BSO 2018/19 Season - Concert Previews

Strauss, Currier and Stravinsky- Written by Robert Kirzinger and Richard Dyer, narrated by Eleanor McGourty

The Latvian violinist Baiba Skride joins her compatriot Andris Nelsons and the BSO for the world premiere of Grawemeyer Award-winning composer Sebastian Currier's "Aether" for violin and orchestra, a work co-commissioned by the BSO and the Gewandhaus Orchestra of Leipzig....

VIDEO - Stravinsky's "Petrushka" Video Podcast

Stravinsky's puppet-come-to-life "Petrushka", whose attempts to win the admiration of a ballerina come to naught. In his second full ballet score for the Ballets Russes, two years before "The Rite of Spring", Stravinsky's astonishing musical depictions of a Russian Shrovetide...

Interview: Andris Nelsons chats with Brian Bell

BSO Music Director Andris Nelsons speaks with Brian Bell about the Shostakovich Symphony No. 15, being performed on April 25-30, 2019.

VIDEO - Strauss's "Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks" Video Promo

A brief look at Richard Strauss' tone poem "Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks". Video by Anthony Princiotti.

VIDEO - Stravinsky's "Petrushka" Video Promo

A preview of Stravinsky's puppet-come-to-life "Petrushka". Video by Anthony Princiotti.

Interview: Francesco Piemontesi chats with Brian Bell

Pianist Francesco Piemontesi speaks about Mozart with Brian Bell. Francesco Piemontesi will perform the Mozart Concerto No. 19 in F major, Kochel 459 on April 18-20, 2019.

Interview: Andrew Manze chats with Brian Bell

Guest conductor Andrew Manze speaks with Brian Bell about the original version of the Mendelssohn Reformation Symphony, which is on the program of April 18-20, 2019. They also talk about the Concerto for String Orchestra by Grazyna Bacewicz being performed...

Bacewicz, Mozart and Mendelssohn- Written by Robert Kirzinger and Marc Mandel, narrated by Eleanor McGourty

Each making his BSO debut, English conductor Andrew Manze and Swizz pianist Francesco Piemontesi join the orchestra for a somewhat rarely heard Mozart concerto, the vivacious No. 19 in F, which the BSO hasn't played in Symphony Hall since 1994....

VIDEO - Shostakovich's Symphony No. 15 Video Promo

A quick look at Shostakovich's Symphony No. 15, composed in summer 1971. Video by Anthony Princiotti.

VIDEO - Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 Video Promo

A brief preview of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3, one of the most enduringly popular concertos in the repertoire.Video by Anthony Princiotti.

VIDEO - Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 5 Video Promo

A look at Mendelssohn's Fifth Symphony, "Reformation", written to coincide with the 300th anniversary of the Augsburg Confession. Video by Anthony Princiotti.

VIDEO - Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 19 in F Video Promo

A preview of the rarely heard Mozart concerto, the vivacious No. 19 in F. Video by Anthony Princiotti.

Desenne, Ginastera and Estévez- Written by Robert Kirzinger, narrated by Eleanor McGourty

VIDEO - Ginastera's Piano Concerto No. 1 Video Podcast

Gustavo Dudamel leads the BSO in the great Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera’s sparkling Piano Concerto No. 1, from 1961. It was premiered by the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C., with soloist João Carlos Martins, who later played and recorded...

VIDEO - Ginastera's Piano Concerto No. 1 Video Promo

A quick look at the great Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera’s sparkling Piano Concerto No. 1, from 1961.Video by Anthony Princiotti.

Schumann and Stravinsky- Written by Richard Dyer and Robert Kirzinger, narrated by Eleanor McGourty

Gustavo Dudamel, the popular Venezuelan music and artistic director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, makes his BSO subscription series debut with two weeks of concerts-his first BSO appearances since his Tanglewood debut in 2006. This first program ushers in the...

Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" Audio Tour

Brian Bell provides this tour of Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring", being performed on April 5-9, 2019. Igor Stravinsky's seminal ballet score "The Rite of Spring", which premiered in Paris in 1913, was given its American premiere by the BSO in...

