BSO/Classical New England — 2022/11/05

 The orchestra has gone to Japan for a concert tour, so WCRB is providing us with a rebroadcast from last spring, as noted here:

Saturday, November 5, 2022
8:00 PM

In an encore broadcast of the final concert in 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."

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

This concert was originally broadcast on Saturday, April 30. It is no longer available on demand.

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, use the audio 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,

At the time, I wrote as follows:

 We come now to the final concert of the BSO's 2021-22 season.[…]

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've subsequently found a mixed review in the Intelligencer: liked the first half, not thrilled with the "Alpensymphonie."I still recommend it overall, although I won't blame anyone who treats the second half as background music.

BSO — 2022/10/29

 The reviewer in the Globe characterized the pieces in this evening's concert as warhorses, which surprised me with regard to the Shostakovich. I'llpost the link in due course, but first let's see what we get from WCRB.

Saturday, October 29, 2022
8:00 PM

Pianist Mitsuko Uchida is the soloist in Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5, and Andris Nelsons harnesses the full force of the BSO in Shostakovich’s powerful Symphony No. 5.

Andris Nelsons, conductor
Mitsuko Uchida, piano

Ludwig van BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 5, Emperor
Dmitri SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 5

In a conversation with CRB's Brian McCreath, Mitsuko Uchida describes the exceptional qualities of collaborating with Andris Nelsons and the BSO, how her annual time at Vermont's Marlboro Festival informs her concerto performances, and what recording Beethoven's Diabelli Variations revealed to her about the composer. To listen, use the player above, and read the transcript below.

TRANSCRIPT:

Brian McCreath I'm Brian McCreath at Symphony Hall with Mitsuko Uchida, who has returned to Boston for Beethoven's Fifth Piano Concerto, the Emperor Concerto. Mitsuko, it's so

The conversation on audio is 21 minutes. I haven't listened or read it yet, but it should be interesting.

Now let's see what the BSO performance detail page has to offer.

Japanese pianist Mitsuko Uchida joins Andris Nelsons and the BSO for Ludwig van Beethoven’s monumental Emperor piano concerto. Criticism in the Soviet press of Dmitri Shostakovich’s opera Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District put him in a precarious position with Soviet authorities. His response was the powerful and outwardly triumphant Fifth Symphony.

Detailed notes for each work are available via links on the overall page.

The Globe has a review which is very favorable about the performance, although the reviewer wishes they had chosen other pieces to take on tour. There are also some snippets of news at the end. The reviewer at  the Intelligencer was quite taken with the whole thing.

This concert was part of my subscription, but I had a meeting to attend on Thursday, so I'll be hearing it for the first time this evening — regrettably unable to be at Symphony Hall for it, since the Beethoven is one of my favorite pieces. After reading the reviews, I even want to hear the Shostakovich. Fortunately my brother has decided to postpone his weekly phone call until tomorrow, so I'll be able to hear it all.

I definitely recommend it, especially the Beethoven; and you might as well at least give the Shostakovich a try. Listen in via WCRB at 8:00 this evening, and don't forget the rebroadcast at 9:00 an Monday, November 7.

BSO — 2022/10/22

 On Thursday, you could say I heard a surprise symphony — not Haydn's "Surprise" Symphony, but Mahler's 6th. I had trekked in to Boston thinking that they were going to play Beethoven's "Emperor" Concerto and Shostakovich's 5th Symphony, but when I looked at the program booklet, it turned out that it   would be the Mahler. Here's how WCRB puts it:

Saturday, October 22, 2022
8:00 PM

The Boston Symphony scales the depth and breadth of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 6 led by Music Director Andris Nelsons.

Andris Nelsons, conductor

Gustav MAHLER Symphony No. 6

Andris Nelsons talks with CRB's Brian McCreath about Mahler's Sixth Symphony, how its emotional power is different from the Fifth Symphony, and how his interpretation of the piece has changed over the years. Also, Nelsons talks about the BSO's upcoming tour to Japan, which include, coincidentally two pieces with major roles for ... cowbells (Mahler's Sixth Symphony and Strauss's Alpine Symphony). To listen, use the player above, and read the transcript below.

TRANSCRIPT:

Brian McCreath I'm Brian McCreath at Symphony Hall with Andris Nelsons. And Andris, it's great to see y

The interview with Maestro Nelsons takes 20 minutes on audio, maybe less to read. I haven't looked at it, but it could be informative.

Here's a bit from the orchestra's performance detail page, where you can find a link to their program notes:

Gustav Mahler’s intensely emotional Symphony No. 6, written in 1903–04, is arguably his most heartfelt symphonic statement — his wife Alma called it "the most completely personal of his works." The Sixth features three powerful and ominous hammer blows in its finale, which evidently represented for Mahler "three blows of fate." 

