BSO — 2024/02/10

 This evening's BSO program has only two works. I'll let WCRB tell you about them:

Saturday, February 10, 2024
8:00pm

Encore broadcast on Monday, February 19

Karina Canellakis leads the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Bartók’s chilling and thrilling two-character opera Bluebeard’s Castle, based on the fable of the cruel duke whose new wife discovers his terrible past. Scottish mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill returns to Symphony Hall and German bass-baritone Johannes Martin Kränzle makes his BSO debut. Also returning to the BSO stage is cellist Alisa Weilerstein, performing Haydn’s playful Cello Concerto in C.

Karina Canellakis, conductor 
Alisa Weilerstein, cello 
Karen Cargill, mezzo-soprano
Nathan Berg, bass-baritone 

Joseph HAYDN Cello Concerto in C
Béla BARTÓK Duke Bluebeard’s Castle 

For a libretto and translation of Duke Bluebeard's Castle, visit Colorado MahlerFest.

To hear a preview of Bluebeard's Castle and Haydn's Cello Concerto with conductor Karina Canellakis, use the player above, and read the transcript below.

TRANSCRIPT

Brian McCreath I'm Brian McCreath at Symphony Hall with Karina Canellakis, so good to have you back

The Haydn piece is very pleasant. I hear it on the radio from time to time. As for the Bartók, I was at a BSO performance a nnumber of years ago and my recollection is that I found it dull. I guess it's supposed to be allegorical.

The BSO performance detail page puts it this way:

Boston Symphony Orchestra

Symphony Hall, Boston, MA 

Karina Canellakis, conductor 
Alisa Weilerstein, cello 
Karen Cargill, mezzo-soprano 
Nathan Berg, bass-baritone
Jeremiah Kissel, narrator

HAYDN Cello Concerto in C
Intermission
BARTÓK Bluebeard’s Castle*

*Concert performance; sung in Hungarian with English supertitles

Thursday evening's concert is supported by Alex Healy. Friday afternoon's performance by the vocal soloists is supported by a generous gift from the Ethan Ayer Vocal Soloist Fund.
Friday afternoon's performance by Alisa Weilerstein is supported by the May and Dan Pierce Guest Artist Fund.
Saturday evening's concert is supported by Mr. C. Thomas Brown.
Saturday evening's performance by Alisa Weilerstein is supported by Professor Paul L. Joskow and Dr. Barbara Chasen Joskow.

American conductor Karina Canellakis returns to lead a concert performance of Béla Bartók’s chilling and evocative opera Bluebeard's Castle. Based on the fable of the cruel duke whose new wife discovers his terrible past, the opera features some of Bartók’s most riveting orchestral writing. Scottish mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill sings the role of Judith, Canadian bass-baritone Nathan Berg is Bluebeard, and speaker Jeremiah Kissel performs the opera’s Prologue in these performances. To begin these concerts, the innovative American cellist Alisa Weilerstein is soloist in Joseph Haydn’s playful Cello Concerto in C.

Scholar and writer Lucy Caplan will give the Friday Preview on February 9 at 12:15pm. Admission included with ticket.

Thursday's performance will end around 9:30pm, Friday's performance will end around 3:30pm, and Saturday's performance will end around 10pm.

Regretfully, baritone Johannes Martin Kränzle has had to withdraw from his performances this week in the role of Bluebeard in Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle due to illness. We are fortunate that bass-baritone Nathan Berg is able to sing the role in his place at very short notice.

See that page for program notes.

The Globe liked the performances but felt that there was no connection between the pieces. The review in the Intelligencer is quite complete and favorable.

So maybe enjoy the Haydn and give the Bartók a try.

BSO — 2024/02/03

 This is definitely a "must listen" concert. WCRB tells us the basics on their website:

Saturday, February 3, 2024
8:00pm

Encore broadcast on Monday, February 12

Andris Nelsons and the Boston Symphony Orchestra welcome American violinist Randall Goosby, the youngest-ever winner of the Sphinx Concerto Competition, to Symphony Hall! Nelsons conducts Max Bruch’s spirited Violin Concerto No. 1 with Goosby as the soloist, as well as Felix Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 5, the ReformationSymphony. The concert opens with the overture to the opera The Wreckers by celebrated early 20th century suffragette and composer Dame Ethel Smyth.

Andris Nelsons, conductor
Randall Goosby, violin

Dame Ethel SMYTH Overture to The Wreckers
Max BRUCH Violin Concerto No. 1
Felix MENDELSSOHN Symphony No. 5, Reformation

To hear Randall Goosby describe his history with Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1, what he learned while studying with Itzhak Perlman, and why he's passionate about music by Florence Price, use the player above, and read the transcript below.

To learn more about Ethel Smyth and Isabella Stewart Gardner, visit the Gardner Museum.

INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT: 

Brian McCreath I'm Brian McCreath at Symphony Hall with Randall Goosby, here with the Boston Symphony for the very first time. Randall, is it also your first time playing in Symphony Hall at all?

Randall Goosby It is. It's actually my first time stepping foot in Symphony Hall.

I was there for the Friday matinee performance, and it was all good listening. The Bruch and Mendelssohn are familiar pieces and pleasant to hear.(Of course the Reformation itself isn't my favorite thing, but Mendelssohn's symphony is good music.)  The Smyth. on the other hand is something I've never heard  before (and the BSO has never played). It's fascinating and quite musical, although in a style suitable for the story of the opera.

By all means check out the BSO performance detail page for the informative program note about the Overture to The Wreckers (as well as for the other information available). Here's their summary for the concert as a whole:

Andris Nelsons, conductor 
Randall Goosby, violin

SMYTH Overture to The Wreckers 
BRUCH Violin Concerto No. 1
Intermission
MENDELSSOHN Symphony No. 5, Reformation

Saturday evening’s concert is in memory of Jane O’Keefe, supported by Cecilia O’Keefe.

Music Director Andris Nelsons opens the program with the overture to the 1906 opera The Wreckers by Dame Ethel Smyth, a composer and suffragist who was one of England’s leading musicians of her time. American violinist Randall Goosby, the youngest-ever winner of the Sphinx Concerto Competition, makes his BSO debut with Max Bruch’s spirited Violin Concerto No. 1. The program closes with Felix Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 5, composed in 1830 as part of celebrations of the 300th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. The music quotes the familiar hymn “Ein feste Burg,” a link to Reformation leader Martin Luther. 

On February 2 the Friday Preview will be given by Marc Mandel, former BSO Director of Program Publications, at 12:15pm. Admission included with ticket.

Friday's concert will end around 3:15pm, and Saturday's concert will end around 9:45pm.

I can't find a review in the Globe, but there's a favorable one in the Intelligencer, concentrating on the violinist, who was quite good.

Even the familiar music seemed fresh. I also noticed several fresh faces. The contrabassonist looked to be in his twenties, and his low notes were clearly audible . There looked like a couple of new players in the second row of the double basses, and I don't remember seeing the female trombonist. There were also a couple of unfamiliar horn players. Sometime I should look at the orcheedstra's online personnel page to find out a bit about them, but at any rate there's always some change going on as the older members retire and new ones are brought in.

This is a concert well worth hearing. Don't forget the rebroadcast on February 12.

BSO — 2024/01/27

 Oops! Tonight's show begins an hour early at 7:00. Here's what you need to know:

Saturday, January 27, 2024
7:00pm

Encore broadcast on Monday, February 5

Andris Nelsons's conducts the BSO in Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, the most ambitious endeavor in their multi-year survey of works by Shostakovich. Based on Nikolai Leskov’s 1865 novella by the same name, the opera weaves the lurid story of Katarina Ismailova, an oppressed, ambitious, and ultimately murderous wife of a provincial merchant.

Andris Nelsons, conductor
Kristine Opolais, soprano (Katerina Izmailova)
Brenden Gunnell, tenor (Sergei)
Peter Hoare, tenor (Zinovy Izmailov)
Günther Groissböck, bass (Boris Izmailov and Ghost of Boris)
Michelle Trainor, soprano (Aksinya)
Alexandra LoBianco, soprano (Female Convict)
Maria Barakova, mezzo-soprano (Sonyetka)
Matthew DiBattista, tenor (Teacher)
Neal Ferreira, tenor (Foreman)
Charles Blandy, tenor (Foreman & Drunken Guest)
Yeghishe Manucharyan, tenor (Foreman & Coachman)
Alexander Kravets, tenor (Shabby Peasant)
David Kravitz, baritone (Millhand)
Brandon Cedel, bass (Porter & Policeman)
Joo Won Kang, baritone (Steward)
Patrick Guetti, bass (Officer and Sentry)
Goran Juric, bass (Priest)
Anatoli Sivko, bass (Chief of Police)
Paata Burchuladze, bass (Old Convict)
Tanglewood Festival Chorus 
James Burton, conductor

Dmitri SHOSTAKOVICH Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk

To read artist biographies and program notes, visit the BSO.

To hear a preview with Music Director Andris Nelsons, BSO Vice President for Artistic Planning Anthony Fogg, and GBH's Jared Bowen on The Culture Show, use the player above, and read the transcript below.

Learn more about The Culture Show on GBH, Monday-Friday at 2pm.

TRANSCRIPT:

Jared Bowen Andris Nelsons, Tony Fogg, thank you so much for sitting down with us.

Andris Nelsons Great pleasure, thank you.

Anthony Fogg Pleasure.

