Tanglewood Preview — 2014/06/28

This week there are no live BSO or Pops concerts. Instead of rebroadcasting an earlier concert on WCRB, as they put it on their BSO broadcast page:

WCRB previews Tanglewood 2014, which features four BSO concerts led by Music Director Designate Andris Nelsons, Mahler's ResurrectionSymphony conducted by Christoph von Dohnányi, and an All-Tchaikovsky concert featuring cellist Yo-Yo Ma.

It should be interesting, and whet your appetite for what will be coming during the summer. On that page, there are various links, and you can also see the broadcast/webstream schedule for the summer.

Also note that on Monday, June 30, there will be another broadcast/stream of the recent John Williams Film Night at the Pops, and on Friday, July 4, they'll present the concert by the Pops Esplanade Orchestra. Tanglewood starts the following evening.

Boston Pops/Classical New England — 2014/06/21

WCRB will be broadcasting and streaming the "Film Night at the Pops" program which John Williams led on four evenings earlier this month. The station's BSO page has a brief description and links to other things having to do with the Boston Symphony, including the concerts available on demand. The orchestra's performance detail page offers the following description:

June 6-11 at Symphony Hall in Boston, Boston Pops Laureate Conductor John Williams returns for this signature event of the season. Hear cherished and familiar themes from such favorite movie scores as Star Wars,Jaws, and Harry Potter. Mr. Williams will salute some of his illustrious predecessors, whose work influenced him, and in turn he will also lead selections by some of today's notable film composers, many of whom have undoubtedly been influenced by him. With the incomparable Boston Pops Orchestra led by the maestro of movie music, this is a concert not to be missed!

There will be a repeat broadcast/webstream on Monday, June 30 at 8:00 p.m., and it will then be made available on demand. John Williams will also conduct the Pops in a Film Night program at Tanglewood on August 2. It may be slightly different from the one he did in Symphony Hall.

Boston Pops/Classical New England — 2014/06/14

On Saturday, June 14, and again on Monday, June 23, at 8:00 p.m., Boston Time, you can listen to "Gospel Night at the Pops." In addition to a brief blurb about the show, WCRB's BSO page has links to other items of potential interest to Pops and Symphony lovers. Unlike the previous couple of weeks, this Saturday's broadcast/webstream will be live, as noted on the BSO's performance detail page. (Next week it's back to pre-recorded concerts for the John Williams show.)

The annual Boston Pops Gospel Night, an audience favorite for more than 21 years, brings the 2014 season to a rousing close, as guest conductor Charles Floyd returns to lead the orchestra and the Boston Pops Gospel Choir in a program of music designed to inspire, delight, and thrill an audience. The virtuosic vocal ensemble Take 6, celebrating their 25th anniversary, joins the orchestra to show why Quincy Jones calls them "the baddest vocal cats on the planet." It's sure to be an unforgettable evening!

So you can tune your radio or your computer to WCRB for the Pops' Gospel Night. Enjoy.

Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, RIP

I want to say a word in memory of Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, the conductor, who died a couple of days ago. Although I hadn't been aware of him before I started attending Boston Symphony concerts nine or ten years ago, he was a frequent presence on the podium over the past decade, often as a substitute when James Levine's injuries forced him to cancel — but also in programs in which he was scheduled to conduct. I'm not enough of an expert in such things to be able to say whether he was good, great, or something in between, but I know that I enjoyed his concerts, and it surely means something that BSO management wanted him to conduct when a scheduled conductor had to withdraw — he could be relied on for a good performance. So I'm sorry that I'll have no more chances to attend concerts conducted by him. May he rest in peace.

The Boston Globe had a good obituary, (Check out the videos. The shorter one is with the BSO.) and the Harvard Musical Intelligencer ran an article a week earlier, when he announced his retirement, and updated it when he died. There is also a fine notice from WCRB with links to recent performances of his with the BSO, now available on demand.

Boston Pops/Classical New England — 2014/06/07

Tonight, and again on Monday, June 16, at 8:00 p. m. on both dates, it's the (previously recorded) Arthur Fiedler Concert. The BSO's performance detail page —which also has links to some performer bios — describes it as follows:

One of Arthur Fiedler's many innovations was his strong emphasis on music of American composers. This program showcases works by such homegrown masters as Bernstein (Candide Overture), Copland ("Buckaroo Holiday" from Rodeo), and Ellington ("It Don't Mean a Thing"), plus Leroy Anderson's Piano Concerto with frequent Pops guest Michael Chertock as soloist (May 8 & 9 only.) Fiedler is credited with discovering Anderson, who created both original compositions, including "The Typewriter," and brilliant arrangements for the Pops. Rounding out the program are familiar movie themes E.T.and Harry Potter by our own John Williams, and "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "Dancing Queen." On May 27, join us for the Arthur Fiedler Concert, a heartfelt tribute to the legendary conductor whose name was synonymous with the Boston Pops for nearly fifty years.

As you can see, it was given on May 27. It should be worth hearing. There doesn't seem to be a review of the concert, but here's an obituary for Richard Hayman, who did a lot of arranging for the Pops during the Fiedler era.

Listen over WCRB at 99.5 FM if you're near Boston, or catch the webstream here by clicking the Listen Live button.