Cleveland Orchestra reveals plans for two new recordings featuring works by Richard Strauss and George Walker

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Video may be all the rage at the Cleveland Orchestra these days, but it isn’t the group’s only medium.

As Friday’s announcement of plans for two new CDs on the orchestra’s in-house label makes clear, audio recording remains an important outlet both for music director Franz Welser-Most and for the Cleveland Orchestra as an institution.

The first album, featuring works by Richard Strauss, is slated for worldwide release June 3 and pre-order availability May 6. On this album, recorded last fall at Severance Music Center, Welser-Most conducts three early tone poems: Macbeth, Don Juan, and Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks.

The second, scheduled for pre-order June 24 and worldwide release Nov. 4, highlights composer George Walker. Between Oct. 2020 and March 2022, Welser-Most and the orchestra recorded his “Antifonys,” Sinfonias Nos. 4 and 5, and “Lilacs” for voice and orchestra, with soprano Latonia Moore.

“There’s so much great music which gets overlooked,” wrote Welser-Most. “And that’s what we are trying to do, to say, ‘Listen, here there’s something else which we really believe in…You might enjoy it, you might not enjoy it, but we believe in it, and that’s why we are doing it.’”

Both albums will be available in both digital and hard-copy editions. Physical copies, which can be purchased online or in person at the Cleveland Orchestra store, are $24.95 and include observations from Welser-Most along with program notes and photographs of the performances. Digital versions will be available across all major music streaming platforms.

For more information, visit clevelandorchestra.com.