Jared Bowen So, Andris, I am so eager to to talk to you about your connection to this piece. But, Tony, let me start with you for a second. For the Boston Symphony Orchestra to take on this opera, this is a very 

I'll add more as we go along.

BSO performance detail page, which includes link to program notes.

Review in the Intelligencer.

Review in the Globe.

BSO/Classical New England — 2024/01/20

 The BSO isn't performing this weekend, so WCRB is giving us an encore broadcast of a concert from last April. Here's the scoop:

Saturday, January 20, 2024
8:00pm

In an encore broadcast, French cellist Gautier Capuçon takes center stage with the Boston Symphony for the American premiere of Thierry Escaich’s new work for cello and orchestra, and Andris Nelsons conducts Ravel’s Alborada del gracioso and Rachmaninoff’s romantic Symphony No. 2.

Andris Nelsons, conductor
Gautier Capuçon, cello

Maurice RAVEL Alborada del gracioso
Thierry ESCAICH Les Chants de l’Aube, for cello and orchestra
Sergei RACHMANINOFF Symphony No. 2

This concert was originally broadcasted on April 15, 2023, and is no longer available on demand.

Hear a preview of Thierry Escaich's Les Chants de l’Aube with cellist Gautier Capuçon using the audio player above, and read the transcript below.

TRANSCRIPT:

Brian McCreath I'm Brian McCreath at Symphony Hall with Gautier Capuçon, who is back in Boston after some really memor

I posted about it (with many typos) at the time of the actual performance and said it was all "very okay." If you can find that post, the links to the favorable reviews still work. It looks as if I neglected to give the link for the performance detail page. Here it is.

So, while I thought it wasn't "must listen" music, I still recommend giving it a hearing.

BSO — 2024/01/13

 The BSO is back live with a concert I don't especially care about. WCRB gives us the essentials: https://www.classicalwcrb.org/show/the-boston-symphony-orchestra/2023-09-25/leons-stride-and-ravel-with-seong-jin-cho-and-the-bso

Saturday, January 13, 2024
8:00pm

Encore broadcast on Monday, January 22

Recent Pulitzer Prize winner and 2022 Kennedy Center honoree Tania León brings Strideto Symphony Hall, a piece inspired by Susan B. Anthony and the steps women continue to take towards equality. Award-winning pianist Seong-Jin Cho returns to perform Ravel’s Piano Concerto for the Left Hand, composed for pianist Paul Wittgenstein, who lost an arm in World War I. The concert closes with one of the most influential pieces in history: Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring.

Andris Nelsons, conductor
Seong-Jin Cho, piano

Tania LEÓN Stride 
Maurice RAVEL Piano Concerto for the left hand
Igor STRAVINSKY The Rite of Spring

Watch Tania León describe the creative process behind Stride.

From NPR: Tania León Wins Music Pulitzer ForStride, Celebrating Women's Resilience.

To hear Seong-Jin Cho preview Ravel's Piano Concerto for the Left Hand, use the player above, and read the transcript below.

TRANSCRIPT:

Brian McCreath I'm Brian McCreath at Symphony Hall with Seong-Jin Cho

I'll listen to the first piece out of curiosity. As far as I'm concerned, the Concerto for the Left Hand is innocuous but nothing special, so I'll leave the radio on; but I don't like Rite of Spring, so I may well turn the radio off after intermission.

The BSO's performance detail page tells us:

Andris Nelsons, conductor 
Seong-Jin Cho, piano

Tania LEÓN Stride
RAVEL Piano Concerto for the left hand
Intermission
STRAVINSKY The Rite of Spring

This week’s performances of Tania León Stride are supported in part by income from the Morton Margolis fund in the BSO’s endowment.
Thursday evening's performance by Seong-Jin Cho is supported by the Nathan R. Miller Family Guest Artist Fund.

Tania León’s Pulitzer Prize-winning piece Stride draws on her Cuban heritage and her long association with dance to create music rich with rhythmic vitality and scintillating instrumental colors. Superstar Korean pianist Seong-Jin Cho plays Maurice Ravel’s dramatic Piano Concerto for the left hand, originally composed for pianist Paul Wittgenstein, who lost his arm during World War I. Closing the concert is and one of the most influential pieces in history: Igor Stravinsky’s ballet score The Rite of Spring, a work of primal power.

Program notes are there for each of the pieces.

So far, there is no review in the Intelligencer, but the Globe is very favorable, especially for the Ravel concerto.

Enjoy, if you listen.

BSO/Classical New England — 2023/12/30

 For this week's "encore broadcast" WCRB brings us the concert of September 24, 2022, which they describe as follows:

Saturday, December 30, 2023
8:00 PM

In an encore broadcast, Andris Nelsons leads the Boston Symphony and the Lorelei Ensemble in Gustav Holst’s sweeping "The Planets," and pianist 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

This concert was originally recorded on September 24, 2022.

