BSO — 2025/03/22

 This evening's concert is unusual. I'm guessing it's intended as part of an outreach to a wider community than those who regularly come to symphony concerts, and I have no doubt it will attract the intended audience. I wonder, though, if those who come for this will return for Beethoven or Shostakovich. Maybe a few will and there will be a gradual growth in awareness of the BSO as a worthwhile place to go for enjoyable music. But I doubt there will be a dramatic influx right after this. Anywat, WCRB tells us what's on offer:

Saturday, March 22, 2025
8:00 PM

Considered one of the most preeminent jazz artists of all time, and one of the most influential musical artists of any genre, John Coltrane has truly played a part in shaping the music of today. Coltrane: Legacy for Orchestra is a new live concert experience re-framing some of John Coltrane’s most popular and influential works with lush orchestrations, accompanied by exclusive and recently exhibited personal photographs of John Coltrane.

Edwin Outwater, conductor
Terence Blanchard, trumpet

John COLTRANE Legacy for Orchestra
Curated by Carlos Simon

John COLTRANE, orch. Erik Jekabson – Blue Train
COLTRANE, orch. Andy Milne – Naima
Thelonius MONK, orch. Andy Milne – Crepuscule with Nellie
COLTRANE, orch. Steven Feifke – Giant Steps
Guy WOOD, orch. Ben Morris – My One and Only Love
Miles DAVIS, orch. Tim Davies – So What
DAVIS, orch. Cassie Kinoshi – Blue in Green
COLTRANE, orch. Andy Milne – A Love Supreme, Part I: Acknowledgement
Duke ELLINGTON, orch. Carlos Simon – In a Sentimental Mood
COLTRANE, orch. Ben Morris – Crescent
COLTRANE, orch. Tim Davies – Central Park West
COLTRANE, orch. Carlos Simon – Alabama
COLTRANE, orch. Ben Morris – Impressions
Richard RODGERS, orch. Jonathan Bingham – My Favorite Things

To hear a preview of the program with BSO Composer Chair Carlos Simon, use the player above, and read the transcript below.

INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT

Brian McCreath I'm Brian McCreath at Symphony Hall with Carlos Simon, the Composer Chair for the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the curator of Coltrane: Legacy, this great program.

The BSO's performance detail page has a link to an extensive program note which gives a good biography and appreciation of Coltrane, followed by an informative note on each work in the program. There are, as usual, links to performer bios for the conductor and the soloist at the performance detail page.

The Globe has a nice preview article, but no review. We get a review in the Intelligencer.

I don't really know what to expect, since I rarely hear jazz, but I'll have my radio on.

BSO — 2025/03/15

 This evening the BSO starts with a staple of the repertoire and finishes with two less familiar pieces, as WCRB tells us:

Saturday, March 15, 2025
8:00 PM

Guest conductor Teddy Abrams leads the BSO and soloist Ray Chen in Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto, the first work the composer completed after his separation from his disastrous marriage. 120 years later, Michael Tilson Thomas lovingly set three of Walt Whitman poems about longing and belonging for baritone and orchestra. Leonard Bernstein’s star-crossed lovers closes the program in an iconic love letter to New York.

Teddy Abrams, conductor
Dashon Burton, bass-baritone
Ray Chen, violin

Pyotr Ilyich TCHAIKOVSKY Violin Concerto
Michael TILSON THOMAS Whitman Songs
Leonard BERNSTEIN Symphonic Dances from West Side Story

In a preview of this program, Teddy Abrams describes his close relationship with Michael Tilson Thomas, the thematic threads that weave through these three pieces of music, and ideas about the role of orchestras in the lives of the cities in which they perform. To listen, use the player above, and read the transcript below.

INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT

Brian McCreath I'm Brian McCreath at Symphony Hall with Teddy Abrams, who is here in Boston

The orchestra's own performance detail page adds one factoid and gets the verb correct (plural) in the final sentence:

Boston Symphony Orchestra

Symphony Hall, Boston, MA 

Teddy Abrams, conductor
Ray Chen, violin
Dashon Burton, baritone

TCHAIKOVSKY Violin Concerto
-Intermission-
Michael TILSON THOMAS Whitman Songs
BERNSTEIN Symphonic Dances from West Side Story

Ray Chen plays Tchaikovsky’s beloved Violin Concerto, the first work the composer completed after his separation from his disastrous marriage and a piece he almost dedicated to his student – and likely lover and inspiration, Iosif Kotek. 120 years later, Michael Tilson Thomas lovingly set three of Walt Whitman poems about longing and belonging for baritone and orchestra. Leonard Bernstein’s star-crossed lovers close the program in an iconic love letter to New York and love itself.

