BSO — 2024/03/30

 Two debuts this week and the American premiere of a new symphony. Let WCRB give us the basics of this evening's concert:

Saturday, March 30, 2024
8:00pm

Encore broadcast on Monday, April 8

Venezuelan conductor Domingo Hindoyan makes his BSO debut leading the American premiere of the BSO co-commissioned Symphony No. 6 by Puerto Rican composer Roberto Sierra. Also making his BSO debut is Spanish cellist Pablo Ferrández in Edward Elgar’s regal and impassioned Cello Concerto, often interpreted as a profound reaction to the First World War. One of the repertoire’s greatest symphonies, Czech composer Antonín Dvořák’s darkly majestic Seventh, exudes his love for his native Bohemia as well as the influence of his mentor, Johannes Brahms.

Domingo Hindoyan, conductor
Pablo Ferrández, cello

Roberto SIERRA Symphony No. 6 (American premiere; BSO co-commission)
Edward ELGAR Cello Concerto
Antonín DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 7

Kendall Todd spoke with Domingo Hindoyan about his personal relationship with Roberto Sierra's music, what makes Dvořák's Seventh Symphony so special, and sharing a BSO debut with Pablo Ferrández. Follow along with the audio player above and the transcript below.

TRANSCRIPT:

Kendall Todd I'm Kendall Todd here at Symphony Hall with Domingo Hindoyan

For more information, includiong a link to the program notes, we turn to the BSO's own performance detail page:

 

Boston Symphony Orchestra

Symphony Hall, Boston, MA

         Domingo Hindoyan, conductor

         Pablo Ferrández, cello

Roberto SIERRA Sinfonía No. 6 (American premiere; co-commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Andris Nelsons, Music Director, as part of the Koussevitzky150 initiative, with generous support from the New Works Fund established by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency, and Catherine and Paul Buttenwieser.) 
ELGAR Cello Concerto
Intermission
DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 7

Thursday evening’s concert is supported by Nancy and Richard Lubin.
Thursday evening's performance by Pablo Ferrández is supported by Mary Cornille, in loving memory of Jack Cogan.
Saturday evening’s concert is in memory of Stephen R. Weber, supported by Dr. Dorothy A. Weber.
Saturday evening's performance by Pablo Ferrández is supported by Jim Aisner, in memory of his wife, Virginia Simpson Aisner.

Venezuelan conductor Domingo Hindoyan makes his BSO debut leading the American premiere of Roberto Sierra’s Symphony No. 6, a BSO co-commission. Also making his BSO debut is Spanish cellist Pablo Ferrández in Edward Elgar’s regal and impassioned Cello Concerto, often interpreted as a profound reaction to the First World War. One of the repertoire’s greatest symphonies, Czech composer Antonín Dvořák’s darkly majestic Symphony No. 7 exudes his love for his native Bohemia as well as the influence of his mentor, Johannes Brahms.

From the program notes, it sounds as if the Sierrs symphony should be interesting and not too tough to take. The rest of the program is standard repertory, well liked by most listeners.

I find no review in the Globe, but there is a highly favorable one in the Intelligencer.

This should be a good evening at Symphony Hall and on WCRB. Enjoy.

BSO — 2024/03/23

 Now for something completely different. WCRB has the bare bones, but for a serious description you have to go to the BSO's performance detail page, where we are told:

Celebrating the Symphonic Legacy of Wayne Shorter

Boston Symphony Orchestra

Symphony Hall, Boston, MA 

Clark Rundell, conductor
esperanza spalding, vocalist and bass
Leo Genovese, piano
Terri Lyne Carrington, drums
Dayna Stephens, saxophone 

ALL-WAYNE SHORTER PROGRAM
Forbidden, Plan-It! 
Orbits 
Midnight in Carlotta’s Hair 
…(Iphigenia) Suite No. 1 
Causeways 
Gaia, for jazz quartet and orchestra

This tribute concert honors the life and legacy of the great jazz innovator, composer, bandleader, and saxophonist Wayne Shorter who passed away in March 2023. These performances feature five longtime Shorter collaborators in their BSO debuts, including the Grammy Award-winning bassist and vocalist esperanza spalding. spalding wrote the libretto for Shorter’s 2022 opera …(Iphigenia), which was premiered in Boston in 2021 and is based on the ancient Greek tragedy by Euripides. 

Thursday evening’s concert is supported by Tom Kuo and Alexandra DeLaite.

Saturday's performance of Gaia, for jazz quartet and orchestra is supported by John Lowell Thorndike, former BSO trustee, treasurer, vice president, and lifelong advocate for the performance of contemporary music.

There are very extensive biographical notes followed by briefer annotations about each piece in the program notes which are linked on the BSO page.

There is an enthusiastic review in the Globe and a favorable, althought drier, one in the Intelligencer.

This will all be new to me. Those of you who are jazz afficionados probably already know some of Wayne's work. It should make for an interesting evening for all on WCRB, which is simulcasting the concert with sister station WGBH where there is a presence of jazz.

Enjoy.

