy L. Meacham Dr. & Mrs. Kevin Meany Dr.* & Mrs. Dale Meers James & Virginia Meil Dr. Susan M. Merzweiler Lynn & Mike Miller Drs. Terry E. & Sara S. Miller Mr. & Mrs. Andy Moock Ms. Nancy C. Morgan Amy & Marc Morgenstern Elizabeth Morris Eudice M. Morse Mr. Raymond M. Murphy Mr. & Mrs. Stephen Myers Richard & Kathleen Nord Mr. & Mrs. Forrest A. Norman III Courtney & Michael Novak Thury O’Connor Richard* & Elizabeth Osborne Mr. & Mrs. Peter R. Osenar Mr. Henry Ott-Hansen Dale & Susan Phillip Dr. Marc A. & Mrs. Carol Pohl Dr. & Mrs. John N. Posch Mr. Robert & Mrs. Susan Price Sylvia Profenna Pysht Fund Lute & Lynn Quintrell James* & Donna Reid Mr. & Mrs.* Robert J. Reid David J. Reimer & Raffaele DiLallo Mr. D. Keith* & Mrs. Margaret B. Robinson Dr. & Mrs. Ronald Ross
Robert* & Margo Roth Dr. Adel S. Saada Dr. Vernon E. Sackman & Ms. Marguerite Patton* Mr. & Mrs. Lowell Satre Sandra Sauder Bob & Ellie Scheuer Ms. Beverly J. Schneider John* & Barbara Schubert Sally & Larry Sears John Sedor & Geri Presti Deborah Sesek Mr.* & Mrs. Michael Shames Mr. Philip & Mrs. Michelle Sharp Elizabeth & Timothy Sheeler Mr. John F. Shelley & Ms. Karen P. Fleming Paul & Betsy Shiverick (Miami) Zachary & Shelby Siegal Howard & Beth Simon Mr. James S. Simon The Shari Bierman Singer Family Drs. Charles Kent Smith & Patricia Moore Smith Mrs. Gretchen D. Smith Mr. & Mrs. William E. Spatz Diane M. Stack Maribeth & Christopher Stahl George & Mary* Stark Sue Starrett & Jerry Smith Bill & Trish Steere Ms. Lorraine S. Szabo Robert & Carol Taller Mr. John R. Thorne & Family Bill & Jacky Thornton Brian & Elizabeth Tierney Mr. & Mrs. Gary B. Tishkoff Mr. Christopher Towe Mr.* & Mrs. Robert N. Trombly Steve & Christa Turnbull Dr. & Mrs. Wulf H. Utian Robert & Marti* Vagi Bobbi & Peter* van Dijk Mr*. & Mrs. Lee Vandenberg Mr. & Mrs. Les C. Vinney Kenneth Kirtz* George & Barbara von Mehren Mr. Randall Wagner Randall E. Wagner Ron Wakser John & Jeanette Walton Greg & Lynn Weekley Tilles-Weidenthal Foundation Mr. & Mrs. Mark Allen Weigand Paul & Nancy Wellener Dr. Edward L. & Mrs. Suzanne Westbrook Dr. Paul R. & Catherine Williams Ms. Linda L. Wilmot Bob & Kat Wollyung Mr. Graham Wood Anonymous (3) * DECEASED
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THAN K YOU
Composer’s Circle Gifts of $2,500 to $4,999 Mr. & Mrs. Paul R. Abbey Mr. Leonard H. Abrams* David & Sharon Anderson Sarah May Anderson Gabrielle Aryeetey Jack & Darby Ashelman Ronen Avinir (Miami) Ms. Bonnie M. Baker Don Baker* Eric Barbato & Elisha Swindell Lucy Battle Kathryn & Gerald Berkshire Mr. Jeffrey & Dr. Sheila Berlin Margo & Tom Bertin Zeda W. Blau Marilyn & Lawrence Blaustein Ms. Pamela M. Blemaster Blossom Friends of The Cleveland Orchestra Howard & Arlyne Bochnek Dr. & Mrs. Timothy Bohn Mr. & Mrs. Richard H. Bole David & Julie Borsani, in memory of Marissa I. Borsani Dwight Bowden Lisa & Ronald Boyko William & AnnaMarie Brancovsky Adam & Vikki Briggs Matthew D. Brocone Mr. & Mrs. Dale R. Brogan Dale & Wendy Brott Bennett Brown Mrs. Nancy E. Brown Mr. & Mrs. Henry G. Brownell Mr. Felix Brueck & Ms. Ann Kowal Smith Mrs. Frances Buchholzer Douglas M. Bunker William Busta & Joan Tomkins Dr. & Mrs. William E. Cappaert Peter & Joanna Carfagna Mr.