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 — 2025/04/05

 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 PM

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: 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, violin

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

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.

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, violin

Adolphus HAILSTORK Lachrymosa: 1919
STRAVINSKY Symphony in Three Movements
-Intermission-
ELGAR Violin Concerto

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’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.

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 — 2024/03/30

 Two debuts this week and the American premiere of a new symphony. Let WCRB give us the basics of this evening's concert:

Saturday, March 30, 2024
8:00pm

Encore broadcast on Monday, April 8

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

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

For more information, includiong a link to the program notes, we turn to the BSO's own performance detail page:

 

Boston Symphony Orchestra

Symphony Hall, Boston, MA

         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.

From the program notes, it sounds as if the Sierrs symphony should be interesting and not too tough to take. The rest of the program is standard repertory, well liked by most listeners.

I find no review in the Globe, but there is a highly favorable one in the Intelligencer.

This should be a good evening at Symphony Hall and on WCRB. Enjoy.

BSO/Classical New England — 2023/06/17

 Another "blast from the past." WCRB has the basics on their page:

Saturday, June 17, 2023
8:00 PM 

Yo-Yo Ma returns to the Boston Symphony’s summer home as the soloist in Elgar’s Cello Concerto, and Cristian Măcelaru conducts works by Debussy and Ensecu, as well as Anna Clyne’s “Masquerade.”

Cristian Măcelaru, conductor
Yo-Yo Ma, cello

Anna CLYNE Masquerade 
Edward ELGAR Cello Concerto
Claude DEBUSSY La Mer 
George ENESCU Romanian Rhapsody No. 1

This concert was originally broadcast on August 14, 2022 and is no longer available on demand.

For more details, check the BSO perforrmance detail page:

The Catherine and Paul Buttenwieser Concert

Romanian conductor Cristian Măcelaru, a 2010 Tanglewood Music Center Fellow, makes his BSO debut. Masquerade, by the U.S.-based English composer Anna Clyne, evokes the unique milieu of mid-18th-century London promenade concerts; this is the BSO’s first performance of Clyne’s music. Tanglewood favorite Yo-Yo Ma joins for Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto, one of the English composer’s final works, in part a profoundly lyrical meditation on a world in turmoil after the devastation of World War I. Claude Debussy’s La Mer—a work given its American premiere by the BSO in 1907—is virtually a three-movement symphony miraculously depicting in music the changing states of the sea and sun over the course of a day. Closing the concert is Romanian composer Georges Enescu, one of the 20th-century’s greatest musicians. His familiar Romanian Rhapsody No. 1, based on his country’s folk music, is a delightful and finely wrought staple of Pops orchestras.

It's all fairly familiar except for the first piece. You can read about it in the program notes. The Globe review of the weekend has almost nothing to say about the Clyne piece, but is quite favorable to the concert.

It shoud lbe an enjoyable evening.

Tanglewood — 2022/08/13-14

 Once again, I failed to postabout the Friday concert at Tanglewood. This time it wasn't because I was doing lots of other things. I just clean forgot. I'm afraid that with my Fridays away, I haven't gotten into a rhythm of producing posts on Friday. Not only did I clean forget to post, I also clean forget to listen.

Saturday, August 13, 2022. Per WCRB:

Saturday, August 13, 2022
8:00 PM

Saturday at 8pm, Dima Slobodeniouk leads the Boston Symphony Orchestra in music by Dutilleux and Debussy, as well as Ravel’s “Mother Goose,” and Leonidas Kavakos is the soloist in Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto.

Dima Slobodeniouk, conductor
Leonidas Kavakos, violin

Henri DUTILLEUX Métaboles
Felix MENDELSSOHN Violin Concerto
Claude DEBUSSY Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun 
Maurice RAVEL Mother Goose (complete)

All standard repertory, except for the Dutilleux, which I'm not familiar with. But some of his stuff has been pretty good, IRC.

Here's what the BSO says about it:

Conductor Dima Slobodeniouk returns to Tanglewood and is joined by violinist Leonidas Kavakos in Felix Mendelssohn’s buoyant Violin Concerto, one of the most popular works in the genre. Henri Dutilleux’s 1964 Métaboles features the French composer’s intricately imaginative scoring and his innovative, organic approach to form. Claude Debussy’s revolutionary Prelude to The Afternoon of a Faun, a contemplation of a poem by Stéphane Mallarmé, is one of the clearest sources of 20th-century musical modernism. Maurice Ravel composed his Mother Goose for a friend’s children to play on piano, but its incisive character sketches and the brilliant orchestral canvas he later created make it a satisfying piece for any listener.

