I'm not familiar with any of the pieces on this evening's Boston Symphony concert, so let's see what WCRB says:
Saturday, April 5, 2025
8:00 PMDima Slobodeniouk leads three works, all notable for their proximity to wartime. Edward Elgar’s Violin Concerto can be seen in retrospect as an idyllic calm before the storm of World War I. Adolphus Hailstork’s Lachrymosa: 1919explores the Red Summer of 1919, a deadly backlash against Black American prosperity in the wake of the war. Stravinsky’s Symphony in Three Movements was the composer’s dark reaction to the universal devastation of World War II.
Dima Slobodeniouk, conductor
Frank Peter Zimmermann, violinAdolphus HAILSTORK Lachrymosa: 1919
Igor STRAVINSKY Symphony in Three Movements
Edward ELGAR Violin ConcertoIn a preview of this program, conductor Dima Slobodeniouk describes the emotional power of Hailstork's Lachrymosa: 1919, the extreme shift in energy among the different works on the program and the audience's role in facilitating that energy, and the qualities Frank Peter Zimmermann brings to Elgar's Violin Concerto. To listen, use the player above and read the transcript below.
TRANSCRIPT:
Brian McCreath This program. Three pieces that are so different from each other. Adolphus Hailstork's "Lachrymosa: 1919." Not a piece that I had known before, but what a gorgeous, beautiful, moving piece of music.
The interview might also be good preparation.
The BSO's performance detail page has the same description of the concert, but it also has links to the program notes for esch piece, which can be useful if you want to know what to expect (or to follow along aas things are being performed).
Boston Symphony Orchestra
Symphony Hall, Boston, MA
Dima Slobodeniouk, conductor
Frank Peter Zimmermann, violinAdolphus HAILSTORK Lachrymosa: 1919
STRAVINSKY Symphony in Three Movements
-Intermission-
ELGAR Violin ConcertoDima Slobodeniouk leads three works, all notable for their proximity to wartime. Edward Elgar’s Violin Concerto can be seen in retrospect as an idyllic calm before the storm of World War I. Adolphus Hailstork’sLachrymosa: 1919 explores the Red Summer of 1919, a deadly backlash against Black American prosperity in the wake of the war. Stravinsky’s Symphony in Three Movements was the composer’s dark reaction to the universal devastation of World War II.
The Globe doesn't seem to have a review, but there is a favorable one in the Intelligencer.
It seems that this will be a concert worth listening to.