BSO — 2019/02/16

The BSO's program detail page has all the usual links to background information for this evening's concert, which it describes as follows:

Andris Nelsons and the BSO are joined by the firebrand Chinese pianist Yuja Wang for Schumann's Piano Concerto, a work blending the composer's unique Romantic lyricism and brilliance. The concerto began as a single-movement Fantasia written for his wife Clara, who was considered one of the great virtuosos of the age. Bruckner's magisterial Symphony No. 9, a work left just short of completion at the composer's death in 1896, shows the continuing influence of Wagner in its harmonic language and scope, with the particular Austrian grace and gift for counterpoint for which Bruckner was known.

(Emphasis added.)

I was there on Thursday and found it all worth  hearing. I had been afraid I'd get tired of the Bruckner because of its length, but it held my interest. The Schumann was very pleasant.

The reviewers had different reactions, especially to the Bruckner. The Globe reviewer liked the Schumann concerto's backstory, the music, and, in general, the performance — just the thing for St. Valentine's Day. She clearly is not fond of the Bruckner symphony, but thought that Nelsons and the orchestra performed it very well. On the other had, in the Musical Intelligencer the reviewer finds that Nelsons conducted the Bruckner very poorly., while the Schumann was satisfactory. I think you'd have to be more familiar than I am with the symphony to be aware of the things the reviewer is complaining about in Nelsons' approach.

So my recommendation is to just enjoy the music for what it is: a lovely concerto followed by a great big soundfest with lots of brass. WCRB, 8:00 p.m. EST repeated on February 25. (Last week's Wilson, Szymanowski, and Copland will be rebroadcast this coming Monday, the 18th.)

Enjoy!

BSO — 2019/02/09

It's all 20th Century music this week, but it could be worse. Some of it is very good and some of the rest isn't tough to take (at least for me). I'll let the BSO's program detail page give the introduction:

The Georgian violinist Lisa Batiashvili joins Andris Nelsons and the BSO as soloist in the important Polish composer Karol Szymanowski's Violin Concerto No. 1, a brilliant piece colored by both French Impressionism and German late Romanticism. American orchestral works open and close the concert. The St. Louis-born Olly Wilson, who died in March 2018 (and whose Sinfonia was commissioned by the BSO for its centennial), was a longtime faculty member at the University of California, Berkeley. His well-traveled orchestral work Lumina is a scintillating, single-movement orchestral landscape. Aaron Copland's Symphony No. 3, premiered by the BSO under Serge Koussevitzky in 1946, is a substantial, expressively rich work incorporating the composer's familiar Fanfare for the Common Man as the theme of its final movement.

(Some emphasis added.)
Don't forget the links to performer bios and other info on the performance detail page.

I attended the performance on Thursday. The opening piece struck me as unmelodious and disjointed. I thought of Elliot Carter and Milton Babbitt, but this wasn't quite as cacophonous as their stuff. Anyway, I wouldn't blame anybody for skipping it. (The problem is knowing when to come back for the next piece. You should be safe if you're tuned in by 8:17.) Or, you might want to listen and see if it's better than I think it is. In the past Szymanowski's music has also struck me as unpleasant, but this is better than the things of his I had previously heard, so it was a pleasant surprise — lush is a word that comes to mind for the overall impression. After intermission Copland did not disappoint.

The reviews are in, and while both the Globe and the more extensive Intelligencer found minor details to criticize, both were generally satisfied. An interesting sidelight: when the reviewer in the Intelligencer, Mark DeVoto, was a college student, Aaron Copland autographed DeVoto's copy of the score of this evening's symphony.

As always, you can go to the WCRB website for information about their programs as well as the link to their live stream, where you can listen this evening at 8:00, EST if you're outside their broadcast range. The encore broadcast will be on the 18th, also at 8:00 p.m.


I'm sorry I never got around to posting anything last week. I had been present for the Thursday performance and enjoyed it all. The Haydn symphony and Mendelssohn violin concerto didn't disappoint. The Janáček pieces after intermission were quite accessible. Here are the links:
BSO performance detail page;
Globe review;
Intelligencer review.
WCRB will give the usual rebroadcast/stream on Monday, February 11, at 8:00 p.m., Boston Time, so there is still a chance to hear it. Enjoy.