At the performance on Thursday, someone shouted "Bravo" after the third movement. I don't know if she thought it was the end of the symphony — probaably so — or if she just thought that movement had been very well played. In any case, I had found it very pleasant. I also found the entire symphony very engaging. Often a long piece such as this seems to be dragged out and I find myself wishing that the composer would "bring it home," but not here. It held my interest throughout, even though I didn't notice some of the details mentioned in the prograam notes, such as the alternating major and minor keys.

The Globe gives a favorable review, concluding that it was "by far Nelsons’s and the orchestra’s strongest showing of the season." The Intelligencer is also highly favorable.

So that's a thumbs up from me and from both reviewers. Check it out.

BSO — 2022/10/15

 As always, WCRB gives us a synopsis along with a link to an interview (this time with the debuting conductor) and a transcript of said interview:

Saturday, October 15, 2022
8:00 PM

Colombian conductor Andrés Orozco-Estrada leads the Boston Symphony for the first time in a rich program that includes Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet and Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 18 with soloist Emanuel Ax.

Andrés Orozco-Estrada, conductor
Emanuel Ax, piano

Peter TCHAIKOVSKY Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy after Shakespeare
Wolfgang MOZART Piano Concerto No. 18
Béla BARTÓK The Miraculous Mandarin Suite
Georges ENESCU Romanian Rhapsody No. 1

In a preview of the program, Andrés Orozco-Estrada describes the character of each piece, how he prepares to lead an orchestra for the first time, and who his models were as he learned his craft as a young conductor. To listen, use the player above, and read the transcript below.

TRANSCRIPT

Brian McCreath I'm Brian McCreath at Symphony Hall with Andrés Orozco-Estrada, who is here with the Boston Symphony for the very first time. Thank you for some of your time today. Is this the first time you've been to Boston?

Andrés Orozco-Estrada This is it! It's my first time, and I'm very happy being here for the first time.

I've read some of the interview, and it's interesting to learn how the pieces on the program were chosen. The BSO performance detail page gives this blurb:

Colombian conductor Andrés Orozco-Estrada in his BSO debut is joined by American pianist Emanuel Ax for Wolfgang Mozart’s high-spirited Piano Concerto No. 18. The familiar, yearning Romeo and Juliet Overture is one of several works Pyotr Tchaikovsky based on Shakespeare plays. Hungarian composer Béla Bartók’s lurid Miraculous Mandarin Suite and the Romanian French composer George Enescu's folk music inspired Romanian Rhapsody both make exciting and colorful demands on the orchestra.

The program notes for the individual pieces are available by clicking on their brief descriptions.

This concert was not part of my sbscription, so I can't tell you how it went, but the reviewer in the Globe was happy. The review in the Intelligencer is effusive (or should I say "effervescent"?).

So, based on all that, I recommend listening in on WCRB radio or online this evening at 8:00, Boston Time.

BSO — 2022/10/08

This evening's concert is all music that is less than 100 years old — including one piece that is brand new.

Here's WCRB's listing:

Saturday, October 8, 2022
8:00 PM

Violinist Jennifer Koh is the soloist in Leonard Bernstein’s Serenade, after Plato’s Symposium, and Andris Nelsons leads the BSO and Tanglewood Festival Chorus in Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 3, “The First of May.”

Andris Nelsons, conductor
Jennifer Koh, violin
Linus Schafer-Goulthorpe, boy soprano
Tanglewood Festival Chorus

Elizabeth OGONEK Starling Variations (world premiere)
Leonard BERNSTEIN Serenade after Plato’s Symposium
BERNSTEIN Chichester Psalms
Dmitri SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 3, The First of May

BSO Music Director Andris Nelsons describes Shostakovich's Third Symphony and how its unabashed celebration of the Soviet Communism of the 1920's both reflects the composer's outlook at that point in his life and infuses the piece with a startling relevance to today's Russia. To listen, click on the player above, and read the transcript below:

Brian McCreath I'm Brian McCreath at Symphony Hall with Andris Nelsons, who is here in Boston for a really interesting program, 

Further information can be found via the BSO's own performance detail page, including links to program notes for the individual pieces and this general synopsis:

Andris Nelsons leads two works new to the BSO repertoire: the BSO-commissioned Starling Variations by American composer Elizabeth Ogonek and Dmitri Shostakovich’s rarely heard 1930 Symphony No. 3 for chorus and orchestra, an early, jingoistic hymn to the Soviet experiment, continuing Nelsons’ and the BSO’s multi-season survey of the composer’s complete symphonies. The Tanglewood Festival Chorus also joins the BSO for Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, sung in Hebrew and featuring Linus Schafer-Goulthorpe, boy soprano, as soloist, and American violinist Jennifer Koh makes her Boston Symphony Orchestra debut as soloist in Bernstein’s Serenade.

