Tanglewood — 2026/08/01-02

Tonight we can hear "The Marriage of Figaro," and tomorrow a more conventional concert featuring Joshua Bell, a symphony, and a new work, not in that order.

Saturday August 1, 2026

First, here's WCRB's take on this evening's concert: https://www.classicalwcrb.org/show/the-boston-symphony-orchestra/2026-03-25/mozarts-the-marriage-of-figaro-at-tanglewood

Saturday, August 1, 2026
8:00 PM

Mozart’s opera “The Marriage of Figaro” comes to life at the Shed, starring Nikola Hillebrand, Hanna-Elisabeth Müller, Emily D’Angelo, Michael Sumuel, and Joshua Hopkins. Enjoy Mozart’s “upstairs, downstairs” intrigue, disguises, crazy plot lines, and, most of all, his spirited and seductive music performed by the Boston Symphony and the Tanglewood Music Center Vocal Fellows.

Andris Nelsons, conductor 
Hanna-Elisabeth Müller, soprano (Countess) 
Nikola Hillebrand, soprano (Susanna) 
Emily D’Angelo, mezzo-soprano (Cherubino) 
Joshua Hopkins, baritone (Count) 
Michael Sumuel, baritone (Figaro) 
Eden Bartholomew, soprano (Barbarina)
Elizabeth Bishop, mezzo-soprano (Marcellina) 
Joshua Sanders, tenor (Don Curzio) 
Rodell Rosel, tenor (Don Basilio)
Patrick Carfizzi, baritone (Doctor Bartolo) 
Dean Murphy, baritone (Antonio) 
Tanglewood Music Center Vocal Fellows
James Darrah Black, director

W.A. MOZART The Marriage of Figaro

You can go to this page on the BSO website https://www.bso.org/events/august-1-boston-symphony-orch?performance=2026-08-01-20:00 for links to performer bios and program notes.

The music is beautiful even apart from the details of the story line, so even without the surtitles, it should make for enjoyable listening, possibly enhanced by followimg the plot synopsis in the program notes.

Sunday August 2, 2026

Again we turn to WCRB for a brief overview of the program: https://www.classicalwcrb.org/show/the-boston-symphony-orchestra/2026-03-25/joshua-bell-and-bruchs-scottish-fantasy-at-tanglewood

Sunday, August 2, 2026
7:00 PM

In a program that expresses three distinct musical visions of sweeping landscapes, Andris Nelsons leads the BSO in Robert Schumann’s “Rhenish” Symphony, a hymn to the beauty of the Rhineland, as well as Sarah Kirkland Snider’s Marmoris, which was inspired by the sea and oceanic movement. Longtime BSO-collaborator Joshua Bell returns to Tanglewood as the violin soloist in Max Bruch’s virtuosic Scottish Fantasy.

Andris Nelsons, conductor 
Joshua Bell, violin 

Sarah Kirkland SNIDER Marmoris
Max BRUCH Scottish Fantasy
Robert SCHUMANN Symphony No. 3, Rhenish

The BSO page with links (the arrows) to performer bios and program notes is here. https://www.bso.org/events/august-2-boston-symphony-orch?performance=2026-08-02-14:30

I can't vouch for the Snider piece, but the other two are enjoyable staples of the repertory, abd, as you know, Joshua Bell is a great violinist.

We get the afternoon concert in a delayed transmission at 7:00 p.m., Boston Time.

Enjoy both.

BSO — 2024/02/03

 This is definitely a "must listen" concert. WCRB tells us the basics on their website:

Saturday, February 3, 2024
8:00pm

Encore broadcast on Monday, February 12

Andris Nelsons and the Boston Symphony Orchestra welcome American violinist Randall Goosby, the youngest-ever winner of the Sphinx Concerto Competition, to Symphony Hall! Nelsons conducts Max Bruch’s spirited Violin Concerto No. 1 with Goosby as the soloist, as well as Felix Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 5, the ReformationSymphony. The concert opens with the overture to the opera The Wreckers by celebrated early 20th century suffragette and composer Dame Ethel Smyth.

Andris Nelsons, conductor
Randall Goosby, violin

Dame Ethel SMYTH Overture to The Wreckers
Max BRUCH Violin Concerto No. 1
Felix MENDELSSOHN Symphony No. 5, Reformation

To hear Randall Goosby describe his history with Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1, what he learned while studying with Itzhak Perlman, and why he's passionate about music by Florence Price, use the player above, and read the transcript below.

To learn more about Ethel Smyth and Isabella Stewart Gardner, visit the Gardner Museum.

INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT: 

Brian McCreath I'm Brian McCreath at Symphony Hall with Randall Goosby, here with the Boston Symphony for the very first time. Randall, is it also your first time playing in Symphony Hall at all?

Randall Goosby It is. It's actually my first time stepping foot in Symphony Hall.

I was there for the Friday matinee performance, and it was all good listening. The Bruch and Mendelssohn are familiar pieces and pleasant to hear.(Of course the Reformation itself isn't my favorite thing, but Mendelssohn's symphony is good music.)  The Smyth. on the other hand is something I've never heard  before (and the BSO has never played). It's fascinating and quite musical, although in a style suitable for the story of the opera.

