Benjamin-Zander

Classical CD and Livestream Reviews: Mahler 2, Two Ways

May 9, 2023
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In both performances tempos are fleet but not rushed. The big moments – from the hellish apex of the first movement’s development to the screaming climax of the Scherzo and the cathartic resolution of the finale – pack heavy punches.

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Classical Concert Review: Boston Philharmonic Plays Mahler’s “Das Lied von der Erde”

April 17, 2023
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Few conductors in Boston have a feel for late Mahler the way Benjamin Zander does.

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Classical Critic’s Notebook: Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2

October 20, 2022
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Whatever Rachmaninoff’s conflicted feelings about writing symphonies were, there’s nothing ambiguous about the content of his Second Symphony. From start to finish, it’s a marvel of melodic freshness and brilliant instrumentation.

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Classical Music Preview: Boston Philharmonic Orchestra’s 2022-23 Season

October 12, 2022
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The season-long celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of Benjamin Zander’s debut as a conductor, which gets underway later this month when the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra (BPO) returns to the stage, doesn’t stint on festive spirit.

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Classical Concert Review: Boston Philharmonic Orchestra plays Bruckner’s Symphony No. 8

October 16, 2021
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This was an epic performance of an epic piece, steeped in Brucknerian character.

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Classical Music Preview: Catching Up and Looking Ahead with Benjamin Zander on the BPO/BPYO Season

October 9, 2021
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For Benjamin Zander and his musicians – as for all of us – it was a strange, even desperate, several months.

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Concert Review: Lucas Debargue and the Boston Philharmonic at Sanders Theatre

February 21, 2020
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A pianist of real character and refinement – plus a huge career in Europe – Lucas Debargue was on hand to lend his musicianship to a relatively rare outing of Franz Liszt’s Piano Concerto no. 2.

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Concert Review: Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra at Symphony Hall

November 26, 2019
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The Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra’s first appearance of the season presented canonical selections without a hint of complacency or apathy.

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Concert Review: Boston Philharmonic plays Beethoven and Rachmaninoff

November 16, 2019
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Violinist Liza Ferschtman and the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra’s account of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto lacked nothing for momentum and spirit.

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Concert Review: Boston Philharmonic plays Mozart, Brahms, and Bartók

October 20, 2019
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There was nothing sleepy or commonplace about the ensemble’s performance of favorites by Mozart, Brahms, and Bartók.

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