Gramophone's Orchestra of the Year Award is the only Gramophone Classical Music Award decided by public vote. The 10 orchestras nominated this year are: Academy of Ancient Music, Accademia Bizantina, Bamberger Symphoniker, Berliner Philharmoniker, The Cleveland Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Philharmonia Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra and Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich.

This week, we focus on The Cleveland Orchestra ...

Introduction

Few orchestras pass down a style and character from generation to generation as vividly and consistently as the great Cleveland Orchestra. Franz Welser-Möst, Music Director since 2002, has something of his predecessor, Christoph von Dohnányi’s zeal for enlivening the concert repertoire with new or unusual music, and his way with the classics draws deeply on his Austrian roots. The recent launch of its own label, found Peter Quantrill commenting that ‘[George] Szell notwithstanding, I fancy that the orchestra has never sounded finer on disc’. And a Schubert Great C major, enterprisingly coupled with Krenek’s Static and Ecstatic, perfectly demonstrates two sides of a perfectly polished coin.

Recommended Album

‘A New Century’ Orchestral works by Beethoven, BR Deutsch, Prokofiev, Staud, R Strauss and Varèse

The Cleveland Orchestra / Welser-Möst

‘Szell notwithstanding, I fancy that the orchestra has never sounded finer on disc ...’ (Peter Quantrill)

Read the review in the Reviews Database

The Cleveland Orchestra Playlist

Enjoy recent highlights from the The Cleveland Orchestra in our exclusive Apple Music playlist.

Apple Music offers a three-month free trial to new subscribers and with its vast catalogue of recordings – plus the addition of lossless audio and Spatial Audio, offering an immersive audio experience from 44.1kHz/16-bit (CD quality) up to 192kHz/24-bit – it is the perfect music streaming platform for anyone who loves classical music. Find out more and start your free trial here: Apple Music 

Listen to all of the Orchestra of the Year playlists on Apple Music: Orchestra of the Year 2021

Vote for The Cleveland Orchestra

You can cast your vote for Gramophone's Orchestra of the Year 2021 either using the voting form below or by following this link: 2021 Orchestra of the Year Vote

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