Since 1968 Blossom Music Center has been the summer home of the world famous Cleveland Orchestra. In 2010, the tradition continues with a great mix of popular classical works and family friendly pops concerts.
The Blossom Festival runs most Saturday and Sunday nights in July and August. Blossom is located in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, about an hour south of Cleveland. All of the concerts on the schedule promise to be entertaining, although some of the works will be more familiar than others to casual fans.
July 2010 Blossom Schedule
July 2 – The season kicks off with a special Friday American Spectacular concert by the Orchestra featuring patriotic songs and popular works by Bernstein and Copland. This evening concert is rounded out by the famous “1812” Overture by Tchaikovsky, complete with cannons and a post concert fireworks show.
July 3 – The Blossom Festival Band, which is made up of members of the Cleveland Orchestra, presents a similar program to July 2, adding patriotic works by John Philip Souza to the “1812” and fireworks.
July 4 – The Festival Band presents the same program as July 3. Crowds for all three opening weekend concepts are large. Arrive early for best seats in the pavilion or lawn and for closer parking.
July 10 – The full Orchestra returns for a full evening topped by a clarinet soloist Franklin Cohen and the rousing Suite from The Firebird by Stravinsky. It’s an interesting mix of quiet works and the bombast of The Firebird.
July 11 – Sunday night’s Orchestra concert includes Gloria Schimdt playing violin on the on Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto, along with familiar music from Bernstein’s West Side Story.
July 17 brings the ever popular The Four Seasons from Vivaldi and two works by Handel. The complete Orchestra performs along with Peter Otto on the Violin.
The July 18 concert features a less-well known work, The Pines of Respighi, but it is accompanied by easily recognizable William Tell Overture. The Kent/Blossom Chamber Orchestra performs at 7 pm the before the full Orchestra starts at 8.
A Blossom season woul dnot be complete with the great Beethoven, and on July 24 the entire Orchestra performs his famous Second Symphony along with works by Falla and American Samuel Barber.
Former Blossom Festival conductor Jahla Ling returns to lead Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 1. The Russian masters of melody will entertain even those unfamiliar with these works.
On July 31 the Orchestra and Stephan Hough perform Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 1, along with works by Prokofiev and Vaughn Williams.
August at Blossom will include works by Orchestra, special family concerts and appearances by Yo-yo Ma and the Joffrey Ballet.
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