Regrettably, this week they refuse to share the program notes.

The review in the Globe is scathing about the violinist and his antics, but generally favorable with regard to the post-intermission music. The Intelligencer, OTOH, found no problem with the violinist's performance, and, apart from balance problems in the first Whitman Song, was happy with how they all did.

Of course, you don't get to see the goings-on; hearing should be worthwhile.

BSO — 2025/03/08

 This evening we are treated the three unknown (to me, anyway) pieces. WCRB gives us the outline and an interview with the soloist:

Saturday, March 8, 2025
8:00 PM

South Korean conductor Eun Sun Kim makes her BSO debut conducting a trio of pieces exploring innovation within tradition. Inon Barnatan is the soloist in Bartók’s Third Piano Concerto, a love letter to his wife and his home country. The program opens with Anatoly Liadov’s The Enchanted Lake and concludes with Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 3.

Eun Sun Kim, conductor
Inon Barnatan, piano

Anatoly LIADOV The Enchanted Lake
Béla BARTÓK Piano Concerto No. 3
Sergei RACHMANINOFF Symphony No. 3

In an interview with BSO broadcast host Brian McCreath, Inon Barnatan describes the vitality and variety of Bartók's music, what fascinates him about the Third Piano Concerto, and his approach to his artistic leadership of the La Jolla Music Society's Summerfest. To listen, use the player above, and read the transcript below.

INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT

Brian McCreath I'm Brian McCreath at Symphony Hall with Inon Barnatan, back with the Boston Symphony to perform

The BSO's program detail page furnishes a bit more of an introduction as well as links to the program notes, which could be interesting reading:

Boston Symphony Orchestra

Symphony Hall, Boston, MA 

Eun Sun Kim, conductor
Inon Barnatan, piano

LIADOV The Enchanted Lake
BARTÓK Piano Concerto No. 3
-Intermission-
RACHMANINOFF Symphony No. 3

South Korean conductor Eun Sun Kim makes her BSO debut with a trio of pieces exploring innovation within tradition. Star pianist Inon Barnatan returns to Symphony Hall to take on one of Bartók’s final works, the Third Piano Concerto, a love letter to his wife and his home country. While living in poverty in New York having fled the onslaught of the Nazis into Hungary, Bartók’s creativity had stalled out, and his body was failing from a long illness. The concerto — not quite finished when he passed — is a more gentle and accessibly poetic work than his previous concertos, a summation of where Bartók’s style left him at the end of his life.

The Boston Globe doesn't seem to have provided a review. The reviewer in the Intelligencer had no complaints.

More I cannot tell you, but I'm looking forward to hearing this unfamiliar music.

BSO — 2025/03/01

 The Boston Symphony begins with a new piece and then gives us two infrequently peerformed pieces by Tchaikovsky. Here's what WCRB says about the concert:

8:00 PM

Acclaimed Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz wrote her ballet score Revolución diamantina with Mexican writer Cristina Rivera Garza. The piece explores the powerful, feminist “Glitter Revolution” campaign in Mexico to highlight the epidemic of violence against women. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky wonderfully depicts love’s passion and an infernal whirlwind in his tone poem Francesca da Rimini, and Alban Gerhardt is soloist in the composer’s charming Variations on a Rococo Theme.

Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor
Alban Gerhardt, cello
The Crossing 
 Donald Nally, Artistic Director

Gabriela ORTIZ Revolución diamantina
Pyotr Ilyich TCHAIKOVSKY Variations on a Rococo Theme, for cello and orchestra
TCHAIKOVSKY Francesca da Rimini

In a preview of this concert, conductor Giancarlo Guerrero describes Gabriela Ortiz's Revolución diamantina, how Tchaikovksy's music relates to it, and what he's looking forward to in his new position as Music Director of the Sarasota Orchestra next season. Listen with the player above, and read the transcript below.

INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT:

Brian McCreath I'm Brian McCreath at Symphony Hall with Giancarlo Guerrero, who's back with the Boston Symphony, and another fascinating program, just like others that you have led in the past. Giancarlo, thanks a lot for your time today.

