This week's "encore broadcast" and stream on WCRB is the concert of October 7, 2017. It's a new piece, Moler, by Arlene Sierra, followed by the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto and the Second Symphony of Rachmaninoff. Gil Shaham is the soloist in the concerto, and Music Director Andris Nelsons is on the podium. I posted about it back then, and that post has the links to published reviews and the BSO performance detail page (with its own links to background information) that you've come to expect.
As always, the show begins at 8:00 p.m. Boston Time (EDST). Enjoy!
Saturday, May 26, 2018
Saturday, May 19, 2018
BSO/Classical New England — 2018/05/19
This week's encore broadcast is the concert of September 30, 2017. It consists of Piano Concerto No. 4 by Beethoven and Symphony No. 11 by Shostakovich. My post at the time had links to the orchestra's program detail page, as well as to reviews in the local publications. Neither of them had any serious complaints. I recommend listening this evening at 8:00 EDST via WCRB on line or on air. They also offer a link to an interview with Paul Lewis, the pianist, and Andris Nelsons, the conductor. They also have links to additional information about their other programming (including a performance of "HMS Pinafore" on Sunday). The BSO performance detail page, accessible via my post, also gives background material as usual.
It appears from WCRB's program schedule that they are not giving the repeat on a later Monday, as they do after the original broadcast.
It appears from WCRB's program schedule that they are not giving the repeat on a later Monday, as they do after the original broadcast.
Friday, May 18, 2018
A Concert in Rockport
Last Sunday, May 13, there was a concert I wanted to attend in Rockport. The Boston Artists Ensemble was presenting, inter alia, a new work which they had commissioned, "Songs Without Words,"* by Scott Wheeler. It's a three movement piece for cello and piano which the composer also calls "Cello Sonata #2." I would have liked to be present for the world premier on April 20, but I was in Colorado for a wedding that weekend. I was glad that there was this chance to hear it performed by the original performers, including the dedicatee.
Getting there was an adventure. I hadn't been to Rockport in over 60 years and had no memory of the town, so several days earlier I got directions to the Rockport Music Shalin Liu Performance Center. Unfortunately, I neglected to print out the map. I had no trouble getting to downtown Rockport in good time, just as I had planned. But then I had two problems. First, I couldn't find a parking space downtown and had to park several blocks outside the downtown area. Second, I misremembered where the performance center — which is known for its spectacular view of the harbor — was located, and spent nearly a half hour searching for it around the harbor before I realized that there was a second harbor. By the time I got there, at about 3:10, the concert had begun and I was pretty frazzled.
Fortunately, "Songs Without Words" wasn't the first piece on the program, and during what remained of Prokofiev's Cello Sonata, I calmed down. In a program note, the composer writes:
After intermission, Bach's Suite for Unaccompanied Cello No. 4 and Kodály's Duo for Violin and Cello, Opus 7, completed the concert.
It would be good to be able to hear "Songs Without Words" several more times, to get to really know it and be able to form a more definite opinion of how good it is. The problem for this and many other compositions is that there is so much music available for a limited number of places on concert programs. There are many works which have entered the standard repertory, and they occupy most of the available space. In my opinion, there are many fine works by "second string" composers (I'm thinking of Weber as I write this) which are rarely performed, while less deserving works by "first stringers" get played regularly. With known works languishing, it is regrettably difficult for a new work to get enough hearings to become established, no matter how good it is.
*I'm well aware that Mendelssohn composed "Songs Without Words." Apparently, the title does not belong to him.
Getting there was an adventure. I hadn't been to Rockport in over 60 years and had no memory of the town, so several days earlier I got directions to the Rockport Music Shalin Liu Performance Center. Unfortunately, I neglected to print out the map. I had no trouble getting to downtown Rockport in good time, just as I had planned. But then I had two problems. First, I couldn't find a parking space downtown and had to park several blocks outside the downtown area. Second, I misremembered where the performance center — which is known for its spectacular view of the harbor — was located, and spent nearly a half hour searching for it around the harbor before I realized that there was a second harbor. By the time I got there, at about 3:10, the concert had begun and I was pretty frazzled.
Fortunately, "Songs Without Words" wasn't the first piece on the program, and during what remained of Prokofiev's Cello Sonata, I calmed down. In a program note, the composer writes:
The first movement is entitiled "Among the Trees." It begins "like a hymn" but quickly moves into a sort of recitative. The piano sometimes provides the hymnal accompaniment and sometimes a more sparkling background. The second movement, "Forest at Night," begins with misterioso pizzicato and soon becomes passionate. The third movement, "Barcarolle," is the most expansive part of the sonata, and perhaps the most songful.At this first hearing, it didn't seem very melodic, but it was very listenable and interesting. It was definitely more entertaining than what I heard of the Prokofiev. I'm glad I got there in time to hear it.
