BSO/Classical New England — 2022/05/21

 Per WCRB:

Saturday, May 21, 2022
8:00 PM

Tonight at 8, in a celebration of the composer's 90th birthday, Andris Nelsons leads the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Sofia Gubaidulina's "The Light of the End," as well as Rachmaninoff’s powerfully dramatic Third Symphony.

Boston Symphony Orchestra
Andris Nelsons, conductor

Sofia GUBAIDULINA The Light of the End
Sergei RACHMANINOFF Symphony No. 3

Hear a preview of Gubaidulina's The Light of the End with Andris Nelsons and CRB's Brian McCreath with the audio player above.

Transcript:

Brian McCreath [00:00:00] I'm Brian McCreath from WCRB, at Symphony Hall with Andris Nelsons. And this really amazing program

They forgot to mention that this is a rebroadcast of the concert of October 23, 2021. I posted about it back then, and I don't have anything to add now.

Enjoy.

BSO/Classical New England — 2022/05/07

 This evening, while the BSO is on break for a few weeks, WCRB takes us to the BSO's "golden grooveyard." In other words (from WCRB):

Saturday, May 7, 2022
8:00 PM

Tonight at 8, it's an evening dedicated to the BSO's rich recording discography, centered on Johannes Brahms's Symphony No. 2 and Dmitri Shostakovich's Symphony No. 1 with Music Director Andris Nelsons, plus works by Thomas Adès and Ferruccio Busoni.

Boston Symphony Orchestra
Andris Nelsons, conductor

Thomas Adès, conductor (Adès)
Kirill Gerstein, piano (Adès, Busoni)

Sakari Oramo, conductor (Busoni)

Dmitri SHOSTAKOVICH Festive Overture
Thomas ADÈS Concerto for Piano and Orchestra: I. Allegramente
Johannes BRAHMS Symphony No. 2
Ferruccio BUSONI Piano Concerto in C: IV. Tarantella
SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 1

Recordings courtesies of Deutsche Grammophon, BSO Classics, Oberlin Music, and Myrios.

What more can I say? Since it's not a concert, there are no reviews, nor a BSO performance detail page. I can't say any of these pieces are favorites of mine, but I'll probably leave the radio on. Of course "everybody" likes Brahms.

BSO — 2022/04/30

 We come now to the final concert of the BSO's 2021-22 season. WCRB tells us:

Saturday, April 30, and Monday, May 9, 2022
8:00 PM

Closing out the 2021-2022 Boston Symphony Orchestra season, BSO Principal Cellist Blaise Déjardin is center-stage in Saint-Saëns's Cello Concerto No. 1, and Andris Nelsons conducts Richard Strauss's panoramic "An Alpine Symphony" and a selection from the composer's "Intermezzo," tonight at 8pm.

Andris Nelsons, conductor
Blaise Déjardin, cello

Richard STRAUSS "Dreaming by the Fireside" from Four Symphonic Interludes from Intermezzo
Camille SAINT-SAËNS Cello Concerto No. 1
STRAUSS An Alpine Symphony

To hear Blaise Déjardin preview the Cello Concerto No. 1 by Saint-Saëns, talk about his new book, Audition Day, and how golf and learning magic helped his cello playing, click on the player above, and read the transcript below.

Brian McCreath I'm Brian McCreath at Symphony Hall with Blaise Déjardin, the Principal Cellist of the Boston Symphony. But Blaise, you're here in the guest soloist green room with a very different role this week: soloist for the Saint-Saëns Cello Concerto No. 1. Thanks for a little bit of your time today.

If you go to WCRB's page you can read or listen to the interview.

The BSO's own performance detail page tells us more about the music:

The BSO’s own principal cello Blaise Déjardin makes his solo concerto debut with the orchestra in these concerts performing the astonishingly gifted French composer Camille Saint-Saëns’ 1873 Cello Concerto No. 1. In one movement, this compact concerto moves from exhilarating energy to great charm and finally to impassioned, virtuosic lyricism.
The orchestral interludes from his 1924 opera Intermezzo are self-contained miniature tone poems of great dramatic effectiveness. The gorgeous “Dreaming by the Fireside” depicts a woman’s yearning for her husband, who is a musician on tour—part of the autobiographical plot of the opera. Strauss’s absolute mastery of the orchestra is put to very different use in the tone poem An Alpine Symphony, which musically illustrates nature in all its glory via the climb and descent of a mountain in the Alps.

There are also brief blurbs about each piece and a number of links, including one for the program notes which appear in the booklet given to audience members.

