Tanglewood — 2026/07/19

 Today's conceert should be a good on. WCRB gives us the basics: https://www.classicalwcrb.org/show/the-boston-symphony-orchestra/2026-03-25/trifonov-the-bso-and-shostakovich-at-tanglewood

Sunday, July 19, 2026
7:00 PM

Music Director Andris Nelsons leads the Boston Symphony Orchestra in two masterpieces of the symphonic form, beginning with Haydn’s Symphony No. 22 and ending with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 2. In between, Daniil Trifonov is the soloist in Shostakovich’s rollicking First Piano Concerto, with BSO Principal Trumpet Thomas Rolfs.

Andris Nelsons, conductor 
Daniil Trifonov, piano 
Thomas Rolfs, trumpet 

Joseph HAYDN Symphony No. 22, The Philosopher
Dmitri SHOSTAKOVICH Piano Concerto No. 1
Ludwig van BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 2

Haydn's Symphony No. 22 is a favorite of mine. Perhaps the feeling of repose at the beginning seems to characterize the mindseet of a philosopher. At any rate, I like it.

 The BSO page gives us access to performer bios and program notes via the arrows. : https://www.bso.org/events/july-19-boston-symphony-orch?performance=2026-07-19-14:30

The Serge and Olga Koussevitzky Memorial Concert

Boston Symphony Orchestra Andris Nelsons, conductor Daniil Trifonov, piano Thomas Rolfs, trumpet HAYDN Symphony No. 22, The Philosopher  SHOSTAKOVICH Piano Concerto No. 1  BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 2  

I'm definitely looking forward to this one. 

BSO — 2025/05/03

 This is the last concert broadcast of the curreent BSO Symphony Hall Season. They'll be back live at Tanglewood on July 5. After this evening until then I expect we'll be treated to "encore broadcasts" on Saturday evenings.

This evening they wrap up the "Decoding Shostakovich" series. WCRB synopsizes as follows: https://www.classicalwcrb.org/show/the-boston-symphony-orchestra/2024-11-04/baibe-skride-and-the-boston-symphony-orchestra

Saturday, May 3, 2025
8:00 PM

Latvian violinist Baiba Skride brings her signature dulcet tones to Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1. The whole piece is filled with Jewish klezmer influence at a time when antisemitism was on the rise in the USSR, a demonstration of Shostakovich’s ability to fold messages of revolution and resistance into his music.

Andris Nelsons, conductor
Baiba Skride, violin

ALL-SHOSTAKOVICH program
Violin Concerto No. 1
Symphony No. 8

The BSO;s performance detail page provides links to the program notes in the booklets given to those in attendance and offers this oveerall description:

Boston Symphony Orchestra

Symphony Hall, Boston, MA 

Andris Nelsons, conductor
Baiba Skride, violin

ALL-SHOSTAKOVICH program
Violin Concerto No. 1
-Intermission-
Symphony No. 8

Friday afternoon's performance by Baiba Skride is generously supported by the Plimpton Shattuck Fund.

A part of our series looking at the music and times of Dmitri Shostakovich and how the composer folded messages of revolution and resistance into his music during a politically turbulent time. Latvian violinist Baiba Skride brings her signature dulcet tones to Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1. This work is a deeply personal one, influenced by the composer’s fear of the Soviet censors and actual encounters with restrictive directives from the government. These bitter feelings toward the regime especially color the third and fourth movements. In this way and many others, we see the composer finding ways to stand up to prevailing political winds; for example, the whole piece is shot through with Jewish klezmer influence at a time when antisemitism was on the rise in the USSR.

So far there is no review in either the Globe or the Intelligencer, so the only thing to helppyou decide whether to listen — apart from having heard Shosty's music in the past — is what you can glean from the program notes. So there you have it. I don't consider it "must listen," but you might want to give it a try.

BSO — 2025/04/26

 The "Decoding Shostakovich" series continues, with some non-Shostakovich material as well. Here's WCRB's summary:

Saturday, April 26, 2025
8:00 PM

This program pairs Shostakovich’s introspective, classically elegant Sixth Symphony with Stravinsky’s austerely profound Symphony of Psalms, commissioned by Serge Koussevitzky for the BSO’s 50th anniversary. The BSO commissioned Aleksandra Vrebalov to compose a psalm setting using the same musical forces as Stravinsky’s masterpiece. Originally from the former Yugoslavia and winner of the prestigious 2023 Grawemeyer Award, Vrebalov composes music of deeply spiritual humanism influenced in part by Byzantine chant.

