BSO Commissions
Works are listed in rough chronological order by first BSO performance. Unless otherwise noted, all works were performed by the BSO.
* indicates world premiere
** indicated U.S. premiere
For a full list of BSO Commissions organized by composer's last name, or to do more in-depth research into our commissioning history, please click here to visit our performance search engine HENRY.
Boston Symphony Orchestra
Edward Burlingame Hill - An Ode - October 17, 1930*
Albert Roussel - Symphony No. 3 in G minor - October 24, 1930*
Serge Koussevitzky - Overture (composer listed as "Anonymous") - October 31, 1930*
Ottorino Respighi - Metamorphoseon modi XII - November 7, 1930*
Serge Prokofiev - Symphony No. 4 - November 14, 1930*
Howard Hanson - Symphony No. 2, Romantic - November 28, 1930*
Igor Stravinsky - Symphonie de Psaumes, for chorus and orchestra - December 19, 1930**
Arthur Honegger - Symphony for Orchestra - February 13, 1931*
Paul Hindemith - Konzertmusik, for string and brass instruments - April 3, 1931*
Aaron Copland - Symphonic Ode - February 19, 1932*
Bohuslav Martinů - Fantaisies Symphoniques (Symphony No. 6) - January 7, 1955*
Darius Milhaud - Symphony No. 6 (co-commission) - October 7, 1955*
Walter Piston - Symphony No. 6 (co-commission) - November 25, 1955*
Goffredo Petrassi - Fifth Concerto for Orchestra (co-commission) - December 2, 1955*
Howard Hanson - Elegy to the Memory of Serge Koussevitzky (co-commission) - January 20, 1956*
Aaron Copland - Symphonic Ode (revised) (co-commission) - February 3, 1956*
Heitor Villa-Lobos - Symphony No. 11 (co-commission) - March 2, 1956*
Gottfried von Einem - Symphonic Scenes for Orchestra (co-commission) - October 11, 1957*
Roger Sessions - Symphony No. 3 (co-commission) - December 6, 1957*
Henri Dutilleux - Symphony No. 2, Le Double (co-commission) - December 11, 1959*
William Schuman - Symphony No. 7 (co-commission) - October 21, 1960*
Samuel Barber - Die Natali, Chorale Preludes for Christmas (co-commission) - December 22, 1960*
Jacques Ibert - Mouvement symphonique (co-commission) - January 25, 1963*
Leonard Bernstein - Symphony No. 3 (Kaddish) (co-commission) - January 31, 1964**
Leonard Bernstein - Divertimento for Orchestra - September 25, 1980*
Peter Maxwell Davies - Symphony No. 2 - February 26, 1981*
John Corigliano - Promenade Overture (Boston Pops) - July 10, 1981*
Roger Sessions - Concerto for Orchestra - October 23, 1981*
Andrzej Panufnik - Sinfonia Votiva (Symphony No. 8) - January 28, 1982*
Sándor Balassa - Calls and Cries, Op. 33 - October 21, 1982*
Peter Lieberson - Piano Concerto - April 21, 1983*
John Harbison - Symphony No. 1 - March 22, 1984*
Sir Michael Tippett - The Mask of Time, for voices and instruments - April 5, 1984*
Olly Wilson - Sinfonia - October 12, 1984*
Leon Kirchner - Music for Twelve, for chamber ensemble - February 17, 1985*
Donald Martino - The White Island, for mixed chorus & chamber orchestra - April 8, 1987*
Jonathan Dawe - The Flowering Arts, for orchestra - January 12, 2005*
Elliott Carter - Three Illusions for Orchestra - October 6, 2005*
Peter Lieberson - Neruda Songs, for mezzo-soprano and orchestra (co-commission) - November 25, 2005
Osvaldo Golijov - Azul, for cello and orchestra - August 4, 2006*
Charles Wuorinen - Eighth Symphony, Theologoumena - February 15, 2007*
Kaija Saariaho - Notes on Light, for cello and orchestra - February 21, 2007*
John Harbison - Concerto for bass viol and orchestra (co-commission) - August 3, 2007
Henri Dutilleux - Le Temps l’Horloge, for soprano and orchestra (co-commission) - November 29, 2007**