The Globe reviewer liked the first Strauss piece and the Saint-Saëns cello concerto, but found the Alpine Symphony too long and mostly unengaging, but found no fault with how it was performed. So far, there is no review in the Intelligencer.

I wasn't there on Thursday, so I can't say how they did. What I can say is I'm not surprised by the review in the Globe. I'd expect the first half to be pleasant. I've heard the Alpine Symphony a few times and I'd say it has its moments, and it's never hard to listen to.

Overall, I think it's worth tuning in or connecting.

I haven"t looked to see what WCRB will give us between now and the opening of the BSO season at Tanglewood, but I won't be surprised if it's mostly repeats of recent concerts. The BSO begins at Tanglewood on July 8, and will give concerts on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, as in pre-Covid years. So keep tuned.

BSO — 2022/04/23

 Tonight's concert has nothing too tough to take. Richard Strauss isn't as light-hearted as Johann (no relation), but he's not jarring on the ears. Here's WCRB's synopsis:

Saturday, April 23, and May 2, 2022
8:00 PM

Tonight at 8pm, Andris Nelsons leads the Boston Symphony Orchestra in three works by German composer Richard Strauss, culminating with the nostalgically rich "Symphonia domestica."

Andris Nelsons, conductor

ALL-STRAUSS PROGRAM

Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks
Symphonic Fantasy on Die Frau ohne Schatten
Symphonia domestica

For more information, you can consult the BSO performance detail page:

The second of the all-Strauss programs includes the symphonic poem Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks, his Symphonia domestica, and his own Symphonic Fantasy on Die Frau ohne Schatten(“Woman Without a Shadow”), a 1946 distillation of his fabulist 1919 opera.

There are short blurbs about each piece on the page as well as links to the program notes.

The review in the Globe has no fault to find with the performance but is lukewarm in tone. The reviewer has serious questions about the choice of works, one having been performed last fall, and another shortly before the pandemic shutdown. The Intelligencer finds everything okay, with nothing to rave about.

I was there on Thursday. Although I had been looking forward to the "Four Last Songs," The Symphonic Fantasy was good. I had thought of the opera as forbidding because of its subkect matter. Maybe I heard it once on the radio. Anyway, I wasn't interested. But the Symphonic Fantasy was surprisingly pleasant. Of course, the opening piece was merry and enjoyable. But I found the Symphonia Domestica too long. There is nothing unpleasant about it. I just didn't find anything especially exciting or captivating about it, and it kept going too long. Maybe it can work better as background music for whatever you're doing, or maybe you'll be better attuned to the supposedly changing scenes.

Certainly, there is no need to avoid this concert, so why not listen and see what you think.

BSO — 2022/04/16

This is one I'd certainly want to hear if I weren't going to be in church for our Easter Vigil. Bell plays Beethoven. Who could ask for anything more. You can bet I'll be listening to the repeat on the 25th. WCRB gives us the basics as well as an interview with the conductor on their page:

Saturday, April 16, and Monday, April 25, 2022
8:00 PM

Tonight at 8pm, the American violinist returns to the Boston Symphony as the soloist in Beethoven’s Violin Concerto, and Alan Gilbert conducts the world premiere of a work by Bernard Rands and Debussy’s "La Mer."

Alan Gilbert, conductor
Joshua Bell, violin

Bernard RANDS Symphonic Fantasy (world premiere; BSO co-commission)
Claude DEBUSSY La Mer
Ludwig van BEETHOVEN Violin Concerto

To hear a preview of the concert with conductor Alan Gilbert, use the player above, or read the transcript below.

Brian McCreath I'm Brian McCreath at Symphony Hall with Alan Gilbert, who is back here in Boston to lead the BSO in a program, a fascinating program of three very different pieces. But I don't know, maybe not as different as I'm thinking. Alan, thanks for a little bit of your time today.

The BSO goes a bit more in depth about each piece, with a link to the program notes on their program detail page. The program note includes a sort of description by Bernard Rands of his piece. I don't know what to expect after reading all about it, but I'm hoping it will be okay. IMO the Debussy is okay, but lots ogf people think it's great. And the Beethoven is one of the greatest of all time, IMO, and having Joshua Bell solo makes it not-to-be-missed.

The review in the Intelligencer is quite favorable and give reason to hope that the Rands piece will be okay. The Globe reviewer was noncommittal about the Rands and was very happy with the rest.

So it looks like good listening this evening and on April 25. (And if you don't like the Rands, it's only 20 minutes until the good stuff.) Enjoy.