BSO — 2019/01/26

This week the BSO gives us three works by Finnish composers and one by Mozart. The orchestra's program detail page has the usual links to background information, including all the program notes. It also provides this synopsis of the concert:

Making his BSO subscription series debut, conductor John Storgårds leads pianist Martin Helmchen in Mozart's gregarious, large-scale Piano Concerto in E-flat, K.482, composed in late 1785 when Mozart was also working on his comic opera The Marriage of Figaro. The Finnish Storgårds also brings three Finnish works to Symphony Hall, beginning with Kaija Saariaho's gorgeous study of orchestral color Ciel d'hiver ("Winter Sky"), an arrangement of a movement from her earlier, symphony-like Orion. Jean Sibelius's final two symphonies, nos. 6 and 7, are two of the greatest works in the symphonic literature. Though very different from one another, both demonstrate the composer's distinctively rich orchestration and organic, fluid transformations of material.

(Some emphasis added.)

Whether the Sibelius symphonies are "two of the greatest works in the symphonic literature" and "very different from one another" are matters of opinion, and mine differs from that of the writer of those words. To me, these symphonies were not nearly as engaging or interesting as his earlier symphonies. There was nothing very unpleasant in them, so they are certainly easier to listen to than a lot of 20th century music, but at one point I was reminded of what a critic said of a symphony of Bruckner: it's like a walk in the forest — you see nice things, but nothing happens. In other words, I found them dull. Perhaps I will feel differently if I can listen to them again during the rebroadcast on February 4. The Saariaho piece could have seemed dull too, but for whatever reason, it didn't. I thought it lived up to its name.

The reviewers don't agree with me about the Sibelius being dull, although the Globe doesn't seem to think they are very different from one another. Other than thinking that the Mozart concerto, while well performed, didn't belong with the other three works, the reviewer was very happy. The Intelligencer gives extensive analyses of the Finnish pieces (expressing more positively my Bruckner comparison). Overall, the review is positive, with some specific reservations.

By the way, there were women freelancers playing second flute, third horn in the Saariaho, and second, third, and side horns in the Sibelius. There was also a freelance tympanist for the Saariaho and the Sibelius 7th. In the 6th, percussionist Kyle Brightwell did the honors on the kettledrums, and gave an interesting contrast to the stranger. Throughout the symphony, young Mr. Brightwell could be seen almost constantly checking the tuning of his instruments by putting his ear close to the surface of a drum and tapping it with a finger. Usually, it was okay, but occasionally, he adjusted the tuning with a mechanism at the top of the instrument. The interloper, OTOH, apparently didn't have perfect or absolute pitch, so he relied on a little electronic device to check the pitches of the drums, and he felt no need to keep checking. He checked them before the symphony began, and only once during the piece.

Anyway, I think the concert, even if it isn't quite at the "must hear" level, is worth listening to when WCRB provides it on air and over the internet at 8:00 p.m. EST, live this evening, and recorded on February 4.

BSO — 2019/01/19

This post is being published earlier than usual because I'm trekking to Brooklyn on Saturday to join the celebration of my nephew's wedding. I won't be able to listen to the concert until the rebroadcast on the 28th. But since I don't like Brahms' symphonies, it's no great loss for me.

This week's concert should be very enjoyable for almost everybody. As the program detail page tells us:

Herbert Blomstedt, one of the great conductors of the era, returns to the BSO podium for a work central to the repertoire, Brahms's rich, complex Symphony No. 1. Grappling with the influence of Beethoven, Brahms famously delayed completing his First until well into his forties. Bearing several deliberate touches of homage to Beethoven but fully Brahmsian in its spirit and effect, it stands as one of the great works in the symphonic literature. Opening the program is Haydn's charming, genial Cello Concerto No. 1, featuring the brilliant Norwegian cellist Truls Mørk in his first appearances with the BSO since 2007.

(Emphasis added.)

At "press time" there is no review available in the Boston Musical Intelligencer. The Boston Globe reviewer found both pieces well performed. So it seems there will be a fine evening of good old standard repertoire.

