In Sunday’s (7/1) Plain Dealer (Cleveland), Zachary Lewis writes about Blossom Music Center, “a near-perfect amphitheater [sculpted] out of a field in Cuyahoga Falls.” The Ohio venue, which turns 50 this month, is the Cleveland Orchestra’s summer home. “Inside the sloped pavilion, there are no columns to impede sightlines, and on the lawn, special amplification reaches even the remotest of corners…. It’s also the only venue of its kind in a national park [Cuyahoga Valley National Park]…. When it opened in July 1968, [Blossom architect Peter] van Dijk’s $8.3 million creation boasted … some 1,200 tons of steel and 12,000 cubic yards of concrete…. Working with van Dijk, acoustician Christopher Jaffe had found a way to project the sonic integrity and majesty of the orchestra to a mass audience…. A visitor from 1968 would hardly recognize the place today, with its newer restroom facilities, seats and concession stands, as well as giant video screens, modern accessibility features and tram services…. However, the heart of Blossom—the stage and pavilion, and the music they make possible … looks and sounds much as it did on Day One, July 19, 1968.”
Posted July 5, 2018
In photo: Overhead shot of Blossom Music Center, the Cleveland Orchestra’s summer home since 1968
