BSO/Classical New England — 2022/07/02

 If you aren't listening to the Red Sox game, you can hear a rebroadcast of the BSO concert of January 25 this year. WCRB synopsizes:

Saturday, July 2, 2022
8:00 PM

Tonight at 8, French pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet is the soloist in Liszt's acrobatic Piano Concerto No. 2, plus Andris Nelsons conducts an American premiere by Augusta Read Thomas and Beethoven's Symphony No. 4.

Andris Nelsons, conductor
Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano

Augusta READ THOMAS Dance Foldings (American premiere)
Franz LISZT Piano Concerto No. 2
Ludwig van BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 4

This concert is no longer available on demand.

Hear a conversation with CRB's Cathy Fuller and Jean-Yves Thibaudet on his new album Carte Blanche.

I wrote about it back then, and it seems that the links are still working, including the link for the program notes on the performance detail page.

It could be interesting and enjoyable.

BSO/Classical New England — 2022/06/25

 This is a good program, IMO, originally broadcast on November 27, 2021. WCRB tells us:

Saturday, June 25, 2022
8:00 PM

Tonight at 8, the Boston Symphony's Music Director leads the orchestra through the rustic serenity of the German composer's Serenade No. 2, as well as his roiling and triumphant First Symphony.

Boston Symphony Orchestra
Andris Nelsons, conductor

Johannes BRAHMS Serenade No. 2
BRAHMS Symphony No. 1

This concert is no longer available on demand.

Hear Andris Nelsons preview the concert and describe his experiences of Thanksgiving in America with the audio player above.

Transcript: 

Brian McCreath Let's talk about Brahms and the program for Thanksgiving weekend, here in the U.S., and tell me about how you decided upon the Second Serenade and

Serenade No. 2 is peobably my favorite piece by Brahms. Lest that be taken as faint praise coming from me, I'll add that I really like it, as I said when I posted back then.

There's nothing to add to what I wrote last November. Enjoy! 

BSO/Classical New England — 2022/06/18

 Here, courtesy of WCRB, are the basics about this evening's BSO concert rebroadcast, while we wait for the Tanglewood season to begin next month:

Saturday, June 18, 2022
8:00 PM

Tonight at 8, the Swedish trumpeter is the soloist in Jörg Widmann's "Towards Paradise," a BSO co-commission, and Andris Nelsons conducts Mahler’s vision of nature, life, and transformation, the First Symphony.

Boston Symphony Orchestra
Andris Nelsons, conductor
Håkan Hardenberger, trumpet

Jörg WIDMANN Towards Paradise (Labyrinth VI), for trumpet and orchestra (American premiere; BSO co-commission)
Gustav MAHLER Symphony No. 1

This concert is no longer available on demand.

Interview With Håkan Hardenberger

Interview With Andris Nelsons

Hear Håkan Hardenberger describe the genesis and challenges of Jörg Widmann's Toward's Paradise in the audio player above.

Transcript:

Brian McCreath I'm Brian McCreath at Symphony Hall in Boston and very pleased that Håkan Hardenberger is back here with us,

The concert was originally performed and broadcast on Nonember 20, 2021, and I wrote about it then. Sorry to say, I don't remember what I thought of it at the time, but the links in my postfrom that date seem to be working, so you can check out the BSO's program notes etc. and the reviews.

For now, I can only add that if you don't like the Widmann, most of you will probably find the Mahler easy listening.

BSO/Classical New England — 2022/06/11

 WCRB tells us:

Saturday, June 11, 2022
8:00 PM

Tonight at 8, BSO Principal Clarinetist William R. Hudgins is the soloist in Mozart’s timeless Clarinet Concerto, and Roderick Cox leads the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Mendelssohn's "Scottish" Symphony.

Boston Symphony Orchestra
Roderick Cox, conductor
William R. Hudgins, clarinet

Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART Clarinet Concerto
Felix MENDELSSOHN Symphony No. 3, Scottish

This concert is no longer available on demand.

Interview With Roderick Cox

Interview With William R. Hudgins

Hear a preview with Roderick Cox, including his approach to Mendelssohn's "Scottish" Sym 

This is the concert of November 13, 2011. I wrote favorably about it back then, and I have no reason to change my recommendation. I presume the links to the reviews still work, so give it a listen.

BSO/Classical New England — 2022/06/04

 WCRB tells us:

Saturday, June 4, 2022
8:00 PM

Tonight at 8, the Italian pianist is the soloist in the sweeping epic of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, and Dima Slobodeniouk leads the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Dvořák’s Symphony No. 7.

