The Cleveland Orchestra Premieres Allison Loggins-Hull's CAN YOU SEE? and Loggins-Hull Curates Performance at Karamu House

On Thursday, May 4, 2023 at 7:30pm and Saturday, May 6, 2023 at 8:00pm, The Cleveland Orchestra presents the world premiere of "powerhouse" (The Washington Post) flutist, composer, and producer Allison Loggins-Hull's Can You See? at Mandel Concert Hall in Severance Music Center. An hour before each performance, Loggins-Hull curates a special Prelude program, featuring excerpts from her full-length program Honoring Black Composers, which will The Cleveland Orchestra will present at 2:00pm on May 21, 2023 at Karamu House. She speaks on The Cleveland Orchestra's panel Explorations, The American Dream on May 20.

In addition to the world premiere of Loggins-Hull's new work, Cleveland-born cellist Alisa Weilerstein joins Music Director Franz Welser-Möst to perform Barber's lyric and romantic Cello Concerto. Praised for its Brahms-like grandeur, the piece was written while Barber served the U.S. military during World War II. The Orchestra will also perform the 1947 version of Projofiev's Symphony No. 4, a fascinating work that was premiered in Boston before Projofiev reworked it upon return to the Soviet Union.

Praised by The New York Times for her "smart instrumental writing, including some ferocious yet melodically supple passages," Loggins-Hull shared that Can You See? is a play on The Star Spangled Banner intended to create "a mournful or somber approach that honors lives lost, while also pointing to what the role and responsibility of the living is." Originally a small chamber ensemble piece commissioned by the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and premiered at the Newark Museum of Art in 2021, this larger iteration of Can You See? has been arranged for a full symphony orchestra. Loggins-Hull added, "Melodic material from The Star Spangled Banner is used throughout the work, often stretched out and surrounded by tension and revolving colors. The strings create a soundworld that is cloudy, uncertain, and bleary, questioning if the core meaning of the anthem is in focus. Rhythmic elements evoke a forward-moving motion, while textures and harmonic language nod to the scope and diversity of American music and people. Voices from the original version are orchestrated to achieve a designed delay effect, creating a dreamy soundscape while posing questions relating to the meaning of The Star Spangled Banner and the complicated history of the United States."

The program on May 4 and 6 will close her first of three seasons with The Cleveland Orchestra as their eleventh Daniel R. Lewis Composer Fellow, a rare post for an American composer. As part of her appointment, Loggins-Hull works with the Orchestra's artistic, education, and community engagement staff, Cleveland Orchestra musicians, and most importantly, with community partners, to build activities and artistic relationships that reflect and engage the Cleveland community. With a focus on the narratives and history of Cleveland, she connects with members of the community through chamber music performances and composition workshops with students. This is the first time in history that the fellowship extends three seasons, at the request of Loggins-Hull, in order for The Cleveland Orchestra to delve deeper into her musical language and for her to be able to have a greater community impact.

Program Information

The Cleveland Orchestra Performs World Premiere Arrangement of Can You See?
Thursday, May 4, 2023 at 7:30pm
Mandel Concert Hall, Severance Music Center | Cleveland, OH
Tickets: $24 - $94
Link: clevelandorchestra.com/attend/concerts-and-events/2223/severance/wk-22-Prokofiev/

The Cleveland Orchestra Performs World Premiere Arrangement of Can You See?
Saturday, May 6, 2023 at 8:00pm
Mandel Concert Hall, Severance Music Center | Cleveland, OH
Tickets: $31 - $122
Link: clevelandorchestra.com/attend/concerts-and-events/2223/severance/wk-22-Prokofiev/

Program:
Loggins-Hull - Can You See? [World Premiere, rev. 2023]
Barber - Cello Concerto
Prokofiev - Symphony No. 4 (rev. 1947)

Franz Welser-Möst, conductor
Allison Loggins-Hull, composer
Alisa Weilerstein, cello
The Cleveland Orchestra