BSO — 2025/02/01

 This evening the Boston Sy,phony gives us an unfamiliar opera, "Die tote Stadt" by Erich Korngold. WCRB tells us:

Saturday, February 1, 2025
8:00 PM

Erich Korngold’s opera Die tote Stadt (The Dead City) is an incredibly tender work, begun when the composer was only 19. When he completed it at age 23, it quickly became one of the biggest operatic successes of the era, laying the groundwork for Korngold’s later success as a legendary Hollywood film composer. The opera’s theme of struggling with the memory of a lost loved one undoubtedly resonated with audiences still traumatized by the recent catastrophe of World War I.

Andris Nelsons, conductor
Christine Goerke, soprano (Marietta/Marie)
Amber Monroe, soprano (Lucienne)
Elisa Sunshine, soprano (Juliette)
Karen Cargill, mezzo-soprano (Brigitte)
David Butt Philip, tenor (Paul)
Joshua Sanders, tenor (Victorin)
Neal Ferreira, tenor (Gaston)
Terrence Chin-Loy, tenor (Graf Albert) 
Elliot Madore, baritone (Frank/Fritz)
Tanglewood Festival Chorus
 James Burton, conductor
Boston Lyric Opera Chorus
  Brett Hodgdon, conductor

Erich KORNGOLD Die tote Stadt

Presented in collaboration with Boston Lyric Opera

To hear a preview with soprano Christine Goerke and the BSO's Anthony Fogg on GBH's The Culture Show with Jared Bowen, use the player above.

To see a libretto with both the sung German text and a side-by-side English translation, visit Orpheus Ireland.

I' suggest reading the extensive program notes, at least the synopsis of the plot, available at the BSO's performance detail page. They summarize the evening as follows:

Boston Symphony Orchestra

Symphony Hall, Boston, MA 

Andris Nelsons, conductor
Christine Goerke, soprano (Marietta)
Elisa Sunshine, soprano (Juliette)
Amber Monroe, soprano (Lucienne)
Karen Cargill, mezzo-soprano (Brigitte)
David Butt Philip, tenor (Paul) 
Joshua Sanders, tenor (Victorin)
Neal Ferreira, tenor (Gaston)
Terrence Chin-Loy, tenor (Graf Albert) 
Elliot Madore, baritone (Frank/Fritz)
Tanglewood Festival Chorus
 James Burton, conductor
Boston Lyric Opera Chorus
 Brett Hodgdon, conductor
Boys of the St. Paul’s Choir School 
 Brandon Straub, Music Director

KORNGOLD Die tote Stadt*

Erich Korngold’s Die tote Stadt (“The Dead City”) is an incredibly tender work, embodying the twilight of the Romantic era. Korngold, a remarkable prodigy who later became one of Hollywood’s most important composers, began the opera when he was only 19 and completed it at age 23. It opened simultaneously in December 1920 in Cologne and Hamburg and became one of the biggest operatic successes of the era. The opera’s theme of struggling with the memory of a lost loved one undoubtedly resonated with audiences still traumatized by the recent catastrophe of World War I.

*Sung in German with English supertitles.
Presented in collaboration with the Boston Lyric Opera.

Please note that ticket purchase information will be shared with the Boston Lyric Opera.

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

Thursday evening's performance by Christine Goerke is generously supported by Patricia Romeo-Gilbert, in memory of Paul B. Gilbert.

Saturday evening’s concert is generously supported by the Gregory E. Bulger Foundation / Gregory Bulger and Richard Dix.

The production of Die tote Stadt is generously supported in part by the Mattina R. Proctor Foundation.

---

Pre-concert Talk
The January 30 performance will include a pre-concert talk starting at 5:30pm with Dr. Carolyn Abbate.

Please note that tenor Brandon Jovanovich has had to withdraw from these performances of Die tote Stadt due to illness. We are very fortunate that David Butt Philip is able to sing the role of Paul in his place.

Thu, Jan 30, 2025, 7:30pm EST  (Past)

• The Catherine and Paul Buttenwieser Concert

Sat, Feb 1, 2025, 8:00pm EST

I was there on Thursday, and it was good to find out what the opera is. I had only heard about it, so I was curious. But it may be a bit difficult for listening over the internet or on radio. I had the benefit of the plot synopsis in the program book and the English surtitles as it was being sung. You can read the synopsis via the link at the performance detail page, and WCRB tells you where to find the libretto, so it may be possible to follow along. Alternatively, you can just listen to the music.

