South Florida Classical Review

Anton Bruckner

The Cleveland Orchestra‘s concerts this week are devoted to Bruckner and Bach, two composers rarely heard in South Florida orchestral performances.

Why Bruckner performances should be rarities is a mystery. But the performances of his Symphony No. 7 at the Arsht Center in Miami on Friday and Saturday could be among the season’s highlights. Franz Welser-Möst, the Cleveland Orchestra’s music director, grew up in the same part of Upper Austria as Bruckner and has won acclaim for interpretations of his compatriot’s massive symphonies.

Despite Bach’s status as one of the very greatest composers, he wrote in the era before large orchestras, leaving his work relegated to churches, recitals and small concert halls. Major orchestras play a Brandenburg concerto once in a while, but not much else.

For these concerts, however, the Cleveland Orchestra will be joined by Miami’s choir Seraphic Fire, which has made a specialty of Bach’s music, for a performance of Bach’s Cantata No. 34 “O ewiges Feuer, o Ursprung der Liebe,” as well as movements from Cantata No. 29 and Cantata No. 191. The soloist will be mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnson Cano.

arshtcenter.org; 305-949-6722

Posted in Uncategorized

Leave a Comment