* & Mrs. John J. Carney Dr. Ronald Chapnick* & Mrs. Sonia Chapnick Gertrude Kalnow Chisholm & Homer D.W. Chisholm Dr. Gary Chottiner & Anne Poirson Mr. & Mrs. Edward A. Chuhna Natalie Cipriano Robert & Judy Ciulla Pete Clapham & Anita Stoll Mr. & Mrs. David Clark Richard J. & Joanne Clark Drs. John* & Mary Clough Mary* & Bill Conway Mr. John Couriel & Dr. Rebecca Toonkel (Miami)
56 | 2025/2026 SEASON
Laura Cox Jane Cronin Dr. Lucy Ann Dahlberg Karen & Jim Dakin Mrs. Jane Dangler Dr. & Mrs. Thomas M. Daniel Mrs. Lois Joan Davis Jeffrey Dean and Barbara & Karen Claas Prof. George & Mrs. Rebecca Dent Michael & Amy Diamant Dr. & Mrs. Howard Dickey-White Ms. Marlene Dirksen Do Unto Others Trust (Miami) Carl Dodge Jack & Elaine Drage Ms. Mary Lynn Durham Mr. & Mrs. Robert P. Duvin Mr. & Mrs. Ronald E. Dziedzicki Erich Eichhorn & Ursel Dougherty Mr. Mike S. Eidson, Esq. & Dr. Margaret Eidson (Miami) S. Stuart Eilers Peter & Kathryn Eloff Louis* & Patricia Esposito Andy & Leigh Fabens Anne Ferguson & Peter Drench Mr. William & Dr. Elizabeth Fesler Joan & Philip Fracassa Mr. & Mrs. Larry Frankel Howard Freedman & Rita Montlack Marvin Ross Friedman & Adrienne bon Haes (Miami) Robert Friedman & Elizabeth MacGowan Mr. William Gaskill & Ms. Kathleen Burke Mr. & Mrs. Bengt Gerborg Mr. & Mrs. M. Lee Gibson Daniel & Kathleen Gisser Holly & Fred Glock Dr.* & Mrs. Victor M. Goldberg Lawrence Goodman & Stephanie Betts Ms. Aggie Goss Mr. Robert Goss Dr. & Mrs. Ronald L. Gould Bob Graf & Mia Zaper Mr. James Graham & Mr. David Dusek Dr. Ruffin Graham Robert K. Gudbranson & Joon-Li Kim Mr. & Mrs. John E. Guinness Mr. Davin & Mrs. Jo Ann Gustafson Mr. Ian S. Haberman Mary Louise Hahn Dr. James O. Hall Megan Hall & James Janning Dr. Haifa & Dr. Michael A. Hanna John Hannon
Mrs. Martha S. Harding Mr. Samuel D. Harris Thomas & Darlene Hawkins Dr. Toby Helfand In Memory of Hazel Helgesen Drs. Gene & Sharon Henderson T. K.* & Faye A. Heston Eric & Karen Hillenbrand Richard & Jean Hipple Arnold & Janice Hirshon Mr. & Mrs. Stephen J. Holler Charles M. Hoppel & Marianne Karwowski Hoppel Lois Krejci-Hornbostel & Roland Hornbostel Xavier-Nichols Foundation / Robert & Karen Hostoffer Phillip Huber Dr. Diane Huey Mr. Brooks G. Hull & Mr. Terry Gimmellie Dr. & Mrs. Grant Hunsicker Mrs. Laura Hunsicker Mr.* & Mrs. J. David Hunter Ms. Melanie Ingalls Bruce & Debbie Jarosz Dylan Jin Eric & Susan Johnson Joela Jones & Richard Weiss Steven Jones Dr. Eric Kaler Mr. Donald J. Katt & Mrs. Maribeth Filipic-Katt Dr. Richard* & Roberta Katzman The Kendis Family Trust: Hilary & Robert Kendis and Susan & James Kendis Joanne Kim & Jim Nash Mrs. Judith A. Kirsh Steve & Beth Kish Mr. & Mrs. Stuart F. Kline Michael Kluger & Heidi Greene Stewart Kohl Mr. Ronald & Mrs. Kimberly Kolz Ursula Korneitchouk Margaret Kotz & Ed Covington Dr. & Mrs. John P. Kristofco Mr. & Mrs. David S. Kushner Alfred & Carol Lambo Mr. & Mrs. John J. Lane, Jr. Dr.* & Mrs. Roger H. Langston Mrs. Susan D. LaPine Mr. & Mrs. Richard L. Larrabee Mrs. Sandra S. Laurenson Richard & Barbara Lederman Mr. Elliot & Mrs. Christine Legow Michael & Lois Lemr Robert G. Levy Mr. & Mrs.* Thomas A. Liederbach Eva & Rudolf Linnebach