The orchestra's performance detail page expresses it a little differently:

Boston Symphony Orchestra

Symphony Hall, Boston, MA 

Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor 
Alban Gerhardt, cello 
The Crossing 
 Donald Nally, Artistic Director

Gabriela ORTIZ Revolución diamantina
-Intermission-
TCHAIKOVSKY Variations on a Rococo Theme, for cello and orchestra
TCHAIKOVSKY Francesca da Rimini

Acclaimed Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz, known for her vibrant instrumental colors and skill with dramatic narrative, wrote her ballet score Revolución diamantina with Mexican writer Cristina Rivera Garza. The recording of the piece won this year’s Grammy Awards for best classical compendium, best orchestral performance, and best contemporary classical composition. Ortiz explores the powerful Mexican feminist “Glitter Revolution” campaign to highlight an epidemic of violence against women. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky wonderfully depicts love’s passion and an infernal whirlwind in his tone poem Francesca da Rimini, inspired by a historic injustice recounted in Dante’s Inferno. Murdered by her husband, Francesca suffers in the second level of hell for her lustfulness, buffeted by an eternal storm. As a contrast, Alban Gerhardt is soloist in the composer’s charming Variations on a Rococo Theme.

This week, they're linking the program notes so you can "read all about it."

There is an approving review in the Globe  — except for the cellist, whom the reviewer finds "bland." On the other hand, the reviewer in the Intelligencer was satisfied with the cellist but a bit disappointed in the conductor's approach to Francesca da Rimini.

I'm a bit curious to hear "Revolución diamantina," but I'm not expecting to find it especially beautiful. I remember the spaghetti sauce commercial where the Italian lady approves of the store-bought sauce, saying "You gotta try new things." The Tchaikovsky should be pleasant. You can hear as much or as little as you want beginning at 8:00 p.m.* Boston Time this evening and on March 10 over WCRB.

*  or at 9:00, (which should be during intermission) if you choose to skip the "Revolución."

BSO — 2025/02/22

 Two Haydn symphonies bookend Stravinsky's Violin Concerto. We get some particulars from our friends at WCRB:

Saturday, February 22, 2025
8:00 PM

Isabelle Faust and Alan Gilbert return to Symphony Hall for Stravinsky’s bracing, wry Violin Concerto. Bracketing Stravinsky’s concerto are two Joseph Haydn works from early and late in his symphonic career.

Alan Gilbert, conductor
Isabelle Faust, violin

Joseph HAYDN Symphony No. 48, Marie Therese
Igor STRAVINSKY Violin Concerto
HAYDN Symphony No. 99

To hear a preview of the program with Alan Gilbert, use the player above, and read the transcript below.

INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT

Brian McCreath I'm Brian McCreath at Symphony Hall with Alan Gilbert, 

A  slightly fuller description is availblle at the BSO performance detail page:

Boston Symphony Orchestra

Symphony Hall, Boston, MA 

Alan Gilbert, conductor
Isabelle Faust, violin

HAYDN Symphony No. 48, Maria Theresia
STRAVINSKY Violin Concerto
-Intermission-
HAYDN Symphony No. 99

Isabelle Faust and Alan Gilbert return for Stravinsky’s bracing, wry Violin Concerto, a work at the core of his sparkling and witty neoclassical period. Bracketing Stravinsky’s concerto are two Joseph Haydn works from early and late in his symphonic career, during which he largely created the foundations for the 18th-century Viennese Classical era.

Regrettably, they do not link the program notes for the concert. I wonder what's wrong with the publications department. The links to performer bios are there.

The review in the Intelligencer is enthusiastic, especially about the Stravinsky. It seems the Globe couldn't be bothered to publish a review.

I've been staving off a cold, and I elected not to use my ticket for Friday afternoon, but you can't go wrong with a couple of Haydn symphonies, one of which is nicknamed for the empress of the Holy Roman Empire. So why not give a listen?

BSO — 2025/02/15

 WCRB says:

Saturday, February 15, 2025
8:00 PM

Herbert Blomstedt, one of the masters of the art of conducting for over seven decades, returns to lead the BSO in Franz Schubert's light-hearted, cheerful Symphony No. 6, as well as the First Symphony by Johannes Brahms.

Herbert Blomstedt, conductor

Franz SCHUBERT Symphony No. 6
Johannes BRAHMS Symphony No. 1

To hear Herbert Blomstedt in a conversation with GBH's Arun Rath, use the player above, and read the transcript below.

INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT: 

Arun Rath This is GBH is All Things Considered. I'm Arun Rath. This shimmering, gorgeous music is Brahms's First Symphony, conducted by one of Brahms's most profound advocates. Herbert Blomstedt.

