Boston Symphony Orchestra

Classical Music Review: The Berlioz Requiem Opens Tanglewood In Style

July 13, 2011
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While these dramatic sections constitute the more celebrated musical attributes of Berlioz’s furious conception of Judgment Day, it is actually in the quieter, mostly contemplative sections that the writing generates a just as impressive visionary reflectiveness.

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Music Commentary: What Are the BSO Trustees Thinking?

February 24, 2011
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I’ve been going to BSO Open Rehearsal for some 50 years at Tanglewood and can’t remember ever having as alienating an experience as I and over one thousand other attendees had Wednesday night at Symphony Hall.

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Classical Music Sampler: February 2011

January 27, 2011
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Accomplished performers coming to New England this month include baritone Sanford Sylvan in Paul Hindemith’s rarely staged opera Cardillac, the highly praised young violinist Noé Inui, and the ensemble Il Giardino Armonico, which will present an evening of music by Venetian Baroque masters. By Susan Miron. February 4 and 11: Celebration of the bicentennial of…

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Classical Music Sampler: January 2011

December 27, 2010
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I had always thought of January as a musically quiet month, but looking over the concerts I wanted to see, I realized how it is at least as great a month for concertgoing as any other in Boston. I am betting each of the concerts I listed here will be superb. By Susan Miron. January…

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Classical Music Commentary: Tanglewood Confabulation

September 1, 2010
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This past Friday night’s guests were two of the most impressive names in classical music, concert pianist Emmanuel Ax and conductor Kurt Masur. By Ron Barnell One of the highlights of this and the past several Tanglewood seasons has been a two-step operation. First, early Friday night Boston Symphony Orchestra concert goers enjoy chamber music…

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Culture Vulture: Tanglewood Highlight Without Stars

August 29, 2010
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Every single player and singer seemed thrilled to be performing this music, absorbed in it, attentive to their masterful conductor and having a good time. It made me think how often that is not the case at symphony concerts. By Helen Epstein There were no star soloists or conductors around on Friday night and since…

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Culture Vulture: Youth and Age at Tanglewood

August 22, 2010
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By Helen Epstein This Tanglewood season, overshadowed by the absence of ailing maestros James Levine, Seiji Ozawa, and others who have canceled their appearances, has got me thinking about age and illness. There have been some compelling concerts these past two months, including Michael Tilson Thomas’s riveting Mahler renditions, but the absence of a strong…

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Culture Vulture: Three Russian Warhorses Strut Their Stuff

August 1, 2010
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By Helen Epstein July 30 featured a Russian warhorse program at Tanglewood: Glinka’s “Overture to Ruslan and Ludmila”; Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, and Prokofiev’s Music from the ballet Romeo and Juliet. These are familiar (some might say over-familiar) works for orchestra, but, of course, there’s a reason they’re still being programmed.…

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Classical Music Sampler: April 2010

March 29, 2010
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By Caldwell Titcomb April 1: Ursula Oppens, long a champion of contemporary music (and a 1965 honors graduate of Harvard), presents a free piano recital under the auspices of the Blodgett Distinguished Artists Series. The program includes John Corigliano’s “Winging It,” William Bolcom’s “Ballade,” Tobias Picker’s “Three Nocturnes,” the world premiere of Charles Wuorinen’s “Oros,”…

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Classical Music Sampler: March 2010

February 27, 2010
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By Caldwell Titcomb March 2: The Contemporary Music Ensemble in residence at Boston University, Alea III, under the direction of Theodore Antoniou, offers a free concert in celebration of the late eminent composer/teacher/conductor Lukas Foss (1922–2009). Works by Foss to be performed are “Echoi,” “For Toru,” “Elegy for Anne Frank,” “For Aaron,” “The Prairie,” and…

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