DONATE NOW

The Cleveland Orchestra

Saturdays at 7pm
FWM-3-Credit-Sebastian-Frohlich-1500x1000

Music Director Franz Welser-Möst. Photo: Sebastian Fröhlich

The WFMT Orchestra Series continues January 11 with a new 13-week season of Cleveland Orchestra concerts, hosted by Bill O’Connell. The series features performances from the 2023-24 season, showcasing the orchestra’s rich, powerful sound and diverse repertoire. Conducted by Music Director Franz Welser-Möst, along with guest conductors like Daniel Harding, Rafael Payare, and Barbara Hannigan, the series begins with Mahler’s epic Symphony No. 2, “Resurrection.” Other highlights include Bartók’s The Miraculous Mandarin, Sibelius and Tchaikovsky’s Second Symphonies, Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 1 with Daniil Trifonov, and more. Tune in Saturdays through April 5.

  • March 29
    The Miraculous Mandarin

    Bartók’s The Miraculous Mandarin tells of a girl forced to lure a wealthy mandarin to his tragic fate. Its theme of the tragic, dark passions between men and women is equally as gripping and powerful – and controversial – as when it first premiered. It’s paired with a striking arrangement for string orchestra of Bartók’s String Quartet No. 3, by Orchestra violist Stanley Konopka. Krenek’s eclectic Kleine Symphonie and the opening movement of Mahler’s uncompleted final symphony provide a bridge from late Romanticism to the no-holds-barred sounds of interwar Europe. 

    CONDUCTOR

    Franz Welser-Möst

    Ernst Krenek

    Kleine Symphonie Op 58

    Gustav Mahler

    Adagio from Symphony No. 10 (arr. Ernst Krenek)

    Béla Bartók

    String Quartet No. 3 for String Orchestra (arr. Konopka)

    Béla Bartók

    Suite from The Miraculous Mandarin Op 19

  • April 5
    Sibelius’s Second Symphony

    With its rich, sweeping melodies and dynamic brass chorales, Sibelius’s Second Symphony vividly evokes the beauty of his native Finland. Icy Nordic landscapes are also heard in Rautavaara’s Cantus Arcticus, a haunting “concerto for birds and orchestra” that weaves recordings of birdsong into the orchestral tapestry. Julia Perry’s setting of the 13th-century Stabat Mater hymn adds a powerful complement to this program that highlights two rising stars: conductor Dalia Stasevska and mezzo-soprano Josefina Maldonado.

    CONDUCTOR

    Dalia Stasevska

    ARTIST

    Josefina Maldonado, mezzo-soprano

    Einojuhani Rautavaara

    Cantus Arcticus

    Julia Perry

    Stabat Mater

    Jean Sibelius

    Symphony No. 2 in D Op 43