We get a fuller synopsis on the BSO's own performance detail page:

Boston Symphony Orchestra

Symphony Hall, Boston, MA 

Herbert Blomstedt, conductor

SCHUBERT Symphony No. 6
-Intermission-
BRAHMS Symphony No. 1

Herbert Blomstedt, celebrating a seven-decade conducting career, returns to lead the BSO in Franz Schubert's light-hearted, cheerful Symphony No. 6, composed when he was 20 and notable as a satisfyingly classical work preceding his more searching later symphonies. Brahms was strongly influenced by Schubert but more so still by Beethoven, whose symphonic shadow apparently kept Brahms from completing his First Symphony until he was 43 years old. A prominent theme in its finale is a direct nod to Beethoven’s Ninth.

There are links on that page to a performer bio and the program notes for the two symphonies.

The Boston Musical Intelligencer has an enthusiastic review with a good picture of the maestro seated at the podium and applauding the musicians, which he did upon attibal and after each piece. Thus far nothing in the Globe.

I was there on Friday afternoon. Maestro Blomstedt conducted with economy of gesture, rarely raising his hNDS bove his shoulders. It was a little concerning to see that he required assistance to walk to and from the podium, but he needed no assistance to conduct: he never even turned a page on the open score in front of him. I definitely enjoyed what I heard.

This concert is highly recommended.

This was ready to go before 8:00, but I got distracted listeening to the  interview with Maestrro Blomstedt, and only realized in the middle of the Schubert that I hadn't posted it. I'll point out that you can hear it all when WCRB rebroadcasts the concert ar 8:00 p.m. Boston Time on February 24.

BSO — 2025/02/08

 This week the BSO is presenting a couple of very familiar works (to me at ;east) and another somewhat less familiar but not unknown. Another way of puttin it is that they're all standard repertory. Hooray! WCRB tells us:

Saturday, February 8, 2025
8:00 PM

French conductor Nathalie Stutzmann makes her Boston Symphony Orchestra debut in a program that begins with Beethoven’s towering Violin Concerto, with soloist Veronika Eberle in her Symphony Hall debut. The concert continues with Ravel's Alborada del gracioso and the suite from Stravinsky’s ballet The Firebird, a Russian folk tale of heroism, magic, and renewal that vaulted the composer to the forefront of modern music.

Nathalie Stutzmann, conductor
Veronika Eberle, violin

Ludwig van BEETHOVEN Violin Concerto, with cadenzas by Jörg Widmann
Maurice RAVEL Alborada del gracioso
Igor STRAVINSKY The Firebird (1919 suite)

To hear a preview of the program with conductor Nathalie Stutzmann, use the player above.

INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT: 

Brian McCreath I'm Brian McCreath 

We can also see how the orchestra's performance detail page describes it and follow the links there to performer bios and program notes for each piece.

Boston Symphony Orchestra

Symphony Hall, Boston, MA 

Nathalie Stutzmann, conductor
Veronika Eberle, violin

BEETHOVEN Violin Concerto (with cadenzas by Jörg WIDMANN)
-Intermission-
RAVEL Alborada del gracioso
STRAVINSKY The Firebird (1919 suite)

French conductor Nathalie Stutzmann makes her BSO conducting debut with German violinist Veronika Eberle in her Symphony Hall debut in Beethoven’s towering Violin Concerto. Ravel's Alborada del gracioso and Stravinsky’s ballet score The Firebird are both marvels of orchestral brilliance from the 1910s: Ravel’s one of his many Spanish-influenced confections and Stravinsky’s a journey through a Russian folk tale of heroism, magic, and renewal that vaulted the composer to the forefront of modern music.

What the dickens!? I can't find the link to the program notes. If you can, congratulations. But what's going on with the BSO? The synopses are identical, so I guess WCRB borrowed the BSO's.

The Globe review is quite favorable and informative. The Intelligencer's reviewer also very much liked what he heard (although maybe a bit disappointed in the encore?)

This should be enjoyable.

BSO — 2025/02/01

 This evening the Boston Sy,phony gives us an unfamiliar opera, "Die tote Stadt" by Erich Korngold. WCRB tells us:

Saturday, February 1, 2025
8:00 PM

Erich Korngold’s opera Die tote Stadt (The Dead City) is an incredibly tender work, begun when the composer was only 19. When he completed it at age 23, it quickly became one of the biggest operatic successes of the era, laying the groundwork for Korngold’s later success as a legendary Hollywood film composer. The opera’s theme of struggling with the memory of a lost loved one undoubtedly resonated with audiences still traumatized by the recent catastrophe of World War I.