Regrettably, the program note for "Chichester Psalms" doesn't provide the texts. In the hall, surtitles gave English translations, but that's useless for people listening at home. Perhaps you can find the texts by doing an online search.

I was at the Thursday performance. The opening piece,"Starling Variations" was introduced by the composer, who didn't add much to the program note. I found most of it fun to listen to knowing that it was inspired by the way swarms of starlings swoop, divide, and recombine. Next up was the "Serenade after Plato's Symposium." Although I had read the "Symposium" in college and had just glanced at the program note, I wasn't fascinated. It wasn't difficult listening, but not very memorable — in other words, it wasn't bad, but mostly uninteresting. After intermission, the "Chichester Psalms" were more engaging, (even though I didn't pick out any of the stuff from "West Side Story"). The music seemed to fit the meaning of the words. The soloist did a good job in Psalm 23. Finally, the Shostakovich struck me as typical Shostakovich bombast with little to recommend it as music after the opening bit for the clarinets. The text the chorus sang (again, the BSO won't give the text except for surtitles, but maybe it's on line somewhere) struck me as sadly misplaced enthusiasm for communism. Even the program note ends with an apologetic tone. But the basses got to do nice work. On the other hand, a post-concert subway rider was gushing about the Shostakovich — thought it was great. My favorites were the Ogonek and the "Chichester," and I thought the Shostakovich was the worst piece on the program.

So far, there is no review in the Boston Musical Intelligencer. Writing in the Boston Globe, A.Z. Madonna was happy with what she heard, finding that the orchestra performed the Shostakovich well, enjoying the "Serenade" more than I did, and liking the way the rest was performed.

I don't share the critic's enthusiasm/ IMO the concert is okay until they get to the Shostakovich, and then not very good even if well played. You can hear it all, or as much as you want, at 8:00 this evening, Boston Time.

Edited to add: The text of Chichester Psalms is in this article https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chichester_Psalms

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.

BSO — 2022/09/24

 This evening WCRB gives the first broadcast of the Bston Symphony 2022-23 season. Here's their summary:

Saturday, September 24, 2022
8:00 PM

In the opening to the 2022-23 Season, Andris Nelsons leads the Boston Symphony and the Lorelei Ensemble in Gustav Holst’s sweeping The Planets,and Awadagin Pratt makes his BSO debut with a concerto by J.S. Bach and Jessie Montgomery’s Rounds.

Andris Nelsons, conductor
Awadagin Pratt, piano
Lorelei Ensemble

John WILLIAMS A Toast
Johann Sebastian BACH Keyboard Concerto in A, BWV 1055
Jessie MONTGOMERY Rounds
Gustav HOLST The Planets

To hear a preview of Jessie Montgomery's Rounds with pianist Awadagin Pratt, click on the player above, and see the transcript below.

Brian McCreath I'm Brian McCreath at Symphony Hall, where I talked with pianist Awadagin Pratt today about

This is actually a rebroadcast of Thursday's opening night concert, which I attended. I found it enjoyable overall. The "Toast" by John Williams was typical cheerful brass music. My seat in the front row of the second second balcony afforded a good view of the pianist's right hand, and it was interesting to see his fingers fly over the keys in the Bach, which is part of the standard baroque repertory, and in the Montgomery, which was not bad for something just written. After intermission, "The Planets" was fun to hear. At the end, the women sang so softly that I wondered if they could even be heard at the back of the auditorium. Hopefully, the mics picked it all up. To me, the Bach concerto was the best piece on the concert, and while the rest isn't quite must listening it's all okay, and there's a reason "The Planets" is frequently played.

Jeremy Eichler reviewed the concert favorably in the Boston Globe, although he had a couple of minor quibbles. He is descriptive of "Rounds." David Patterson, writing in the Boston Musical Intelligencer, was favorable as well. For more information, you can access the BSO's performance detail page. There are brief descriptions of each piece there, and the full program notes can be accessed by clicking on the title of each piece. (I'm not sure how long they'll leave this page up, but at least it's there now.)

WCRB doesn't say they will rebroadcast the concert on October 3, so I wouldn't count on it, but there has also been an "on demand" feature which I've never used. So if you want to hear it again or at another time, check that out. At any rate, I give ths concert a "thumbs up."