Andris Nelsons, conductor
Tanglewood Festival Chorus,
 James Burton, conductor

Aleksandra VREBALOV Love Canticles for chorus and orchestra (world premiere; BSO commission)
Igor STRAVINSKY Symphony of Psalms
Dmitri SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 6

There are links to the program notes, which could be good reading about these unfamiliar pieces, at the BSO's performance detail page, which begins with this synopsis:

Boston Symphony Orchestra

Symphony Hall, Boston, MA 

Andris Nelsons, conductor
Tanglewood Festival Chorus,
 James Burton, conductor

Aleksandra VREBALOV Love Canticles for chorus and orchestra (world premiere; commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Andris Nelsons, Music Director, through the generous support of Catherine and Paul Buttenwieser and the New Works Fund established by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.)
STRAVINSKY Symphony of Psalms
-Intermission-
SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 6

This program pairs Shostakovich’s introspective, classically elegant Sixth Symphony with Stravinsky’s austerely profound Symphony of Psalms, commissioned by Serge Koussevitzky for the BSO’s 50th anniversary. In fact, Shostakovich so revered Stravinsky’s piece that he made a two-piano arrangement of the score. Commissioned by the BSO especially for these concerts, Aleksandra Vrebalov’s Love Canticles sets Psalm texts in English from the King James Bible, using the same musical forces as Stravinsky’s masterpiece. Originally from the former Yugoslavia and winner of the prestigious 2024 Grawemeyer Award, Vrebalov composes music of deeply spiritual humanism influenced in part by traditional Eastern Orthodox chant.

Unusually, this evening's concert is the first performance of this program, so there has been no chance for anybody to publish a review. (Usually the Saturday concert is a repeat of what is given on Thursday evening and Friday afternoon.) So you can hear the literal world premiere of the Vrebalov, and it could be worth hearing.

BSO — 2025/04/19

 WCRB tells us:

Saturday, April 19, 2025
8:00 PM

Mitsuko Uchida has, from an early age, been considered a standout interpreter of Beethoven. The Fourth Concerto’s opening lets the instrument speak for itself — intimately and delicately — leading the way for the rest of the ensemble. Shostakovich’s Fifteenth Symphony is his last symphony and is full of quotations, codes, clues, and ambiguity.

Andris Nelsons, conductor
Mitsuko Uchida, piano

Ludwig van BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 4
Dmitri SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 15

The BSO's performance detail page gives us links to the program notes for each piece and this slightly longer blurb:

Boston Symphony Orchestra

Symphony Hall, Boston, MA 

Andris Nelsons, conductor
Mitsuko Uchida, piano

BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 4
-Intermission-
SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 15

Mitsuko Uchida has, from an early age, been considered a standout interpreter of Beethoven. The Fourth is considered the first of Beethoven’s piano concertos to depart from the format prescribed by Mozart (an orchestral introduction with a dramatic solo entrance). The concerto’s opening lets the instrument speak for itself — intimately and delicately so—to lead the way for the rest of the ensemble. Shostakovich’s Fifteenth Symphony is his last symphony and is full of quotations, codes, clues, and ambiguity. This is an experience defying description that invites the listener to create their own personal interpretation.

The reviewer in the Globe liked both parts of the concert, especially the Beethoven. So far, there's no review in the Intelligencer.

It should be a good concert. By all means, listen to the Beethoven if you're free, and see what you think of the Shostakovich. I'll be in church for the Ester Vigil, but if it weren't Holy Saturday, I'd be listening.

BSO — 2025/04/12

 Unusually, there is no BSO concert being performed in Symphony Hall this evening, so WCRB is giving us the concert they recorded yesterday evening, described as follows:

Saturday, April 12, 2025
8:00 PM

Dmitri Shostakovich often folded messages of revolution and resistance into his music during a politically turbulent time. Yo-Yo Ma brings the specter of resistance in Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto; a prime example of the composer using music to protest an authoritarian regime. The program concludes with his Symphony No. 11, The Year 1905.

Andris Nelsons, conductor
Yo-Yo Ma, cello

ALL-SHOSTAKOVICH program
Cello Concerto No. 1
Symphony No. 11, The Year 1905

This concert will take place on Friday, April 11th and will be broadcast on Saturday, April 12th.

The BSO's performance detail page gives us the following blurb:

Boston Symphony Orchestra

Symphony Hall, Boston, MA 

Andris Nelsons, conductor
Yo-Yo Ma, cello

ALL-SHOSTAKOVICH program
Cello Concerto No. 1
-Intermission-
Symphony No. 11, The Year 1905

A part of our series looking at the music and times of Dmitri Shostakovich and how the composer folded messages of revolution and resistance into his music during a politically turbulent time. Yo-Yo Ma brings the specter of resistance to the stage. Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto is a prime example of the composer using music to protest an authoritarian regime; the cello stands defiant against the orchestra, often playing out its own theme not reflected in the ensemble, until it disseminates into a wild cadenza and is whisked away into a sudden abrupt end.