All in all, I think this should be worth listening to.

Sunday, August 14, 2022. Again, WCRB summarizes:

Sunday, August 14, 2022
7:00 PM (delayed broadcast of 2:30 PM concert)

Sunday at 7pm, Yo-Yo Ma returns to the Boston Symphony’s summer home as the soloist in Elgar’s Cello Concerto, and Cristian Măcelaru conducts works by Debussy and Ensecu, as well as Anna Clyne’s “Masquerade.”

Cristian Măcelaru, conductor
Yo-Yo Ma, cello

Anna CLYNE Masquerade 
Edward ELGAR Cello Concerto
Claude DEBUSSY La Mer 
George ENESCU Romanian Rhapsody No. 1

As on Saturday, it's standard repertory except for the first piec, and I can't even give a generality about the composer.

The BSO performance detail page gives the following:

Romanian conductor Cristian Măcelaru, a 2010 Tanglewood Music Center Fellow, makes his BSO debut. Masquerade, by the U.S.-based English composer Anna Clyne, evokes the unique milieu of mid-18th-century London promenade concerts; this is the BSO’s first performance of Clyne’s music. Tanglewood favorite Yo-Yo Ma joins for Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto, one of the English composer’s final works, in part a profoundly lyrical meditation on a world in turmoil after the devastation of World War I. Claude Debussy’s La Mer—a work given its American premiere by the BSO in 1907—is virtually a three-movement symphony miraculously depicting in music the changing states of the sea and sun over the course of a day. Closing the concert is Romanian composer Georges Enescu, one of the 20th-century’s greatest musicians. His familiar Romanian Rhapsody No. 1, based on his country’s folk music, is a delightful and finely wrought staple of Pops orchestras.

For more info, you can check out the program note linked on the BSO page.

BSO/Classical New England — 2021/12/04

 The BSO is off for December, and Holiday Pops has taken over Symphony Hall. WCRB will treat us to a performance of Holiday Pops on Sunday, December 19. On Saturdays we will, as usual, have rebroadcasts of earlier concerts. This week it will be the August 14, 2021 concert from Tanglewood, with a piece from August 2 added. WCRB tells us:

Saturday, December 4, 2021
8:00 PM

In an encore broadcast from the 2021 Tanglewood season, the BSO Assistant Conductor leads Elgar’s "Enigma" Variations, Elena Langer’s "Figaro Gets a Divorce," and Ravel’s jazz-infused Piano Concerto in G, with soloist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Saturday night at 8pm.

Recorded on Aug. 14, 2021, at the Koussevitzky Music Shed at Tanglewood

Anna Rakitina, conductor
Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano

Elena LANGER Suite from Figaro Gets a Divorce
RAVEL Piano Concerto in G
William Grant STILL Darker America (Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, Adam Hickox, conductor; Aug. 2, 2021)
ELGAR Enigma Variations

Learn more about this concert and listen to interviews at the Tanglewood Learning Institute online.

I wrote about the August 14 concert back then. WCRB wasn't broadcasting the Friday concerts last summer because the BSO wasn't doing the playing. So I have nothing specific about the Still piece they're interpolating. My general impression, though, is that Still is pretty good, so it'll probably be worth hearing.

The August 14 concert was favorably reviewed in the Intelligencer and in the Globe.

So it seems we're in for a good evening of pre-recorded music from the BSO. Enjoy.

Tanglewood — 2021/08/14-15

 It's the last weekend of the BSO's Tanglewood season. It will not close with the traditional Beethoven 9th Symphony, but with Herbert Blomstedt coming back to lead an all-Brahms program on Sunday. But first we get the Saturday concert with a mixi of the new and the familiar led by a BSO assistant conductor.

Saturday, August 14, 2021.  WCRB's capsule tells us:

Saturday night at 8pm, live from Tanglewood, the BSO Assistant Conductor leads Elgar’s Enigma Variations, Elena Langer’s Figaro Gets a Divorce, and Ravel’s jazz-infused Piano Concerto in G, with soloist Jean-Yves Thibaudet.

