BSO/Classical New England — 2016/05/28

I'm pressed for time, but here's the basics for this evening from the WCRB homepage:

BOSTON POPS
A Gershwin Celebration with Nicole Cabell!The American soprano joins conductor David Charles Abell, vocalist Nmon Ford, pianist Charlie Albright and the Boston Pops for a Gershwin Celebration, in concert at Symphony Hall!
Saturday at 8pm on 99.5 WCRB

As usual, there are links to further information on that page, and you can also go to the BSO website.

Enjoy.

BSO/Classical New England — 2016/05/21

This week's broadcast and stream over WCRB will be a pops concert, rather than one by the Boston Symphony. It's a Movie Night program conducted by John Williams and Keith Lockhart. Here's what the WCRB BSO page says about it:

Laureate Conductor John Williams and Pops Conductor Keith Lockhart team up to lead a program of cinematic magic, with music from unforgettable films across the decades!

That page also has a link to an interview with John Williams to preview the concert.

It seems that this was a program presented on May 12 & 13, 2016. Here's a bit more information about the content from the Symphony's program detail page:

Boston Pops Laureate Conductor John Williams shares the podium with Boston Pops Conductor Keith Lockhart for this signature concert. The brilliant composer and conductor behind films including Jaws, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and the Harry Potter series, brings you a night of some of the most memorable movie music of all time. This is a concert not to be missed!

You can hear it at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 21.

The next two weeks will also have Pops; then the BSO encore broadcasts will resume until Tanglewood season begins.

BSO/Classical New England — 2016/05/14

While we wait for the opening of the BSO's Tanglewood Season, WCRB continues with weekly "encore broadcasts" and webstreams. This week, it's the concert given on October 3, 2015, which the station describes as follows on their BSO page:

In an encore broadcast, Music Director Andris Nelsons and the BSO perform an All-Russian program, including the Symphony No. 9 by Shostakovich, Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1, with soloist Evgeny Kissin, and Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances.

(Most emphasis added.)

As indicated in the review I posted at the time, I enjoyed it back then, and now I'm looking forward to the rehearing at 8:00 p.m., Boston Time (EDT), on May 14.

Further information is available through the links in my review. There's also an introductory podcast available at the WCRB BSO page linked above.

BSO/Classical New England — 2016/05/07

This week's WCRB Boston Symphony broadcast/webstream is as described here, on their BSO page:

In an encore broadcast, Yefim Bronfman is the soloist in the Piano Concerto No. 2 by Bartók, and Andris Nelsons conducts the Symphony No. 30, "Alleluia," by Haydn, and Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 1, "Winter Daydreams."

(Emphasis added.)

The concert was performed on November 28, 2015, and I posted about it at the time, with links to various resources. Tune in or listen on line Saturday at 8:00 p.m. to hear the encore performance.

Spring Orgy® Period 2016

For any readers who have not read about earlier Orgy® Periods, WHRB is a largely student-run station at Harvard University, and the orgy periods began as a way for disc jockeys who were also students to avoid spending a lot of time deciding on programming during university exam periods. They would just play everything they had by a particular composer or performer, and then move on to another.

This spring's Orgy Period began yesterday, as usual, with the Warhorse Orgy. Today, until 9:00 p.m., it's the Pierre Boulez as Conductor Orgy, which started at 9:00 a.m. It will continue on May 3 and 4 from 9:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m. both days.

Subsequent Orgies are

• Harnoncourt Orgy — May 5, 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.; May 6, 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.; May 7, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.; and May 8, 7:00 p.m. to midnight
• Chicago Orgy (Chicago Orchestra, that is) — May 9, noon to 10:00 p.m.
• Gesualdo at 450 Orgy — May 10, noon to 10:00 p.m.
• Shakespeare Orgy — May 11,  7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.;  May 12, 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.; May 13, 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.; May 14, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.
• Boulez as Composer Orgy — May 14, 4:00 to 10:30 p.m.; May 15, 1:30 to 7:00 p.m.

All timings, especially endings, are approximate.

It's striking, to me, anyway, that Gesualdo and Shakespeare were contemporaries. I tend to think of Gesualdo as earlier, for some reason. So we can hear music from the time of Shakespeare, followed in subsequent days by music inspired by Shakespeare.

Between these classical music Orgies are some Orgies of jazz and rock music. There will also be some regularly scheduled programming and, toward the end of the month, the Harvard Commencement and surrounding events. For the complete program guide, go to https://www.whrb.org/programming/program-guide .

You can listen by clicking the "Listen" button at https://www.whrb.org or, if you're within range of their signal, over 95.3 FM.