VIDEO - Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring" Video Promo

It is a celebration of the season with Igor Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring." It was given it's American premiere by the BSO in 1924 and is on the program again in 2019. Video by Anthony Princiotti.

VIDEO - Schumann's Symphony No. 1, "Spring" Video Promo

A quick look at Robert Schumann's Symphony No. 1, "Spring". Composed in 1841 with the encouragement of his new wife Clara. Video by Anthony Princiotti.

VIDEO - Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring" Video Podcast

Igor Stravinsky's seminal ballet score "The Rite of Spring", which premiered in Paris in 1913, was given its American premiere by the BSO in 1924. Depicting an imagined ancient ritual re-awakening of the earth, the score still has the power...

VIDEO - Schumann's Symphony No. 1, "Spring" Video Podcast

Robert Schumann composed his Symphony No. 1, Spring, in 1841 with the encouragement of his new wife Clara; the score is bursting with energy and optimism. Video by Anthony Princiotti.

VIDEO - Duke Ellington's “A Tone Parallel to Harlem” Video Podcast

A Deeper look at Duke Ellington's lush, impressionistic tone poem "A Tone Parallel to Harlem". Video by Anthony Princiotti.Video by Anthony Princiotti.

Interview: Thomas Wilkins chats with Brian Bell

BSO Music Director Andris Nelsons chats with Brian Bell about the Strauss program of March 14-16, 2019.

Hailstork, Sierra, Price and Ellington- Written by Robert Kirzinger, narrated by Eleanor McGourty

Thomas Wilkins, the BSO's Germeshausen Youth and Family Concerts Conductor, makes his subscription series debut with this concert, which features music of three African-American composers along with the Puerto Rico-born Robert Sierra. Sierra wrote his Concerto for Saxophones and Orchestra...

VIDEO - Strauss's "Also Sprach Zarathustra" Video Podcast

A richer look into Richard Strauss and the composer's "Also sprach Zarathustra", his tone poem based on the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche's mystical meditation of the same name. The piece opens with a dramatic fanfare (widely known from its use...

VIDEO - Florence Price's “Symphonic Reflections” from Symphony No. 3 Video Preview

Florence Price graduated from Boston's New England Conservatory in 1906 as a pianist and organist; she also studied composition there. She wrote her Third Symphony in 1940 on a commission from the WPA; Thomas Wilkins has arranged sections of the...

Interview: Andris Nelsons chats with Brian Bell

BSO Music Director Andris Nelsons chats with Brian Bell about the Strauss program of March 14-16, 2019.

Strauss- Written by Marc Mandel and Robert Kirzinger, narrated by Eleanor McGourty

The incomparable American soprano Renée Fleming returns to Symphony Hall to join Andris Nelsons and the BSO in the gorgeous and touching final scene from Richard Strauss's "conversation piece for music," the opera "Capriccio". The opera's opening Sextet for Strings...

VIDEO - Renée Fleming's Video Preview

The incomparable American soprano Renée Fleming returns to Symphony Hall to join Andris Nelsons and the BSO in the gorgeous and touching final scene from Richard Strauss's "conversation piece for music," the opera "Capriccio". Video by Anthony Princiotti.

Liszt, Adès and Tchaikovsky- Written by Robert Kirzinger, Richard Dyer and Marc Mandel, narrated by Eleanor McGourty

BSO Artistic Partner Thomas Adès returns for a concert featuring the world premiere of his own second piano concerto, commissioned by the BSO and composed for Kirill Gerstein, a frequent collaborator. Mr. Adès also leads the orchestra in two Romantic-era...

Interview: Thomas Adès chats with Brian Bell

BSO Artistic Partner Thomas Adès talks with Brian Bell about the Ades Piano Concerto, and other works on the March 7-9, 2019 program

VIDEO - Dvořák's "Stabat Mater" Video Podcast

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...

Dvořák "Stabat Mater"- Written by Marc Mandel, narrated by Eleanor McGourty

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...

