It must bug the bejeezus out of the big-budget U.S. orchestras to hear over and over again that The Cleveland Orchestra – long regarded as one of the Big Five American orchestras, but with a budget roughly half that of Boston, NY or LA – is the best orchestra in the country. From my own experience, whether at their home in Severance Hall, or here in New York, The Cleveland Orchestra has justly earned its reputation as an orchestra of astonishing finesse and power, with a polished sound approaching that of the great orchestras of Vienna, where they’ve spent an increasing amount of time in recent years thanks to their longtime music director Franz Welser-Möst, now in his 24th season. (Welser-Möst, 65, will step down after next season, partly as a result of his ongoing health issues.)
But, are they really the best? For those who care about such things, Cleveland and Welser-Möst returned to Carnegie Hall this week with their A-game, as do most American orchestras who make the pilgrimage to Carnegie. I didn’t make it to Tuesday night’s sold out Verdi Requiem, but I did hear the bone-rattling live broadcast on WQXR-FM (which will soon be made available on their website), where the orchestra performed flawlessly alongside the impressive Cleveland Orchestra Chorus. The top-notch quartet of soloists was headlined by superstar soprano Asmik Grigorian, who was supposed to make her Carnegie Hall debut with the Clevelanders last March but cancelled for “personal reasons.” (You can read a review from someone who was there on Tuesday here.)
I did, however, make it to last night’s concert, which, if it wasn’t quite sold out, was very nearly so. As I scanned the stage, the first thing I noticed was that Cleveland has yet another new concertmaster: Joel Link, replacing David Radzynski, who left in 2024 after less than two years on the job. There has been a general lack of stability at the position since longtime concertmaster William Preucil was fired in disgrace nearly eight years ago, so hopefully Link will stay put for the foreseeable future. (One potential red flag is that Link will continue as first violinist with the Dover Quartet, which could make for some thorny scheduling conflicts.)
If last night’s program of Mozart and Shostakovich symphonies at first seemed an odd coupling, it was at the very least an effective showcase of Cleveland’s versatility, a hallmark of Welser-Möst’s tenure. (David Allen’s feature in this week’s Times provides a behind-the-scenes view of the program, from first rehearsal to performance.) Mozart’s “Jupiter” symphony contains some lovely music, but the slimmed-down orchestra failed to land a visceral punch to my seat in the back of the Parterre. Best was the Finale: all sunburst and rainbows, a series of fugues grow in complexity throughout the movement, pierced by a penetrating horn here, a timpani blast there. Listening to this performance, it sounded as if Mozart was on the cusp of a new symphonic form; sadly it would be the last symphony he ever wrote, at the ripe old age of 32.
I can’t think of a starker contrast with the “Jupiter” than Shostakovich’s dark, militaristic 11th Symphony, which concluded the program. Written in 1957, this programmatic symphony tells the story of the failed Russian Revolution of 1905, when Czar Nicholas II’s troops opened fire on protesting peasants in St. Petersburg: a grim tale that has eerie parallels in today’s headlines. Having heard Shostakovich’s 5th and 7th symphonies on multiple occasions, this was the first time I’ve heard the 11th in performance. Clearly, I was long overdue.
The extreme dynamics at play in this hour-long symphony – played without pause – were startling: beginning with a whispered Arvo Pärt-like drone, the music eventually grows to a deafening roar before dropping again to near-silence. During the second movement, “The 9th of January”, the massacre is depicted through terrifying shrieks and rapid-fire percussion; the final movement, “Tocsin” (“Alarm Bell”) is defiant and triumphant, looking ahead to the successful Revolution of 1917. With well over 100 musicians on stage, including multiple harps and a battery of percussion instruments, the Clevelanders played with remarkable cohesion and control – not to mention volume.
So, is Cleveland the best orchestra in the U.S.? Nothing from this visit would indicate otherwise. But, don’t sleep on the other great American orchestras appearing this season at Carnegie, not to mention that other outfit playing four nights a week over at Lincoln Center. They’re not so bad, either.
More pics on Instagram.