William Bolcom - Symphony No. 8, for chorus and orchestra - February 28, 2008*
Elliott Carter - Mosaic, for chamber ensemble (co-commission) - July 22, 2008**
Performed by Tanglewood Music Center Fellows
Leon Kirchner - The Forbidden - October 16, 2008*
Gunther Schuller - Where the Word Ends - February 5, 2009*
Foss - For Tanglewood: A Celebration - July 6, 1990*
Bolcom - MCMXC Tanglewood - August 4, 1990*
Lang - International Business Machine, An Overture for Tanglewood - August 25, 1990*
Druckman - Summer Lightning - July 19, 1991*
Weir - Music, Untangled - August 3, 1991*
Sean Shepherd - Express Abstractionism (co-commission) - February 8, 2018*
Jörg Widmann - Partita, Five Reminisces for Orchestra (co-commission) - March 29, 2018**
Andris Dzenitis - Māra for symphony orchestra - November 8, 2018**
Betsy Jolas - Letters from Bachville - November 7, 2019**
Arturs Maskats - “My River runs to thee…” - November 26, 2019*
HK Gruber - Short Stories from the Vienna Woods - January 6, 2022*
Randall Thompson - The Last Words of David - August 12, 1949*
Walter Piston - Symphony No. 8 - March 5, 1965*
John Cage - Apartment House 1776 - September 29, 1976*
Joint U.S. Bicentennial commission with Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and New York Philharmonic
Gunther Schuller - Deaï - March 17, 1978*
Premiered in Tokyo, Japan, with Ozawa and Schuller conducting the BSO and Toho Gakuen School Orchestra
Peter Lieberson - Drala - October 9, 1986*
Bernard Rands - "...body and shadow..." - February 23, 1989*
John Cage - 1O1 - April 6, 1989*
Theodore Antoniou - Paean - October 26, 1989*
Ellen Taaffe Zwilich - Concerto for flute and orchestra - April 26, 1990*
Yehudi Wyner - Trapunto Junction for brass trio and percussion - March 10, 1991*
Alexander Goehr - Colossos or Panic, Symphonic Fragment after Goya - April 15, 1993*
Hans Werner Henze - Symphony No. 8 - October 1, 1993*
John Harbison - Cello Concerto - April 7, 1994*
Maurice Wright - Concertpiece, for marimba and orchestra - April 15, 1994*
John Williams - Concerto for Cello and Orchestra - July 7, 1994*
Gala Opening for Seiji Ozawa Hall at Tanglewood.
Oliver Knussen - Fanfare: Opening Signal - July 7, 1994*
Gala Opening for Seiji Ozawa Hall at Tanglewood. Performed by Tanglewood Music Center Fellows.
Lukas Foss - Piano Concerto for the Left Hand - July 23, 1994*
Sir Michael Tippett - The Rose Lake (co-commission) - October 12,1995**
George Walker - Lilacs, for voice and orchestra - February 1, 1996*
Bernard Rands - Concerto for Cello No. 1 - April 3, 1997*
Leon Kirchner - Of things exactly as they are - September 26, 1997*
Henri Dutilleux - The shadows of time - October 9, 1997*
John Corigliano - The Red Violin, Chaconne for violin and orchestra (co-commission) - December 4, 1997
Judith Weir - Natural History, for soprano and orchestra - January 14, 1999*
Peter Lieberson - Red Garuda, for piano and orchestra - October 14, 1999*
Bright Sheng - Red Silk Dance, for piano and orchestra - January 6, 2000*
John Corigliano - Symphony No. 2 for String Orchestra - November 30, 2000*
Michael Colgrass - Crossworlds, Concerto for Flute and Piano - March 7, 2002*
André Previn - Violin Concerto, Anne-Sophie - March 14, 2002*
Tan Dun - The Map, Concerto for Cello, Video, and Orchestra - February 20, 2003*
John Harbison - Requiem, for soloists, chorus, and orchestra - March 6, 2003*
Elliott Carter - Boston Concerto - April 3, 2003*
Sofia Gubaidulina - The Light of the End - April 17, 2003*
Robert Zuidam - Rage d'Amours (opera) - August 10, 2003*
Performed by Tanglewood Music Center.