To hear a preview of Jessie Montgomery's Rounds with pianist Awadagin Pratt, use the audio player above.

Transcript:

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

I posted about it at the time. Since I had heard the same program on Thursday, I was able to give my impressions as well as link the reviews. Those links still work. Here's a link to the BSO performance detail page, which gives access to the full program notes.

Enjoy.

BSO/Classical New England — 2023/12/23

 They don't tell us in so many words, but it looks as if this evening's BSO offering from WCRB is this collection from the days of Seiji Ozawa: https://www.classicalwcrb.org/show/the-boston-symphony-orchestra/2021-11-11/tchaikovskys-the-nutcracker-from-the-bso

Saturday, December 25, 2021
8:00 PM

In a timeless holiday season tradition, Seiji Ozawa and the Boston Symphony Orchestra bring to life Tchaikovsky's magical tale of Christmas, Sugar Plum Fairies, and one very handsome prince!

Boston Symphony Orchestra
Seiji Ozawa, conductor

BACH/STRAVINSKY Chorale Variations on Vom Himmel hoch
TCHAIKOVSKY The Nutcracker
BERLIOZ Overture and "Shepherd's Farewell" from Part 2 of L'enfance du Christ

It's good stuff, worth listening to.

BSO/Classical New England — 2023/12/16

 As Holiday Pops continues to hold the stage in Symphony Hall, WCRB treats us to another "encore broadcast." This time it's the concert of last April 22, which they describe as follows:

Saturday, December 16, 2023
8:00 PM

In an encore broadcast, Anne-Sophie Mutter is the soloist in Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 1 and Thomas Adès’s Air, a work inspired by Sibelius. Andris Nelsons leads the BSO in Sibelius’s Luonnotar, with soprano Golda Schultz, and in his Symphony No. 5.

Andris Nelsons, conductor
Golda Schultz, soprano
Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin

SIBELIUS Luonnotar (translation)
MOZART Violin Concerto No. 1
Thomas ADÈS Air, for violin and orchestra
SIBELIUS Symphony No. 5

This concert was originally recorded on April 22, 2023, and is no longer available on demand.

Hear a preview of Thomas Adès's Air with Anne-Sophie Mutter using the audio player above, and read the transcript below.

INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT:

Brian McCreath I'm Brian McCreath at Symphony Hall with Anne-Sophie Mutter, who is back with the Boston Symph

I wrote about it at the time, and I'm connfident all the links in my post will still work, so check them out. It was good last spring, so it should be good now.

Enjoy.

December WHRB Orgy® Season

 I'm sorry I didn't get to this sooner. The Warhorse Orgyran on December 1 and 2. Then came Brahms 190, which ended yesterday.Fortunately, there is still good material to come. Beginning at noon on Decfember10, we get 100 Yeqars of Maria Callas. The The Emerson Quartet Orgy begins at 1:00 p.m. on Monday, December 11. It continues off and on until Wednesday evening. One intermission is at 1:00 on Tuesday: Gems of French Opera.

The full program guide, with specific timings, is available at https://www.whrb.org/programming/program-guide/

There's also a button on that page for you to listen if you're beyond broadcast range.

BSO/Classical New England — 2023/12/09

My cruise prevented me from posting on November 18; my cancelled flight home and the fonsequent delay of one day kept me from saying anything on the 25th. I don't remember why I didn't put anything up last week, but finally I'm back and ready to go. Meanwhile, I hope you found the concerts without a push from me.

Now the Symphony is on hiatus while "Holiday Pops" graces Symphony Hall. We get an encore broadcast  from last winter. Here's the blurb from WCRB:

Saturday, December 9th, 2023
8:00pm

In an encore broadcast, pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet joins the Boston Symphony for Saint-Saëns’s virtuosic Egyptian Concerto, and Israeli conductor Lahav Shani leads the BSO in his Symphony Hall debut with Prokofiev’s Classical Symphony and Rachmaninoff’s dazzling Symphonic Dances.

Lahav Shani, conductor
Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano

Sergei PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 1, Classical
Camille SAINT-SAËNS Piano Concerto No. 5, Egyptian
Sergei RACHMANINOFF Symphonic Dances

This concert was originally broadcasted on February 18th, 2023 and is no longer available on demand.

Hear a preview of Saint-Saëns's Piano Concerto No. 5 with Jean-Yves Thibaudet with the audio player above, and read the transcript below:

INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT:

Brian McCreath I'm Brian McCreath at Sy

(The past participle of broadcast is broadcast, not "broadcasted." What's the matter with kids these days?)

I posted about it back then, and I expect the links there to work now. It looks as if I neglected to post a link to the BSO's performance detail page.Here it is, with the usual links.

This should be enjoyable.