Boston Symphony Orchestra
Dima Slobodeniouk, conductor
Beatrice Rana, piano

Peter TCHAIKOVSKY Piano Concerto No. 1
Antonin DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 7

This concert is no longer available on demand.

Hear a conversation with Beatrice Rana and CRB's Brian McCreath with the audio player above.

Transcript:

Brian McCreath I'm Brian McCreath from WCRB at Symphony Hall with Beatrice Rana, and Beatrice, it's so good

This was originally performed and broadcast on November 6, 2021, and I wrote about it then.

This should be enjoyable all the way.

BSO/Classical New England — 2022/05/28

 This evening, while we wait for the BSO's Tanglewood season to begin, WCRB rebroadcasts the concert of October 30. Here's the outline from their page:

Saturday, May 28, 2022
8:00 PM

Tonight at 8, the celebrated electric bassist is the soloist in his own concerto, La Lección Tres, and the BSO's Thomas Wilkins conducts music from Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's Hiawatha and Duke Ellington’s The River.

Boston Symphony Orchestra
Thomas Wilkins, conductor
Victor Wooten, electric bass

Samuel COLERIDGE-TAYLOR Suite from the ballet Hiawatha
Victor WOOTEN La Lección Tres, for electric bass and orchestra
Duke ELLINGTON Suite from The River

This concert is no longer available on demand.

Hear conductor Thomas Wilkins describe his longtime friendship with Victor Wooten, why Coleridge-Taylor's ballet music for Hiawatha is a relatively new discovery, and Ellington is a natural fit for the BSO with the audio player above (transcript below).

In a conversation with WCRB's Brian McCreath, Victor Wooten describes the artistic opportunities of bringing his musical voice to the symphony orchestra, and why he's perfectly comfortable being out of his comfort zone

It seems that I didn't post about it back then, nor do I recall hearing it. I just remembered: that was the weekend I was in the hospital being pumped full of antibiotics to cure my cellulitis. Let's see if I can find reviews.

The Intelligencer urges us not to miss the Wooten piece and is pleased with the whole concert. The Globe reviewer is equally enthusiastic.

So I guess this is worth hearing. 8:00 p.m., Boston Time, this evening.

BSO/Classical New England — 2022/05/21

 Per WCRB:

Saturday, May 21, 2022
8:00 PM

Tonight at 8, in a celebration of the composer's 90th birthday, Andris Nelsons leads the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Sofia Gubaidulina's "The Light of the End," as well as Rachmaninoff’s powerfully dramatic Third Symphony.

Boston Symphony Orchestra
Andris Nelsons, conductor

Sofia GUBAIDULINA The Light of the End
Sergei RACHMANINOFF Symphony No. 3

Hear a preview of Gubaidulina's The Light of the End with Andris Nelsons and CRB's Brian McCreath with the audio player above.

Transcript:

Brian McCreath [00:00:00] I'm Brian McCreath from WCRB, at Symphony Hall with Andris Nelsons. And this really amazing program

They forgot to mention that this is a rebroadcast of the concert of October 23, 2021. I posted about it back then, and I don't have anything to add now.

Enjoy.

BSO/Classical New England — 2022/05/07

 This evening, while the BSO is on break for a few weeks, WCRB takes us to the BSO's "golden grooveyard." In other words (from WCRB):

Saturday, May 7, 2022
8:00 PM

Tonight at 8, it's an evening dedicated to the BSO's rich recording discography, centered on Johannes Brahms's Symphony No. 2 and Dmitri Shostakovich's Symphony No. 1 with Music Director Andris Nelsons, plus works by Thomas Adès and Ferruccio Busoni.

Boston Symphony Orchestra
Andris Nelsons, conductor

Thomas Adès, conductor (Adès)
Kirill Gerstein, piano (Adès, Busoni)

Sakari Oramo, conductor (Busoni)

Dmitri SHOSTAKOVICH Festive Overture
Thomas ADÈS Concerto for Piano and Orchestra: I. Allegramente
Johannes BRAHMS Symphony No. 2
Ferruccio BUSONI Piano Concerto in C: IV. Tarantella
SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 1

Recordings courtesies of Deutsche Grammophon, BSO Classics, Oberlin Music, and Myrios.

What more can I say? Since it's not a concert, there are no reviews, nor a BSO performance detail page. I can't say any of these pieces are favorites of mine, but I'll probably leave the radio on. Of course "everybody" likes Brahms.

BSO — 2022/04/30

 We come now to the final concert of the BSO's 2021-22 season. WCRB tells us:

Saturday, April 30, and Monday, May 9, 2022
8:00 PM

Closing out the 2021-2022 Boston Symphony Orchestra season, BSO Principal Cellist Blaise Déjardin is center-stage in Saint-Saëns's Cello Concerto No. 1, and Andris Nelsons conducts Richard Strauss's panoramic "An Alpine Symphony" and a selection from the composer's "Intermezzo," tonight at 8pm.

