BSO/Classical New England — 2015/09/26

This is the last week before the BSO begins the 2015-16 Symphony Hall Season on October 1. For this Saturday's rebroadcast WCRB has chosen the September 27, 2014, concert, which was Andris Nelsons' first as Music Director of the orchestra. Here is how 'CRB describes it on their BSO page:

In his first concert as BSO Music Director, Andris Nelsons conducts excerpts from operas by Wagner, Puccini, and Mascagni, featuring soprano Kristine Opolais and tenor Jonas Kaufmann, as well as Wagner's Tannhäuser Overture and Respighi's The Pines of Rome.

(Some emphasis added.)
That BSO page also has a link to an interview with the maestro and a preview of the concert, as well as the broadcast schedule for the upcoming season.

The concert begins with the Tannhäuser Overture and ends with the Respighi, with the singing in between. The BSO's own performance detail page lists all the selections which are to be sung. There are the usual links to background information.

Since this concert was only given on that Saturday evening, there were no reviews to link when I wrote my preview at the time. Here's a link to a lengthy review in the Boston Musical Intelligencer. The reviewer liked most of what he heard but groused about the choice of pieces and the intrusions of PBS's cameras and lighting to record the show for television. He also tells about the encore: "O soave fanciulla" from La Bohème.

As usual, the concert can be heard on air or over the web from WCRB (link above) at 8:00 Boston Time. It should be enjoyable.

BSO — 2014/09/27

Andris Nelsons' inaugural concert as Music Director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra is only being performed this evening (although there will be the customary rebroadcast in nine days). This means that there are no reviews so far, just the usual preview information. There will be music of Wagner, Mascagni, Puccini, and Respighi. The BSO performance detail page has links to program notes, a couple of audio previews, and performer bios (click on the pictures). It also provides the following synopsis:

This wide-ranging one-night-only event celebrates the start of BSO Music Director Andris Nelsons' tenure with the orchestra, and features two close colleagues of the conductor as soloists, the acclaimed Latvian soprano Kristine Opolais, and the outstanding German tenor Jonas Kaufmann. Each sings selections from the Wagnerian and Italian verismo repertoires, after which they join forces for a powerful duet from Puccini's Manon Lescaut. The concert opens with Wagner's Tannhäuser Overture-the work that first inspired a five-year-old Nelsons to a life in music-and closes with Respighi's spectacular orchestral showcase,Pines of Rome.

(Some emphasis added.)

As usual, you can listen on air or over the web via WCRB at 8:00 p.m., Boston Time. And since the concert is sold out  —something I don't recall seeing before, although it must have happened occasionally at least on opening nights — that's the only way you can hear it. Their BSO page has links to several interesting-looking interviews and to the complete season broadcast/stream schedule. (And dang! during the past week they've had a retrospective on previous music directors from Koussevitsky through Levine, with programs Sunday through Friday. If I had noticed, I could have listened while watching the Red Sox.)

It should be worth hearing.