To me, however, the music wasn't especially attractive except perhaps in the final scene. It seemed more like Richard Strauss's "Elektra" than anything else I'm familiar with.

There is a favorable and informative review in the Boston Musical Intelligencer. The review in the Globe is largely favorable.

So while I can't say it's must listening or even promise you'll enjoy it, it is worth hearing as a landmark piece of music.

BSO — 2025/01/25

 The BSO's Beethoven and Romanticism" Festival brings his Eighth and Ninth Symphonies this evening. WCRB tells us a bit more:

Saturday, January 25th, 2025
8:00 PM

The Boston Symphony’s Beethoven cycle, led by Music Director Andris Nelsons, culminates with the playful Symphony No. 8 and the Symphony No. 9, featuring the Tanglewood Festival Chorus and a stellar cast of soloists in its iconic final movement, the “Ode to Joy.”

Andris Nelsons, conductor
Sara Jakubiak, soprano
Tamara Mumford, mezzo-soprano
David Butt Philip, tenor
Andrè Schuen, baritone
Tanglewood Festival Chorus
 James Burton, conductor

ALL-BEETHOVEN program
Symphony No. 8
Symphony No. 9

Learn more about the BSO's "Beethoven and Romanticism" festival.

For more about the symphonies and the performers go to the links on the BSO's performance detail page, which also gives this comment:

Boston Symphony Orchestra

Symphony Hall, Boston, MA 

Andris Nelsons, conductor
Sara Jakubiak, soprano
Tamara Mumford, mezzo-soprano
David Butt Philip, tenor 
Andrè Schuen, baritone
Tanglewood Festival Chorus,
 James Burton, conductor

ALL-BEETHOVEN program
Symphony No. 8
-Intermission-
Symphony No. 9

For all his reputation as a prickly artistic genius whose music crackles with heaven-storming power, Beethoven shared with his teacher Haydn a delightful musical wit, nowhere so clearly demonstrated as in his Eighth Symphony. The cycle concludes with his hugely ambitious and all-embracing Ninth, a revolution in and of itself; it was the first symphony to include chorus, transforming Friedrich Schiller’s “Ode to Joy” into a hymn for humanity.

The review in the Intelligencer is descriptive of the proceedings, with no apparent fault  to find. I don't find a review in the Globe.

I attended the Friday performance. Unlike the Intelligencer's reviewer, I didn't see the resemblance to Haydn in the 8th. I guess I was in a bad mood: most of the music struck me a "gruff Beethoven," which I don't much care for. The third movement of the 9th was lovely, and I liked the playing, especially the horns and the basses. The soloists sang their parts, and the chorus was powerful.

Well, I still like aymphonies 1, 2, 3, 5, & 6.   Despite my feelings, I definitely recommend listening. Maybe even I'll like it better this time around.       

BSO — 2025/01/17-18

 This week we get two concerts, one on Friday and one on Saturday. The BSO is in the midst of a series in which they are performing all nine Beethoven symphonies in three weeks. Last Saturday it was the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. I neglected to post about that in advance, but the replay should be available on Monday evening, January 20. We can hear Nos. 4 and 5 on Friday evening. WCRB's blurb follows:

Friday, January 17th, 2025
8:00 PM

The Boston Symphony Orchestra and Andris Nelsons continue their journey through all nine Beethoven Symphonies in a special Friday night broadcast of a program that includes the lyric and joyful Symphony No. 4 and the iconic Symphony No. 5.

Andris Nelsons, conductor

ALL-BEETHOVEN program
Symphony No. 4
Symphony No. 5

Learn more about the cultural impact of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony from Matthew Guerrieri, author of The First Four Notes: Beethoven's Fifth and the Human Imagination, in a conversation with WCRB's Brian McCreath.

Learn more about the BSO's "Beethoven and Romanticism" festival.