Enjoy it over WCRB at 8:00 p.m. Saturday and/or 8:00 p.m Monday January 28.

BSO — 2019/01/12

This week it's Harbison, Mozart, and Vaughan Williams, in that order. The program detail page (which see for links to the usual background information) puts it thus:

English conductor Sir Andrew Davis and the BSO are joined by Italian pianist Alessio Bax in his BSO debut for one of Mozart's stormiest works, his C minor piano concerto, No. 24, one of the unsurpassed series of concertos from the height of his Vienna popularity. Opening the concert is Pulitzer Prize-winning composer John Harbison's 1986 Symphony No. 2, the four movements of which are called "Dawn," "Daylight," "Dusk," and "Darkness"-keys to its evolving expressive and musical character. This is one of several Harbison works being performed this year to mark the 80th birthday year of a composer closely associated with the BSO. Steeped in the musical tradition of England, Vaughan Williams's Fifth Symphony was composed at the beginning of World War II but maintains an optimistic and affirmative outlook.

(Emphasis added.)

The reviews are in. The Globe liked it. So did the Intelligencer, with much interesting detail, including an overall reference to "the symphony’s particularly severe mien, even in contrast to Harbison’s other work, [which] lodges it in our mind as a true 20^th century modernist artifact." So be prepared for the challenge.

I was unable to get to the performance on Thursday. I've been especially looking forward to hearing the Harbison symphony, although the Intelligencer review has me expecting some challenging music. You can hear what all the talk is about this evening at 8:00, EST, over the facilities of WCRB, with a repeat transmission on Monday, the 21st, also at 8:00 p.m. Last week's concert will be rebroadcast on the 14th. As usual, I recommend checking out their website for information about other programming.

BSO — 2019/01/05

This week the Boston Symphony resumes its (resume their, if you're British) subscription series at Symphony Hall. There are apparently no program notes available on the program detail page, except for the Dvořák symphony, but it does have some of the usual links as well as the following description of the concert:

Returning to Symphony Hall for the first time since her tenure as BSO assistant conductor, Korean-born Shiyeon Sung leads a program juxtaposing music of Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel and her brother Felix, surely one of the most brilliant sibling pairs in music history. Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel's Overture in C, her only extant work for orchestra alone (though she wrote several works for chorus with orchestra), is an elegant, ten-minute piece dating from 1830. Begun in the same year, her brother [Felix Mendelssohn]'s Piano Concerto No. 1 has a turbulent, Romantic energy; Argentinian pianist Ingrid Fliter is soloist, making her subscription series debut. One of the great 19th-century symphonies, Dvořák's by turns bucolic and thrilling Eighth was composed in 1889 and is arguably his most individual symphony, a departure from the Brahms-influenced Germanic style of his Symphony No. 7.

(Emphasis added.)

The Globe reviewer generally liked it apart from some of the playing in the overture. The Musical Intelligencer's reviewer wasn't satisfied with the Hensel and Mendelssohn performances but really liked the Dvořák.

You can see what you think if you listen to WCRB tonight at 8:00, Boston time, or for the rebroadcast/stream on January 13, also at 8:00. And do't foget to check out the website to see what-all else is available there.

BSO/Classical New England — 2018/12/29

WCRB tells us:

Saturday night at 8 in an encore broadcast from Tanglewood, the American mezzo-soprano [Susan Graham] joins the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Tanglewood Festival Chorus in Mahler's Symphony No. 3, a musical microcosm of the natural world.

(Emphasis added.)

Andris Nelsons is the conductor in this encore broadcast of the Tanglewood concert of Friday, August 24, 2018. On the BSO program detail page, along with links to program notes, there is this description:

Andris Nelsons leads the BSO, Tanglewood Festival Chorus, and Boston Symphony Children's Choir in a performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 3, another work central to Bernstein's repertoire, with Susan Graham as mezzo-soprano soloist. A multi-faceted and emotionally wide-ranging work, the Third Symphony is notable for its length (the longest symphony in the standard repertoire), difficulty, and overwhelming cumulative impact. Across its nearly 100-minute duration, the broad musical canvas incorporates a full range of musical and emotional expression, moving through rousing fanfares, tender lyricism, and melancholy to the height of exaltation.