Anna Rakitina, conductor
Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano

Elena LANGER Suite from Figaro Gets a Divorce
RAVEL Piano Concerto in G
ELGAR Enigma Variations

(Some emphasis added.)

I read the program note for the Suite from "Figaro Gets a Divorce," (accessible via the link on the BSO's performance detail page), and I still have no idea what to expect. Of course, it won't be as good as Mozart or Rossini, but I set the bar very low for new music: as long as it's tolerable, I'm content. I don't care about the Ravel concerto either. I just hope that they'll be able to give a good chunk of the Elgar before my brother calls from Tokyo.

Sunday, August 15, 2021.  As I mentioned, it's all Brahms. WCRB provides specifics:

In the closing concert of the 2021 Boston Symphony Orchestra season at Tanglewood, it’s an all-Brahms concert with Leonidas Kavakos as the soloist in the Violin Concerto and Herbert Blomstedt conducting the Symphony No. 4, Sunday evening at 7pm.

Herbert Blomstedt, conductor
Leonidas Kavakos, violin

ALL-BRAHMS PROGRAM
Violin Concerto
Symphony No. 4

(Emphasis added.)

Most people will probably like this one a lot. The performance detail page has the usual links. As you know, I don't care very much for Brahms' symphonies and concertos, but I'm definitely in the minority on that. So enjoy.

Traditions are generally a good thing, but the one of concluding the Tanglewood season with the Beethoven 9th is fairly recent. I won't be upset if they don't go back to it if there's a full season next summer.

BSO/Classical New England — 2020/10/31

WCRB tells us that this evening's encore broadcast (and webstream) is of the concert of November 7, 2015. This is clearly an error. The orchestra's subscriber booklet for the year gives us October 31 as the Saturday on which this music was performed, and what I wrote at the time reflects that timing:

This week's Boston Symphony is pleasant music throughout — nothing challenging for listeners or, I suppose, performers, with music by Tchaikovsky, Elgar, and Schubert.  We read, on their performance detail page:

Violinist/conductor Pinchas Zukerman returns to the BSO podium in both roles in two short, beautiful Tchaikovsky works for violin and orchestra [Mélodie and Sérénade Mélancolique], and to lead the composer's famous Serenade for Strings. Edward Elgar's warmhearted Chanson de nuit is one of two brief pieces originally for solo violin and piano (the other being Chanson de matin), later rescored for orchestra. Franz Schubert wrote his charming, four-movement Symphony No. 5 when he was just nineteen. Its balance of materials and control of the orchestra show the influence of Mozart and Beethoven.

…

(Some emphasis added.)

See that page also for links to audio previews, program notes, their new "media center," and performer bio for Mr. Zukerman. Surprisingly, two of the five pieces are getting their first performances by the BSO — the two curtain raisers by Tchaikovsky — and the Elgar was never played by them in Symphony Hall.

As of this writing, there is no review yet in the Boston Musical Intelligencer. The Boston Globe has an unflattering review, finding the leadership of Maestro Zukerman uninspired and recalling superior performances of the main works by the orchestra in recent years. I was there on Thursday evening, and I found no fault with how anything was played. There's a lot to be said for a concert that's all "easy listening." But I was extremely annoyed by Zukerman's gesture when taking his bow at the end. He raised his hands about to shoulder level and made beckoning gestures with his fingers. The reviewer writes,

Taking his bows at the end of the night, Zukerman gestured to the crowd with his hands, as if to raise the level of the volume of the applause. There are other ways to do so.

I agree completely. The audience responded at once with cheers and much louder applause. I immediately walked out of the auditorium in disgust at the uncouth and unprofessional action. In my annoyance, I thought that Mr. Zukerman may have realized that his choice of unspectacular music didn't give the audience anything to go wild about, and maybe he thought the orchestra deserved a warmer ovation. (I later had the uncharitable thought that he chose pieces within his current capabilities as a violinist and as a conductor.) But it's an insult to the audience to tell them that they aren't applauding enough. I'm sorry many in the audience fell for it, and I wish I had had the presence of mind to boo the gesture before I left. Fortunately, if he does it again on Saturday, you won't see it over the radio or the internet.