See the BSO performance detail page for links to the program notes, etc.:

Boston Symphony Orchestra

Symphony Hall, Boston, MA 

Andris Nelsons, conductor

ALL-BEETHOVEN program
Symphony No.4
-Intermission-
Symphony No. 5

Beethoven composed his Fourth and Fifth symphonies almost concurrently, but they’re very different in their expressive impact. The Fourth is one of Beethoven’s warmest, most congenial works, sharing that mood with the Violin Concerto completed just after the symphony. The Fifth Symphony, by contrast, creates wonderful intensity through the famous four-note “fate” motif—perhaps the most famous musical fragment of all time—and resolves that tension in a triumphant finale.

 

At the regular time on Saturday, they'll play Nos. 6 and 7, as WCRB informs us:

Saturday, January 18th, 2025
8:00 PM

Andris Nelsons leads the Boston Symphony Orchestra in the third part of an epic survey of all nine of Beethoven’s symphonies, including the Symphony No. 6, the Pastoral Symphony, and the Symphony No. 7, a work infused with dynamic rhythmic energy.

Andris Nelsons, conductor

ALL-BEETHOVEN program
Symphony No. 6, Pastoral
Symphony No. 7

Learn more about the BSO's "Beethoven and Romanticism" festival.

Similarly, the performance detail page has a description and the usual links:

Boston Symphony Orchestra

Symphony Hall, Boston, MA 

Andris Nelsons, conductor

ALL-BEETHOVEN program
Symphony No. 6, Pastoral
-Intermission-
Symphony No. 7

Beethoven conceived his Pastoral Symphony, No. 6, as an illustration of a lovely day spent in the countryside, where we encounter babbling brooks, birds of various sorts, friendly country dwellers, and a brief, tumultuous storm. His Seventh Symphony has long been one of his most popular works—especially its solemn Allegretto, which had such an effect at its premiere that it was immediately encored.

So it should be a great couple of evenings.

BSO/Classical New England — 2024/12/28

 This evening we have a replay of a couple of debut performances: https://www.classicalwcrb.org/show/the-boston-symphony-orchestra/2023-09-25/the-bso-debuts-of-ferrandez-and-hindoyan

Saturday, December 28, 2024
8:00pm

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

The broadcast was originally broadcast on March 30, 2024, and is no longer available on demand.

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, who is here at Symphony Hall with the Boston Symphony for the first time.

Go to the BSO performance detail page for links to the program notes. Here's their synopsis:

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.

When I wrote about it back at the time it was originally broadcast, I noted a favorable review in the Intelligencer and an encouraging program note about the Sierra piece. So it's worth listening to IMO.

BSO/Classical New England — 2024/12/21

 Tonight's BSO concert on WCRB:

Saturday, December 21, 2024
8:00pm

Seiji Ozawa leads the BSO in a magical ballet score for the season that expresses the innocence of childhood and the drama of transformation, sprinkled with musical delights and passion.

J.S. BACH / Igor STRAVINSKY Chorale Variations of Vom Himmel hoch
Pyotr TCHAIKOVSKY The Nutcracker
Hector BERLIOZ Overture and "Shepherd's Farewell" from L'enfance du Christ

This concert was originally broadcast on December 23, 2023.

Clearly, this was not a live concert last year, but something WCRB put together for the occasion a while back, which means that there is no BSO performance detail page or reviews. But it is all seasonal music and worth hearing, so I recommend giving a listen.

BSO/Classical New England — 2024/12/14

 This week's encore broadcast is from last March. Here's WCRB's description:

Saturday, December 14, 2024
8:00pm

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

This broadcast was originally broadcast on March 16, 2024, and is no longer available on demand.

Read Edward Lear's "The Dong with a Luminous Nose" at Poetry Foundation.

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 for the first time in quite a while. But it's really wonderful to have you here

The BSO's own performance detail page gives the same overall description, but also has links to the program notes, which could prove useful:

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

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

Thursday evening's concert is supported by Patricia Romeo-Gilbert, in memory of Paul B. Gilbert.

Friday afternoon’s concert and soloist Blaise Déjardin are supported by the Elfers family.

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.

I wrote about it back then, a bit more favorably than I feel right not. I found the Ravel dull, although most peopple seem to enjoy it. The Langer piece was amusing at points and the music fits the text, but IMO it isn't music for the ages. The concert gets really good after intermission with an interesting piece by Dvořák and a good one by Janáček. In other words it could be interesting to hear.