The Cleveland Orchestra gave its first concert on December 11 th, 1918 (as The Cleveland Symphony Orchestra) under Nikolai Sokoloff’s direction. We’ll celebrate that anniversary on WCLV this Friday on Classical Music with Rob Grier, as we present recordings led by all of the Orchestra’s Music Directors, beginning with the 1928 recording directed by Nikolai Sokoloff of Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2, which then was still new music. All of the Orchestra’s Music Directors are represented – Sokoloff, Artur Rodzinski, Erich Leinsdorf, George Szell, Lorin Maazel, Christoph von Dohnányi and Franz Welser-Möst, along with Pierre Boulez (who served as Artistic Advisor after George Szell’s death, and maintained a strong relationship with the Orchestra) Vladimir Ashkenazy, who was Principal Guest Conductor for a number of years, and other guests including Oliver Knussen and Riccardo Chailly.
Classical Music with Rob Grier is on every weekday from midnight to 6:00 a.m. Tune in this Friday, December 11 for our special programming marking the anniversary of The Cleveland Orchestra's first concert.