English conductor Sir Andrew Davis and the BSO are joined by Italian pianist Alessio Bax in his BSO debut for one of Mozart's stormiest works, his C minor piano concerto, No. 24, one of the unsurpassed series of concertos from the height of his Vienna popularity. Opening the concert is Pulitzer Prize-winning composer John Harbison's 1986 Symphony No. 2, the four movements of which are called "Dawn," "Daylight," "Dusk," and "Darkness"-keys to its evolving expressive and musical character. This is one of several Harbison works being performed this year to mark the 80th birthday year of a composer closely associated with the BSO. Steeped in the musical tradition of England, Vaughan Williams's Fifth Symphony was composed at the beginning of World War II but maintains an optimistic and affirmative outlook.(Emphasis added.)
The reviews are in. The Globe liked it. So did the Intelligencer, with much interesting detail, including an overall reference to "the symphony’s particularly severe mien, even in contrast to Harbison’s other work, [which] lodges it in our mind as a true 20th century modernist artifact." So be prepared for the challenge.
I was unable to get to the performance on Thursday. I've been especially looking forward to hearing the Harbison symphony, although the Intelligencer review has me expecting some challenging music. You can hear what all the talk is about this evening at 8:00, EST, over the facilities of WCRB, with a repeat transmission on Monday, the 21st, also at 8:00 p.m. Last week's concert will be rebroadcast on the 14th. As usual, I recommend checking out their website for information about other programming.
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