The Cleveland Orchestra announces 2009-10 season highlights and details, new recordings, and new series

Tickets go on sale Tuesday, September 8, for all performances

CLEVELAND ��� The Cleveland Orchestra announces highlights and details of its 2009-10 season at Severance Hall. Single tickets for the season go on sale Tuesday, September 8. The season highlight is a fully staged production of Mozart's comic opera Cos�� fan tutte, conducted by Franz Welser-M��st. Distinguished guest artist appearances include: Vladimir Ashkenazy, Pierre Boulez, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Richard Goode, Mitsuko Uchida, and Music Director Laureate Christoph von Dohn��nyi.

At the beginning of the season, two new Cleveland Orchestra recordings will become available. Both will be on sale in the Cleveland Orchestra Store and online.

In addition to the subscription series, The Cleveland Orchestra is introducing a range of new orchestral and popular music concerts and events designed to attract and develop new audiences. New series are Fridays@7 and the Celebrity Series. The Musically Speaking series will introduce an in-depth look at masterpieces of the orchestral repertoire in an all-new format.

Artistic Highlights and Guest Artists

Cleveland Orchestra subscription season highlights include staged opera at Severance Hall this season with Franz Welser-M��st conducting performances of Mozart's Cos�� fan tutte on March 2, 4, 6, and 8, 2010. Following the Orchestra's sold-out performances of The Marriage of Figaro in March 2009, this is also a production from the Zurich Opera that features an international roster of singers.

Conductor Pierre Boulez returns to Severance Hall for two weeks of concerts featuring the music of Mahler and Ravel, and Cleveland Orchestra Music Director Laureate Christoph von Dohn��nyi conducts Brahms's Symphony No. 1. Other highlights include Vladimir Ashkenazy conducting his arrangement of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard performing Ravel's piano concertos, and pianist Richard Goode performing Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3. Mitsuko Uchida will appear with the Orchestra in two subscription weeks during the 2009-10 season: in October 2009 performing Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 under the direction of Franz Welser-M��st and in April 2010 performing Mozart's Piano Concertos Nos. 20 and 27, conducting from the keyboard.

Not previously announced, soprano Nicole Cabell will be a soloist in Brahms's German Requiem, cellist Alisa Weilerstein will appear in Dvo��k's Cello Concerto, and John Relyea, bass-baritone, will sing in Handel's Messiah. [The full season calendar of repertoire and artists previously announced accompanies this release.]

As part of the Orchestra's focus on reaching more people in Northeast Ohio through the Community Music Initiative (more details to be announced prior to the season), the Orchestra will offer a free concert at Severance Hall on June 5. This program will celebrate 10 years of the Daniel R. Lewis Young Composer Fellow program, featuring contemporary music of our time conducted by Matthias Pintscher.

New Audio and Video Recording Releases

On September 8, Decca will release a recording of Mozart's Piano Concertos Nos. 23 and 24 with Mitsuko Uchida performing as soloist and conducting The Cleveland Orchestra. The recording was made live at Severance Hall during performances on December 4 and 6, 2008.

On October 27, the European label Clasart will release a video recording of Bruckner's Symphony No. 7, recorded live at Severance Hall in September 2008 by The Cleveland Orchestra, conducted by Music Director Franz Welser-M��st.

Recordings are available at the Cleveland Orchestra Store at Severance Hall and online at clevelandorchestra.com.

New Series

The Cleveland Orchestra presents three new series this season with a goal to welcome new audiences, as well as devoted fans, to Severance Hall to experience new concert formats, popular programming, and engaging opportunities to learn more about orchestral music.

Fridays@7 is a new five-concert series welcoming audiences to enjoy shorter orchestral programs with an earlier start time, followed by live world music performances in the lobby of Severance Hall. The series begins Friday, October 9.

The Celebrity Series is a three-concert series designed to attract new audiences interested in a wide range of musical styles and genres. The first program will feature Grammy Award-winning conductor Richard Kaufman leading The Cleveland Orchestra in A Salute to John Williams on Saturday, November 7. Pink Martini, a 12-piece ensemble that mixes Cuban jazz, Japanese pop, Italian film scores, and French cabaret, will perform with The Cleveland Orchestra on Tuesday, March 30, 2010. Jazz trumpeter Chris Botti joins The Cleveland Orchestra on Saturday, April 24, 2010.

For The Cleveland Orchestra's Musically Speaking series, hosts will speak about the music, using videos and still photos to put each score into context. Two concerts will be Chicago Symphony Orchestra Beyond the Score�� programs created by Gerard McBurney; a third program will be hosted by actor John de Lancie. In the first half of the program, the music will be discussed, illustrated with various music excerpts, and after intermission, the Orchestra will perform the work in its entirety.

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UBS Sponsors 2009-10 Severance Hall Season

The Cleveland Orchestra's 2009-10 season at Severance Hall is sponsored by UBS. Headquartered in Zurich and Basel, Switzerland, UBS is a global firm providing services to private, corporate and institutional clients. Its strategy is to focus on international wealth management and the Swiss banking business alongside its global expertise in investment banking and asset management. In Switzerland, UBS is the market leader in retail and commercial banking.

UBS is a significant supporter of orchestral music globally. In addition to its season sponsorship of The Cleveland Orchestra, the firm currently sponsors several outstanding symphony orchestras such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra and The Philadelphia Orchestra. These partnerships reflect UBS's dedication to supporting the communities where it operates, as well as a philosophy of working collaboratively with its clients to deliver the customized solutions that help them pursue their goals.

Subscription and Ticket Information

Tickets to individual performances go on sale September 8. A variety of subscription options are available. Prices for subscriptions range from $90 for a three-concert series to $1,464 for a 23-concert series on Thursday or Saturday night. Individual tickets to subscription concerts range from $25-$106, with the exception of the opera, Cos�� fan tutte. (For subscriptions and single tickets, the cost of box seats, which have limited availability, is higher.) A variety of discounts are available for students, groups, and others.

To order tickets, go to clevelandorchestra.com, call (216) 231-1111 or 800-686-1141, or visit in person. The Severance Hall Ticket Office and Subscription Office are located on the street level in the Smith Lobby. The entrance and free 15-minute Ticket Service parking are along the west side of the building on East Boulevard.

Severance Hall Ticket Office hours:

Monday-Friday 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.

Saturday 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.

Closed Sundays and holidays except for those days with performances, when the Ticket Office will be open three hours prior to each performance.

Severance Hall Subscription Office Hours:

Monday-Friday 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.