The Cleveland Orchestra Story (Hardcover)

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Amazon.com Review

Among America's great symphonic institutions, the Cleveland Orchestra is not only one of the best, but one of the youngest. Founded by the formidable impresario Adella Prentiss Hughes in collaboration with the city's industrial and political leaders, it made its public debut in 1918. This book tells the story of the Cleveland's rise from modest beginnings to a position of undisputed preeminence among international orchestras.

Its first guide and mentor was the Russian-born violinist and conductor Nikolai Sokoloff. His contribution to its growth and expansion has been overshadowed by the great, often colorful maestros who succeeded him: Artur Rodzinsky, Erich Leinsdorf, Lorin Maazel, and, currently, Christoph von Dohnányi. However, it was the imposing, authoritarian George Szell who, in his 24-year tenure, left the strongest imprint on the orchestra, developing its matchless technical perfection, transparency, and balance, and forging it into "his instrument" as a world-class group.

Donald Rosenberg follows the orchestra's triumphs and tribulations--musical, personal, financial--in a rehearsal-by-rehearsal, concert-by-concert, recording-by-recording, dollar-by-dollar account, listing every program, every conductor, every soloist, in exhaustive, frequently exhausting detail. He describes the behind-the-scenes squabbles and intrigues; the conductors' strengths, weaknesses, and idiosyncrasies; the hiring and firing of players; the incessant labor conflicts between musicians and management, and, sadly, between musicians and their own union. Abundant quotes from both local and, later, worldwide newspaper reviews and commentaries reveal the extraordinary influence of the press on internal and public policy, which Rosenberg, himself the music critic of a Cleveland newspaper, casually takes for granted; his own opinions and preferences come through clearly, if obliquely. His writing is lively and informative, though it occasionally lapses into repetition and even contradiction.

The book includes copious notes, the orchestra's discography, the premieres it has performed, and--best of all--the names of its members through the years. So many of them have gone on to making successful careers as soloists, chamber musicians, orchestral leaders, and prestigious teachers that the list induces constant shocks of recognition: proof that the Cleveland Orchestra, though rooted in the seemingly inhospitable soil of a Midwestern industrial city, has always attracted and nurtured outstanding musical talent. --Edith Eisler

Review

"...[a] fascinating and carefully researched history of the Cleveland Orchestra" -- Richard Dyer, Boston Globe

"...a must read for anyone with an interest in how Ohio has raised the musical bar for excellence." -- Ohio Magazine

"...one of the very best books ever written about a symphony orchestra...and what an orchestra!" -- Tim Page, 1997 Recipient of the Pulitzer Prize in Music

"Browsing through The Cleveland Orchestra Story is like sorting through boxes in the attic of an especially interesting person." -- Elaine Guregian, music critic, Akron Beacon Journal

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 752 pages
• Publisher: Gray & Company Publishers; 1 edition (September 25, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1886228248
• ISBN-13: 978-1886228245
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #341,809 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thank you Donald Rosenberg!, October 28, 2000

By	Harold Weller (Las Vegas, Nevada United States) - See all my reviews

Rosenberg's new volume has been joyously received and devoured by this reader. Even though the length (some 700 pages) is formidable, I was not able to leave it for long since receiving it this week. I find R's account thoroughly accurate, engaging, and stimulating. The book's account of Szell's life and Cleveland tenure finally fills the void for any such account (save a scattered few articles and Robert Marsh's volume on the Cleveland Orchestra published in 1967). For this alone, Rosenberg deserves high praise, but goes so much farther in presenting and illuminating all the significant on-stage and behind-the-scenes personalities in the life of this estimable musical institution. This is essential reading for anyone who, as I, grew up in the golden era of the Cleveland Orchestra. Bravo and thank you Don Rosenberg!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fine Musical Biography of America's Best Symphony Orchestra, February 6, 2005

By	John Kwok (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Among serious fans and critics of classical music, the "Big Five" of Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, New York and Philadelphia are America's finest symphony orchestras, equal in quality to their peers in Europe. Yet only one of these is universally regarded as the equal to Europe's very best, the Berlin Philharmonic and Vienna Philharmonic orchestras: surprisingly, the one often mentioned as among the world's top three is the Cleveland Orchestra. Having heard the Cleveland Orchestra performing live under the batons of Dohnanyi, Boulez and Welser-Most at Carnegie Hall, I must concur with this popular opinion since this orchestra may now be the world's finest, or at least, on par with the venerable Vienna Philharmonic (Under Simon Rattle's leadership, the Berlin Philharmonic seems to have slipped somewhat in quality, and I would add yet another orchestra, Amsterdam's Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, to my list of the world's top four symphony orchestras.). I have yet to hear a disappointing Cleveland Orchestra recording or live performance; this is without question, a precision quality ensemble always capable of flawless, lovely playing.

Cleveland newspaper music critic Donald Rosenberg tells an engrossing saga of the Cleveland Orchestra's history, from its founding in 1918, through the George Szell years which ensured the orchestra's rise to prominence as a world-class symphony orchestra, and finally, the close of Christoph von Dohnanyi's successful tenure as the orchestra's music director over the span of eighteen years. This is a fascinating inside look at the inner workings of a major American symphony orchestra, pointing out how Cleveland's wealthy elite were determined to create a fine music ensemble, and noting the importance of early conductors such as Artur Rodzinski and Erich Leinsdorf in the orchestra's rise to national artistic prominence. It is a story that is in a sense, miraculous, for no one would have expected that a small Midwestern city like Cleveland would be the home of one of the world's finest orchestras, and maintain that excellence inspite of the city's waning economic fortunes over the latter half of the 20th Century. And I fervently hope that Cleveland continues to support the artistic excellence demonstrated by the Cleveland Orchestra, which recently was the first American orchestra invited as a resident guest orchestra at Vienna's Musikverein, the celebrated concert hall that is home to the Vienna Philharmonic.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Book I Wanted To Own, November 2, 2000

By	Kate Maloney (Cleveland, Ohio) - See all my reviews

I was thrilled to finally get my hands on Donald Rosenberg's Cleveland Orchestra Story - it surpassed my expectations. A lifelong Clevelander with fairly good exposure to the artistic and cultural life of the city, I had heard talk of the book in process, and knew it was a formidable project that was being widely anticipated. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to hear the Cleveland Orchestra over the years, and have always been proud of - and a little awed by - its reputation. So, I was happy to see a book that lived up to the same high standards as the subject it covers. I am no orchestral or classical music aficionado, but I was captivated by the story nonetheless. A story of great personalities, of great talent, of a city made greater for those. I may not know all the names and sounds of the people and musical pieces Rosenberg writes about (masterfully and knowledgeably), but his style is easy, even compelling. Great details, exhaustive but not exhausting. This was a book I wanted to own, because of its content but also because of its feel - its hefty weight but manageable size, classy cover, traditional type, thick ivory rough-edged paper. A gift - for myself (and hopefully for some family members over the holidays).