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CHICAGO – January 9, 2025 – WFMT classical radio announces the upcoming premiere of a new weekly radio series featuring The Cleveland Orchestra, one of the world’s most sought-after performing ensembles. This series, which will commence on January 13, 2025, is part of the WFMT Orchestra Series, WFMT’s nationally distributed weekly showcase of prominent orchestras from around the world.
The Cleveland Orchestra concerts are primarily conducted by TCO’s longtime Music Director Franz Welser-Möst, along with visiting conductors Daniel Harding, Rafael Payare, Dalia Stasevska, and Barbara Hannigan. The series premieres on January 13 with Mahler’s epic Symphony No. 2, Resurrection. Other repertoire includes Bartók’s colorful Suite from The Miraculous Mandarin, second symphonies of Sibelius and Tchaikovsky, the Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1 with Daniil Trifonov, and much more.
“WFMT is honored to bring the artistry of The Cleveland Orchestra to our listeners. This is a shining example of how we deliver on our purpose to enrich lives, engage communities, and inspire exploration,” said Sandra Cordova Micek, President and CEO of WFMT and WTTW.
Program schedule:
January 13
Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, Resurrection
Conductor: Franz Welser-Möst; Featured Artists: Lauren Snouffer, soprano; Marie-Nicole Lemieux, mezzo-soprano; the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus
January 20
Welser-Möst Conducts Schubert
Conductor: Franz Welser-Möst; Featured Artists: Joélle Harvey, soprano; Daryl Freedman, mezzo-soprano; Julian Prégardien, tenor; Martin Mitterrutzner, tenor; Dashon Burton, bass-baritone; the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus; Program: Alban Berg – Lyric Suite – I. Andante amoroso; Franz Schubert – Symphony No. 8 Unfinished – Movement I; Alban Berg – Lyric Suite – II. Allegro misterioso; Franz Schubert – Symphony No. 8 Unfinished – Movement II; Alban Berg – Lyric Suite – III. Adagio appassionato; Franz Schubert – Mass No. 6 in E-flat D. 950
January 27
Dreams We’ve Dreamed; Songs We’ve Sung; Hopes We’ve Held
An Event in the First Mandel Opera and Humanities Festival: The American Dream
Conductor: Daniel Reith; Program: Scott Joplin – Treemonisha Overture; Julia Perry – Short Piece for Orchestra; William Grant Still – Darker America; Bernard Herrmann – Suite from Vertigo; Raven Chacon – Voiceless Mass; Edgard Varèse – Amériques (1929 version)
February 3
Marsalis and the New World
Conductor: Franz Welser-Möst; Featured Artist: Michael Sachs, trumpet; Program: Julius Eastman – Symphony No. 2; Wynton Marsalis – Trumpet Concerto (world premiere, TCO co-commission); Antonin Dvorak – Symphony No. 9 in e Op. 95, From the New World
February 10
Weilerstein Plays Barber
Conductor: Franz Welser-Möst; Featured Artist: Alisa Weilerstein, cello; Program: Allison Loggins-Hull – Can You See? (world premiere, TCO commission); Samuel Barber – Cello Concerto Op. 22; Sergei Prokofiev – Symphony No. 4 in C Op 47
February 17
Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony
Conductor: Rafael Payare; Featured Artist: Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano; Program: Leonard Bernstein – Symphony No. 2, The Age of Anxiety; Dmitri Shostakovich – Symphony No. 5 in d Op 47
February 24
Trifonov Plays Brahms
Conductor: Franz Welser-Möst; Featured Artist: Daniil Trifonov, piano; Program: Johannes Brahms – Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor Op 15; Jean-Philippe Rameau – Allemande from Suite in A minor (encore); Sergei Prokofiev – Symphony No. 6 in E-flat minor Op 111
March 3
Tchaikovsky’s Second Symphony
Conductor: Franz Welser-Möst; Featured Artist: Christoph Sietzen, percussion; Program: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Symphony No. 29 in A K 201; Johannes Maria Staud – Whereas the Reality Trembles (World Premiere, TCO Co-Commission); Hubert von Goisern – Improvisation on the song Jodler für Willi (encore); Peter Tchaikovsky – Symphony No. 2 in C minor Op 17 Ukrainian
March 10
Mahler’s Song of the Night
Conductor: Franz Welser-Möst; Featured Artist: Simon Keenlyside, baritone; Program: Gustav Mahler – Frühlingsmorgen from Lieder und Gesänge aus der Jugendzeit, Ablösung im Sommer from Des Knaben Wunderhorn, Revelge from Des Knaben Wunderhorn, Urlicht from Des Knaben Wunderhorn, Rheinlegendchen from Des Knaben Wunderhorn, Hans und Grethe from Lieder und Gesänge aus der Jugendzeit, and Symphony No. 7 in E minor
March 17
Hannigan Conducts Strauss
Conductor: Barbara Hannigan; Featured Artist: Aphrodite Patoulidou, soprano; Program: Joseph Haydn – Symphony No. 44 in E minor, Mourning; Claude Vivier – Lonely Child; György Ligeti – Lontano for Orchestra; Richard Strauss – Death and Transfiguration Op 24
March 24
Mahler’s Fourth Symphony
Conductor: Daniel Harding; Featured Artist: Liv Redpath, soprano; Program: Betsy Jolas – Ces belles années… (U.S. premiere, TCO co-commission); Gustav Mahler – Symphony No. 4 in G
March 31
The Miraculous Mandarin
Conductor: Franz Welser-Möst; Program: Ernst Krenek – Kleine Symphonie Op 58; Gustav Mahler – Adagio from Symphony No. 10 (arr. Ernst Krenek); Béla Bartók – String Quartet No. 3 for String Orchestra (arr. Konopka) and Suite from The Miraculous Mandarin Op 19
April 7
Sibelius’s Second Symphony
Conductor: Dalia Stasevska; Featured Artist: Josefina Maldonado, mezzo-soprano; Program: Einojuhani Rautavaara – Cantus Arcticus; Julia Perry – Stabat Mater; Jean Sibelius – Symphony No. 2 in D Op 43
This series is produced by WFMT in partnership with public radio station WCLV and hosted by WCLV’s Bill O’Connell.
About WFMT
WFMT is one of the world’s most respected classical music radio stations, accessible via broadcast at 98.7FM, streaming live at wfmt.com, and on the WFMT app. Recognized for trusted hosted programming, immersive live performances and concerts, strong partnerships with community organizations and championing young, local musicians and access to the arts, WFMT spotlights inspiring music, musicians, and musical performances from Chicago and around the world including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Sinfonietta, Lyric Opera of Chicago, the New York Philharmonic, and many more. Connect with WFMT on Facebook and Twitter.
About The Cleveland Orchestra
The Cleveland Orchestra is one of the world’s leading ensembles, exemplifying extraordinary artistic excellence, creative programming, and community engagement. The 2024–25 season marks Franz Welser-Möst’s 23rd year as Music Director, a period in which TCO has 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, and a number of celebrated opera presentations. 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.
