BSO — 2024/04/20

 This evening the BSO will give us a couple of pieces from the standard repertory along with one unfamiliar item to open. Here's the summary from WCRB:

Saturday, April 20, 2024
8:00pm

Encore broadcast on Monday, April 29

Hilary Hahn returns to Symphony Hall and the Boston Symphony as the soloist in the Violin Concerto by Johannes Brahms. The program, led by Andris Nelsons, also includes Mozart’s charming, lesser-known Symphony No. 33 and Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s orchestrally imaginative Archora, inspired by the primordial energy of her Icelandic homeland.

Andris Nelsons, conductor
Hilary Hahn, violin

Anna THORVALDSDOTTIR Archora 
Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART Symphony No. 33
Johannes BRAHMS Violin Concerto

To hear a preview of Brahms's Violin Concerto with Hilary Hahn, as well as her reflections of her #100daysofpractice Instagram series, use the player above and read the transcript below.

Hear more from Hilary Hahn, with Jeremy Siegel, on GBH's Morning Edition.

TRANSCRIPT:

Brian McCreath I'm Brian McCreath at Symphony Hall with Hilary Hahn, who has returned to the Boston Symphony for the Violin 

The BSO performance detail page has the following overall description:

Boston Symphony Orchestra

Symphony Hall, Boston, MA 

Andris Nelsons, conductor 
Hilary Hahn, violin 

Anna THORVALDSDOTTIR Archora
MOZART Symphony No. 33
Intermission
BRAHMS Violin Concerto

[…]

Opening the program is Wolfgang Mozart’s charming Symphony No. 33, followed by Anna Thorvaldsdottir's monumental work Archora, a recording of which was named among the best of 2023 by the Boston Globe, New York Times, and NPR. Closing the program, international star Hilary Hahn is soloist in one of the greatest works in the repertoire: Brahms’s Violin Concerto. Brahms composed this rich, lyrical work in 1878 for, and with the advice of, his friend Joseph Joachim, a towering virtuoso of the age. 

The program notes are all linked, and could be interesting previews.

The program wasn't part of my subscription, so I can't give you any personal impressions. The review in the Globe was favorable and gives an encouraging overview of the Thorvaldsdottir piece. The Intelligencer is also favorable, with a more detailed description of the Thorvaldsdottir.

All in all, this semms like a concert worth hearing.

BSO — 2024/04/13

 A single work makes up this evening's concert, as WCRB tells us:

Saturday, April 13, 2024
8:00pm

Encore broadcast on Monday, April 22

French composer Olivier Messiaen was famously synesthetic, “hearing” colors as harmony and seeing colors in sound. Turangalîla-symphonie summed up the composer’s passions for nature, birdsong, Catholicism, Eastern philosophy and music, and romantic love as embodied in the legend of Tristan and Isolde. Andris Nelsons conducts, Yuja Wang plays the work’s substantial piano part, and Cécile Lartigau performs the rarely heard ondes Martenot, an electronic instrument invented in 1925.

Andris Nelsons, conductor 
Yuja Wang, piano 
Cécile Lartigau, ondes Martenot 

Olivier MESSIAEN Turangalîla-symphonie

Here's the link to the BSO performance detail page,where you can follow the link to the program note. Messiaen's own description of the parts which is there may help. They summarize:

Boston Symphony Orchestra

Symphony Hall, Boston, MA 

Andris Nelsons, conductor 
Yuja Wang, piano 
Cécile Lartigau, ondes Martenot

MESSIAEN Turangalîla-symphonie

French composer Olivier Messiaen was famously synesthetic, “hearing” colors as harmony and seeing colors in sound. The Turangalîla-symphonie summed up the composer’s passions for nature, birdsong, Catholicism, Eastern philosophy, music, and romantic love as embodied in the legend of Tristan and Isolde; in this concert, Andris Nelsons leads this work that the BSO premiered in 1949 under Leonard Bernstein’s baton. The brilliant Yuja Wang takes on the work’s hefty piano part and Cécile Lartigau performs on the ondes Martenot, an early electronic instrument. Turangalîla was commissioned by Serge Koussevitzky. 

There are favorable reviews in the Globe and in the Intelligencer.

I hadn't really expected to enjoy it yesterday, but I was pleasantly surprised. It is pretty cacophonous at times, but not terribly off-putting; and there are calm passages as well. So I recommend giving it a try. I'll be listening this evening and again on the 22nd if I'm free.

BSO — 2024/04/06

 Tonight the BSO gives a program I don't care much about, but you may find it interesting. Here's the scoop from WCRB's webpage:

Saturday, April 6, 2024
8:00pm

Encore broadcast on Monday, April 15

The first program in the BSO’s Music for the Senses festival centers on Alexander Scriabin’s Prometheus, Poem of Fire, in which the composer depicts the evolution of human consciousness. Also on the program are Anna Clyne’s Color Field, inspired in part by the vibrancy of the Mark Rothko 1961 painting Orange, Red, Yellow, Richard Wagner’s ecstatic Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde, and Franz Liszt’s Prometheus.

Andris Nelsons, conductor
Yefim Bronfman, piano
Tanglewood Festival Chorus

Anna CLYNE Color Field
Richard WAGNER Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan and Isolde
Franz LISZT Prometheus
Alexander SCRIABIN Prometheus, Poem of Fire, for piano, color organ, chorus, and orchestra

To hear a preview of Scriabin's Prometheus, Poem of Fire with pianist Yefim Bronfman, use the player above, and read the transcript below.

TRANSCRIPT (lightly edited for clarity):

Brian McCreath I'm Brian McCreath at Sym

You'll note that apart from the opening piec, it's all pre WWI music.