Despite the unfortunate extraneous business at the end, I think the concert is worth listening to. You can do so over the radio and streaming facilities of WCRB — as you know by now, unless you're new to this blog. As usual, the … broadcast/webstream is on Saturday at 8:00 p.m., Boston Time…. The station's BSO page includes a link to an  … [interview with Maestro Zukerman.]

Enjoy.

(Edited for relevance.)

As was the case with last week's rebroadcast, the performance detail page is no longer accessible on the BSO website. At least, it's not in its usual place. And, as was the case in 2015, the Intelligncer doesn't have a review available. So, apart from the quote from the performance detail page, you have only a Globe review for a preview of the show. I still recommend listening to WCRB at 8:00.

BSO/Classical New England — 2020/05/23

This week WCRB gives us a repeat of the concert originally performed on October 12, 2019. Unfortunately, I was away at the time and didn't post anything about it. But here's the description on the orchestra's performance detail page:

The Russian-born conductor Dima Slobodeniouk makes his BSO subscription series debut in these concerts, collaborating with cellist Truls Mørk in Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto, the composer’s last masterpiece and one of the central works of the cello repertoire. Completing the program are works by two Nordic contemporaries. Jean Sibelius’ Pohjola’s Daughter is one of the composer’s many orchestral tone poems inspired by the Kalevala, the Finnish national epic. Denmark’s greatest symphonist, Carl Nielsen, composed his two-movement Symphony No. 5 in the early 1920s. Last played by the BSO in 1993, the Fifth moves from a dramatic, multipart opening movement to an affirmative, fugue-dominated finale.

(Some emphasis added.)
Of course, the performance detail page has the usual links to program notes, performer bios, and other material.

The reviewer in the Boston Globe was very pleased. The Boston Musical Intelligencer's review was mostly a description of what happens during the pieces, but the reviewer was also happy with how they were performed.

Based on those reviews, I'd say it should be an interesting concert, maybe not the best thing since sliced hard-boiled eggs, but definitely okay. Those who heard it seemed to like it.

So set your radio dial or your computer to WCRB at 8:00 p.m., Boston Time, and see how you feel about it.

Bonus: Sunday at 3:00, Yo-Yo Ma will give a performance of the Bach suites for cello. Details at the WCRB website.

BSO — 2019/03/02

This evening's concert is the "Stabat Mater" by Antonin Dvořák. Here's what the performance detail page tells us:

Dvořák wrote the piece in 1876-77 in response to the deaths of three of his children, using the traditional Medieval Latin poem on the subject of Mary's sorrow over Christ's death. Dvořák's poignant and dramatic setting expresses a heartfelt, personal experience of grief via the four solo roles, and its universality through the power of the chorus and orchestra. The BSO has only performed this work in its entirety on two previous occasions: under Seiji Ozawa in 1980, and in a single performance in Louisville, Kentucky, led by Arthur Nikisch in 1891.

If you are going to be giving the performance close attention, I recommend going to the link for the program notes where you can find the text, as well as a description of the music. But I think it can also work if you are listening without knowing the exact words, just with the idea of what it is about in general, and realizing that he was writing it shortly after the deaths of his three young children.

Both the Globe and the Musical Intelligencer have reviews that point out minor flaws in the performance while overall quite favorable. I was there and probably tried too hard to follow word for word, rather than taking in the overall experience of each section. It was high on my list of concerts to hear this season, and I'm glad I was there. One of the basses in the chorus has a blog, and earlier in the week he said a couple of things about it. One was that it is the saddest piece of choral music he knows — not just making musical gestures of sadness, but truly sad in spirit throughout until the closing lines. He also said that the chorus had to learn that pp is not mezzoforte. There were a couple of spots in the early going where it seemed that the orchestra was playing mezzoforte and drowning out the chorus's properly executed pp. As for being sad throughout, I didn't hear it that way. It was very sad in the beginning sections, but didn't seem to me to maintain that degree of sadness all the way through. Maybe you'll hear what he meant about it.

This is one I definitely recommend. (In addition to being great music, it can help you get in the mood for Lent, if you need or want any help in that area.) As always, WCRB presents it live with coverage beginning at 8:00 p.m., and there will be a rebroadcast at 8:00 on Monday, March 11. (On the 4th, they will replay last week's "Suor Angelica.)

