4th of July in Cleveland

15 hours on the plane from Munich and straight to the annual 4th of July concert at Blossom Music Center with my parents, my brother, sister-in-law, niece and nephew. A beautiful and, most importantly, warm evening.

According to the orchestra's website:

The Cleveland Orchestra was founded in 1918 by a group of local citizens. It has been led by seven music directors (Nikolai Sokoloff 1918-33, Artur Rodzinski 1933-43, Erich Leinsdorf 1943-46, George Szell 1946-70, Lorin Maazel 1972-82, Christoph von Dohnányi 1984-2002, and Franz Welser-Möst 2002-present) and one musical advisor (Pierre Boulez 1970-72).

Expansion to a year-round schedule was made possible in 1968 with the opening of Blossom Music Center, an outdoor facility in nearby Cuyahoga Falls that is home to the Orchestra’s Blossom Festival.

The Cleveland Orchestra’s educational programs, a cornerstone of the Orchestra’s original mission, have introduced more than four million Cleveland-area schoolchildren to symphonic music since 1921. Today, touring, residencies, radio broadcasts, and recordings available by internet download and on DVD and CD provide access to the Orchestra’s music-making to a broad and loyal constituency around the world.