LISTINGS AS OF SEPTEMBER 2025
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Mr. Henry Lipian Dr. & Mrs. Jack Lissauer Dr. George I. Litman Ms. Agnes Loeffler Mary Lohman Mr. & Mrs. Carlos Lopez-Cantera (Miami) Virginia Lovejoy Linda* & Saul Ludwig Elsie* & Byron Lutman Mr. & Mrs.* Robert P. Madison Herbert L. & Ronda Marcus Dr.* & Mrs. Sanford E. Marovitz Ms. Dorene Marsh Kevin Martin & Hansa Jacob-Martin Ms. Amanda Martinsek Ms. Judith E. Matsko Stephen & Christine McClure Bruce & Karen McDiarmid Mr. & Mrs. Sandy McMillan Mr. James E. Menger Leah Merritt-Mervine Dr. Miloslava Mervart Mr. & Mrs. Gerald A. Messerman Mr. Glenn A. Metzdorf David Michel & Lynne Killgore Beth M. Mikes Amy Miller & Nikhil Rao Mr. & Mrs. David S. Miller Dr. & Mrs. Leon Miller Mr. Tom Millward Anton & Laura Milo Michael Milo Jon Morrell Mr. & Mrs. Thomas W. Morris Ken & Sharon Mountcastle Susan B. Murphy Dave & Nancy Murray Karen & Bernie Murray Joan Katz Napoli & August Napoli Dr. Anne & Mr. Peter Neff Karen Nemec Andrea Nobil (Miami) Mark & Paula Nylander Richard & Jolene O’Callaghan Robert & Mary Ann Olive Dr. & Mrs. Paul T. Omelsky Harvey* & Robin Oppmann Dr. Douglas Orr & Ms. Kimberley Barton George Parras & Mary Spencer Drs. James & Marian Patterson Dr. Lewis E. & Janice B. Patterson David Pavlich & Cherie Arnold Matt Peart Alan & Charlene Perkins John Perko Robert S. Perry Mark & Eve Pihl Mr. Richard W. Pogue Mr. & Mrs. Frank Porter
Patrick J. Holland Drs. Raymond R. Rackley & Carmen M. Fonseca Dr. James & Lynne Rambasek Mr. Todd J. Reese Dr. Robert W. Reynolds David & Gloria Richards Joan & Rick Rivitz Mr. & Mrs. Jay F. Rockman Michael & Jodi Rogoff David & Mitsuko Rosinus (Miami) Steven & Ellen Ross Drs. Edward & Teresa Ruch Nathan & Marie Rutherford Anne Sagsveen Ms. Patricia E. Say Bryan & Jenna Scafidi Don Schmitt & Jim Harmon Richard B. & Cheryl A. Schmitz Mr. Don Schriver & Mrs. Jane Schriver Mr. James Schutte Nicklaus Schwenk Ms. Kathryn & Mr. Michael Seider Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Selden Dr. Judith Sewell & Mr. Donald Sewell Caltha Seymour Lee Shackelford Donald Shafer & Katherine Stokes-Shafer Steve & Marybeth Shamrock Ginger & Larry Shane Harry & Ilene Shapiro Ms. Frances L. Sharp Larry Oscar & Jeanne Shatten Charitable Fund of the Jewish Federation Dr. & Mrs. William C. Sheldon Mr. Richard Shirey MindCrafted Systems Jim Simler & Dr. Amy Zhang Dr. Edward & Mrs. Barbara Sivak G. Michael & Kathy* Mead Skerritt Bruce L. Smith Mr. Christopher & Mrs. Michelle Smith David Kane Smith Mr. Joshua Smith Mr. Eugene Smolik Drs. Nancy & Ronald Sobecks Drs. Thomas & Terry Sosnowski SPÄNGLER PRIVATSTIFTUNG Edward R. & Jean Geis Stell Foundation Ryan & Melissa Stenger Ronald & Lauren Sterbank Janet Stern Ms. Natalie Stevens Frederick & Elizabeth Stueber Nancy & Patrick Sullivan