Osvaldo Golijov - Ainadamar (opera) - August 10, 2003*
Performed by Tanglewood Music Center.
Elliott Carter - Micomicón - January 15, 2004*
Thea Musgrave - Turbulent Landscapes - April 1, 2004*
Milton Babbitt - Concerti for Orchestra - January 13, 2005*
Yehudi Wyner - Piano Concerto, Chiavi in mano - February 17, 2005*
Charles Wuorinen - Fourth Piano Concerto - March 24, 2005*
John Harbison - Darkbloom: Overture for an Imagined Opera - March 24, 2005*
Elliott Carter - Horn Concerto - November 15, 2007*
John Harbison - Symphony No. 5 - April 17, 2008*
André Previn - Owls - October 2, 2008*
Elliott Carter - Interventions, for piano and orchestra (co-commission) - December 4, 2008*
Derek Bermel - Swing Time, for flute ensemble - August 1, 2009*
Augusta Read Thomas - Helios Choros II (co-commission) - October 15, 2009*
James MacMillan - St. John Passion (co-commission) - January 21, 2010*
Elliott Carter - Flute Concerto (co-commission) - February 4, 2010**
Peter Lieberson - Songs of Love and Sorrow - March 25, 2010*
John Harbison - Double concerto, for violin, cello, and orchestra - April 1, 2010*
Harrison Birtwistle - Violin Concerto - March 3, 2011*
Alan Smith - An Unknown Sphere, for mezzo-soprano and chorus - August 10, 2011*
Performed by Stephanie Blythe and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus.
John Harbison - Symphony No. 6 - January 12, 2012*
Michael Gandolfi - Night Train to Perugia - August 5, 2012*
André Previn - Music for Boston - August 11, 2012*
John Harbison - Koussevitzky Said:, Choral Scherzo with Orchestra - August 26, 2012*
Kaija Saariaho - Circle Map, for orchestra and electronics (co-commission) - November 1, 2012**
Augusta Read Thomas - Cello Concerto No. 3, Legend of the Phoenix - March 14, 2013*
Mark-Anthony Turnage - Speranza (co-commission) - October 24, 2013**
Marc Neikrug - Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra (co-commission) - November 21, 2013*
Bernard Rands - Concerto for Piano and Orchestra - April 3, 2014*
William Bolcom - Circus Overture - August 8, 2014*
Eriks Ešenwalds - Lakes Awake at Dawn, for chorus and orchestra (co-commission) - November 20, 2014*
Harrison Birtwistle - Responses: Sweet disorder and the carefully careless (co-commission) - February 12, 2015**
Michael Gandolfi - Ascending Light, for organ and orchestra - March 26, 2015*
Sebastian Currier - Divisions (co-commission) - October 8, 2015**
Unsuk Chin - Mannequin (co-commission) - November 5, 2015**
Jean-Frédéric Neuberger - Aube - November 12, 2015*
George Tsontakis - Sonnets, Tone Poems for English Horn and Orchestra - February 11, 2016*
Eric Nathan - "the space of a door” - November 8, 2016*
Timo Andres - Everything Happens So Much - November 15, 2016*
Julian Anderson - Incantesimi (co-commission) - January 26, 2017**
George Benjamin - Dream of the Song (co-commission) - February 9, 2017**
Sofia Gubaidulina - Triple Concerto for violin, cello, and bayan (co-commission) - February 23, 2017**
Matthias Pintscher - un despertar, for cello and orchestra (co-commission) - March 23, 2017*
Vijay Iyer - Trouble for violin and chamber orchestra (co-commission) - July 13, 2017
Commissioned by the BSO and performed by The Knights.