BSO/Classical New England — 2022/09/17

 This is the last week of rebroadcasts before the Symphony Hall season begins. Here's WCRB's synopsis of this concert:

Saturday, September 17, 2022
8:00 PM

In her Boston Symphony Orchestra debut, conductor Elim Chan leads a pair of powerhouse works in Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 2 and Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 2, with soloist Igor Levit.

Elim Chan, conductor
Igor Levit, piano

Johannes BRAHMS Piano Concerto No. 2
Brian Raphael NABORS Pulse
Piotr Ilyich TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 2

This concert is no longer available on demand.

Concert originally broadcast live from Symphony Hall in Saturday, January 22, 2022.

To hear conductor Elim Chan previews the program, describes the spark of her conducting career while a student at Smith College, and her work with conductor Bernard Haitink, click on the link above.

Transcript:

Brian McCreath I'm Brian McCreath at Symphony Hall with Elim Chan, who's here with the Boston Symphony, leading the orchestra for the very first time. Elim, thanks so much for your

For whatever reason (I can't remember it at the moment) I didn't post about the concert when it was happening. The concert was favorably reviewed in the Globe and glowingly and with much detail in the Intelligencer.

It should be enjoyable listening this evening at 8:00, Boston Time.

BSO/Classical New England — 2022/09/10

 Briefly:

Saturday, September 10, 2022
8:00 PM

The Czech conductor returns to Symphony Hall to lead the BSO in a celebration of Czech music through Janáček’s Jealousy and Dvořák’s Symphony No. 6, juxtaposed with Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 featuring the BSO debut of Lukáš Vondráček.

Jakub Hrůša, conductor
Lukáš Vondráček, piano

JANÁČEK Jealousy
RACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No. 2
DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 6

This concert is no longer available on demand.

Concert originally broadcast live from Symphony Hall on Saturday, February 5, 2022.

Hear a preview of this concert, in which Jakub Hrůša describes the character of Janáček’s Jealousy, why he loves to perform Dvořák's Symphony No. 6, and recounts the origins of his artistic collaboration with Lukáš Vondráček with the audio player above.

TRANSCRIPT:

Brian McCreath I'm Brian McCreath at Symphony Hall with Jakub Hrůša, who's here for the second time. Jakub, thanks so much for your time today, I appreciate it.

Jakub Hrůša My pleasure.

BSO/Classical New England — 2022/09/03

 Tanglewood Season is over and the Symphony Hall Season doesn't resume until later this month so, as usual, WCRB will fill the Saturday evening time slot with rebroadcasts of past concerts. This evening's is worth hearing, IMO. WCRB tells us:

Saturday, September 3, 2022
8:00 PM

Tonight at 8, German pianist Martin Helmchen returns to Symphony Hall as the soloist in Mozart’s effervescent Piano Concerto No. 17, and Herbert Blomstedt leads the BSO in Bruckner’s colossal "Romantic" Symphony.

Herbert Blomstedt, conductor
Martin Helmchen, piano

MOZART Piano Concerto No. 17 in G, K.453
BRUCKNER Symphony No. 4, Romantic

This concert is no longer available on demand.

Concert originally broadcast live from Symphony Hall on Saturday, February 19, 2022.

Hear a preview of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 17 with Martin Helmchen with the audio player above, and read the transcript below:

Brian McCreath I'm Brian McCreath at Symphony Hall with Martin Helmchen, who is happily back in Boston. And on his first trip to the United States since the pandemic began. Martin, thanks so much for your time today.

Martin Helmchen Yes, thank you. It's great to be back. Wonderful.

My post last February was very brief, and I never gave the promised additional material. I've finally figured out how to access the archive, which is on the BSO database HENRY, which my brother helped create. Here's a link to the program booklet for the February 19 concert, so you can read about the pieces. The descriptions run from p. 17/18 to p. 27/28 (depending on whether you're looking at the page numbers in the pdf ssidebar or the numbers on the full page images). It seems that there is also an encore after the Mozart, — a piece by Bach — but of course it's not listed in the booklet.

The Boston Musical Intelligencer has a rave review from early music master Joel Cohen. The review in the Globe is also highly favorable (but the encore on Thursday — Mozart — was different from the one on Saturday —Bach). You can also listen to or read the interview with Martin Helmchen from the WCRB page linked at the beginning of this post.

As what I wrote back then suggests, I was at the Thursday performance, and marvelled at Maestro Blomstedt's ability to conduct that massive symphony without opening the score. But more importantly, it was a performance that held my attention, which isn't always the case with Bruckner's lengthy works. So I unreservedly recommend this concert.