Tanglewood — 2023/08/11-13

 Today I remembered, so here's a preview of all three Tanglewood concerts to be broadcast this weekend.

First, here's the synopsis for this evening, courtesy of WCRB:

Friday, August 11th, 2023
8:00 PM

Superstar violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter joins Andris Nelsons and the BSO in John Williams's Violin Concerto No. 2, with works by Strauss and Ravel also on the program.

Andris Nelsons, conductor
Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin

John WILLIAMS Violin Concerto No. 2
Richard STRAUSS Death and Transfiguration
Maurice RAVEL La Valse

My recollection of the Williams concerto is that it's nothing to write home about; but the Strauss and Ravel are pretty good. I would'nt call them must-hear. but they've stayed in the repertoire for a reason, and if you don't have something important to do, you might as well listen in.

On Saturday, they save the best for first:

Saturday, August 12th, 2023
8:00 PM

Susanna Mälkki leads the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra, and Seong-Jin Cho is the soloist in Mozart’s brilliant Piano Concerto No. 9.

Susanna Mälkki, conductor
Seong-Jin Cho, piano

Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART Piano Concerto No. 9 in E-flat, K. 271
Béla BARTÓK Concerto for Orchestra

I have no memory of the Mozart, but it has to be good. As for the Bartók, the BSO owns the piece. That is, it was commissioned by them and they gave the world premiere nearly 80 years ago. Since then it has been one of their signature pieces. Still, it's Bartók, quite dissonant and jagged. I've heard it enough that I'm kind of used to it, but it's probably not to all tastes. I'd suggest giving it a try, if you aren't already familiar with it.

Then on Sunday evening at 7:00 we can hear:

Sunday, August 13th, 2023
7:00 PM

Andris Nelsons leads the BSO in Julia Adolphe’s Makeshift Castle, Stravinsky’s Petrushka, and Strauss songs with orchestra, featuring world-class soprano Renée Fleming.

Andris Nelsons, conductor
Renée Fleming, soprano

Julia ADOLPHE Makeshift Castle
Richard STRAUSS Songs with orchestra
Igor STRAVINSKY Petrushka (1947 version)

Yo-Yo Ma, who was originally scheduled to perform Shostakovich's Cello Concerto No. 1, has withdrawn from this performance due to illness.

I hope Yo-Yo Ma will get well soon. On the other hand I'd rather hear the Strauss than Shostakovich.

The BSO page has links to information about all three concerts and others. They give us the program note about "Makeshift Castle," which at least gives some idea of what to expect and listen for. There doesn't seem to be anything similar for the Strauss and Stravinsky. Strauss is usually pretty good with songs, and Petrushka was composed before "Rite of Spring," so it's not terribly jarring, and actually kind of tuneful.

BSO/Classical New England — 2022/12/03

 Now it's Holiday Pops time at Symphony Hall, so WCRB is giving us rebroadcasts. Here's this evening's program as given on their website:

Saturday, December 3, 2022
8:00 PM

In an encore broadcast of the first of three programs encompassing Beethoven’s piano concertos, Paul Lewis is the soloist in the Piano Concertos Nos. 2 and 3, alongside the world premiere of “Makeshift Castle,” by Julia Adolphe, all conducted by Andris Nelsons.

Andris Nelsons, conductor
Paul Lewis, piano

Julia ADOLPHE Makeshift Castle (world premiere; BSO co-commission)
Ludwig van BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 2
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 3

Franz SCHUBERT Symphony No. 8 in B minor, D. 759, Unfinished: II. Andante con moto
Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra
Nicolò Foron, conductor
Recorded on July 11, 2022, at the Koussevitzky Music Shed.

This concert was originally broadcast on July 29, 2022 and is no longer available on demand.

It looks as if the Adolphe and Beethoven were one concert, and the Schubert is part of abother, and WCRB is adding the Schubert to round out the evening,Regrettably, I didn't post about either of the concerts. I was away on retreat on July 11, and I forgot to post about July 29. I think they"ll be giving us the July 30 and 31 over the next two weekends, and I did post about them back then. But for now, here's a quote from a review in the Boston Musical Intelligencer when they performed the Adolphe work again in October:

Accessible and fun Makeshift Castle by Julia Adolphe — a BSO co-commission — played on contrasts between inexorable brass and diverse and quiet orchestral textures. In her introduction, the composer pithily articulated a “contrast between permanence and ephemerality,” and indeed those fateful brass sounds persisted in the memory; no subsequent artifice could shake it off. Gorgeous pianissimo muted violins, harp interludes, auditory exciting exchanges between the piano and the bongo drums: the shimmering sonic smorgasbord took advantage of the technical might of the full BSO band. But any hope for resolution awaited subsequent works due to lucky or extremely clever program structure.

There is a fuller description of the piece in the program note from the BSO performance detail page.

So it seems "Makeshift Castle" will be okay, and of course the Beethoven and Schubert are well worth hearing.

BSO — 2022/10/01

 We get some unfamiliar music, including a very recent composition and two piano concertos, and then some good old Haydn. As always we turn to WCRB for the basics, plus an interview available on their page:

Saturday, October 1, 2022
8:00 PM

Andris Nelsons leads the BSO in Haydn’s 100th Symphony, and electrifying soloist Yuja Wang takes the stage at Symphony Hall for not one, but both of Shostakovich’s piano concertos.

Andris Nelsons, conductor
Yuja Wang, piano
Thomas Rolfs, trumpet

Julia ADOLPHE Makeshift Castle
Dmitri SHOSTAKOVICH Piano Concerto No. 1
SHOSTAKOVICH Piano Concerto No. 2
Joseph HAYDN Symphony No. 100, "Military"

To hear a preview of Shostakovich's piano concertos with Yuja Wang, click on the player above, and read the transcript below:

Brian McCreath I'm Brian McCreath at Symphony Hall with Yuja Wang, who has returned to the Boston Symphony with Shostakovich, both piano concertos this time, unlike last time 

I had  a ticket for the Thursday performance but didn't feel like trekking in to Boston, so I can't tell you much except that the Haydn is good stuff. For the rest, there's the interview — which suggests that the second piano concerto may be easier to tak than the first — and the BSO performance detail page, with its link to program notes and this blurb:

Dynamic Chinese pianist Yuja Wang plays not one but both of Dmitri Shostakovich’s piano concertos, written 24 years apart, part of the BSO and Andris Nelsons’ multi-season exploration of the composer’s major works with orchestra. The concert closes with Joseph Haydn’s Symphony No. 100, whose nickname comes from the surprising appearance of percussion in the slow movement. The American composer Julia Adolphe, who has earned praised for the sonic and narrative inventiveness of her music, says of her new work, “Makeshift Castlecaptures contrasting states of permanence and ephemerality, of perseverance and disintegration, of determination and surrender.”

The program notes give hope that "Makeshift Castles" will be okay and that even the Shostakovich won't be too jarring. So far, there is no review in the Intelligencer. The Globe is generally favorable.

Bottom line: I'm not exactly recommending the first half, nor saying not to listen, but I definitely encourage listening to the Haydn.