BSO — 2024/03/16

This week the BSO gives us three pieces for or about children and rounds the evening off with a lively and pleasantpice that's about 100 years old. Here's their description:

Saturday, March 16, 2024
8:00pm

Encore broadcast on Monday, March 25

Eminent English conductor Sir Mark Elder returns to Symphony Hall for the first time since 2011 to lead a program exploring whimsy, fantasy, and folklore. He leads the American premiere of Elena Langer’s The Dong with  the Luminous Nose, a setting of Edward Lear’s delightful “nonsense poem,” written for the BSO and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. The performance features BSO Principal Cellist Blaise Déjardin as soloist along with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus. Maurice Ravel’s Mother Goose began as a suite of children’s piano pieces, each illustrating an iconic fairytale, while Antonín Dvořák’s The Noonday Witch is based on a much darker Czech folktale. Czech composer Leoš Janáček’s energetically masterful Sinfonietta closes the program.

Sir Mark Elder, conductor 
Blaise Déjardin, cello 
Tanglewood Festival Chorus

Maurice RAVEL Mother Goose 
Elena LANGER The Dong with a Luminous Nose, for cello, chorus, and orchestra (American premiere; BSO co-commission)
Antonín DVOŘÁK The Noonday Witch
Leoš JANÁČEK Sinfonietta

Read Edward Lear's "The Dong with a Luminous Nose" at Poetry Foundation. [Emphasis added.]

For a preview of the program with Sir Mark Elder, use the player above, and read the transcript below:

TRANSCRIPT:

Brian McCreath I'm Brian McCreath at Symphony Hall with Sir Mark Elder, and you are back with the Boston Symphony 

I recommend going to the BSO performance detail page and finding the link to the program notes, especially for the Langer and Dvořák pieces. Here's their overview of the show:

Sir Mark Elder, conductor 
Blaise Déjardin, cello 
Tanglewood Festival Chorus 
 James Burton, conductor 

RAVEL Mother Goose (complete) 
Elena LANGER The Dong with a Luminous Nose, for cello, chorus, and orchestra (American premiere; BSO co-commission) Commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Andris Nelsons, Music Director, through the generous support of the Arthur P. Contas Commissioning Fund.
Intermission
DVOŘÁK The Noonday Witch 
JANÁČEK Sinfonietta

[…]

Eminent English conductor Sir Mark Elder returns to Symphony Hall for the first time since 2011 to lead a program full of whimsy, fantasy, and folklore. Opening the program, Maurice Ravel’s Mother Goose ballet score began as a suite of children’s piano pieces, each movement illustrating an iconic tale. Next is the American premiere of Elena Langer’s The Dong with a Luminous Nose, a setting of Edward Lear’s delightful “nonsense poem” written for the BSO and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, which gave the first performance in March 2023 featuring BSO principal cello Blaise Déjardin as soloist with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus. Antonín Dvořák’s The Noonday Witch is based on a much darker Czech folktale. Czech composer Leoš Janáček’s energetic, masterful Sinfonietta closes the concert.

The brief review in the Intelligencer is more descriptive than evaluative and contains a good description of the Langer piece. The Globe doesn't seem to have reviewed it yet.

I was there on Friday afternoon. I found the Ravel dull for the most part, but most people seem to like it. The Langer was amusing in the way the music, raucous at times and more gentle at times supported the taxt. The cellist did very well with his solos. After intermission, the Dvořák was interesting. Again, I recommend using the BSO's prograsm notes to get an idea of the action which the music represents. The Janáček is lively and fun, IMO.

All in all, it isn't must listen music, but I don't regret spending the time listening to it, and I'm looking forward to hearing it again this evening and on the 25th. Enjoy.

BSO — 2024/03/09

 This evening the BSO presents Grieg's music for Peer Gynt with actors performing scenes of the play, as WCRB informs us:

Saturday, March 9, 2024
8:00pm

Encore broadcast on Monday, March 18

In the second BSO concert of the Music of the Midnight Sun Festival, Dima Slobodeniouk leads a performance of Peer Gynt by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen and composer Edvard Grieg, reimagined by playwright and director Bill Barclay. This fantastical epic tale follows Peer from his home village through the Hall of the Mountain King to Northern Africa and back. 

Dima Slobodeniouk, conductor 
Georgia Jarman, soprano
Actors from Concert Theatre Works 
Tanglewood Festival Chorus

Edvard GRIEG Peer Gynt

For notes and a synopsis, visit the BSO.

Hear producer, writer, and director Bill Barclay describe the unique challenges of adapting Peer Gynt in an interview with Jared Bowen on GBH's The Culture Show.

To hear a preview of Peer Gynt with conductor Dima Slobodeniouk, use the player above, and read the transcript below.

