SCHUBERT Symphony in C major (“The Great”) KŘENEK Static and Ecstatic FRANZ SCHUBERT Symphony in C major (“The Great”), D.944 Tracks 1 - 4 .......57:33 ERNST KŘENEK Static and Ecstatic, Opus 214 Tracks 5 - 14 ......19:30 THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA Recorded live at Severance Hall, March 2020 View from the stage just before the performance begins, with only a few dozen invited guests in the hall, March 12, 2020. (Photo by Jesse McCormick) 2 INTRODUCTION by André Gremillet Crisis and Creativity June 2020, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A. With the year but half over, it is al- Pandemic a century ago, with the a local institution and as a globally- and similarities — and in how deftly ready clear that 2020 will be remem- ensemble’s very fi rst concert taking recognized ensemble. A year fi lled The Cleveland Orchestra and Franz bered as a pivotal moment in mod- place in December that year, after with crisis and concern has focused perform each. ern history. bans against public performances on lives and livelihoods, on plans for All that said, this album was The tumult has impacted all had been lifted. Later, the Great change and a yearning for catharsis. not what we were expecting for our of us, living anywhere and every- Depression forced changes to opera- label’s second release. This album where. Performances cancelled, tions and programming, including the CONTINUITY AND CRISIS was brought together in unexpected travel suspended, deaths and hero- cancellation of an ongoing series of This year, The Cleveland Orches- ways in the midst of crisis. As Franz ism, lockdowns put in place and then annual opera presentations. World tra launched its own recording label Welser-Möst and I discussed the op- reversed in stages. Protests about War II removed many musicians with an inaugural three-disc album tions day by day, we had to juggle reopening. Protests regarding ongo- from the stage to serve in the Armed titled “A New Century.” Over a year the here-and-now with the weeks ing injustice and racial inequity in the Forces (including the music director). in the planning, the album off ered and months ahead. We’ve had to world. Bringing together an incalcu- Renovations have shuffl ed perfor- six musical selections written across make new decisions, choosing be- lable desire for answers to problems mances from one location to another. three centuries. Together, they were tween options we had never consid- both new and old. But always we’ve found a way chosen to bring clear focus on the ered before. The Cleveland Orchestra has forward, facing adversity with cre- ongoing and extraordinary artistry The recording of these two weathered many storms before. In ativity and fully resolved to continue of this storied ensemble under Franz pieces took place in March 2020, times of crisis and celebration, we stronger than ever, to serve our Welser-Möst’s direction. created under poignant and emo- have drawn together crowds for hometown, whose support and en- This second release continues tion-fi lled circumstances — as Franz solace or commemoration. Per- couragement has never wavered. that exploration and focus, bringing relates beginning on page 9. The formances have been shortened, Yet 2020 has brought us more together Schubert’s greatest sym- artistic expression they embody is threatened, or cancelled by snow- fully into crisis than ever before, phonic masterpiece with a singularly central to The Cleveland Orchestra’s storms, tor nadoes, and earthquakes. cancelling months of performances modern work by 20th-century com- dedication to music’s role in the The creation of the Orchestra itself and requiring a wholesale shift in our poser Ernst Křenek. As in the fi rst world — to instill understanding and unfolded amidst the 1918 Infl uenza thinking as to how best to ensure The set, these contrasting pieces have inspiration, perspective and wonder. Cleveland Orchestra’s future — as much to say in both their diff erences In a world fi lled with uncertainty, mu- 3 sic off ers an extraordinary opportu- the future and to work harder toward iarity and innovation, incorporating diversity, by understanding diff er- nity for sharing. In a world too often becoming better than the promises new ideas and new technologies, ences and uniting us toward common riven by divisions and discord, music foretold by our acclaimed past. Now integrating the best traditions of the goals. In Cleveland, we must strive to — and all the arts — off er bridges for is the time to dare, to more actively past with insights from today, and be not just The Cleveland Orchestra, understanding. demonstrate who we are and what synthesizing new understandings for but to be an