BSO — 2022/09/24

 This evening WCRB gives the first broadcast of the Bston Symphony 2022-23 season. Here's their summary:

Saturday, September 24, 2022
8:00 PM

In the opening to the 2022-23 Season, Andris Nelsons leads the Boston Symphony and the Lorelei Ensemble in Gustav Holst’s sweeping The Planets,and Awadagin Pratt makes his BSO debut with a concerto by J.S. Bach and Jessie Montgomery’s Rounds.

Andris Nelsons, conductor
Awadagin Pratt, piano
Lorelei Ensemble

John WILLIAMS A Toast
Johann Sebastian BACH Keyboard Concerto in A, BWV 1055
Jessie MONTGOMERY Rounds
Gustav HOLST The Planets

To hear a preview of Jessie Montgomery's Rounds with pianist Awadagin Pratt, click on the player above, and see the transcript below.

Brian McCreath I'm Brian McCreath at Symphony Hall, where I talked with pianist Awadagin Pratt today about

This is actually a rebroadcast of Thursday's opening night concert, which I attended. I found it enjoyable overall. The "Toast" by John Williams was typical cheerful brass music. My seat in the front row of the second second balcony afforded a good view of the pianist's right hand, and it was interesting to see his fingers fly over the keys in the Bach, which is part of the standard baroque repertory, and in the Montgomery, which was not bad for something just written. After intermission, "The Planets" was fun to hear. At the end, the women sang so softly that I wondered if they could even be heard at the back of the auditorium. Hopefully, the mics picked it all up. To me, the Bach concerto was the best piece on the concert, and while the rest isn't quite must listening it's all okay, and there's a reason "The Planets" is frequently played.

Jeremy Eichler reviewed the concert favorably in the Boston Globe, although he had a couple of minor quibbles. He is descriptive of "Rounds." David Patterson, writing in the Boston Musical Intelligencer, was favorable as well. For more information, you can access the BSO's performance detail page. There are brief descriptions of each piece there, and the full program notes can be accessed by clicking on the title of each piece. (I'm not sure how long they'll leave this page up, but at least it's there now.)

WCRB doesn't say they will rebroadcast the concert on October 3, so I wouldn't count on it, but there has also been an "on demand" feature which I've never used. So if you want to hear it again or at another time, check that out. At any rate, I give ths concert a "thumbs up."