By all means check out the BSO performance detail page for the informative program note about the Overture to The Wreckers (as well as for the other information available). Here's their summary for the concert as a whole:

Andris Nelsons, conductor 
Randall Goosby, violin

SMYTH Overture to The Wreckers 
BRUCH Violin Concerto No. 1
Intermission
MENDELSSOHN Symphony No. 5, Reformation

Saturday evening’s concert is in memory of Jane O’Keefe, supported by Cecilia O’Keefe.

Music Director Andris Nelsons opens the program with the overture to the 1906 opera The Wreckers by Dame Ethel Smyth, a composer and suffragist who was one of England’s leading musicians of her time. American violinist Randall Goosby, the youngest-ever winner of the Sphinx Concerto Competition, makes his BSO debut with Max Bruch’s spirited Violin Concerto No. 1. The program closes with Felix Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 5, composed in 1830 as part of celebrations of the 300th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. The music quotes the familiar hymn “Ein feste Burg,” a link to Reformation leader Martin Luther. 

On February 2 the Friday Preview will be given by Marc Mandel, former BSO Director of Program Publications, at 12:15pm. Admission included with ticket.

Friday's concert will end around 3:15pm, and Saturday's concert will end around 9:45pm.

I can't find a review in the Globe, but there's a favorable one in the Intelligencer, concentrating on the violinist, who was quite good.

Even the familiar music seemed fresh. I also noticed several fresh faces. The contrabassonist looked to be in his twenties, and his low notes were clearly audible . There looked like a couple of new players in the second row of the double basses, and I don't remember seeing the female trombonist. There were also a couple of unfamiliar horn players. Sometime I should look at the orcheedstra's online personnel page to find out a bit about them, but at any rate there's always some change going on as the older members retire and new ones are brought in.

This is a concert well worth hearing. Don't forget the rebroadcast on February 12.

BSO/Classical New England — 2023/06/24

 This week's encore broadcast is also from last summer at Tanglewood. WCRB gives us the basics:

Saturday, June 24, 2023
8:00 PM

Legendary violinist Itzhak Perlman is the soloist in Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto, and Dima Slobodeniouk conducts the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Brahms’s Symphony No. 1 and Unsuk Chin’s “subito con forza.”

Dima Slobodeniouk, conductor 
Itzhak Perlman, violin

Unsuk CHIN subito con forza 
Max BRUCH Violin Concerto in G minor
Johannes BRAHMS Symphony No. 1

This concert was originally broadcast on August 21, 2022 and is no longer available on demand.

Further information is available via links on the BSO's performance detail page.

There is a favorable review in the Boston Musical Intelligencer. I can't find one in the Globe.

Worth listening to.

T Tanglewood — 2022/08/20-21

 Tonight the BSO celebrates John Williams' 90th Birthday and tomorrow we get a new piece and a couple of 19th Century staples of the repertory.

Saturday, Auguat 20, 2022. WCRB gives us the basics:

Saturday, August 20, 2022
8:00 PM

Ken-David Masur and the Boston Symphony Orchestra celebrate the iconic film composer's 90th birthday, joined by a stellar cast of soloists including Yo-Yo Ma, Branford Marsalis, and James Taylor, tonight at 8!

Boston Symphony Orchestra
Ken-David Masur, conductor 
Martin Grubinger, percussion
Yo-Yo Ma, cello
Branford Marsalis, saxophone
Eric Revis, bass
James Taylor, vocalist
Jessica Zhou, harp

ALL John WILLIAMS program:

Sound the Bells!
Tributes (For Seiji)
Highwood’s Ghost
Pickin’ from Three Pieces for Solo Cello
JUST DOWN WEST STREET...on the left
To Lenny, To Lenny (For New York)
Escapades from Catch Me If You Can
Presenting James Taylor
"Throne Room" & Finale from Star Wars: A New Hope

The BSO performance detail page has nothing about this concert. So just relax and enjoy, with the comments of Ron Della Chiesa to add some information.

Sunday, August 21, 2022. Again we turn to WCRB for the essentials:

Sunday, August 21, 2022
7:00 PM (delayed broadcast of 2:30 PM concert)

Legendary violinist Itzhak Perlman is the soloist in Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto, and Dima Slobodeniouk conducts the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Brahms’s Symphony No. 1 and Unsuk Chin’s “subito con forza.”

Dima Slobodeniouk, conductor 
Itzhak Perlman, violin

Unsuk CHIN subito con forza 
Max BRUCH Violin Concerto in G minor
Johannes BRAHMS Symphony No. 1

For this one we do have a performance detail page from the BSO. There we find a link to the program notes. There is not much description of "subito, con forza," but maybe you can get some idea. Well it's not long, so you might as well llisten, to be sure you get the whole violin concerto. Notes on that and the Brahms symphony are more extensive.

Again, I'll be at my high school class's 80th birthday celebration this evening, but I'm looking forward to the Sunday broadcast at 7:00. I hope you'll enjoy both.