The Thursday concert began with a performance of  "Nimrod" from the Enigma Variations by Elgar, which was added in memory of André Previn, who had died earlier that day. I don't know if they'll play it again this evening.

BSO — 2018/11/03

This evening a couple of "golden oldies" surround a piece which the BSO is giving its American premiere this week. On the orchestra's program detail page we read:

In this London-oriented program, Andris Nelsons leads the BSO in the American premiere of the first of several BSO co-commissions this season, English composer Mark-Anthony Turnage's Remembering: In Memoriam Evan Scofield. Evan, son of the great jazz guitarist and Turnage collaborator John Scofield, died of cancer at age twenty-five. The piece was co-commissioned by the BSO with the Berlin Philharmonic and London Symphony Orchestra. Opening the program is Haydn's Symphony No. 93, one of the first of the group of bold, innovative symphonies he wrote for performance in London during his visits there in the early 1790s. The English composer Edward Elgar's tour-de-force of orchestral and expressive imagination, the Enigma Variations, is a series of widely varied portraits of his friends via transformations of a common musical theme.

(Some emphasis added.)
The page also has the usual links to background material.

I was there for the first performance of the program on Thursday. I didn't notice anything spectacular in the playing of the Haydn or the Elgar, but they are enjoyable to listen to. At the end of the Turnage piece, the composer joined the conductor on stage after the initial bows, and I was part of the warm ovation for him. I like to applaud composers who produce listenable works. As the program notes point out, the work is in four parts. The first part struck me as jazzy. The second seemed noisy and cacophonous. If that had been the whole thing, I wouldn't have been so inclined to applaud the composer. The third part had both jazzy and noisy elements. In the last part, which was the first composed, we finally got calm and elegiac music such as one would expect in a piece expressing sorrow.

The review in the Globe is favorable (but not a rave) and gives an insight into the meaning of the first three parts of "Remembering." The Boston Musical Intelligencer's review, less encumbered than the Globe's by space limitations, is also favorable, with more detail.

So I definitely recommend listening over WCRB at 8:00 p.m. EDST this evening, November 3, and/or at 8:00 EST on Monday, Nov. 12. A second page on the station's website gives links to a conversation with composer Turnage and another, about the program, with Andris Nelsons.

Enjoy.

BSO/Classical New England — 2017/05/27

This week the encore broadcast gives us Charles Dutoit and Yo-Yo Ma in music of Walton, Elgar, and Holst. Here's the listing from WCRB's Encore Broadcasts page, which also tell us what's coming up in June.

Yo-Yo Ma Plays Elgar

Charles Dutoit, conductor
Yo-Yo Ma, cello
Women of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus

WALTON Portsmouth Point Overture
ELGAR Cello Concerto
HOLST The Planets

As usual, I posted about it when it was performed, on October 22, 2016. As you can see, although I didn't care much for the Elgar concerto, I quite enjoyed the Walton overture and the Holst, particularly the ending. The reviewers were much more favorable. So give it a listen on WCRB on air or online at 8:00 p.m., Boston Time. The program notes will add to the enjoyment of the Holst, but aren't necessary.

BSO — 2017/01/14

This week's Boston Symphony concert is unusual in that the two works preceding intermission feature the organ. Here's how the BSO describes it on their performance detail page:

English conductor Bramwell Tovey is joined by virtuoso American organist Cameron Carpenter, who makes his BSO subscription series debut in a work written for him, At the Royal Majestic, by the innovative American composer Terry Riley, a founding father of musical minimalism. Himself an organist, Riley created this eclectic large-scale concerto "shifting, as its title suggests, from sounds reminiscent of the Mighty Wurlitzer housed in the grand movie palaces, to fragments of Calliope, Baroque Chorales, occasional craggy dissonance of clashing pipes, and boogie." To open the concert, Carpenter is soloist in Samuel Barber's 1960 organ-and-orchestra work Toccata Festiva, by turns exuberant and lyrical. The English composer Edward Elgar's tour-de-force of orchestral and expressive imagination, the EnigmaVariations, is a series of widely varied portraits of his friends achieved via transformations of a common musical theme.

(Some emphasis added.)

See that page also for links to performer bios, program notes, and audio previews.