Andris Nelsons, conductor
Blaise Déjardin, cello

Richard STRAUSS "Dreaming by the Fireside" from Four Symphonic Interludes from Intermezzo
Camille SAINT-SAËNS Cello Concerto No. 1
STRAUSS An Alpine Symphony

To hear Blaise Déjardin preview the Cello Concerto No. 1 by Saint-Saëns, talk about his new book, Audition Day, and how golf and learning magic helped his cello playing, click on the player above, and read the transcript below.

Brian McCreath I'm Brian McCreath at Symphony Hall with Blaise Déjardin, the Principal Cellist of the Boston Symphony. But Blaise, you're here in the guest soloist green room with a very different role this week: soloist for the Saint-Saëns Cello Concerto No. 1. Thanks for a little bit of your time today.

If you go to WCRB's page you can read or listen to the interview.

The BSO's own performance detail page tells us more about the music:

The BSO’s own principal cello Blaise Déjardin makes his solo concerto debut with the orchestra in these concerts performing the astonishingly gifted French composer Camille Saint-Saëns’ 1873 Cello Concerto No. 1. In one movement, this compact concerto moves from exhilarating energy to great charm and finally to impassioned, virtuosic lyricism.
The orchestral interludes from his 1924 opera Intermezzo are self-contained miniature tone poems of great dramatic effectiveness. The gorgeous “Dreaming by the Fireside” depicts a woman’s yearning for her husband, who is a musician on tour—part of the autobiographical plot of the opera. Strauss’s absolute mastery of the orchestra is put to very different use in the tone poem An Alpine Symphony, which musically illustrates nature in all its glory via the climb and descent of a mountain in the Alps.

There are also brief blurbs about each piece and a number of links, including one for the program notes which appear in the booklet given to audience members.

The Globe reviewer liked the first Strauss piece and the Saint-Saëns cello concerto, but found the Alpine Symphony too long and mostly unengaging, but found no fault with how it was performed. So far, there is no review in the Intelligencer.

I wasn't there on Thursday, so I can't say how they did. What I can say is I'm not surprised by the review in the Globe. I'd expect the first half to be pleasant. I've heard the Alpine Symphony a few times and I'd say it has its moments, and it's never hard to listen to.

Overall, I think it's worth tuning in or connecting.

I haven"t looked to see what WCRB will give us between now and the opening of the BSO season at Tanglewood, but I won't be surprised if it's mostly repeats of recent concerts. The BSO begins at Tanglewood on July 8, and will give concerts on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, as in pre-Covid years. So keep tuned.

BSO — 2022/04/23

 Tonight's concert has nothing too tough to take. Richard Strauss isn't as light-hearted as Johann (no relation), but he's not jarring on the ears. Here's WCRB's synopsis:

Saturday, April 23, and May 2, 2022
8:00 PM

Tonight at 8pm, Andris Nelsons leads the Boston Symphony Orchestra in three works by German composer Richard Strauss, culminating with the nostalgically rich "Symphonia domestica."

Andris Nelsons, conductor

ALL-STRAUSS PROGRAM

Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks
Symphonic Fantasy on Die Frau ohne Schatten
Symphonia domestica

For more information, you can consult the BSO performance detail page:

The second of the all-Strauss programs includes the symphonic poem Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks, his Symphonia domestica, and his own Symphonic Fantasy on Die Frau ohne Schatten(“Woman Without a Shadow”), a 1946 distillation of his fabulist 1919 opera.

There are short blurbs about each piece on the page as well as links to the program notes.

The review in the Globe has no fault to find with the performance but is lukewarm in tone. The reviewer has serious questions about the choice of works, one having been performed last fall, and another shortly before the pandemic shutdown. The Intelligencer finds everything okay, with nothing to rave about.

I was there on Thursday. Although I had been looking forward to the "Four Last Songs," The Symphonic Fantasy was good. I had thought of the opera as forbidding because of its subkect matter. Maybe I heard it once on the radio. Anyway, I wasn't interested. But the Symphonic Fantasy was surprisingly pleasant. Of course, the opening piece was merry and enjoyable. But I found the Symphonia Domestica too long. There is nothing unpleasant about it. I just didn't find anything especially exciting or captivating about it, and it kept going too long. Maybe it can work better as background music for whatever you're doing, or maybe you'll be better attuned to the supposedly changing scenes.

Certainly, there is no need to avoid this concert, so why not listen and see what you think.