It should make for interesting listening on WCRB at 8:00 p.m., Boston Time.

BSO/Classical New England — 2018/12/22

This week's offering isn't a rebroadcast of a concert. Instead, WCRB is presenting three recordings of the BSO under its former, long-time music director Seiji Ozawa in music of Bach, arranged by Stravinsky, Tchaikovsky, and Berlioz. There is no performance detail page, of course, since this wasn't a concert. Here's the listing at WCRB's page for the concert:

The Boston Symphony Orchestra is known not only for its excellence in Symphony Hall, but also for its timeless recordings, holiday repertoire being no exception. Saturday night at 8, hear three of these recordings, including Tchaikovsky's magical "The Nutcracker."

Saturday, December 22, 2018
8:00 PM

Seiji Ozawa, conductor

BACH/STRAVINSKY Chorale Variations on Vom Himmel hoch
TCHAIKOVSKY The Nutcracker, Op. 71
BERLIOZ Overture and "Shepherd's Farewell" from Part 2 of L'enfance du Christ

(Emphasis in original.)

"The Nutcracker" is a perennial favorite, and the other pieces should be well worth hearing. The "Shepherds' Farewell" is quite lovely, IMO. As always, you can hear the show beginning at 8:00 p.m. over WCRB radio and internet. Note also the other programming described there.

BSO/Classical New England — 2018/12/15

This week WCRB gives us a repeat of the August 3 Tanglewood concert. At the time, I posted this about it:

We begin with approximately five minutes of sheer delight: the Overture to "Ruslan and Ludmila" by Glinka. Then there's a piano concerto by Rachmaninoff. After intermission comes the complete score to Firebird by Stravinsky, which is not as jarring as "The Rite of Spring."

For the official synopsis you get this from the performance detail page:

Patrons will hear comments about the program directly from onstage BSO musician Robert Sheena (English horn).

Koussevitzky Artist Kirill Gerstein joins BSO Associate Conductor Ken-David Masur and the BSO for Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2, a prime example of the composer's Russian-tinged Romanticism. The program begins with Glinka's infectiously energetic Overture to Ruslan and Ludmila, the second of his two operas. After intermission, Mr. Masur leads the orchestra in a performance of the complete music from Stravinsky's ballet The Firebird, a scintillating score that proved to be the composer's breakout success when the ballet opened in Paris in 1910.

(Some emphasis added.)
That page also has the usual links to background material.

You can hear it all beginning at 8:00 this evening, Boston Time, on WCRB radio or webstream. I'll be listening until my brother calls from Tokyo. It appears that there will not be a further rebroadcast on Monday a week from now. So this is your last chance. You might also be interested in the broadcast of a recorded performance of "Messiah." That will be Sunday evening at 7:00.

BSO/Classical New England — 2018/12/08

As usual, the Boston Symphony takes December off, and the Boston Pops (with many BSO musicians) performs Holiday Pops concerts. So this week's concert over WCRB is a rebroadcast of the concert given at Tanglewood on Friday, July 13, of this year. I wrote a little bit about it in advance. Here's how the BSO's program detail page described it:

Acclaimed English pianist Paul Lewis, who has given several memorable performances with the BSO in recent seasons, joins the orchestra for Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 27 in B-flat, K.595, the composer's final work in the genre. BSO Assistant Conductor Moritz Gnann, who conducts the performance, also leads the orchestra in Wagner's Siegfried Idyll and Schumann's Symphony No. 3,Rhenish. The symphony's subtitle refers to the mighty Rhine, the river that has inspired so many great works throughout music history, and the piece contains some of Schumann's most colorful and exuberant music, as well as some of his most accomplished writing for full orchestra.

(Some emphasis added.)

The Wagner opens the concert, followed by the Mozart, which has always been a favorite of mine. All three works are worth hearing, IMO, so I encourage you to listen to WCRB this evening at 8:00, Boston time, and enjoy.

WCRB doesn't say that they will give this concert again on December 17, so plan on listening tonight. But they do promise us a rebroadcast of last week's Christmas Oratorio. That will be on December 10 at 8:00. It's also worth hearing.