Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique—Cleveland Orchestra/Franz Welser-Most (TCO 013)Julius Eastman: Symphony No. 2/Peter Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 2 ‘Ukrainian’—Cleveland Orchestra/Franz Welser-Most (TCO 014)
These are the two latest releases on The Cleveland Orchestra’s own label, performances recorded in Severance Music Center in 2023 and 2024. The Berlioz album drew this response from Philip Harrison at Music Web International.com: “I will definitely be returning to this version. The orchestra are truly first rate and the sound is excellent.” Elaine Martone was honored with Classical Producer of the Year at the 2025 Grammy Awards, and among the nine works included in her resume were four recordings with The Cleveland Orchestra and Music Director Franz Welser-Möst, including Symphonie Fantastique. For the Eastman/Tchaikovsky album, TCO assembled the same technical team—Elaine Martone, Recording Producer; Gintas Norvila, Recording, Editing, and Mixing Engineer; Jennifer Nulsen, Stereo Mastering Engineer and Alan JS Han, Immersive Mixing Engineer. Could Grammy lightning strike again next year? Julius Eastman’s Second Symphony, dedicated to his former lover, chronicles their failed relationship in just over 13 minutes that require a conductor’s firm hand to control the opportunities for asynchronous and improvisatory music-making. In contrast, Tchaikovsky’s Second Symphony, now christened ‘Ukrainian’—rather than the pejorative ‘Little Russian’—is an explosion of heart-on-its-sleeve exuberance. Both releases are available for streaming or digital download only.