Program notes are linked and could be interesting.

The "series looking at the music and times of Dmitri Shostakovich" is titled "Decoding Shostakovich" and runs from April 10 through May 7. There are symphony concerts and four lectures on Shostakovich and his times. I had a ticket for the Thursday concert, which had Shostakovich's Symphony No. 6 in place of the cello concerto, but I didn't go. The BSO had performed all the symphonies over the course of several years a while back. Some of them were tolerable, but I wasn't really interested in hearing them again — at least not enough to pay the cost of getting a ride home after the concert. I'll listen this evening, but with the idea that maybe I'll find something worthwhile, not that it's something I'm enthusiastic about.

There is no review in the Globe but two(!) in the Intelligencer. https://www.classical-scene.com/2025/04/11/decoding-shostakovich-6-11/ and https://www.classical-scene.com/2025/04/11/shostakovich-month/ The second one also gives a description of the whole "Decoding Shostakovich" month.

It could be "interesting."

BSO — 2024/01/27

 Oops! Tonight's show begins an hour early at 7:00. Here's what you need to know:

Saturday, January 27, 2024
7:00pm

Encore broadcast on Monday, February 5

Andris Nelsons's conducts the BSO in Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, the most ambitious endeavor in their multi-year survey of works by Shostakovich. Based on Nikolai Leskov’s 1865 novella by the same name, the opera weaves the lurid story of Katarina Ismailova, an oppressed, ambitious, and ultimately murderous wife of a provincial merchant.

Andris Nelsons, conductor
Kristine Opolais, soprano (Katerina Izmailova)
Brenden Gunnell, tenor (Sergei)
Peter Hoare, tenor (Zinovy Izmailov)
Günther Groissböck, bass (Boris Izmailov and Ghost of Boris)
Michelle Trainor, soprano (Aksinya)
Alexandra LoBianco, soprano (Female Convict)
Maria Barakova, mezzo-soprano (Sonyetka)
Matthew DiBattista, tenor (Teacher)
Neal Ferreira, tenor (Foreman)
Charles Blandy, tenor (Foreman & Drunken Guest)
Yeghishe Manucharyan, tenor (Foreman & Coachman)
Alexander Kravets, tenor (Shabby Peasant)
David Kravitz, baritone (Millhand)
Brandon Cedel, bass (Porter & Policeman)
Joo Won Kang, baritone (Steward)
Patrick Guetti, bass (Officer and Sentry)
Goran Juric, bass (Priest)
Anatoli Sivko, bass (Chief of Police)
Paata Burchuladze, bass (Old Convict)
Tanglewood Festival Chorus 
James Burton, conductor

Dmitri SHOSTAKOVICH Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk

To read artist biographies and program notes, visit the BSO.

To hear a preview with Music Director Andris Nelsons, BSO Vice President for Artistic Planning Anthony Fogg, and GBH's Jared Bowen on The Culture Show, use the player above, and read the transcript below.

Learn more about The Culture Show on GBH, Monday-Friday at 2pm.

TRANSCRIPT:

Jared Bowen Andris Nelsons, Tony Fogg, thank you so much for sitting down with us.

Andris Nelsons Great pleasure, thank you.

Anthony Fogg Pleasure.

Jared Bowen So, Andris, I am so eager to to talk to you about your connection to this piece. But, Tony, let me start with you for a second. For the Boston Symphony Orchestra to take on this opera, this is a very 

I'll add more as we go along.

BSO performance detail page, which includes link to program notes.

Review in the Intelligencer.

Review in the Globe.

BSO — 2023/10/14

It looks like an unusual concert this evening. WCRB tells us:

Saturday, October 14, 2023
8:00pm

Encore broadcast on Monday, October 23

Yo-Yo Ma brings his unsurpassed passion to both of Shostakovich’s powerfully emotional cello concertos as part of the BSO’s multi-season survey of Shostakovich’s symphonies and concertos, and Haydn’s Symphony No. 22, nicknamed Philosopher, is paired with Iman Habibi’s moving Zhiân in a program led by Music Director Andris Nelsons.

Andris Nelsons, conductor 
Yo-Yo Ma, cello 

Joseph HAYDN Symphony No. 22, Philosopher 
Dmitri SHOSTAKOVICH Cello Concerto No. 2
Iman HABIBI Zhiân (BSO commission)
SHOSTAKOVICH Cello Concerto No. 1

Listen to The World's interview with Iman Habibi from earlier this year and learn the meaning behind Zhiân.

