BSO — 2023/01/28

 WCRB tells us:

Saturday, January 28, 2023
8:00 PM

Encore broadcast on Monday, February 6

Latvian violinist Baiba Skride returns to the Boston Symphony for Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 2, and Andris Nelsons conducts in the world premiere of Steven Mackey’s Concerto for Curved Space as well as Brahms’s Symphony No. 4.

Andris Nelsons, conductor
Baiba Skride, violin

Steven MACKEY Concerto for Curved Space, for orchestra (world premiere)
SHOSTAKOVICH Violin Concerto No. 2
BRAHMS Symphony No. 4

To hear a preview of Shostakovich's Violin Concerto No. 2 with soloist Baiba Skride, use the player above, and read the transcript below:

TRANSCRIPT:

Brian McCreath I'm Brian McCreath at Symphony Hall with Baiba Skride, who's back with the Boston Symphony. Shostakovich, once again, just like last year, but the Second Concerto. Baiba, thank you for a little bit of your time today. I appreciate it.

Baiba Skride Oh, thank you so much for having me here. I'm so excited to be back with this orchestra, which I know quite well by now.

This concert wasn't part of my subscription, and I had a meeting to attend on Thursday evening anyway, so I can't tell you anything about the world premiere. What's more, I'll miss it this evening because I'll be attending a play at our local community theater. (The Sunday matinee was sold out when I wanted to buy a ticket. Here's what others have to say.

First we go to the BSO performance detail page. There we read:

Music Director Andris Nelsons leads the world premiere of a BSO-commissioned Concerto for Curved Space, for orchestra by Grammy-winning American composer/guitarist Steven Mackey, whose vibrant music embraces a range of influences, from Ludwig van Beethoven to modern rock. Latvian violinist Baiba Skride returns to Symphony Hall for Dmitri Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 2, written for the great Ukrainian violinist David Oistrakh in 1967. Johannes Brahms’ profound and majestic Fourth Symphony closes the program.

Of course, there are links to the program notes from the booklet audience members receive.

The reviews are in. Jeffrey Gantz, in the Intelligencer, gives a lot about the music itself as well as how it was performed. He does his best to avoid complaining, but he still observes that tempos tended to be slow, resulting in a long evening in the hall. Over at the Globe, Jeremy Eichler has no complaints about the Mackey piece, but thinks that other two weren't performed up to BSO standards, and wonders why Baiba Skride is here so often.

So there you have it: a long evening beginning with an hour of unfamiliar music and ending with a beloved warhorse. I'll have to catch the rebroadcast on February 6. You can listen and decide what you think of it all this evening at 8:)0, Boston Time.