Andris Nelsons, conductor
Christine Goerke, soprano (Marietta/Marie)
Amber Monroe, soprano (Lucienne)
Elisa Sunshine, soprano (Juliette)
Karen Cargill, mezzo-soprano (Brigitte)
David Butt Philip, tenor (Paul)
Joshua Sanders, tenor (Victorin)
Neal Ferreira, tenor (Gaston)
Terrence Chin-Loy, tenor (Graf Albert) 
Elliot Madore, baritone (Frank/Fritz)
Tanglewood Festival Chorus
 James Burton, conductor
Boston Lyric Opera Chorus
  Brett Hodgdon, conductor

Erich KORNGOLD Die tote Stadt

Presented in collaboration with Boston Lyric Opera

To hear a preview with soprano Christine Goerke and the BSO's Anthony Fogg on GBH's The Culture Show with Jared Bowen, use the player above.

To see a libretto with both the sung German text and a side-by-side English translation, visit Orpheus Ireland.

I' suggest reading the extensive program notes, at least the synopsis of the plot, available at the BSO's performance detail page. They summarize the evening as follows:

Boston Symphony Orchestra

Symphony Hall, Boston, MA 

Andris Nelsons, conductor
Christine Goerke, soprano (Marietta)
Elisa Sunshine, soprano (Juliette)
Amber Monroe, soprano (Lucienne)
Karen Cargill, mezzo-soprano (Brigitte)
David Butt Philip, tenor (Paul) 
Joshua Sanders, tenor (Victorin)
Neal Ferreira, tenor (Gaston)
Terrence Chin-Loy, tenor (Graf Albert) 
Elliot Madore, baritone (Frank/Fritz)
Tanglewood Festival Chorus
 James Burton, conductor
Boston Lyric Opera Chorus
 Brett Hodgdon, conductor
Boys of the St. Paul’s Choir School 
 Brandon Straub, Music Director

KORNGOLD Die tote Stadt*

Erich Korngold’s Die tote Stadt (“The Dead City”) is an incredibly tender work, embodying the twilight of the Romantic era. Korngold, a remarkable prodigy who later became one of Hollywood’s most important composers, began the opera when he was only 19 and completed it at age 23. It opened simultaneously in December 1920 in Cologne and Hamburg and became one of the biggest operatic successes of the era. The opera’s theme of struggling with the memory of a lost loved one undoubtedly resonated with audiences still traumatized by the recent catastrophe of World War I.

*Sung in German with English supertitles.
Presented in collaboration with the Boston Lyric Opera.

Please note that ticket purchase information will be shared with the Boston Lyric Opera.

This week's performances by the Tanglewood Festival Chorus are supported by the Alan J. and Suzanne W. Dworsky Fund for Voice and Chorus.

Thursday evening's performance by Christine Goerke is generously supported by Patricia Romeo-Gilbert, in memory of Paul B. Gilbert.

Saturday evening’s concert is generously supported by the Gregory E. Bulger Foundation / Gregory Bulger and Richard Dix.

The production of Die tote Stadt is generously supported in part by the Mattina R. Proctor Foundation.

---

Pre-concert Talk
The January 30 performance will include a pre-concert talk starting at 5:30pm with Dr. Carolyn Abbate.

Please note that tenor Brandon Jovanovich has had to withdraw from these performances of Die tote Stadt due to illness. We are very fortunate that David Butt Philip is able to sing the role of Paul in his place.

Thu, Jan 30, 2025, 7:30pm EST  (Past)

• The Catherine and Paul Buttenwieser Concert

Sat, Feb 1, 2025, 8:00pm EST

I was there on Thursday, and it was good to find out what the opera is. I had only heard about it, so I was curious. But it may be a bit difficult for listening over the internet or on radio. I had the benefit of the plot synopsis in the program book and the English surtitles as it was being sung. You can read the synopsis via the link at the performance detail page, and WCRB tells you where to find the libretto, so it may be possible to follow along. Alternatively, you can just listen to the music.

To me, however, the music wasn't especially attractive except perhaps in the final scene. It seemed more like Richard Strauss's "Elektra" than anything else I'm familiar with.

There is a favorable and informative review in the Boston Musical Intelligencer. The review in the Globe is largely favorable.

So while I can't say it's must listening or even promise you'll enjoy it, it is worth hearing as a landmark piece of music.