Mike & Wendy Summers Mr. Marc L. Swartzbaugh Mr. Robert D. Sweet Mrs. Mary L. Sykora Mr. & Mrs. Michael Taipale Rebecca & Jeffrey Talbert Eca & Richard Taylor Dr. James Taylor & Ms. Susan Slugg Jill & Jim Taylor Caroline Theus Ms. Aileen Thong-Dratler Dr. & Mrs. Thomas* A. Timko Dr. & Mrs. Michael B. Troner (Miami) Drs. Anna* & Gilbert True Ms. Christeen Tuttle Dr. Doug Van Auken & Mr. John Corlett Mr. & Mrs. Steven M. Venezia Teresa Galang-Viñas & Joaquin Viñas (Miami) Philip Volpe Neha & Sanjay Vyas Mr. & Mrs. Eric Wald Jessica & James Warren Margaret & Eric* Wayne Mr. Peter & Mrs. Laurie Weinberger Emily Westlake & Robertson Gilliland Mr. & Mrs. John W. Wilhelm John & Nancy Woelfl Mr. James M. Wood Sr. Dale & Cynthia Woodling Ms. Jennifer Wynn Rad & Patty Yates Ms. Carol A. Yellig Dr. Rosemary Gornik & Dr. William Zelei Mr. Paul Zraik Mr. Kal Zucker & Dr. Mary Frances Haerr John & Jane Zuzek Anonymous (8)
* DECEASED
clevelandorchestra.com
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THAN K YOU
Corporate, Foundation & Government Support The Cleveland Orchestra extends heartfelt gratitude to these generous organizations and partners who bring concerts and educational programs to life for our community. Learn more at clevelandorchestra.com/partners CORPORATE SUPPORT Gifts of $300,000 & more The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company Hyster-Yale, Inc. NACCO Industries, Inc. Gifts of $200,000 to $299,999 Jones Day Foundation Ohio CAT The J. M. Smucker Co. Gifts of $100,000 to $199,999 KeyBank White & Case (Miami) Gifts of $50,000 to $99,999 FirstEnergy Foundation NOPEC Parker Hannifin Foundation PNC Quality Electrodynamics Thompson Hine LLP Anonymous Gifts of $15,000 to $49,999 Acme Fresh Markets Akron Children’s BakerHostetler Buyers Products Company Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP Cuffs Clothing Company Dealer Tire LLC DLR Group | Westlake Reed Leskosky Frantz Ward LLP The Giant Eagle Foundation Lake Effect Health Miba AG (Europe) Northern Haserot Olympic Steel, Inc. Park-Ohio Holdings RPM International Inc. RSM US LLP Welty Enterprises Westfield Anonymous
58 | 2025/2026 SEASON
Gifts of $2,500 to $14,999 BDI Berkadia Blue Technologies, Inc. BNY Wealth Brothers Printing Company The Cedarwood Companies The Cleveland-Cliffs Foundation Consolidated Solutions Dickie, McCamey & Chilcote Eaton Evarts Tremaine The Ewart-Ohlson Machine Company GPD Group Gross Residential Hahn Loeser & Parks LLP Hunsicker Family Dental Jones Group Interiors Inc. Karlie Newton II Insurance Agency Kohrman Jackson & Krantz, LLP KPMG LLP The Lincoln Electric Foundation MGM Resorts Foundation Nordson Corporation Foundation Northern Trust Ohio Real Title The Sherwin-Williams Company Sikich Ver Ploeg & Marino (Miami) Warby Parker Young Presidents’ Organization
