The BSO is back live with an interestin concert. I was there on Thursday, but before I give my impressions, here's the official story. First let's hear from WCRB:
Saturday, January 7, 2023
8:00 PMEncore broadcast on Monday, January 16
Israeli conductor Omer Meir Wellber leads the Boston Symphony in an exploration of Beethoven, through the composer’s own works and a world premiere by Ella Milch-Sheriff, and Midori is the soloist in Tchaikovsky’s beloved Violin Concerto.
Omer Meir Wellber, conductor
Midori, violin
Eli Danker, narratorTCHAIKOVSKY Violin Concerto in D
Ella MILCH-SHERIFF The Eternal Stranger (American premiere)
BEETHOVEN Funeral March from Symphony No. 3, Eroica
BEETHOVEN Leonore Overture No. 3Hear a preview of The Eternal Stranger with conductor Omer Meir Wellber and Arun Rath of GBH News.
The preview of "The Eternal Stranger" is linked in that line on WCRB's page.
The orchestra's own performance detail page gives this synopsis:
Performing with the BSO at Symphony Hall for the first time since 2003, renowned violinist Midori joins Israeli conductor Omer Meir Wellber in his BSO debut for Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s beloved Violin Concerto. Israeli composer Ella Milch-Sheriff’s The Eternal Stranger for narrator and orchestra relates Ludwig van Beethoven’s difficulty in society due to his personality and deafness to the hostility and rejection experienced by refugees and other “strangers.” The funeral march from the Eroica Symphony and the overture from Beethoven’s opera about a political imprisonment remind us of the composer’s abiding universal humanity.
As usual, there are links to take you to the full program notes.
The review in the Globe talks about more than just the music, but finds it generally well performed. The Intelligencer presents a review which is all about the music, finding the Tchaikovsky excellent, the Beethoven good, and questioning the decision the program the Milch-Sheriff in connection with the Beethoven.
Like the Intelligencer, I thought there were points where the brass overpowered the strings. THe Milch-Sheriff music was okay, but not memorable. It worked to accompany the drama, which I thought was reasonably well performed. Unfortunately, you can't see the actor and his "stage business" on the radio. You also don't get to see the conductor,, which may be just as well, as his broad and energetic gestures were a little distraction.
You can't go wrong with the Tchaikovsky and Beethoven, so I think this concert is definitely worth hearing. Not also that there will be a rebroadcast on January 16, so you can enjoy it again, or catch it if you have to miss this evening.
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