BSO — 2022/04/02

 This evening the BSO is back live, performing the "War Requiem" by Benjamin Britten. Here's how WCRB describes it:

Saturday, April 2, and Monday, April 11, 2022
8:00 PM

Tonight at 8, Antonio Pappano conducts the BSO in Britten’s mighty "War Requiem," with a cast of singers, the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, and the Boston Symphony Children’s Choir.

Sir Antonio Pappano, conductor

Amanda Majeski, soprano
Ian Bostridge, tenor
Matthias Goerne, baritone
Tanglewood Festival Chorus and Boston Symphony Children’s Choir
James Burton, conductor

Benjamin BRITTEN War Requiem

To hear a preview of War Requiem with Antonio Pappano, use the player above.

TRANSCRIPT:

Brian McCreath I'm Brian McCreath at Symphony Hall with Antonio Pappano, and Mr. Pappano, it is so good to have you here. It's been a little while since you've been to the Boston Symphony, though more recently with your orchestra, Santa Cecilia, just about five years ago here at the hall. It's good to have you back.

Antonio Pappano Thank you very much. I'm thrilled to be back.

Brian McCreath Well, this piece, the War Requiem by Britten, you know, I'm curious about the circumstances and the thoughts behind it as you originally programmed it

As you see, there is an interview with the conductor, with a link to the audio recording of it as well as a transcript if you go to their page.

The BSO's performance page has a link to the program notes, which contain the full text of the piece, which you may want to have available when you listen. There is also a fairly detailed analysis. You can also follow links to performer bios.

I didn't attend the Thursday performance because I felt as if I had a cold coming on, and rain was in the forecast. So I missed the performance of the Ukraqinian national anthem as well as the chance to hear the Requiem live so I can't give you my  own impressions and observations.

The Globe's review is quite favorable. Vance Koven, the musicologist, gives a good analysis of the piece and then praises the performance in the Intelligencer.

Needless to say, I suggest giving this a listen over WCRB this evening and/or April 11, at 8:00 EDT on WCRB.

BSO/Classical New England — 2022/03/26

 WCRB presents the closing concert of last summer's season at Tanglewood. They tell us:

Saturday, March 26, 2022, and Monday, April 4, 2022

Tonight at 8, in an encore broadcast of the closing concert of the 2021 Boston Symphony Orchestra season at Tanglewood, it’s an all-Brahms concert with Leonidas Kavakos as the soloist in the Violin Concerto and Herbert Blomstedt conducting the Symphony No. 4.

Herbert Blomstedt, conductor
Leonidas Kavakos, violin

ALL-BRAHMS PROGRAM
Violin Concerto
Symphony No. 4

This concert was originally performed on August 15, 2021.

Learn more about this concert and listen to interviews at the Tanglewood Learning Institute online.

If you go to their web page, you'll find that the last line of their blurb is a link to the material at the Tanglewood Learning Institute. I tried it and can't find my way to anything about this concert. I made a short post about it at the time, but didn't say much about the music, and the link to the BSO performance detail page doesn't work anymore. I guess the BSO doesn't want to let us find out about past events.

Fortunately, the Boston Musical Intelligencer doesn't hide it's archives. There we find a brief but quite favorable review of the concert. The Globe's reviewer was unhappy with the choice of the Brahms symphony to end the season, and gave rather short shrift to the whole concert in a review which covered the whole weekend.

Again, WCRB will follow the custom of airing and streaming the concert both this evening at 8:00 and again on Monday (April 4) at 8:00. 

BSO/Classical New England — 2022/03/19

The BSO went "on tour " to New York and will be away today and next week. As usual, WCRB is filling the time with "Encore broadcasts. This evening it's the concert given at Tanglewood on July 18, 2021. Here's the scoop from WCRB:

Saturday, March 19, and Monday, March 28, 2022
8:00 PM

Tonight at 8pm, in an encore broadcast from the 2021 Tanglewood season, Gil Shaham returns to the Berkshires as the soloist in Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 3, and Andris Nelsons conducts the Boston Symphony Orchestra in pieces by the storied musical sibling pair Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn.

Andris Nelsons, conductor
Gil Shaham, violin

MENDELSSOHN-HENSEL Overture in C
MOZART Violin Concerto No. 3
MENDELSSOHN Symphony No. 5, Reformation

This concert was originally performed on July 18, 2021.

Learn more about this concert and listen to interviews at the Tanglewood Learning Institute online.

All good listening. They'll also give us the rebroadcast Monday week, as it says.