The BSO performance detail page puts it this way:

Andris Nelsons, conductor 
Yo-Yo Ma, cello 

HAYDN Symphony No. 22, Philosopher 
SHOSTAKOVICH Cello Concerto No. 2
Intermission
Iman HABIBI Zhiân (Commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Andris Nelsons, Music Director, through the generous support of the New Works Fund established by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.)
SHOSTAKOVICH Cello Concerto No. 1

Cellist Yo-Yo Ma brings his unsurpassed skill and passion to both of Shostakovich’s powerful cello concertos, originally written for the legendary Mstislav Rostropovich. These performances are part of the BSO’s multi-season survey of Shostakovich’s symphonies and concertos. Haydn’s stately Symphony No. 22, nicknamed Philosopher, pairs with Iman Habibi’s Zhiân, a BSO commission, to round out the evening. 

Saturday’s concert is supported by Lloyd Axelrod, M.D.

The Friday Preview on October 13 at 12:15pm will be hosted by author and Northeastern emeritus professor Harlow Robinson with composer Iman Habibi. Admission included with ticket.

As usual, there are links to the program notes, which could be interesting. You may also get some idea about the music from the review in the Intelligencer. The Globe also has a generally favorable review, but questions the choice of Haydn to open the concert.

In general, I don't care for Shostakovich, and I don't hope for much from Zhiân. OTOH, the Haydn symphony is very enjoyable. If it were just a little earlier, I might skip it this evening and go to my club for dinner and plan to catch the rebroadcats on the 23rd. Anyway, I recommend the Haydn.

BSO — 2023/05/06

 WCRB gives us the basics.

Saturday, May 6, 2023
8:00 PM

Encore broadcast on Monday, May 15

In the final program of the 2022-2023 season, the Boston Symphony and Music Director Andris Nelsons traverse the devastating landscape of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 13, Babi Yar, and Augustin Hadelich is the soloist in Britten’s deeply emotional Violin Concerto.

Andris Nelsons, conductor
Augustin Hadelich, violin
Matthias Goerne, bass-baritone
Tanglewood Festival Chorus, James Burton, conductor
New England Conservatory Symphonic Choir, Erica J. Washburn, conductor

BRITTEN Violin Concerto
SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 13, Babi Yar 

BSO program notes

Read translations of the texts sung in Shostakovich's Symphony No. 13 (courtesy of BSO Archives)

To hear an interview with The Boston Globe's Jeremy Eichler about Shostakovich's Symphony No. 13 – which Eichler recently wrote an article about, and which plays a central role in his forthcoming book Time's Echo – use the player above, and read the transcript below.

TRANSCRIPT (edited for clarity):

Brian McCreath I'm Brian McCreath at WCRB with Jeremy Eichler of the Boston Globe. Jeremy, thank you for coming to the studio today. I appreciate it.

Jeremy Eichler Thanks for having me, Brian.

Brian McCreath You recently wrote an article in The Boston Globe about Shostakovich's 13th Symphony and

Note that the page has links both to the program notes and to the English translqtion of the texts of the symphony.

There is also this from the BS)O performance detail page:

The BSO and Andris Nelsons complete their multi-season survey of Dmitri Shostakovich’s symphonies with No. 13, Babi Yar, based on poems by Yevgeny Yevteshenko. The title poem condemns Soviet revisionist history and antisemitism surrounding a Nazi massacre of Ukrainian Jews. The outstanding German bass-baritone Matthias Goerne is soloist. Opening the program, frequent BSO guest Augustin Hadelich plays Benjamin Britten’s early, lyrical and poignant Violin Concerto, the composer’s reaction to the tragedy of the Spanish Civil War. 

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

---

Andris Nelsons, conductor
Augustin Hadelich, violin
Matthias Goerne, bass
Tenors and Basses of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus
 James Burton, conductor
Tenors and Basses of the New England Conservatory Symphonic Choir
 Erica J. Washburn, conductor

BRITTEN Violin Concerto
Intermission
SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 13, Babi Yar

The review in the Globe was extensive and very favorable, as is the one in the Intelligencer.

Hadelich was amazing in the Britten (and amazingly pale). The Shostakovich was powerful. Neither piece was pretty music, but it was fascinating. I recommend giving it a listen.

BTW this is the final concert of the season, Between now and Tanglewood, I expect reruns from WCRB as usual, while the Pops takes over Symphony Hall.

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.