“The online portion of the Cleveland Orchestra’s ‘Prometheus Project’ may be the most significant element of the group’s centennial celebration,” writes Zachary Lewis in Friday’s (2/2) Plain Dealer (Cleveland). “Stocked with essays, photos, artwork, and previously unreleased excerpts from archival recordings, the ongoing project centered on Beethoven’s orchestral music constitutes a truly rare treat…. Stored in the lower levels of Severance Hall are thousands of recordings on every medium … from almost every year of the orchestra’s now 100-year existence…. The trove also includes a wealth of physical objects and artwork as well as print material…. The vast majority of this … rarely sees the light of day. In celebration of its centennial, however … music director Franz Welser-Möst directed staff to throw open the curtains and create an online compendium…. The project can be found on the orchestra’s website, under the ‘Second Century’ tab.” Alexander Lawler, a Case Western Reserve University doctoral student who is “analyzing the hundreds of available recordings and creating audio excerpts, writing essays, and tying it all together,” said, “There’s this whole history of sound at the Cleveland Orchestra that you can’t just pick up from a book. You have to listen to it.”
Posted February 6, 2018