After intermission, Bach's Suite for Unaccompanied Cello No. 4 and Kodály's Duo for Violin and Cello, Opus 7, completed the concert.
It would be good to be able to hear "Songs Without Words" several more times, to get to really know it and be able to form a more definite opinion of how good it is. The problem for this and many other compositions is that there is so much music available for a limited number of places on concert programs. There are many works which have entered the standard repertory, and they occupy most of the available space. In my opinion, there are many fine works by "second string" composers (I'm thinking of Weber as I write this) which are rarely performed, while less deserving works by "first stringers" get played regularly. With known works languishing, it is regrettably difficult for a new work to get enough hearings to become established, no matter how good it is.
*I'm well aware that Mendelssohn composed "Songs Without Words." Apparently, the title does not belong to him.
Saturday, May 12, 2018
BSO/Classical New England — 2018/05/12
As I mentioned last week, it is now the period between the BSO's Symphony Hall season and their summer season at Tanglewood. Over the next several weeks, WCRB will be rebroadcasting concerts from the first weeks of the past Symphony Hall season. The schedule is here. As you can see there, this week we get to hear again the concert of September 23, 2017. (For some reason, I can't get the second page to open, so I'm not sure about what comes toward the end of the period.)
I posted about it at the time. And here's a link to the orchestra's performance detail page for that concert. Since opening night (with a different program) had been the evening before this concert, there had been no previous performances of this program and therefore no reviews when I wrote my post. Subsequently, the Boston Globe had a favorable review, while the Intelligencer wasn't completely satisfied, but gave extensive descriptions of the music and the way it was performed. Between reviews and program notes, there's plenty of preview material, if you're interested.
The show begins on air and on line over WCRB at 8:00 p.m. Boston Time. I'm not sure if they'll do it again on the 21st.
Enjoy.
I posted about it at the time. And here's a link to the orchestra's performance detail page for that concert. Since opening night (with a different program) had been the evening before this concert, there had been no previous performances of this program and therefore no reviews when I wrote my post. Subsequently, the Boston Globe had a favorable review, while the Intelligencer wasn't completely satisfied, but gave extensive descriptions of the music and the way it was performed. Between reviews and program notes, there's plenty of preview material, if you're interested.
The show begins on air and on line over WCRB at 8:00 p.m. Boston Time. I'm not sure if they'll do it again on the 21st.
Enjoy.
Saturday, May 5, 2018
BSO — 2018/05/05
It's all Brahms this week: an outstanding concert in several respects, as the reviews below explain. First, however, the usual quote from the BSO's performance detail page (which also has the usual links to background information):
The reviews in the Globe and the Intelligencer note that Maestro Haitink is not scheduled to conduct at Symphony Hall next season, and, given his age, it is at least possible that this will prove to be his final concert with the orchestra. That alone is a reason to listen. Beyond that, the concerts this week are the first in which new principal cellist Blaise Déjardin takes his chair at the head of the celli — with a prominent solo in the piano concerto. Both reviews speak highly of the work of all concerned, so this is a concert not to be missed.
WCRB will bring it to you live this evening on air and on line at 8:00 Boston Time (EDST). Even though Brahms is far from my favorite composer, I'm planning to be listenng to this rather than the Red Sox game.
This is the final concert of the subscription season, with Spring Pops taking over Symphony Hall. I haven't looked to see what WCRB will present in the Saturday evening time slot between now and the beginning of the Tanglewood season, but I expect "encore broadcasts." Monday, May 7, will bring the usual encore broadcast of last week's concert of Brahms and Prokofiev; and today's concert will be rebroadcast on May 14 — both at 8:00 p.m.
Enjoy!
BSO Conductor Emeritus Bernard Haitink leads the final series of the 2017-18 season, an all-Brahms program featuring beloved pianist Emanuel Ax in the composer's monumental Piano Concerto No. 2. The turbulent First, the Second Concerto is a magisterial, far-ranging work of symphonic proportions, in four movements rather than a typical concerto's three. Brahms's Symphony No. 2 was composed relatively quickly in 1877, following his extended, years-long effort to complete the long-awaited First. The lilting Second Symphony is generally regarded as the most genial and relaxed of Brahms's four great works in the genre.(Emphasis added.)
