21st international tour for the Orchestra with Welser-Möst
Orchestra Musicians to participate in Education and Community Activities in Israel
CLEVELAND – In October 2023, The Cleveland Orchestra and Music Director Franz Welser-Möst embark on their 21st international tour together, with five performances in Austria and Israel: Vienna, Linz, Haifa, Tel Aviv, and Jerusalem, visiting Israel for the first time. In addition to this being The Cleveland Orchestra’s Israel debut, The Cleveland Orchestra will be the first American orchestra to visit Israel since 2018.
Over the course of two weeks from October 18 to 28, the tour’s concert programs will include music by Mahler, Mozart, and Prokofiev with baritone Simon Keenlyside performing songs by Mahler. The Orchestra will be based in Tel Aviv for a week from October 23 to 28 during which musicians and staff will work with local students, musicians, and community members, facilitating a cultural and educational exchange. The Cleveland Orchestra’s visit to Israel is aligned with the 75th anniversary of Israel’s Declaration of Independence in 1948 and the recognition of Israel as an independent state by United States President Harry S. Truman.
The Cleveland Orchestra is a proud ambassador for Ohio and the United States, carrying the depth and breadth of local arts and cultural understanding across the globe. The 2023 Austria and Israel Tour is part of the Orchestra’s 106th season and the 22nd year of the ensemble’s acclaimed partnership with Franz Welser-Möst.
“Nearly every season over the past half century, The Cleveland Orchestra has toured internationally,” said André Gremillet, The Cleveland Orchestra’s President and CEO. “We are eager to perform for international audiences and proudly represent and promote Cleveland and Ohio abroad. This first-ever tour of Israel by The Cleveland Orchestra represents an important milestone as we continue to raise the Orchestra’s profile and share Cleveland’s cultural excellence on the world stage. It is also a recognition of the remarkable legacy of generosity that Cleveland’s Jewish community has had on The Cleveland Orchestra and Israel. We are profoundly grateful for the commitment of a matching gift of $1 million from the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation to support this historic trip.
“This visit to Israel by The Cleveland Orchestra represents an important partnership between the Jewish Federation of Cleveland and The Cleveland Orchestra, sharing Cleveland’s cultural excellence with our greater community, the world, and recognizing the legacy of generosity that Cleveland’s Jewish community has had on The Cleveland Orchestra and Israel.
“The Cleveland Orchestra, universally recognized as one of the finest orchestras in the world, is a great example of the quality that can be found in so many organizations and industries throughout our state. It also represents the very best American culture has to offer the world. Music truly is a universal language that transcends cultures and connects us all, and that connection is probably more important today than it has ever been.”
“When The Cleveland Orchestra tours and travels the world, we take great care to present repertoire that showcases the Orchestra’s abilities and lets the artistry of this ensemble shine. To that end, during our 2023 Austria and Israel Tour we’ve selected works by Mahler, Mozart, and Prokofiev,” said Cleveland Orchestra Music Director Franz Welser-Möst. “I fundamentally believe that it is important for The Cleveland Orchestra to extend our artistry with audiences throughout the world. Sharing our work is important, so that more people can know and experience what we are creating in Cleveland. Live performances allow audiences to truly understand firsthand that we set a high bar — and that our standards are pretty much unmatched worldwide. We are not just one of the finest Orchestras in the world, we represent one of the finest cities too.”
This is the Orchestra’s 54th international tour, and its 21st presented with Welser-Möst. Most recently, in 2022, The Cleveland Orchestra and Music Director Franz Welser-Möst embarked on their 20th international tour together, with 12 performances in nine European cities: Amsterdam, Berlin, Cologne, Dresden, Hamburg, Linz, Lucerne, Prague, and Vienna.
Education and Community Engagement Activities
The Cleveland Orchestra is well known for its commitment to education and community engagement, and this commitment extends even when the Orchestra is on tour abroad. Education and Community activities with Cleveland Orchestra musicians are scheduled to include performances for school groups in Cleveland’s sister city, Beit Shean, workshops for young musicians, masterclasses and coaching with students from conservatories including the Buchmann-Mehta School at Tel Aviv University, and more. The Cleveland Orchestra looks forward to supporting the development of young musicians, engaging with local communities, fostering cultural exchange, and leaving a lasting impact on both the orchestra and the communities they visit.
