Originally released: Wednesday, September 2
UPDATED: Tuesday, October 24, 1 PM ET
The Cleveland Orchestra: In Focus first concert premieres October 15
(UPDATE) Adella digital streaming via https://adella.live available now worldwide and coming soon to app and TV services (Roku, Amazon FireTV, Apple TV, Chromecast, smart TVs), smartphones, tablets
(UPDATE) Adella App
The Cleveland Orchestra’s video streaming service, Adella, which is named after the ensemble’s founder and first general manager, Adella Prentiss Hughes, is available now via https://adella.live and coming soon to app TV services (Roku, Amazon FireTV, Apple TV, Chromecast, smart TVs), smartphones, tablets by searching for “Adella”.
In Focus
The Cleveland Orchestra: In Focus is a new, original series of digital concerts performed at Severance Hall that music-lovers around the world will have the ability to stream on-demand across a variety of platforms through Adella.
The Cleveland Orchestra’s latest innovative digital initiative is bringing live performances back to Severance Hall for the first time since March 2020 with our In Focus concert series.
SCHEDULE
On Thursday, October 15 at 7:00PM ET, The Cleveland Orchestra: IN FOCUS will present its premiere concert through the Adella video streaming service. Future performances throughout the 2020-21 Severance Hall season will be recorded live at Severance Hall and made available for viewing at later dates to subscribers, donors, and membership holders. (See the program information section below for a complete listing of fall concert programs, recording and release dates.
(UPDATE) Access: Adella & In Focus
Adella is free to use and download, and includes several pieces of free content from the Orchestra’s Archives, On A Personal Note podcast, and other performance highlights.
To view premium content, such as the Orchestra’s new In Focus concert series, users will need access to Adella Premium. This service can be purchased for $34.99/month. Adella Premium is also automatically available to all Cleveland Orchestra subscribers (including Members Club, The Circle, and Frequent Fan Card holders) and donors who contribute more than $300 annually.
Login information and instructions will be sent to subscribers and donors by e-mail. Those interested in purchasing a subscription or membership can contact the Cleveland Orchestra Ticket Office by phone at 216-231-1111, e-mail [email protected], or at clevelandorchestra.com.
Performer Highlights
Three consecutive recording weeks in October feature Music Director Franz Welser-Möst, with guest conductors Bernard Labadie and John Adams leading the Orchestra for two concert recording weeks in November and December. Guest soloists include renowned pianists Yefim Bronfman, Emanuel Ax, Jan Lisiecki, and Vikingur Olafsson (making his Cleveland Orchestra debut), as well as a solo performance by Cleveland Orchestra associate concertmaster Jung-Min Amy Lee. A complete listing of concert program details can be found below.
(UPDATE) Music/Repertoire
Concert programs were curated to showcase the intimate and transparent chamber music qualities of The Cleveland Orchestra. Musical selections include works by Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Mozart, and Tchaikovsky. The series also features The Cleveland Orchestra premiere of George Walker’s Antifonys for String Orchestra, Schnittke’s Concerto for Piano and String Orchestra (performed for the first time by Yefim Bronfman), Bartók’s Divertimento for Strings, Percussion and Celesta, and John Adams’s Shaker Loops (for string orchestra). A complete listing of concert program details can be found below.
Adella Premium also includes exclusive recordings of chamber performances recorded this summer at Severance Hall. These include selections from George Walker’s Lyric for Strings, Villa-Lobos’s Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 featuring soprano Joélle Harvey, Steve Reich’s Nagoya Marimbas, Arvo Pärt’s Spiegel im Spiegel, and Mendelssohn’s Octet in E-flat major for Strings. Each program includes bonus extras, such as never-before-seen interviews with Cleveland Orchestra musicians and guest artists.
(UPDATE) On-Demand Availability
After the premiere broadcast dates, The Cleveland Orchestra: In Focus concerts can be viewed on-demand for three months.
Social Media
Audience members who watch at the premiere date and time are encouraged to join a live conversation about the music on The Cleveland Orchestra’s social media channels: facebook.com/clevelandorchestra, twitter @CleveOrchestra, instagram @cleveorch.
Video Extras
Each In Focus concert will feature exclusive behind-the-scenes footage that provides insight into the performances from the artists themselves, including interviews with Music Director Franz Welser-Möst, Orchestra musicians, as well as guest conductors and artists.
Broadcast Guide / Digital Program Book
A companion Broadcast Guide publication will be available for digital guests, offering insight and information about the concerts, artists, and Orchestra. This publication will be accessible online at clevelandorchestra.com. A digital program book, with notes and other information is also available on your phone via Stageview; text “TCO” to 216-238-0883 to read.
Location
Performances will be recorded live at Severance Hall in Cleveland.
(UPDATE) Customer Support
Front-of-house representatives are ready to help. A comprehensive set of “how to” steps and FAQs (frequently asked questions) are available to assist you in logging in and experiencing The Cleveland Orchestra online and onscreen.
- Adella Helpline: 216-456-8401
- Helpline Hours: Mon-Tue-Wed 9 AM to 6 PM or Thu-Fri-Sat noon to 8 PM
- Visit clevelandorchestra.com/adella for complete FAQs about watching IN FOCUS and using the Adella app.
- Adella help email: [email protected]
Production Partners
The Cleveland Orchestra’s collaborative production team includes ideastream, Digital River Media, as well as audio producer Elaine Martone and audio engineer Gintas Norvila.