FOUNDATION & GOVERNMENT SUPPORT Gifts of $1,000,000 & more The Brown and Kunze Foundation The Milton and Tamar Maltz Family Foundation The Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation David and Inez Myers Foundation State of Ohio The Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation Richard & Emily Smucker Family Foundation Timken Foundation of Canton
Gifts of $500,000 to $999,999 The William Bingham Foundation Mary E. & F. Joseph Callahan Foundation Cuyahoga County residents through Cuyahoga Arts & Culture Ohio Arts Council The Payne Fund Gifts of $250,000 to $499,999 Kulas Foundation John P. Murphy Foundation The Dr. M. Lee Pearce Foundation, Inc. (Miami) Gifts of $100,000 to $249,999 Paul M. Angell Family Foundation The Louise H. and David S. Ingalls Foundation Park Foundation Wesley Family Foundation Anonymous Gifts of $50,000 to $99,999 The George W. Codrington Charitable Foundation The Jean, Harry and Brenda Fuchs Family Foundation, in memory of Harry Fuchs GAR Foundation The George Gund Foundation Martha Holden Jennings Foundation Myra Tuteur Kahn Memorial Fund of the Cleveland Foundation Gifts of $15,000 to $49,999 The Abington Foundation Akron Community Foundation The Batchelor Foundation, Inc. (Miami) The Bruening Foundation The Mary S. and David C. Corbin Foundation Mary and Dr. George L. Demetros Charitable Trust The Sam J. Frankino Foundation The Gerhard Foundation, Inc. The Catherine L. & Edward A. Lozick Foundation
clevelandorchestra.com/give
LISTINGS AS OF SEPTEMBER 2025
With the support of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners The Nord Family Foundation PWC Foundation The Esther and Hyman Rapport Philanthropic Trust The Reinberger Foundation Albert G. & Olive H. Schlink Foundation The Sisler McFawn Foundation The Veale Foundation The George Garretson Wade Charitable Trust The Welty Family Foundation The Thomas H. White Foundation, a KeyBank Trust Anonymous Gifts of $2,500 to $14,999 The Bernheimer Family Fund of the Cleveland Foundation The C.R.E.W. Foundation The Frances G. and Lewis Allen Davies Endowment James Deering Danielson Foundation Dorn Family Foundation Fisher-Renkert Foundation The Harry K. Fox and Emma R. Fox Charitable Foundation The Hankins Foundation The Muna & Basem Hishmeh Foundation The Kirk Foundation (Miami) The Laub Foundation The Lehner Family Foundation The Fred A. Lennon Charitable Trust The G. R. Lincoln Family Foundation Elizabeth Ring Mather and William Gwinn Mather Fund The Eric & Jane Nord Family Fund The M. G. O’Neil Foundation The O’Neill Brothers Foundation Paintstone Foundation The Perkins Charitable Foundation Charles E. & Mabel M. Ritchie Memorial Foundation SCH Foundation Lloyd L. and Louise K. Smith Memorial Foundation The South Waite Foundation Sterling Chamber Players Third Federal Foundation Uvas Foundation The Edward and Ruth Wilkof Foundation The Wuliger Foundation Anonymous (2)
clevelandorchestra.com
