BSO — 2024/04/27

 This evening's Boston Symphony concert could be challenging or fun, depending on which review you believe. Before we get to the reviews, here's what WCRB says:

Saturday, April 27, 2024
8:00pm

Encore broadcast on Monday, May 6

BSO Principal Trumpet Thomas Rolfs is the soloist in Detlev Glanert’s Trumpet Concerto, an eclectic, dramatic work commissioned for and premiered by Rolfs in 2019. The concert opens with a new work by one of the greatest living composers, Sofia Gubaidulina’s The Wrath of God, dedicated to Beethoven, and closes with Sergei Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 4, commissioned by longtime BSO Music Director Serge Koussevitzky for the orchestra’s 50th anniversary in 1931.

Andris Nelsons, conductor
Thomas Rolfs, trumpet

Sofia GUBAIDULINA The Wrath of God (American premiere)
Detlev GLANERT Trumpet Concerto
Sergei PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 4

In a preview of Detlev Glanert's Trumpet Concerto, the composer and the soloist, BSO Principal Trumpeter Thomas Rolfs, describe the very personal expressions of emotion, first inspired by Glanert's friend and mentor, composer Oliver Knussen, that are woven throughout the score and through Rolfs's performances. To hear the interview with CRB's Brian McCreath, use the player above, and read the transcript below.

TRANSCRIPT:

Brian McCreath I'm Brian McCreath at Symphony Hall with Thomas Rolfs, principal trumpet of the Boston Symphony, and Detlev Glanert, the composer

Turning to the BSO's performance detail page, we read the following:

Boston Symphony Orchestra

Symphony Hall, Boston, MA 

Andris Nelsons, conductor 
Thomas Rolfs, trumpet 

Sofia GUBAIDULINA The Wrath of God 
Detlev GLANERT Trumpet Concerto
Intermission
PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 4, Op. 47 (original version)

Thursday evening’s performance is supported by Hemenway & Barnes LLP.
Thursday evening's performance by Thomas Rolfs is supported by Dr. Kenan E. Sahin and Andrea TN Sahin.
Friday afternoon's concert is supported by the Gilbert Family

The program begins with the American premiere of Sofia Gubaidulina’s musically and spiritually forceful Wrath of God, a 2019 work dedicated to Beethoven that Andris Nelsons recorded with the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig. BSO principal trumpet Thomas Rolfs is the soloist in Detlev Glanert’s Trumpet Concerto, an eclectic, dramatic work commissioned for and premiered by Rolfs in 2019. The program concludes with Sergei Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 4, commissioned by longtime BSO music director Serge Koussevitzky for the orchestra’s 50th anniversary in 1931.

As always, there are links to the program notes for each of the pieces, and they could be well worth reading.

The Globe review is lukewarm and suggests that much of the evening's music could be challenging. The Intelligencer's reviewer finds no difficulty in an interesting and enjoyable evening. I guess the only thing to do is listen and decide for ourselves.