BSO/Classical New England — 2020/12/05

 Five years ago, it was HolidayPops season in Symphony Hall, so WCRB has fast-forwarded a month to January 9, 2016, for the following:

Saturday at 8pm, François-Xavier Roth leads the BSO in Gossec's Symphonie à 17 parties and Beethoven's Eroica Symphony, as well as Mozart's Concerto for Flute and Harp, featuring BSO Principal Flutist Elizabeth Rowe and BSO Principal Harpist Jessica Zhou.

Saturday, December 5, 2020

Encore broadcast from January 9, 2016

Boston Symphony Orchestra
François-Xavier Roth, conductor
Elizabeth Rowe, flute
Jessica Zhou, harp

GOSSEC Symphonie à 17 parties
MOZART Concerto in C for Flute and Harp, K.299
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 3, "Eroica"

The page also has interviews with the conductor and with the soloists in the Mozart.

Below, edited and revised to remove content no longer valid, is what I posted back at the time:

It should be a very enjoyable concert when the Boston Symphony Orchestra resumes its subscription series on January 7-12. Guest conductor François-Xavier Roth opens the concert with the Symphonie à 17 parties in F by François-Joseph Gossec (1734-1829), whose music has never before been played by the BSO. Then Elizabeth Rowe,flute, and Jessica Zhou, harp, are soloists in Mozart's Concerto in C for Flute and Harp. After intermission we will hear Beethoven'sSymphony № 3, "Eroica." […]Here's what [the performance detail page says] about the program:

BSO principal flute Elizabeth Rowe and principal harp Jessica Zhou join French conductor François-Xavier Roth for Mozart's masterful Concerto in C for Flute and Harp. The Belgian-born François-Joseph Gossec (1734-1829), whose music the BSO has never played, was a Haydn contemporary who outlived both Beethoven and Schubert. Active in Paris during the Revolution and the rise of Napoleon, he composed virtually nothing in the final thirty years of his life. One of two noted exceptions is the ebullient 1809 Symphony for Seventeen Parts. By contrast, Beethoven's towering Eroica Symphony, composed five years earlier, ushers in seismic changes in the form, scale, and impact of the symphonic genre.

Reviews are tepid. In the Globe,  the reviewer found the Mozart well played by the soloists, the Gossec given a perfunctory performance by the players, and the Beethoven lacking overall cohesion. The BMInt reviewer was much happier with the Beethoven and liked the Gossec. He was satisfied with the playing of the Mozart, but considers the music inferior Mozart.

I found the Gossec pleasant but not extremely inspired. Maybe hearing it again on Saturday will open it up more for me. Anyway, it should be enjoyable to listen to. The other two pieces are familiar, especially the Beethoven, and I found the performances satisfying. Personally, I was happy to see a couple of the new members of the orchestra take leading roles. Clint Foreman had the first chair in the flute section for the Gossec and the Beethoven, since Elizabeth Rowe had soloist duties in the Mozart, and he carried off his solos quite well, as far as I could tell, despite apparently being bothered by a cold. Wesley Collins was given first chair in the violas for the Gossec. At a couple of points, he seemed to smile approvingly at the second chair player after they played a passage, as if to say, "Yes! you/we nailed it!"

WCRB will [rebroadcast and stream the concert at 8:00 p.m. EST.]

Despite all the reservations expressed by the reviewers, I think it is a concert that everybody can enjoy hearing. I'd even call it a "must hear," so I cordially recommend that you listen.

My recommendation still holds: listen if you can.