2023 Austria and Israel Tour Programs and Venue Information
Wednesday, October 18, 2023, at 7:30 p.m. ǀ Konzerthaus, Vienna, Austria
The Cleveland Orchestra
Franz Welser-Möst, conductor
Simon Keenlyside, baritone
MAHLER
“Frühlingsmorgen” from Lieder und Gesänge aus der Jugendzeit (orch. Berio)
“Ablösung im Sommer” from Des Knaben Wunderhorn (orch. Berio)
“Revelge” from Des Knaben Wunderhorn
“Urlicht” from Des Knaben Wunderhorn
“Rheinlegendchen” from Des Knaben Wunderhorn
“Hans und Grete” from Lieder und Gesänge aus der Jugendzeit (orch. Berio)
MAHLER Symphony No. 7
Friday, October 20, 2023, at 7:00 p.m. ǀ Brucknerhaus, Linz, Austria*
*Private Sponsor Concert Raiffeisen Bank
The Cleveland Orchestra
Franz Welser-Möst, conductor
Simon Keenlyside, baritone
MOZART Symphony No. 29
MAHLER
“Frühlingsmorgen” from Lieder und Gesänge aus der Jugendzeit (orch. Berio)
“Ablösung im Sommer” from Des Knaben Wunderhorn (orch. Berio)
“Revelge” from Des Knaben Wunderhorn
“Urlicht” from Des Knaben Wunderhorn
“Rheinlegendchen” from Des Knaben Wunderhorn
“Hans und Grete” from Lieder und Gesänge aus der Jugendzeit (orch. Berio)
PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 6
Thursday, October 26, 2023, at 8:00 p.m. ǀ Auditorium, Haifa, Israel
The Cleveland Orchestra
Franz Welser-Möst, conductor
Simon Keenlyside, baritone
MOZART Symphony No. 29
MAHLER
“Frühlingsmorgen” from Lieder und Gesänge aus der Jugendzeit (orch. Berio) “Ablösung im Sommer” from Des Knaben Wunderhorn (orch. Berio) “Revelge” from Des Knaben Wunderhorn
“Urlicht” from Des Knaben Wunderhorn
“Rheinlegendchen” from Des Knaben Wunderhorn
“Hans und Grete” from Lieder und Gesänge aus der Jugendzeit (orch. Berio)
PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 6
Friday, October 27, 2023, at 1:00 p.m. ǀ Charles Bronfman Auditorium, Tel Aviv Culture Center, Israel
The Cleveland Orchestra
Franz Welser-Möst, conductor
Simon Keenlyside, baritone
MAHLER
“Frühlingsmorgen” from Lieder und Gesänge aus der Jugendzeit (orch. Berio) “Ablösung im Sommer” from Des Knaben Wunderhorn (orch. Berio) “Revelge” from Des Knaben Wunderhorn
“Urlicht” from Des Knaben Wunderhorn
“Rheinlegendchen” from Des Knaben Wunderhorn
“Hans und Grete” from Lieder und Gesänge aus der Jugendzeit (orch. Berio)
MAHLER Symphony No. 7
Saturday, October 28, 2023, at 8:30 p.m. ǀ Jerusalem Theatre, Israel
The Cleveland Orchestra
Franz Welser-Möst, conductor
Simon Keenlyside, baritone
MAHLER
“Frühlingsmorgen” from Lieder und Gesänge aus der Jugendzeit (orch. Berio) “Ablösung im Sommer” from Des Knaben Wunderhorn (orch. Berio) “Revelge” from Des Knaben Wunderhorn
“Urlicht” from Des Knaben Wunderhorn
“Rheinlegendchen” from Des Knaben Wunderhorn
“Hans und Grete” from Lieder und Gesänge aus der Jugendzeit (orch. Berio)
MAHLER Symphony No. 7
With GratitudeThe Cleveland Orchestra thanks our supporters and partners, who provide vital support for International Touring:
Israel Tour
The Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation
Yuval Brisker*
Irad and Becky Carmi*
The Cleveland Clinic Foundation
Cleveland Israel Arts Connection
David and Inez Myers Foundation
Robert Goldberg
Gary and Cari Gross*
Harley and Rochelle Gross*
Ilana and Charles Horowitz Ratner*
The Simon Family Foundation
Jim and Myrna Spira*
With special thanks to Erika Rudin-Luria and The Jewish Federation of Cleveland
*Host Committee Member
Austria Tour
Raiffeisenlandesbank Oberösterreich
Mr. and Mrs. Wolfgang Berndt*
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Ehrlich*
Mr. and Mrs. Michael Gröller
Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Kloiber*
Miba AG (Europe) and Mr. and Mrs. Peter Mitterbauer*
Mr. and Mrs. Veit Sorger
SPÄNGLER PRIVATSTIFTUNG
Mr. and Mrs. Michael Teufelberger
Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Umdasch*
Mr. and Mrs. Horst Weitzman
*Member, European Advisory Board
Additional support for international touring is provided by the Jones Day Foundation.
2023 Patron Tour Israel
The Cleveland Orchestra’s supporters at the Dudley S. Blossom Society level and above are invited to travel with the Orchestra on international tours. Orchestra donors have the opportunity to travel on the Patron Tour to attend concerts and other up close and personal musical activities. To inquire about patron tours, contact Director of Special Events Sean Brewster at sbrewster@clevelandorchestra.com or 216-231-7558.