The Cleveland Orchestra Board of Trustees O FFI CERS Richard K. Smucker Chair Richard J. Kramer Vice Chair & Treasurer André Gremillet President & CEO Dennis W. LaBarre Immediate Past Chair Richard J. Bogomolny Chair Emeritus Norma Lerner Honorary Chair David J. Hooker Secretary RES I DE N T TRUSTEES Victor Alexander Robin Dunn Blossom Yuval Brisker Helen Rankin Butler Nancy Slocum Callahan Irad Carmi Matthew V. Crawford 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 Beth E. Mooney 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 Jeffery J. Weaver Anya Weaving Meredith Smith Weil Paul E. Westlake Jr. David A. Wolfort Anthony Wynshaw-Boris N ATIO N AL TRUSTEES 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) I N TERN ATIO N AL TRUSTEES Wolfgang C. Berndt (Austria) Herbert Kloiber (Germany) E X-O FFI C IO TRUSTEES André Gremillet Todd Diacon Lisa Fedorovich Eric Kaler Judith E. Matsko Beverly J. Schneider TRUSTEE EMERIT US Thomas F. McKee HO N O R ARY TRUSTEES FO R LI FE Richard J. Bogomolny Charles P. Bolton Robert D. Conrad Alexander M. Cutler Richard C. Gridley Norma Lerner Virginia Lindseth Alex Machaskee Robert P. Madison John D. Ong Milton S. Maltz Audrey Gilbert Ratner Hewitt B. Shaw Luci Schey Spring
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YOU R V IS IT LATE SEATING 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.
CELL PHONES, WATCHES & OTHER DEVICES To ensure a quiet and respectful listening environment, please silence all electronic devices.
PHOTOGRAPHY, VIDEOGRAPHY & RECORDING Audio recording, photography, and videography are not allowed during performances at Severance. Photographs can only be taken when the performance is not in progress.
HEARING AIDS & OTHER HEALTH-ASSISTIVE DEVICES 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.
IN THE EVENT OF AN EMERGENCY 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.
AGE GUIDELINES Regardless of age, each person must have a ticket and be able to sit quietly in a seat throughout the
NEW!
THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA APP 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/tcoapp or scan the code with your smartphone camera to download the app for iPhone or Android. 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).
FOOD & MERCHANDISE Beverages and snacks are available at bars throughout Severance Music Center. Only bottled water is permitted in the hall. For Cleveland Orchestra apparel, recordings, and gift items, visit the Welcome Desk in Lerner Lobby.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE 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.
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. ©2025 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. EDI TORI AL
Kevin McBrien, Editorial & Publications Manager, The Cleveland Orchestra kmcbrien@clevelandorchestra.com
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.
Ellen Sauer Tanyeri, Archives & Editorial Assistant, The Cleveland Orchestra DE SIG N
Elizabeth Eddins, Eddinsdesign eddinsdesign@gmail.com ADVE RT ISI NG
Live Publishing Company, 216-721-1800
60 | 2025/2026 SEASON
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