VIDEO - Debussy "Noctures" Video Podcast

Debussy's immensely colorful "Nocturnes" is an 1899 masterpiece of musical Impressionism. Video produced by Anthony Princiotti

Interview: Andris Nelsons chats with Brian Bell

BSO Music Director Andris Nelsons speaks about the programs of February 21-23, 2019, which feature the Debussy Nocturnes.

Boulanger, Debussy and Puccini- Written by Robert Kirzinger and Richard Dyer, narrated by Eleanor McGourty

Andris Nelsons and the BSO continue their recent tradition of performing opera in concert with Giacomo Puccini's Suor Angelica ("Sister Angelica"), one of the three short operas composed in the 1910s and known collectively as Il trittico ("Triptych"). The story...

VIDEO - Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4 Video Preview

A quick look at Tchaikovsky's emotionally intense and magnificently orchestrated Fourth Symphony. Video produced by Anthony Princiotti

VIDEO - Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4 Video Podcast

Tchaikovsky's emotionally intense and magnificently orchestrated Fourth Symphony, completed in 1878, represents the culmination of a traumatic period in the composer's life. Video produced by Anthony Princiotti

VIDEO - Dvořák "Stabat Mater" Video Preview

A introduction to Antonín Dvořák's "Stabat Mater", the first major religious work by the great Czech composer, who was a pious Catholic. Video produced by Anthony Princiotti

VIDEO - Puccini's Suor Angelica Video Preview

A quick looks at Giacomo Puccini's Suor Angelica ("Sister Angelica"), one of the three short operas composed in the 1910s and known collectively as Il trittico ("Triptych"). Video produced by Anthony Princiotti

VIDEO - Debussy's Noctures Video Preview

A preveiw of Debussy's immensely colorful Nocturnes, an 1899 masterpiece of musical Impressionism. Video produced by Anthony Princiotti

Schumann and Bruckner- Written by Richard Dyer and Marc Mandel, narrated by Eleanor McGourty

Andris Nelsons and the BSO are joined by the firebrand Chinese pianist Yuja Wang for Schumann's Piano Concerto, a work blending the composer's unique Romantic lyricism and brilliance. The concerto began as a single-movement Fantasia written for his wife Clara,...

Interview: Andris Nelsons chats with Brian Bell

BSO Music Director Andris Nelsons talks with Brian Bell about the Bruckner Ninth Symphony, being performed on February 14-16, 2019.

VIDEO - Bruckner's Symphony No. 9 Video Podcast

Bruckner's magisterial Symphony No. 9, a work left just short of completion at the composer's death in 1896, shows the continuing influence of Wagner in its harmonic language and scope, with the particular Austrian grace and gift for counterpoint for...

Interview: Lisa Batiashvili chats with Brian Bell

Violinist Lisa Batiashvili chats with Brian Bell about the Szymanowski Violin Concerto No. 1, which she is performing February 7-12, 2019.

Interview: Andris Nelsons chats with Brian Bell

BSO Music Director Andris Nelsons speaks with Brian Bell about the Copland Symphony No. 3, performed on February 7-12, 2019.

VIDEO - Copland's Symphony No. 3 Video Podcast

Aaron Copland's Symphony No. 3, premiered by the BSO under Serge Koussevitzky in 1946, is a substantial, expressively rich work incorporating the composer's familiar Fanfare for the Common Man as the theme of its final movement. Video produced by Anthony...

VIDEO - Renée Fleming All-Strauss Video Preview

The incomparable American soprano Renée Fleming returns to Symphony Hall to join Andris Nelsons and the BSO for a program of works by Richard Strauss. Video produced by Anthony Princiotti

Interview: Juanjo Mena chats with Brian Bell

Juanjo Mena speaks with Brian Bell about his upcoming BSO performances, being performed on January 31-February 5, 2019.

Wilson, Szymanowski and Copland- Written by Robert Kirzinger, narrated by Eleanor McGourty

The Georgian violinist Lisa Batiashvili joins Andris Nelsons and the BSO as soloist in the important Polish composer Karol Szymanowski's Violin Concerto No. 1, a brilliant piece colored by both French Impressionism and German late Romanticism. American orchestral works open...