As always, we get more from the BSO's performance detail page:

Boston Symphony Orchestra

Symphony Hall, Boston, MA 

Andris Nelsons, conductor 
Yefim Bronfman, piano 
Anna Gawboy, lighting research
Justin Townsend, lighting designer
Tanglewood Festival Chorus
 James Burton, conductor

Anna CLYNE Color Field 
WAGNER Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan and Isolde
Intermission
LISZT Prometheus 
SCRIABIN Prometheus, Poem of Fire, for piano, color organ, chorus, and orchestra

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

A program of color: It opens with Anna Clyne’s Color Field, inspired in part by the vibrancy of a Mark Rothko painting. Followed by Richard Wagner’s ecstatic Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan and Isolde, and Franz Liszt’s Prometheus. The program closes with Alexander Scriabin’s Prometheus, Poem of Fire. When Alexander Scriabin wrote Prometheus, Poem of Fire, he conceived of a “light organ” that would project colors corresponding to his music. Prometheuspremiered in 1911 with future BSO Music Director Serge Koussevitzky, whose 150th birthday year we celebrate in 2024.

See the linked program notes for more information about each piece.

The review in the Intelligencer tells about what went on with the colors, but the reviewer was not very pleased with the perforance, especially the Wagner. The Globe was tepid.

I'll probably have a lie-down with the radio on while this plays, and loook forward to hearing the rebroadcast on April 15.

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.

BSO/Classical New England — 2024/02/24

 This eveningwe reeturn with WCRB to that thrilling evening of yesteryear — February 4, 2023, to be exact — for an enocre broadcast of the BSO in excerpts from "Tannhäuser." Further detail is here from WCRB:

Saturday, February 24th, 2024
8:00 PM

In this encore broadcast, Andris Nelsons leads the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, and a stellar lineup of soloists in highlights from Richard Wagner’s Tannhäuser.

Andris Nelsons, conductor
Amber Wagner, soprano (Elisabeth)
Marina Prudenskaya, mezzo-soprano (Venus)
Klaus Florian Vogt, tenor (Tannhäuser)
Christian Gerhaher, baritone (Wolfram)
Tanglewood Festival Chorus

ALL-WAGNER
Overture and “Venusberg Music” from Tannhäuser
Tannhäuser, Act III

Hear a preview with Andris Nelsons in the audio player above, and read the transcript below:

This concert was originally broadcasted on Feb 4th, 2023 and is no longer available on demand.

TRANSCRIPT:

Brian McCreath I'm Brian McCreath at Symphony Hall with Andris Nelsons, who's back in Boston to lead a concert of excerpts from Tannhäuser, Wagner's opera. Andris, thanks for your time today. I appreciate it.

I posted about it at the time, and I assume the links there are still working.

It's good music, I think, and worth listening to. As I commented then about the story: "The thing is, the opera is fiction using the historical characters of the great medieval poet Wolfram von Eschenbach, Saint Elizabeth of Thuringia (also known as Elizabeth of Hungary), and the poet/minstrel Tannhäuser. There was also a jubilee year in which pilgrims flocked to Rome. But basically, the opera is a pretty good story of sin, love, and redemption." There probably won't be a further rebroadcast on Monday, March 4, since they don't customarily do that with the "encore broadcasts." So listen this evening if you can.

BSO — 2024/02/17

 As usual, we can get the basics about this evening's Boston Symphony concert from WCRB's webpage:

Saturday, February 17, 2024
8:00pm

Encore broadcast on Monday, February 26

South Korean pianist Yunchan Lim won the gold medal in the 2022 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, becoming the youngest person ever to do so. His final round performance featured Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3, a piece he performs with the BSO at Symphony Hall with returning guest conductor Tugan Sokhiev. Sokhiev also leads a rarity: French composer Ernest Chausson’s only symphony and the composer’s masterpiece, the passionate Symphony in B-flat. 

Tugan Sokhiev, conductor
Yunchan Lim, piano

Sergei RACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No. 3
Ernest CHAUSSON Symphony in B-flat

To hear a preview of the program with Tugan Sokhiev, use the player above, and read the transcript below.

See Chausson's brother-in-law Henry Lerolle's painting "The Organ Rehearsal," depicting Chausson at the organ console, a the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

TRANSCRIPT (lightly edited for clarity):

Brian McCreath I'm Brian McCreath at Symphony Hall with Tugan Sokhiev, who has returned to the Boston Symphony for the first time in a few years, I think Tugan

Further information is available at the BSO performance detail page, which tells us:

Tugan Sokhiev, conductor 
Yunchan Lim, piano

RACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No. 3
Intermission
CHAUSSON Symphony in B-flat

Friday afternoon’s concert is in memory of Jerome H. Grossman, MD, supported by the Grossman Family

Saturday evening's performance by Yunchan Lim is supported by Elizabeth W. and John M. Loder.

Saturday evening’s concert is in memory of Dr. Lawrence H. Cohn.

South Korean pianist Yunchan Lim — the youngest person ever to win the gold medal in the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition — joins returning guest conductor Tugan Sokhiev to perform one of the greatest, most popular, and most virtuosic works in the repertoire: Rachmaninoff’s Concerto No. 3, which the composer himself played with the BSO in 1919 and 1935. Sokhiev also leads a rare gem of a piece: French composer Ernest Chausson’s passionate one and only symphony. The Symphony in B-flat (1890) was a favorite of former BSO Music Director Charles Munch, and the BSO last performed it in 1993.

See the page for links to performer bios and program notes.

The review in the Globe was enthusiastic, that in the Intelligencer a bit less so, but together they give me the impression that this is a concert not to be missed. Sotune in or connect on the web if you can (and don't forget the repeat on the 26th) and enjoy. I'm definitely looking forward to it.