BSO/Classical New England — 2026/02/21

 It seems from their website that the BSO ia taking the week off. WCRB steps up to the plate with an encore broadcast. They've chosen a concert from April of last year, which they describe as follows: https://www.classicalwcrb.org/show/the-boston-symphony-orchestra/2024-11-04/elgars-violin-concerto-with-frank-peter-zimmermann

Saturday, February 21, 2026
8:00 PM

In an encore broadcast, Dima 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: 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.

Dima Slobodeniouk, conductor
Frank Peter Zimmermann, violin

Adolphus HAILSTORK Lachrymosa: 1919
Igor STRAVINSKY Symphony in Three Movements
Edward ELGAR Violin Concerto

This concert was originally broadcast on April 5, 2025, and is no longer available on demand.

In 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.

I posted about it at the time. The links to the BSO performance detail page and the Intelligencer review still work but the program notes aren't linked anymore. It's interesting to see a couple of negative comments about Zimmermann's playing in response to the review. I don't know the piece, so I can't judge how the violinist did.

Overall I guess I'd say this could be interesting, but not quite to the level of "must listening." Enjoy your evening.

BSO — 2026/02/07

 There are three pieces on this evening's Boston Symphony concert, the second inspired by the third. Here's WCRB's synopsis: https://www.classicalwcrb.org/show/the-boston-symphony-orchestra/2026-02-14/esa-pekka-salonen-the-bso-and-bruckners-romantic

Saturday, February 14, 2026
8:00 PM

Conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen returns to lead the BSO for the first time since 2012 with the highly anticipated American premiere of his own Horn Concerto, a BSO co-commission composed for Stefan Dohr, principal horn of the Berlin Philharmonic. The concerto draws on material from Anton Bruckner’s soaring, brass-friendly Symphony No. 4, Romantic.

Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor
Stefan Dohr, horn

Luigi BOCCHERINI & Luciano BERIO Ritirata notturna di Madrid
Esa-Pekka SALONEN Horn Concerto (American premiere; BSO co-commission)
Anton BRUCKNER Symphony No. 4, Romantic

Learn more about the Boston Symphony Orchestra's 2025-2026 season on their site.

In a wide-ranging interview, Esa-Pekka Salonen describes the twists and turns of composing a concerto for the instrument he played as a young musician, the BSO's unexpected role in shaping his first impressions of orchestral music, his goals for the 2026 Festival of Contemporary Music at Tanglewood, and what he learned from the late architect Frank Gehry. To listen, use the player above, and read the transcript below.

INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT (lightly edited for clarity):

Brian McCreath I'm Brian McCreath at Symphony Hall with Esa-Pekka Salonen, 

The BSO's performance detail page says the following: https://www.bso.org/events/feb-12-14-salonen-bruckner?performance=2026-02-14-20:00

Boston Symphony Orchestra Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor Stefan Dohr, horn BOCCHERINI/BERIO Ritirata notturna di Madrid  Esa-Pekka SALONEN Horn Concerto (American premiere; BSO co-commission)       intermissionBRUCKNER Symphony No. 4, Romantic  

Before Esa-Pekka Salonen became one of the world’s most renowned conductors, he started his musical life as a working horn player and progressive composer. He brings his musical worlds together in leading the American premiere of his Horn Concerto composed for Stefan Dohr, principal horn of the Berlin Philharmonic. The concerto draws on material from Anton Bruckner’s magisterial, brass-friendly Fourth Symphony, which Salonen has programmed for the second half of this concert. Bruckner’s soaring symphonies are frequently described as “cathedrals in sound.”

This time there are links to the program notes. (Thank you, BSO.) Go to the page and click on the arrow after the name of the piece.

Finally there is this review in the Intelligencer: https://www.classical-scene.com/2026/02/13/city-country/ The reviewer has an interesting approach, overall favorable. The comments suggest that this is must listening, especially the Bruckner.