Brian McCreath I'm Brian McCreath at Symphony Hall with Dima Slobodeniouk, who's back in Boston for a presentation really, of Peer Gynt. I don't want to say performance. It's really a presentation, this theatrical adaptation

You can also read about it at the BSO's performance detail page:

Boston Symphony Orchestra

Symphony Hall, Boston, MA 

Dima Slobodeniouk, conductor 
Georgia Jarman, soprano 
Actors from Concert Theatre Works
Caleb Mayo (Peer Gynt) 
Bobbie Steinbach (Åse) 
Robert Walsh (Button Moulder / Father of the Groom) 
Will Lyman (Voice of The Boyg) 
Risher Reddick (The Mountain King / Mads Moen / Herr Trumpetterstrale / Hussein) 
Caroline Lawton (Woman in Green / Aslak’s Wife / Herr von Eberkopf) 
Daniel Berger-Jones (Aslak / Mr. Cotton / Begriffenfeldt) 
Kortney Adams (Ingrid / Monsieur Ballon / Anitra) 
Vidar Skrede (Hardanger fiddler) 
Tanglewood Festival Chorus 
 James Burton, conductor 

GRIEG Peer Gynt 
written and directed by Bill Barclay adapted from the play by Henrik Ibsen

Please note that there is no intermission in these concerts.

This week's performances by the Tanglewood Festival Chorus are supported by the Alan J. and Suzanne W. Dworsky Fund for Voice and Chorus.

In the second of the Music of the Midnight Sun concerts, Finland-based Russian conductor Dima Slobodeniouk leads a staged performance of Peer Gynt, by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen and composer Edvard Grieg. This fantastical, epic tale, theatrically reimagined by director-playwright Bill Barclay, follows Peer on his adventures from his home village through the Hall of the Mountain King, to Northern Africa, and back. 

Music of the Midnight Sun is supported, in part by the American Scandinavian Foundation.

Fun fact: Caleb Mayo, who plays Peer Gynt is from my home town.

I saw a performance when the show was first given, and he did very well. The show was enjoyable to watch. I'm not sure how well it will translate to radio, but having the dialogue to flesh out the music should add something to our understanding of what the music's all about.

The review in the Globe is long on description, but favorable to the performance and performers. The Intelligencer doesn't have a review of this perfomance, but the review from 2017 gives a very good description on the action that takes place (as well as "Egmont" which is not being given this time).

All in all, I recommend giving it a hearing this evening and/or on March 18.

BSO — 2024/03/02

 The BSO is beginning a two-week "Music of the Midnight Sun" Festival this week. WCRB has the basic information:

Saturday, March 2, 2024
8:00pm

Encore broadcast on Monday, March 11

Finnish conductor John Storgårds leads the first of two BSO programs in the Music of the Midnight Sun festival, an exploration of Nordic music and storytelling. Outi Tarkiainen’s Midnight Sun Variations transports you to her homeland of Finland. Evoking similarly vivid soundscapes, the BSO performs three tone poems by Jean Sibelius based on Finnish legends. And Finnish violinist Pekka Kuusisto makes his BSO debut in the orchestra’s first-ever performances of the great Danish composer Carl Nielsen’s Violin Concerto.

John Storgårds, conductor
Pekka Kuusisto, violin

Outi TARKIAINEN Midnight Sun Variations 
Carl NIELSEN Violin Concerto
Jean SIBELIUS The Oceanides and The Bard
SIBELIUS Tapiola

To hear a preview of Nielsen's Violin Concerto with Pekka Kuusisto, use the player above, and read the transcript below.

TRANSCRIPT

Brian McCreath I'm Brian McCreath. I'm at Symphony Hall with Pekka Kuusisto, who is here with the Boston Symphony for the very first time. Pekka, thank you for a little bit of your time today. I apprecia

I have a ticket waiting for me at the box office, but I haven't had a nap today, and I'm feeling a bit drowsy. Unfortunately, public transportation is very spotty in the late evenings, so I think I'll just stay home and listen to WCRB along with you.

For additional information, you can go to the BSO's own performance detail page, with its links to performer bios and program notes. Their introduction is as follows:

Boston Symphony Orchestra

Symphony Hall, Boston, MA 

John Storgårds, conductor 
Pekka Kuusisto, violin

Outi TARKIAINEN Midnight Sun Variations 
NIELSEN Violin Concerto
Intermission
SIBELIUS The Oceanides and The Bard 
SIBELIUS Tapiola

The music and culture of Finland permeate Symphony Hall in this concert. Finnish conductor John Storgårds leads the first program in our Music of the Midnight Sun series, an exploration of Nordic storytelling and music. Finnish composer Outi Tarkiainen’s nuanced and colorful Midnight Sun Variations transport you to her homeland. Finnish violinist Pekka Kuusisto debuts with the BSO as the orchestra performs the great Danish composer Carl Nielsen’s 1911 Violin Concerto for the first time. The program closes with three of Jean Sibelius’s tone poems based on Finnish legends, their moods ranging from sweeping power to contemplative mystery.

Somebody in my grandmother's generation was quoted by my mother as saying, "A little Sibelius goes a long way." Listening to his music has led me to disagree. Sibelius was a very good composer, IMO, and I'm looking forward  to hearing the music on the second half of the program. As for the first half, the composer's description of "Midnight Sun Variations" in the program notes has me interested to hear it, and I have no doubt the Nielsen violin concerto will be good. I can't find any reviews in the Globe or the Intelligencer.

With what I've seen about the program, I think it should be worth listening to. Don't forget the chance to listen again with the rebroadcast on March 11.

Enjoy.