The reviews in the Globe and the Intelligencer note that Maestro Haitink is not scheduled to conduct at Symphony Hall next season, and, given his age, it is at least possible that this will prove to be his final concert with the orchestra. That alone is a reason to listen. Beyond that, the concerts this week are the first in which new principal cellist Blaise Déjardin takes his chair at the head of the celli — with a prominent solo in the piano concerto. Both reviews speak highly of the work of all concerned, so this is a concert not to be missed.
WCRB will bring it to you live this evening on air and on line at 8:00 Boston Time (EDST). Even though Brahms is far from my favorite composer, I'm planning to be listenng to this rather than the Red Sox game.
This is the final concert of the subscription season, with Spring Pops taking over Symphony Hall. I haven't looked to see what WCRB will present in the Saturday evening time slot between now and the beginning of the Tanglewood season, but I expect "encore broadcasts." Monday, May 7, will bring the usual encore broadcast of last week's concert of Brahms and Prokofiev; and today's concert will be rebroadcast on May 14 — both at 8:00 p.m.
Enjoy!
Spring Orgy® Period 2018 — Update
The WHRB Program Guide for the Spring Orgy® Period has arrived in the mail. It shows that there are no Orgies scheduled after the end of the Leonard Bernstein Orgy® on May 12. So between then and the Phi Beta Kappa exercises on May 22, they will be giving regular programming. This is different from prior years, when the Orgy Period® extended to the beginning of events surrounding commencement.
Tuesday, May 1, 2018
Spring Orgy® Period 2018
It's Spring Orgy® Period on WHRB. https://www.whrb.org/archive/2018-spring-orgy-season
The station's website gives this explanation of Orgy Periods:
It is evolving slightly through the years. At one time, an orgy would go around the clock. The Bach Orgy® of a couple of decades took a couple of weeks, as I recall. More recently, they've gone to doing the classical orgies during daytime hours, and jazz and rock at night and morning, similar to the ordinary daytime routine. I note in the schedule at the above link, that now some classical orgies run in tandem, with Rossini and Bernstein sharing May 8, 9, and 10.
Apparently, the full Program Guide isn't available yet, but you can see the schedule through May 12 at the above link. Right now, the Warhorse Orgy is in progress (until 10:00 p.m.). In coming days, we'll get Grieg, Rossini, and Bernstein. Tomorrow and Thursday afternoons and evenings there's also an Overshadowed Orgy, which may well be about classical music or musicians.
It all makes for enjoyable and informative listening as they explore the output of a particular composer, performer, or category of music. Although the available listings only go through the 12th, the Spring Orgy Period® usually extends until Harvard's Commencement in late May, so stay tuned.
The station's website gives this explanation of Orgy Periods:
What is a WHRB Orgy®?
Legend has it that the WHRB Orgy® tradition began over sixty-five years ago, in the Spring of 1943. At that time, it is said that one Harvard student, then a staff member of WHRB, returned to the station after a particularly difficult exam and played all of Beethoven's nine symphonies consecutively to celebrate the end of a long, hard term of studying. The idea caught on, and soon the orgy concept was expanded to include live jazz, rock, hip-hop, blues, and even sports Orgies.The Orgy® tradition lives on even today at WHRB. During the Reading and Exam Periods of Harvard College, WHRB presents marathon-style musical programs devoted to a single composer, performer, genre, or subject. The New York Times calls them“idealistic and interesting,”adding,“the WHRB Orgies represent a triumph of musical research, imagination, and passion.”
It is evolving slightly through the years. At one time, an orgy would go around the clock. The Bach Orgy® of a couple of decades took a couple of weeks, as I recall. More recently, they've gone to doing the classical orgies during daytime hours, and jazz and rock at night and morning, similar to the ordinary daytime routine. I note in the schedule at the above link, that now some classical orgies run in tandem, with Rossini and Bernstein sharing May 8, 9, and 10.
Apparently, the full Program Guide isn't available yet, but you can see the schedule through May 12 at the above link. Right now, the Warhorse Orgy is in progress (until 10:00 p.m.). In coming days, we'll get Grieg, Rossini, and Bernstein. Tomorrow and Thursday afternoons and evenings there's also an Overshadowed Orgy, which may well be about classical music or musicians.
It all makes for enjoyable and informative listening as they explore the output of a particular composer, performer, or category of music. Although the available listings only go through the 12th, the Spring Orgy Period® usually extends until Harvard's Commencement in late May, so stay tuned.
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