Tanglewood — 2019/08/02-04

Most of this week's music from Tanglewood is squarely within the standard repertory of the 19th and early 20th Centuries some of it familiar, some not so much so. It seems that Maestro Nelsons has completed his work there for the summer, and the orchestra will have guest conductors for the remainder of the season. Now for the particulars.


Friday, August 2, 2019. Says the orchestra's program detail page: 

Violinist Joshua Bell marks his 30th anniversary performing at Tanglewood (having first performed with the BSO at Tanglewood on July 22, 1989, returning to perform at Tanglewood every summer since), joining BSO Associate Conductor Ken-David Masur and the orchestra for Dvořák’s Violin Concerto, on a program with Martinů’sMemorial to Lidice and Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8. At this UnderScore Friday performance, patrons will hear comments about the program from BSO violinist Sheila Fiekowsky.

(Some emphasis added.)

The Martinů piece is one of the two non-standard items this weekend, and unfortunately the program detail page, as of this writing, has no link to the program note for it, so I'll be as surprised as you. According to wiki, Lidice was destroyed by the Nazis in 1942 as a retaliation for the killing of Reinhard Heydrich, and Martinů composed his Memorial in 1943. The composer's style is described as neoclassical.

The BSO performed the Dvořák symphony last January in Symphony Hall. My post at the time has links to favorable reviews.


Saturday, August 3, 2019. The performance detail page tells us:

Conductor Asher Fisch returns to Tanglewood, and is joined by violinist Pinchas Zukerman and cellist Amanda Forsyth for the American premiere Avner Dorman’s BSO-commissioned Double Concerto for violin, cello, and orchestra, written in celebration of Mr. Zukerman’s 70th birthday; the program also includes the overture to Schumann’s Genoveva, Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 3, Scottish, and Beethoven’s Romance No. 1 in G for violin and orchestra, featuring Mr. Zukerman.

(Some emphasis added.)

Again, no links to the program notes for the new music, only the piece we're most likely to know: the Mendelssohn symphony. I always enjoy the Beethoven Romance, and the Schumann should be good.


Sunday, August 4, 2019. The performance detail page is the epitome of concision: 

Pianist Yefim Bronfman joins Russian conductor Dima Slobodeniouk and the BSO for Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 on a program with Sibelius’s Symphony No. 1.

(Emphasis added.)

These are works from 1909 and 1899. The BSO gave the Rach 3 on April 25-30 with Nelsons conducting and Daniil Trifonov as soloist.


Broadcasts/ webstreams on WCRB are, as usual, at 8:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 7:00 on Sunday. Enjoy!

BSO — 2015/01/29-31

This week brings a guest conductor to the podium of the BSO, Asher Fisch. He's conducting three pieces: first the 2011 composition of Avner Dorman, "Astrolatry;" then Prokofiev's Second Violin Concerto, with Julian Rachlin as soloist; and after intermission it's Symphony No.1, "Spring," by Schumann. "Astrolatry" is the first music by Dorman the BSO has ever performed. I hope they'll play it again, soon, and present others of his works.

I hope you'll be able to listen, and as preparation for the Dorman piece, I strongly recommend listening to Brian Bell's conversation with the composer, which is linked on the BSO's performance detail page. There you can check out links to more audio previews an program notes, as well as performer bios. They describe the program as follows:

Israeli conductor Asher Fisch makes his BSO subscription series debut with this diverse program. Opening the concert is the Israeli-born composer Avner Dorman's Astrolatry, a 2012 work inspired by the stars and constellations. These will be the first BSO performances of any music by Dorman, who is a former Tanglewood Music Center Composition Fellow. Lithuanian-born violinist Julian Rachlin returns to Symphony Hall for Serge Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 2, a 1930s masterpiece with a breathtakingly beautiful slow movement. Robert Schumann's robust Symphony No. 1, composed in his so-called "symphonic year" of 1841, is one of his most energetic and optimistic scores.

It is "Astrolatry" that interests me most, although the Prokofiev is not hard to take, and the "Spring" symphony is a fine piece. The favorable Globe review, after praising the inclusion of new music in the program, spends most of its space on "Astrolatry." The Boston Musical Intelligencer has two items: an interview with Avner Dorman, and a review of the concert. Interestingly, in the interview, the composer downplays the narrative he gave in his interview with Brian Bell. But I found, as he says, that having that narrative in mind made the music easier to follow and enjoy than might have been the case without it. The review is detailed and respectful with some dissatisfaction with the playing and conducting in the Schumann.

As you can tell, I'm really enthusiastic for "Astrolatry." It is readily accessible as music, not the cacophonies which we sometimes get from contemporary composers, and, as I say, I think it's even more engaging when one is aware of the descriptions in the interview with Brian Bell or in the composer's own program note (included in the notes linked on the BSO performance detail page. If there were a repeat performance next Tuesday (as there is for about half the concerts, I'd get a ticket and go hear it again in the hall.

So if you're within range of WCRB, either by radio or on the web, I encourage you not to miss this concert, either the live performance this evening, January 31, at 8:00 p.m., or the rerun on Monday, February 9, also at 8:00 — or both. Better still, if you can get to Symphony Hall, go and hear it in person. I'm sure seats will be available: on Thursday, there were many empty seats on the sides of the balconies. On WCRB's BSO page, there is further information, including a link to an interview with the conductor about the concert (after you get through the bit about the orchestra's new gong).