The reviews are favorable. The Globe describes things concisely and identifies the two! encores, each of which was spectacular in its own way, and good for giving us a chance to hear the organ unimpeded by sounds from the orchestra. Of course, if there is an encore or two on Saturday, it/they will not necessarily be the same, but I'm sure you'll recognize "Fly Me to the Moon," if he does it. The Boston Musical Intelligencer has more space available for its reviews, and this review describes the music and the performance in greater detail — including noting that Cameron Carpenter played the (optional) organ part in the Elgar.

The concert was enjoyable to listen to. Seeing the organist playing, especially watching his feet on the pedals, certainly added to the experience. He frequently changed the stops, but most of the time, I didn't notice any change in the sound of the organ. But I think it'll be worth hearing even without the added visuals. So I definitely recommend going to WCRB on air or on the internet at 8:00 p.m., Boston Time. If you miss any of it on January 14, they will rebroadcast/stream it at 8:00 p.m. on Monday January 23. Their podcast, "The Answered Question" includes a useful discussion of this week's program during the first 15 minutes.

BSO — 2016/10/22

It's British composers week at symphony this week. We start with an unfamiliar work (at least I can't recall ever hearing of it, much less actually hearing it, until now) and move on to a couple of better known pieces. Here's the scoop from the orchestra's own performance detail page, which also carries links to performer bios, program notes, audio previews, and podcasts about the program:

For this first of two weeks celebrating Charles Dutoit's 80th birthday, the eminent Swiss conductor-who is also continuing a close, multi-season collaboration with the BSO-is joined by Yo-Yo Ma for Edward Elgar's substantial and popular Cello Concerto. The program of works by three 20th-century English composers opens with William Walton's Portsmouth Point Overture, a vibrant and jazzy early work inspired by a print of colorful activity at a seaport. Written between 1914 and 1916, Gustav Holst's astrologically inspired The Planets is by far his most enduringly popular work, a series of orchestrally rich character pieces, from fleet Mercury to mysterious Neptune.

(Some emphasis added.)

I was there on Thursday, and I think it's worth hearing, which you can do this evening (Saturday) over the facilities of WCRB — radio or webstream — at 8:00 Boston Time. They also provide a page with the schedule of broadcasts and rebroadcasts for the remainder of the BSO season.

The curtain raiser by Walton was new to me, and the BSO hadn't played it since 1941. Based on a painting from the late 18th century of the English seaport, it's lively and engaging. The Elgar cello concerto I found dull and plodding. Maybe it was from having expectations that were too high, maybe the music just isn't that good, or maybe it was the way Ma and Dutoit chose to perform it, but it didn't hold my interest. Of course most people think the concerto is good, Dutoit is excellent, and Ma is the greatest cellist of his generation, so my opinion is probably that of a very small minority. Interestingly, there was no encore, despite the prolonged standing ovation. Mr. Ma left his cello backstage each time he returned (once alone and twice with Maestro Dutoit) to acknowledge the applause. Was he dissatisfied with his work? "The Planets" is good stuff, and I liked the performance. The female chorus faded out so well at the end that people didn't start applauding until Maestro Dutoit gave a gesture of ending at least five seconds after the chorus had stopped.

Published reviews are more favorable than mine. The Globe's found everything highly satisfactory. The reviewer was very pleased with Yo-Yo Ma's playing, noting some elements of his performance which I noticed, and dome which were beyond my grasp. The review in the Boston Musical Intelligencer was equally favorable, noting some of the same things about aspects of Yo-Yo Ma's playing as the Globe review said in other words. There was also some good detail about "The Planets," and the references to individual musicians in the orchestra give us something to listen for.

So I'll be listening afresh this evening to give Ma and Dutoit a second chance with the Elgar. Maybe it'll seem better this time.

BSO/Classical New England — 2016/07/02

This is the final weekend before the Boston Symphony begins its Tanglewood season. In the regular 8:00 p.m. time slot, WCRB will give will give us a rebroadcast of the concert given on October 31, 2015. I posted about it at the time. If you got there, you'll find that I liked it better than the reviewer in the Boston Globe. Here's a listing of the contents from the station's BSO page.

In an encore broadcast, Pinchas Zukerman is both the conductor and violin soloist in a program that includes Tchaikovsky's Mélodie, Andante cantabile, and Serenade, Elgar's Chanson de la nuit, and Schubert's Symphony No. 5.

