The following fall, however, rumors began to swirl that Maazel was the top candidate for the directorship of the Vienna State Opera. Although the appointment was still several years away, arrangements were made to have Maazel conduct The Cleveland Orchestra through the 1981-82 season before departing for Europe. During the final years of Maazel’s tenure in Cleveland, the Musical Arts Association launched a concert to honor the life and works of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., which would become an annual tradition, and the Orchestra hosted a 50th anniversary celebration for Severance Hall featuring the same program as the ensemble played on the concert hall’s opening night in 1931 — Bach’s "Passacaglia in C Minor", Charles Martin Loeffler’s "Invocation", Brahms’s First Symphony, and selections from Beethoven’s "Missa Solemnis".