The Cleveland Orchestra: New Audio Recordings and Digital Concert Series
In 2023, The Cleveland Orchestra releases its next four audio recordings worldwide, exclusively via digital streaming and download services. All led by the Orchestra’s Music Director, Franz Welser-Möst, they are Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5 (March 3), Berg’s Three Pieces from Lyric Suite & Strauss’s Suite from Der Rosenkavalier compiled by Welser-Möst (June 2), Schubert’s Mass No. 6 with the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus (September 1), and Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 4 (December 1). Information about these new recordings is available at www.clevelandorchestra.com/discover/recordings/. The series of releases in 2023 marks a doubling of annual output for the Orchestra since it began producing recordings on its own label in 2020. These recent and forthcoming albums released under the Orchestra’s own label are part of a vision to share the unique artistry of the Welser-Möst/Cleveland Orchestra partnership with audiences in Cleveland and around the world, while expanding the Orchestra’s extensive recording catalog, which includes video/DVD releases of Bruckner and Brahms under Welser-Möst’s baton. Since its very first recording in 1924, The Cleveland Orchestra has enchanted and inspired millions of listeners around the world. From early vinyl records and radio broadcasts to CDs and digital streaming under the remarkable leadership of Franz Welser-Möst, the Orchestra’s expansive catalog of audio recordings has continued to introduce countless generations of fans to the ensemble’s extraordinary music-making and captivating artistry.
Digital Concert Series Recorded at Severance Music Center
With funding from the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation, The Cleveland Orchestra completed an ambitious upgrade to its video recording capabilities in Mandel Concert Hall at Severance Music Center, the Cleveland Orchestra’s home. The upgrade allows for expanded access to The Cleveland Orchestra across the globe, by investing in digital infrastructure and providing audiences with increased program and content choices through the Orchestra’s Adella.live streaming platform and broadcast partnerships with Medici.tv, Symphony.live, and IDAGIO. Following the successful launch in 2020 of The Cleveland Orchestra’s original digital concert series In Focus, the Orchestra has released three seasons, with season four premiering in late 2023. For information visit clevelandorchestra.com/adella and clevelandorchestra.com/discover/streaming-broadcasts/.
About The Cleveland Orchestra
Now in its second century, The Cleveland Orchestra, under the leadership of Franz Welser-Möst since 2002, remains 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, “virtually flawless,” and “one of the finest ensembles in the country (if not the world).”
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 in 2020, the Orchestra launched several bold digital projects, including the streaming broadcast series In Focus, the podcast On A Personal Note, and its own recording label. A long history of strong community support from across the ensemble’s home region continues to drive the Orchestra forward and has provided remarkable energy and focus throughout the uncertainty of the Covid-19 pandemic. New initiatives for audience growth and community service have been launched in recent years, including new technological infrastructure and capabilities at its home, Severance Music Center, to capture the Orchestra’s unique artistry and the musical achievements of the Welser-Möst and Cleveland Orchestra partnership.
The 2023–24 season marks Franz Welser-Möst’s 22nd year as music director, a period in which The Cleveland Orchestra 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. The Orchestra’s 100th season in 2017–18 featured two international tours, concluding with the presentation of Welser-Möst’s Prometheus Project, featuring works by Beethoven, on three continents.
Its acclaimed opera presentations, most recently including Puccini’s La Fanciulla del West (2023), Verdi’s Otello (2022), Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos (2019), Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde (2018), Debussy’s Pelléas and Mélisande (2017), a double bill of Bartók’s Miraculous Mandarin and Bluebeard’s Castle (April 2016) presented in collaboration with Chicago’s Joffrey Ballet, and an innovative presentation of Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen (May 2014, with encore performances in Cleveland and Europe during the autumn of 2017), have showcased the ensemble’s unique artistry and collaborative work ethic.
The Cleveland Orchestra has a long and distinguished recording and broadcast history. A series of DVD (available through Clasart Classics) and CD recordings under the direction of Mr. Welser-Möst add to an extensive and widely praised catalog of audio recordings made during the tenures of the ensemble’s earlier music directors. In addition, Cleveland Orchestra concerts are heard in syndication each season on radio stations throughout North America and Europe.
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. For more information, visit clevelandorchestra.com.
The Cleveland Orchestra and Touring
In recent seasons, including the orchestra’s centennial season in 2017–18, praise for The Cleveland Orchestra under the artistic leadership of Welser-Möst has continued to grow. The New York Times has called the ensemble “America’s most brilliant orchestra,” “virtually flawless,” and “one of the finest ensembles in the country (if not the world),” and The Wall Street Journal has referred to the Orchestra as “magnificent.”
