Cleveland Orchestra At 100: The Heartland Band With The World Class Sound
Who knew that a little orchestra in America's Midwest, born in 1918, could grow up to be one of the world's best? Through a century of trials and triumphs, the Cleveland Orchestra still shines.
That America's best symphony orchestras hail from its big cultural capitals – New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco — is an easy assumption to make. But it isn't quite true. There's one orchestra, from the U.S. heartland, that critics say just might be our nation's finest.
The Cleveland Orchestra marks its centennial today, and as befits the humble organization, which takes its accolades lightly, there is no performance or celebration scheduled tonight. (There was a gala concert back in September.)
Cleveland, in 1918, was the fifth largest city in America and home to such industrialists as John D. Rockefeller and John L. Severance, who had deep pockets and and former music critic for the Cleveland .
