Cleveland Orchestra covers Baroque, Christmas bases with spirited fourth ‘In Focus’ episode Zachary Lewis, cleveland.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Filtered lights. Television cameras. Digital interaction. Visually, the Cleveland Orchestra’s fourth “In Focus” episode bears little resemblance to real life in the Baroque era.
Boy, though, does it sound authentic. This may be Severance Hall in late 2020, but under the spry, insightful watch of Nicholas McGegan, the orchestra in this program sounds like the resident ensemble of some European palace in the 1700s.
Some of the credit must go to the medium, the Adella streaming app, which again delivers a rich, engaging, and musically satisfying experience. The cameras are as intelligent as can be, training on all the right subjects, and so true is the audio fidelity, one might as well be seated next to McGegan, turning pages at the harpsichord.