Cleveland Orchestra Updates for February 2021: In Focus bonus episodes on adella.live and Adella digital streaming app
February 11: Sonata & Serenade featuring Mitsuko Uchida in recital and The Cleveland Orchestra performing Mozart
February 25: In Recital: Alisa Weilerstein Plays Bach
Today, The Cleveland Orchestra announced updates to its February broadcast schedule for the In Focus digital concert series with a pair of bonus episodes featuring the music of Schubert, Mozart, and Bach. The Cleveland Orchestra: In Focus series is available for current subscribers and donors at no additional charge or for Adella Premium subscribers on the Adella digital streaming app and adella.live.
Sonata & Serenade, In Focus Bonus Episode 1, premieres on Thursday, February 11 at 7:00 p.m. with pianist Mitsuko Uchida in recital performing Schubert’s Piano Sonata in C major, D.840 (recorded live at London’s Wigmore Hall in January 2021) as well as The Cleveland Orchestra and Music Director Franz Welser-Möst performing Mozart’s Eine kleine Nachtmusik [A Small Serenade], K.525 (recorded at Severance Hall in fall 2020).
Mitsuko Uchida has collaborated with The Cleveland Orchestra for more than twenty-five years. Uchida's long connection with the Orchestra began in September 1990, when she performed Schoenberg’s Piano Concerto with the Orchestra under Christoph von Dohnányi at the Lucerne Festival in Switzerland. She has released four commercial recordings with the Orchestra of Mozart’s Piano Concertos Nos. 9, 18-21, 23-24, and 27. One of these recordings, a 2009 Decca album of the Concertos Nos. 23 and 24, won a Grammy for best instrumental soloist performance with the Orchestra in 2011. For more information about Mitsuko Uchida’s history and relationship with The Cleveland Orchestra, read this Stories from the Archives article, The Uchida Connection, and listen to the Family Matters episode of the Orchestra’s On a Personal Note podcast. To learn more about Mitsuko Uchida, visit mitsukouchida.com.
In Recital: Alisa Weilerstein Plays Bach, In Focus Bonus Episode 2, premieres on Thursday, February 25 at 7:00 p.m. and features Weilerstein playing Bach’s complete cycle of Solo Cello Suites (Nos. 1-6) recorded live at Severance Hall in January 2021.
Before the pandemic and state mandated social distancing guidelines, Weilerstein was scheduled to perform the complete Bach Cello Suites in Reinberger Chamber Hall at Severance Hall in February 2021. Last April, Weilerstein released a recording of the complete Bach Cello Suites on the PentaTone label. For more information about this recording, visit pentatonemusic.com/bach-cello-suites-alisa-weilerstein and smarturl.it/BachCelloSuites. A frequent Cleveland Orchestra collaborator (and former member of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra), Weilerstein has played with the Orchestra more than two dozen times since her 1995 debut, in a range of repertoire from Tchaikovsky and Barber to Shostakovich and Elgar. Weilerstein studied with Cleveland Orchestra Assistant Principal Cello Richard Weiss while enrolled in the Cleveland Institute of Music’s Young Artist Program. To learn more about Alisa Weilerstein, visit alisaweilerstein.com.
In addition to the concert performances, each episode of The Cleveland Orchestra: In Focus includes behind-the-scenes interviews and features about the music and music making.
In Focus Bonus Episodes 1 and 2 are available to current subscribers and donors at no additional charge or to Adella Premium subscribers. Additional information is included below.
Adella Digital Streaming and App
Adella is The Cleveland Orchestra’s new digital streaming service. Premiering in October 2020, the Adella app and digital media offering is named after the Orchestra’s founder, Adella Prentiss Hughes. Adella is free to download and access, and includes free content from the Orchestra’s Archives, On A Personal Note podcast, and other performance highlights. For more information, visit our Adella page and adella.live/.
To view premium content, such as the Orchestra’s new In Focus concert series, guests 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. 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.
The Cleveland Orchestra is grateful for the following supporters:
Season Presenting Sponsor: J.M. Smucker Co., Digital & 2020-21 Season Sponsors: The Dr. M. Lee Pearce Foundation, Inc., Ohio CAT, Jones Day, and Medical Mutual as well as Leadership Partner: CIBC.
Calendar Listing and Program Information:
Sonata & Serenade featuring Mitsuko Uchida in recital
The Cleveland Orchestra: In Focus Bonus Episode 1
Digital Streaming Premiere: Thursday, February 11 at 7:00 p.m.
Mitsuko Uchida, piano
(in solo performance at London’s Wigmore Hall)
The Cleveland Orchestra
Franz Welser-Möst, conductor
SCHUBERT – Piano Sonata in C major, D.840
MOZART – Eine kleine Nachtmusik [A Small Serenade], K.525
Pianist Mitsuko Uchida is showcased in a solo performance filmed especially for Cleveland Orchestra audiences on January 4, 2021 at London’s Wigmore Hall, playing one of Schubert’s most mesmerizing sonatas. Uchida’s brilliant solo playing is paired with one of Mozart’s most popular and well-known works, his Eine kleine Nachtmusik. “Nachtmusik” literally means “night music,” but more simply suggests music for serenading evening guests. Here Mozart’s richness for invention and uplifting joy carries your forward through four exquisite movements for strings.
In Recital: Alisa Weilerstein Plays Bach
The Cleveland Orchestra: In Focus Bonus Episode 2
Digital Streaming Premiere Broadcast: Thursday, February 25 at 7:00 p.m.
Alisa Weilerstein, cello
(in solo recital at Severance Hall)
BACH – Unaccompanied Cello Suites, Nos. 1-6
The Cleveland Orchestra presents a special solo recital performance of Alisa Weilerstein playing Bach’s complete cycle of Solo Cellos Suites recorded live at Severance Hall in January 2021. These six pieces, written from 1717-23 for Bach’s own use, were rediscovered in the 20th century to become one of the greatest and most-loved works for cello — showcasing a player’s artistry in a journey across a range and depth of emotions.
In addition to the concert performances, each episode of In Focus includes behind-the-scenes interviews and features about the music and music making.
All programs and artists are subject to change.