Covid-19 Health & Safety
Because of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, The Cleveland Orchestra has adapted its fall 2020-21 concert programs. In close consultation with the Cleveland Clinic, the Orchestra has worked to keep the safety and health of musicians, staff, and guests a priority. Precautions and guidelines at Severance Hall include requiring staff to wear masks at all times, completing a health questionnaire before entering the building, temperature assessments, practicing social distancing, restricting concerts to one hour with no intermission, using a smaller orchestra with limited brass and woodwind players, excluding large-scale choral performances, and requiring non-wind/brass musicians wear masks, utilizing plexi-glass barriers around wind/brass instruments, and performing socially distanced.
Program Information / Calendar Listing – Fall 2020
All of The Cleveland Orchestra: In Focus concerts will be recorded live at Severance Hall and will be available for subscribers and donors to stream on-demand through the Adella app, available on a variety of digital platforms.
Episode No. 1 - INSPIRATIONS
Digital Streaming Premiere: Thursday, October 15 at 7:00 p.m. ET
(UPDATE) Available on-demand until: January 13, 2021
The Cleveland Orchestra
Franz Welser-Möst, conductor
RESPIGHI Ancient Airs and Dances, Set 3
WALKER Antifonys (for string chamber orchestra) – Cleveland Orchestra premiere
TCHAIKOVSKY Souvenir de Florence, Opus 70 (for string orchestra)
This opening performance for our IN FOCUS series brings together new inspirations in the form of souvenirs from the past, with three musical works created across history, places, and styles. Respighi took his departure from Renaissance lute music, while American composer George Walker was inspired by the collision of musical styles he experienced as a student in Paris. Tchaikovsky penned his souvenir filled with ideas and melodies from a trip from Russia to Italy.
Episode No. 2 - BRONFMAN AND BEETHOVEN
Digital Streaming Premiere: Thursday, October 29 at 7:00 p.m. ET
(UPDATE) Available on-demand until: January 27, 2021
The Cleveland Orchestra
Franz Welser-Möst, conductor
Yefim Bronfman, piano
SCHNITTKE Concerto for Piano and String Orchestra
BEETHOVEN String Quartet No. 10 (“Harp”) — performed by string orchestra
A pair of pieces reflecting the sensibilities of two very different centuries. Schnittke’s virtuosic and bravura concerto is performed by Yefim Bronfman, a Cleveland favorite, playing music filled with wry humor and Shostakovich-inspired sarcasm and beauty. For this concert, Beethoven’s “Harp” quartet is expanded to an orchestra of strings, showcasing The Cleveland Orchestra’s extraordinary ensemble work and artistry. (The “Harp” nickname comes from plucked pizzicato sections in the first movement, but only hint at the beautiful verse-like melodies throughout this piece.)
Episode No. 3 - AX PLAYS HADYN
Digital Streaming Premiere: Thursday, November 12 at 7:00 p.m. ET
(UPDATE) Available on-demand until: February 10, 2021
The Cleveland Orchestra
Franz Welser-Möst, conductor
Emanuel Ax, piano
(UPDATE) HAYDN Piano Concerto in D Major
(UPDATE) BARTÓK Divertimento for Strings
(UPDATE) Bartók’s Divertimento was written as a commission for the Basel Chamber Orchestra and conductor Paul Sacher. Its three movements are strongly in the Bartókian vein, unfolding as a marvelous mixing together of Modern and Romantic — blending chamber-like intimacy with orchestral strength, caustic bite with yearning restraint, lyricism with argumentative thrust.
(UPDATE) Episode No. 4 - BACH TO MENDELSSOHN
Digital Streaming Premiere: Thursday, December 10 at 7:00 p.m. ET — filmed Saturday, November 28 and Sunday, November 29
(UPDATE) Available on-demand until: March 10, 2021
The Cleveland Orchestra
(UPDATE) Nicholas McGegan, conductor and harpsichord
HANDEL - Overture and Pifa Pastorale from Messiah
CORELLI - Concerto Grosso Opus 6, No. 8 (“Christmas Concerto”)
BACH - Brandenburg Concerto No. 3
MENDELSSOHN - String Symphony No. 7
(UPDATE) Guest conductor Nicholas McGegan returns to Cleveland to lead a program filled with musical invention and seasonal abundance — surveying a range of works from the late 17th to early 19th centuries. Two works offer reflections on the Christmas season, while Bach’s inventive Third Brandenburg Concerto showcases this master’s ingenuity with string orchestra. The program concludes with a youthful and spirited symphony written by Mendelssohn as a teenager.
Episode No. 5 - MUSICAL PATTERNS
Digital Streaming Premiere: Thursday, January 14 at 7:00 p.m. ET — filmed Friday, December 4 and Saturday, December 5
(UPDATE) Available on-demand until: April 14, 2021
The Cleveland Orchestra
(UPDATE) Vinay Parameswaran, conductor
Jung-Min Amy Lee, violin
(UPDATE) Marc-André Hamelin, piano – Cleveland Orchestra debut
PÄRT Fratres (for solo violin, strings, and percussion)
GLASS Glassworks: Opening (reworked by Christian Badzura) – Cleveland Orchestra premiere
BACH Keyboard Concerto No. 5
ADAMS Shaker Loops (for string orchestra)
This concert, led by superstar American composer John Adams, celebrates connections between old and new, between today’s musical patterns and the timeless, structured elegance of Johann Sebastian Bach. Rhythm, melody, and pattern remain the building blocks of music, here showcased in intriguing modern, minimalist, and Baroque works filled with lush transparency — and enveloping and involving the listener anew.
All concert programs, dates, and artists subject to change