Cleveland Orchestra to perform at Ojai

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In what must be considered a coup, the Ojai Music Festival will be celebrating its 59th season with an appearance by the celebrated Cleveland Orchestra, conductor Franz Welser-Most. The orchestra will perform on June 10, at 8 p.m., in the Libbey Bowl. The four-day event runs from June 9 – 12.

The symphony’s program by Stravinsky’s “Concerto in E flat for Chamber Orchestra,” Debussy’s “Nuages” and Mozart’s “Symphony No. 36.” In addition, the Ingolf Dahl “Concerto for Alto Saxophone” will be performed with Joe Lulloff as soloist.

Music lovers who attend the festival have the pleasure of sitting in a rustic outdoor amphitheater with twittering birds accompanying the instrumentalists. Although there are seats and benches available, many attendees prefer to bring chairs or blankets and sit on the expansive lawn of the park.

The opening event, on June 9 at 8 p.m., will feature the Bugallo-Williams Piano Duo playing “13 Studies for Player Piano” by Conlon Nancarrow, and “Sacre du Printemps” by Stravinsky.

Two performances are scheduled on June 11. At 11 a.m., pianist Peter Serkin will feature composers old and new. In addition to works by Bach, Dowland and Byrd, he will include pieces by Takematsu, Berio, Knussen, Bull and Messiaen. In the evening, at 8 p.m., Oliver Knussen will lead the Ojai Festival Chamber Ensemble in works by Kagel and Grainger.

At 11 a.m. on June 12, William Preucil, concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra, will be reunited with longtime friend, Martin Chalifour, concertmaster of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, in a rare joint violin recital. Each will perform a sonata for violin and piano and then jointly play selections by Bartok and Moszkowski.

The final Sunday evening event, at 5:30 p.m., will bring together the Ojai Festival Orchestra, with soloists Peter Serkin and William Preucil. A highlight will be the premiere of a work by British composer Jonathan Cole. Also on the program will be a Knussen’s violin concerto, Stravinsky’s “Movements for Piano and Orchestra” and Ravel’s “Mother Goose Suite.”

Oliver Knussen, the British composer and conductor, adds to a list of prominent maestros as this year’s music director. He has made many award-winning recordings, mostly with the London Sinfonietta. His opera, “Where the Wild Things Are,” was produced by the Los Angeles Opera in 1990.

Thomas W. Morris is serving as the artistic director.

Ojai is abut 90 minutes from Malibu and is located in the valley amidst the scenic Topa Topa Mountains. Single tickets can be ordered by calling 805.646.2053.