A Holiday Card

There is a stack of several reviews waiting to be posted on this new site, but to begin with a bit of reflection seems appropriate at this time..


I would like to say "thank you" to the musicians and administration of the Cleveland Orchestra for the wonderful experience I've had with them this past year. Moving to a new city is difficult,  but the hours I've spent in Severance Hall and at the Blossom Music Festival immersed in the amazing music from this group have been very special. There are great ensembles in the world and the Cleveland Orchestra ranks among the top, of that there is no doubt.


Each member is a soloist in his/her own right but they play as an ensemble able to anticipate each other and to respond to whomever is on the podium. Maestro Franz Welser-Möst is the Music Director whose plans have included residencies from Miami to Vienna and the list of guest conductors has brought old favorites and new faces to town. Concerts range from standard orchestral rep which always sounds fresh interspersed with new or little known works and the guest conductors and soloists are always the finest available.


I especially enjoy it when an orchestra member is featured on the program and I admit to feeling a little proprietary when I watch and listen to a section member play a solo that is so obviously pleasing to a visiting conductor! I know who sits in what chair, who is new, who has just had a baby or is back from an extended leave, I pay close attention when a chair is open and someone new comes in and watch as they become part of the group over the course of a couple of concerts. This has become my orchestra and I love to share it with not only the patrons of all ages who fill the seats but with anyone who reads my reviews and shares my love of the music created here.


Severance Hall has been called  "the most beautiful concert hall in America" and having seen quite a few,  I'm inclined to agree. I never get tired of looking at the lovely ceiling or checking out the fleur-de-lis that run along the top of the elevator cars. And the elevators aren't those automated, do it yourself things- each car is run by a uniformed attendant who gets to know on which level you sit without asking. That feeling of "family" extends to the ushers and the woman in the booth in the parking garage. When we wish each other "Merry Christmas", we mean it. My contact in the administrative offices is the wonderful Ana Papakhian, the Director of Communications and I owe her my sincere gratitude for helping me get to know the workings of the place, for answering any questions I have promptly and for supplying notices and pictures (sometimes more than once, when my filing system went awry!). Her knowledge of the orchestra and her background in music makes her a valuable asset not only to the orchestra, but the community as well.


So, as the holiday fast approaches, I will say that I am lucky to live in a place where the arts are so important and where the great Cleveland Orchestra makes its home. May the peace of the holiday season be with you.