orchestra for everyone. we have to off er. tomorrow. To be Cleveland’s Orchestra not just CATALYST FOR CHANGE Through questioning our base as a slogan but in action and deed. As an institution, 2020 has assumptions and beliefs, we have CELEBRATING HUMANITY Music off ers emotional real- forced us to ask fundamental ques- tried to see the world around us with The Cleveland Orchestra’s mis- ity — a journey fi lled with emotional tions about The Cleveland Orches- new meaning — to be more spon- sion focuses our work both on music resonance. Music tells stories, di- tra’s role in today’s world. With the taneous, and to to embrace new and on people — on those perform- rectly and indirectly, in a commu- cancellation of months of perfor- ideas in a world that too often lacks ing as well as those listening, and on nal space and experience, creating mances, how do we ensure The fl exibility and is afraid of change. The the hometown community we serve incredible ties between performers Cleveland Orchestra’s future? How musical scores are written out, but and support, and whose enthusiasm and audience. Ultimately, it is all in do we fi nd continuing relevance in a everything we do does not have to and support are crucial to our suc- the music — the shared emotions, the modern, post-pandemic reality? How follow that same linear convention. cess. shared experience of being human, can we evolve fast enough to keep Perhaps more than ever before, We have, undeniably, some- of breathing with life, of aspiring to up with changing times and shifting the years and decades ahead will see times focused too completely on be better. community needs? How do we prove much change and transformation in the music for its own sake, and not The many choices facing all of once more that music — and all the arts and entertainment. It’s been said enough on how the musical ex- us are challenging in any era, but arts — are a necessary and enriching for decades, but technology is an perience inspires and energizes in perhaps more so in 2020. Let the part of everyday life in today’s mod- increasingly powerful force in today’s performance, to bring audience and journey continue, and let us continue ern world? world. The craft and art onstage re- community and artists together. the journey, in new ways and old. Rather than feeling defeated, main hand-made and in-the-moment, Orchestras must change. To In an ever-changing and never-end- disrupted, and in despair over this but everything surrounding it is part refl ect and better serve society. To ing search for and celebration of the year’s new crises, The Cleveland of a digitally-connected world. bolster needs and ask questions. To bonds that bring humanity together. Orchestra has worked to use these For many audience members, directly tackle and be involved in ev- crises as catalysts for change. In- the arts will remain an oasis of rest, erything society encompasses — the stead of business-as-usual, we have away from the “reality” of the every- good, the bad, and the ugly. Music is looked toward accelerating our own day. But for more and more people, not just a salve to make listeners feel —André Gremillet future — to bring together ideas we the arts off er new pathways, to be better, but also a process of learning President & CEO were already considering or planning rebuilt and re-created for today and and a method for exchanging ideas. The Cleveland Orchestra on longer timeframes, to embrace tomorrow. Change is a constant. The We must serve our communities by arts carry us forward with both famil- refl ecting community values and 4 RECORDING IN A TIME OF CRISIS by Franz Welser-Möst Mirror and Message June 2020, Seewalchen am Attersee, Austria As I write this, the performing arts year with a three-disc album and mony to how the world has changed Nazi Germany — including compos- throughout most of the world are in book, and with plans for a series of and is always changing. And of how ers of Jewish, African, and modernist the midst of a long and unexpected new releases going forward each art reminds us about what is impor- origins or sensibilities. intermission, caused by a virus. Mu- year. In preparation, we had identi- tant and special in the people around In the preceding month, while sic and the arts have become, for the fi ed a variety of upcoming repertoire us. continuing my preparations and moment, something shared more on- that might be captured to show- research for Lulu and the Censored: line than in-person. While lockdowns case the ensemble’s many artistic MAKING MUSIC Art + Power festival, I had again been are being lifted in many areas, the strengths. Křenek’s Static and Ecstatic had reminded of the maxim that history virus’s threat continues.