Founded in 1918, The Cleveland Orchestra first went on tour the next year, when the ensemble’s musicians traveled by train to perform in nearby cities, including Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Youngstown, Ohio. They crossed an international border for the first time in 1922, to perform in Canada, and also made their first appearance at New York City’s Carnegie Hall in 1922. The Orchestra first crossed ocean waters in 1927 to perform in Cuba. Major overseas and international touring began in 1957, with the ensemble’s first trip to Europe, featuring 29 concerts across more than five weeks that spring. As the Orchestra’s fame spread — fanned by recordings and radio broadcasts — new and lengthy concert tours of Europe followed in the 1960s, as well as the first trip to Asia in 1970, featuring 12 concerts in Japan and Korea.
Touring expanded in the following decades, with Cleveland’s first tour to Australia and New Zealand (1973), and South America and Mexico (1975), along with increasingly frequent visits to Europe’s musical capitals and festivals, as well as regular concert tours across the United States and into Canada.
About Franz Welser-Möst
Franz Welser-Möst is among today’s most distinguished conductors. The 2023–24 season marks his 22nd year as music director of The Cleveland Orchestra. With the future of their acclaimed partnership extended to 2027, he will be the longest-serving musical leader in the ensemble’s history. The New York Times has declared Cleveland under Welser-Möst’s direction to be “America’s most brilliant orchestra,” praising its virtuosity, elegance of sound, variety of color, and chamber-like musical cohesion.
With Welser-Möst, The Cleveland Orchestra has been acclaimed for its inventive programming, its ongoing support for new musical works, and for its innovative work in presenting semi-staged and staged operas. An imaginative approach to juxtaposing newer and older works has opened new dialogue and fresh insights for musicians and audiences alike. The Orchestra has also been hugely successful in fostering a new and, notably, a young audience. To date, the Orchestra and Welser-Möst have been showcased around the world in 20 international tours together. In 2020, despite shutdowns caused by the global pandemic, the ensemble launched its own recording label — and new streaming broadcast performances with the In Focus series — to continue and extend sharing their artistry globally.
In addition to his commitment to Cleveland, Mr. Welser-Möst enjoys a particularly close and productive relationship with the Vienna Philharmonic as a guest conductor. He has been selected three times to conduct their celebrated New Year’s Concert, and regularly leads the orchestra in subscription concerts in Vienna, as well as on tours in Japan, China, Australia, and the United States. Highlights of appearances in recent seasons include performances of Strauss’s Die Äegyptische Helena at Teatro alla Scala, as well as concerts with the New York Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, and Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. He is a regular guest at the Salzburg Festival, where his work leading a series of opera performances has been widely admired. These have included Rusalka, Der Rosenkavalier, Fidelio, Die Liebe der Danae, Aribert Reimann’s Lear, and Strauss’s Salome and Elektra as well as Puccini’s Il Trittico. In summer of 2023 he leads a new production of Verdi’s Macbeth and performances of the Vienna Philharmonic at the Salzburg Festival.
From 2010 to 2014, Franz Welser-Möst served as general music director of the Vienna State Opera. His partnership with the company included a wide-ranging repertoire, including a series of critically praised new productions. Mr. Welser-Möst had earlier led the Zurich Opera across a decade-long tenure, conducting more than 40 new productions.
Franz Welser-Möst’s recordings and videos have won major international awards and honors. With The Cleveland Orchestra, his recordings include a number of DVDs on the Clasart Classic label, featuring live performances of five Bruckner symphonies and a multi-DVD set of major works by Brahms. A number of his Salzburg opera productions, including Der Rosenkavalier, have been released internationally on DVD by Unitel.
In 2019, Mr. Welser-Möst was awarded the Gold Medal in the Arts by the Kennedy Center International Committee on the Arts in recognition of his long-lasting impact on the international arts community. Other honors include The Cleveland Orchestra’s Distinguished Service Award (given during the ensemble’s 100th season celebrations for his focus on community and education), two Cleveland Arts Prize citations, the Vienna Philharmonic’s “Ring of Honor” for his personal and artistic relationship with the ensemble, recognition from the Western Law Center for Disability Rights, honorary membership in the Vienna Singverein, appointment as an Academician of the European Academy of Yuste, and the Kilenyi Medal from the Bruckner Society of America.
Franz Welser-Möst’s book From Silence: Finding Calm in a Dissonant World was published in Austria in July 2020, under the title Als ich die Stille fand, and rapidly rose to number one on the [German-language] best-seller lists, where it remained through much of 2021. The English version of From Silence was released worldwide in Summer 2021. To read more about Franz Welser-Möst, visit this link: clevelandorchestra.com/about/musicians-and-conductors/franz-welser-most/.