The Cleveland Orchestra is expanding how it engages and connects with music lovers with a new weekly podcast series available now. On a Personal Note will offer uniquely personal perspectives and illuminating views from inside classical music, speaking directly about Cleveland Orchestra concert recordings. This season of On a Personal Note will feature ten episodes. The first and second episodes are now available on the Cleveland Orchestra web site, and across all major podcast platforms.
The premiere, titled The Sound of Crisis, focuses on the extraordinary and moving circumstances of The Cleveland Orchestra’s last performance together. On the morning of Friday, March 13, the Orchestra gathered onstage at Severance Hall for a final time. Music Director Franz Welser-Möst led a performance of Schubert’s “Great” Symphony in C major (D.944) to a nearly empty concert hall; only a few staff members witnessed what was originally scheduled as a public concert. In the podcast, Welser-Möst recalls his conflicting emotions conducting the Orchestra in such an unusual situation— and without knowing when the musicians might make music together again. This performance was recorded under the first phase of restrictions put in place by the Governor of Ohio, limiting a total of no more than 100 people being together in an enclosed space. Additional restrictions were implemented in subsequent weeks, making the March 13 performances the last time The Cleveland Orchestra has been able to play together since then.
“Every story has a soundtrack, and every soundtrack has a story,” says André Gremillet, Cleveland Orchestra President & CEO. “In this new series, Cleveland Orchestra Music Director Franz Welser-Möst and individual musicians in the Orchestra share personally meaningful stories about moments when music has shaped their lives — providing listeners with behind-the-scenes insight and a chance to turn their focus away from daily challenges.
“In development across the past year, On a Personal Note podcasts are designed to showcase incredibly personal and, at times, raw stories about the impact of music, pairing artist interviews with selections from the Orchestra’s best concert recordings."
Episode Summaries
The Sound of Crisis (available now)
Music Director Franz Welser-Möst recalls his conflicting emotions conducting The Cleveland Orchestra one last time before the coronavirus pandemic silenced Severance Hall.
The Lasting Luster of Vinyl (available now)
French Horn player Rich King shares his earliest memories of hearing Beethoven’s heroic Third Symphony on the family phonograph and how the disc ended up shaping his destiny.
A Romance with Rosenkavalier
Violinist Katherine Bormann contemplates whether you can be in a long-term relationship with a composition and talks about why she’ll stick with Strauss's Rosenkavalier Suite until the end.
First Impressions
At age 21, in his second week with The Cleveland Orchestra, Principal Horn Nathaniel Silberschlag played Mahler’s 5th for a packed house—and defied expectations. Even his own.
These podcasts and more about the Cleveland Orchestra can be found here.
The premiere, titled The Sound of Crisis, focuses on the extraordinary and moving circumstances of The Cleveland Orchestra’s last performance together. On the morning of Friday, March 13, the Orchestra gathered onstage at Severance Hall for a final time. Music Director Franz Welser-Möst led a performance of Schubert’s “Great” Symphony in C major (D.944) to a nearly empty concert hall; only a few staff members witnessed what was originally scheduled as a public concert. In the podcast, Welser-Möst recalls his conflicting emotions conducting the Orchestra in such an unusual situation— and without knowing when the musicians might make music together again. This performance was recorded under the first phase of restrictions put in place by the Governor of Ohio, limiting a total of no more than 100 people being together in an enclosed space. Additional restrictions were implemented in subsequent weeks, making the March 13 performances the last time The Cleveland Orchestra has been able to play together since then.
“Every story has a soundtrack, and every soundtrack has a story,” says André Gremillet, Cleveland Orchestra President & CEO. “In this new series, Cleveland Orchestra Music Director Franz Welser-Möst and individual musicians in the Orchestra share personally meaningful stories about moments when music has shaped their lives — providing listeners with behind-the-scenes insight and a chance to turn their focus away from daily challenges.
“In development across the past year, On a Personal Note podcasts are designed to showcase incredibly personal and, at times, raw stories about the impact of music, pairing artist interviews with selections from the Orchestra’s best concert recordings."
Episode Summaries
The Sound of Crisis (available now)
Music Director Franz Welser-Möst recalls his conflicting emotions conducting The Cleveland Orchestra one last time before the coronavirus pandemic silenced Severance Hall.
The Lasting Luster of Vinyl (available now)
French Horn player Rich King shares his earliest memories of hearing Beethoven’s heroic Third Symphony on the family phonograph and how the disc ended up shaping his destiny.
A Romance with Rosenkavalier
Violinist Katherine Bormann contemplates whether you can be in a long-term relationship with a composition and talks about why she’ll stick with Strauss's Rosenkavalier Suite until the end.
First Impressions
At age 21, in his second week with The Cleveland Orchestra, Principal Horn Nathaniel Silberschlag played Mahler’s 5th for a packed house—and defied expectations. Even his own.
These podcasts and more about the Cleveland Orchestra can be found here.
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