(Most emphasis added.)

As always you can hear it over the air at FM 99.5, if you're within range, or on line via a link on their homepage. I'm looking forward to another hearing.


The BSO page also gives, among other things, a schedule of the broadcasts for the Tanglewood season, which, as noted, begins next week. There are numerous concerts through the week and on the weekends. WCRB broadcasts and streams the major three of each weekend: Friday and Saturday evenings, and Sunday afternoon. But this year, they will only transmit the Friday and Saturday concerts live at 8:00 p.m.. The 2:30 p.m. Sunday concerts will be transmitted on Sunday evenings at 7:00. I'm disappointed that they won't be broadcast live, although the delay will probably make it more convenient for me to listen, since there will not be regular competition with the Red Sox games on TV. At any rate, get set for three straight evenings from Tanglewood on weekends beginning on July 8 and continuing through August 27 (ending on Saturday this year rather than Sunday).

Since I will not have heard the programs earlier in the week, and no reviews will be available at my "press time," I'll only have links to the preview materials on the orchestras website and WCRB's, with maybe an occasional remark about a piece I'm familiar with — no extensive personal comments.

BSO — 2015/10/29-31

This week's Boston Symphony is pleasant music throughout — nothing challenging for listeners or, I suppose, performers, with music by Tchaikovsky, Elgar, and Schubert.  We read, on their performance detail page:

Violinist/conductor Pinchas Zukerman returns to the BSO podium in both roles in two short, beautiful Tchaikovsky works for violin and orchestra [Mélodie and Sérénade Mélancolique], and to lead the composer's famous Serenade for Strings. Edward Elgar's warmhearted Chanson de nuit is one of two brief pieces originally for solo violin and piano (the other being Chanson de matin), later rescored for orchestra. Franz Schubert wrote his charming, four-movement Symphony No. 5 when he was just nineteen. Its balance of materials and control of the orchestra show the influence of Mozart and Beethoven.

Join the conversation online by using #BSOZukerman for this concert series or #BSO1516 on your social networks to discover the excitement of the season and connect with one another!

(Some emphasis added.)

See that page also for links to audio previews, program notes, their new "media center," and performer bio for Mr. Zukerman. Surprisingly, two of the five pieces are getting their first performances by the BSO — the two curtain raisers by Tchaikovsky — and the Elgar was never played by them in Symphony Hall.

As of this writing, there is no review yet in the Boston Musical Intelligencer. The Boston Globe has an unflattering review, finding the leadership of Maestro Zukerman uninspired and recalling superior performances of the main works by the orchestra in recent years. I was there on Thursday evening, and I found no fault with how anything was played. There's a lot to be said for a concert that's all "easy listening." But I was extremely annoyed by Zukerman's gesture when taking his bow at the end. He raised his hands about to shoulder level and made beckoning gestures with his fingers. The reviewer writes,

Taking his bows at the end of the night, Zukerman gestured to the crowd with his hands, as if to raise the level of the volume of the applause. There are other ways to do so.

I agree completely. The audience responded at once with cheers and much louder applause. I immediately walked out of the auditorium in disgust at the uncouth and unprofessional action. In my annoyance, I thought that Mr. Zukerman may have realized that his choice of unspectacular music didn't give the audience anything to go wild about, and maybe he thought the orchestra deserved a warmer ovation. (I later had the uncharitable thought that he chose pieces within his current capabilities as a violinist and as a conductor.) But it's an insult to the audience to tell them that they aren't applauding enough. I'm sorry many in the audience fell for it, and I wish I had had the presence of mind to boo the gesture before I left. Fortunately, if he does it again on Saturday, you won't see it over the radio or the internet.

Despite the unfortunate extraneous business at the end, I think the concert is worth listening to. You can do so over the radio and streaming facilities of WCRB — as you know by now, unless you're new to this blog. As usual, the live broadcast/webstream is on Saturday at 8:00 p.m., Boston Time, with a rerun on Monday, November 9, also at 8:00. The station's BSO page includes a link to an audio piece which, after looking back to the "Elektra" of two weeks ago, includes interviews with Mr. Zukerman and, unrelated to the BSO, with the mandolinist who will take over as host of "A Prairie Home Companion," Chris Thile.

Enjoy.