I can't find the program notes from the concert on the BSO page. I posted about it in advance of the concert, and didn't have anything worth trying to track down now.

The Intelligencer didn't have a review. In the Globe, there is a review covering both July 17 and July 18. It focuses on the former. When it gets around to this concert, it is unenthusiastic, mildly critical on a few points. I don't think it should induce you to avoid the show.

So I give it my "thumbs up." Enjoy!

BSO — 2022/03/12

 Opera night at the BSO, as WCRB tells us:

Saturday, March 12, and Monday, March 21, 2022
8:00 PM

Tonight at 8pm, Andris Nelsons conducts the Boston Symphony Orchestra in the Austrian composer’s 1925 opera "Wozzeck," starring soprano Christine Goerke as Marie and baritone Bo Skovhus as the title character.

Andris Nelsons, conductor

Cast to include
Bo Skovhus, baritone (Wozzeck)
Christine Goerke, soprano (Marie)
Sasha Cooke, mezzo-soprano (Margret)
Christopher Ventris, tenor (Drum Major)
Mauro Peter, tenor (Andres)
Franz Hawlata, bass (Doctor)

BERG Wozzeck

See a translation of the Wozzeck libretto.

For a synopsis and notes, visit the BSO.

Click on the player above to hear Christine Goerke talk with CRB's Ron Della Chiesa about singing the role of Marie in Wozzeck, how film music opened up the emotion of the opera for her, and the camaraderie she shares with her colleagues. She begins by describing her debut with the Boston Symphony, singing Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, and an unexpected encounter backstage.

Interview transcript:

On WCRB's page, "visit the BSO" has a link to the BSO's own program detail. which I definitely recommend having with you if you listen.

The Intelligencer has a mixed review, on balance favorable though. The Globe's review finds no fault.

Alban Berg's music is "difficult" to mmy ears. I heard this opera when the Metropolitan Opera broadcast a performance 60 or more years ago, and I didn't like it. I'm not sure if I'll listen this evening, but I'll probably leave the radio on.

BSO — 2022/03/05

 This evening we get an unfamiliar piece, a new piece, and a warhorse which is a "signature piece" of the BSO, Here'a the WCRB synopsis:

Saturday, March 5, and Monday, March 14, 2022
8:00 PM

Tonight at 8pm, the Greek violinist joins the Boston Symphony as the soloist in the American premiere of Unsuk Chin’s "Shards of Silence" Violin Concerto, and Andris Nelsons conducts Ives and Berlioz’s otherworldly "Symphonie fantastique."

Andris Nelsons, conductor
Leonidas Kavakos, violin

IVES The Unanswered Question
Unsuk CHIN Violin Concerto No. 2, Scherben der Stille (Shards of Silence) (American premiere; BSO co-commission)
BERLIOZ Symphonie fantastique

Hear a preview of Unsuk Chin's Violin Concerto No. 2 with Leonidas Kavakos using the player above (transcript below).

Brian McCreath I'm Brian McCreath at Symphony Hall with Leonidas Kavakos, who's back in Boston for an American premiere, a concerto that was written just for you. Leonidas, thank you for spending a little bit of time with me today. I appreciate it.

As usual, you can read or listen to the interview at the WCRB page.

The BSO's program page has links to the program notes as well as the following summary:

Music Director Andris Nelsons is joined by one of his frequent collaborators, violinist Leonidas Kavakos, for the American premiere of celebrated Korean-German composer Unsuk Chin’s Violin Concerto No. 2, Scherben der Stille(“Shards of Silence”). Co-commissioned for Mr. Kavakos by the BSO, Gewandhaus Orchester Leipzig, and the London Symphony Orchestra, the concerto receives its U.S. premiere in March 2022 at Symphony Hall. Chin won the prestigious Grawemeyer Award in 2004 for her first violin concerto. A staple of the BSO’s repertoire for generations, Hector Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique virtually defined the emotional intensity of musical Romanticism while also vastly expanding orchestral virtuosity. Opening the program is the American composer Charles Ives’s mysterious, innovative tone poem The Unanswered Question (1908), which features a striking solo trumpet part.

There is a tepid review in the Intelligencer. I can't find a review in the Globe.

I always like to give new pieces a chance. My brother will call from Tokyo at 8:00 this evening, so I'll miss the live broadcast this evening, but I'll listen to the rebroadcast on March 14. I'm also looking forward to hearing "The Unanswered Question." Ives is definitely idiosyncratic. I'm confident almost everybody will like the Berlioz after intermission.

8:00 p.m., Boston Time, this evening and March 24.