Colin Jacobsen - Head, Heart - August 3, 2017*
Performed by Marie Barton, Emanuel Ax, Colin Jacobsen, and Yo-Yo Ma
Mark-Anthony Turnage - Remembering: In Memoriam Evan Scofield (2015) (co-commission) - November 1, 2018**
Thomas Adès - Concerto for Piano and Orchestra - March 7, 2019*
Sebastian Currier - Aether, for violin and orchestra (co-commission) - May 2, 2019*
Detlev Glanert - Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra - July 8, 2019*
Performed by the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra.
Helen Grime - Limina - July 15, 2019*
Performed by the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra.
Kevin Puts - The Brightness of Light (co-commission) - July 20, 2019*
James Burton - Excerpts from The Lost Words (orchestrated) (co-commission) - July 23, 2019*
Performed by the Boston Symphony Children’s Choir.
André Previn and Tom Stoppard - Penelope - July 24, 2019*
Performed by Rénée Fleming, Uma Thurman, Emerson String Quartet, and Simone Dinnerstein.
Avner Dorman - Double Concerto for violin, cello, and orchestra (co-commission) - August 3, 2019**
Eric Nathan - Concerto for Orchestra - September 19, 2019*
Dieter Ammann - The Piano Concerto (“Gran Toccata”) (co-commission) - October 24, 2019**
Chichchun Chi-Sun Lee - Formosan Triptych - January 16, 2020*
Jörg Widmann - Towards Paradise (Labyrinth VI) (co-commission) - November 18, 2021**
Kaija Saariaho - Saarikoski Songs (orchestrated) (co-commission) - February 24, 2022*
Unsuk Chin - Violin Concerto No. 2, Scherben der Stille (co-commission) - March 3, 2022**
Bernard Rands - Symphonic Fantasy (co-commission) - April 14, 2022*
Helen Grime - Trumpet Concerto, night-sky-blue (co-commission) - July 10, 2022**
Say - Anka kusu [Phoenix], concerto for piano 4 hands and orchestra (co-commission) - July 17, 2022**
Danielpour - Standing Witness (co-commission) - July 21, 2022*
Performed by Susan Graham and Music from Copland House.
Adolphe - Makeshift Castle (co-commission) - July 29, 2022*
Shaw - Punctum (orchestrated for strings) (co-commission) - July 30, 2022*
Ogonek - Starling Variations (co-commission) - July 31, 2022*
Thomas - Bebop Riddle II (co-commissioned with the Tanglewood Music Center) - August 6, 2022*
Performed by Tanglewood Music Center faculty and student as part of the Tanglewood Music Center Festival of Contemporary Music.
Pinto-Correia - Cântico, for solo violin (co-commission) - August 7, 2022*
Performed by Yevgeny Kuti as part of the Tanglewood Music Center Festival of Contemporary Music.
Dello Joio - Concerto for Piano and Orchestra - January 12, 2023*
Mackey - Concerto for Curved Space (co-commission) - January 26, 2023*
Carlos Simon - Four Black American Dances - February 9, 2023*
Wolfe - Her Story (co-commission) - March 16, 2023
Escaich - Les Chants de l’aube (co-commission) - April 13, 2023**
Adès - Air (co-commission) - April 20, 2023**
Wynton Marsalis – Blues Symphony (co-commission)
Boston Symphony Chamber Players
Kati Agócs - Devotion, for horn, harp, and string quartet - February 9, 2014*
Hannah Lash - Three Shades Without Angles, for flute, viola, and harp - February 9, 2014*
Gunther Schuller - Games, for wind quintet and string quintet - February 9, 2014*
Yehudi Wyner - Into the evening air, for wind quintet - February 9, 2014*
Michael Gandolfi - Plain Song, Fantastic Dances - October 23, 2005*
André Previn - Octet for Eleven - October 17, 2010*
Sebastian Currier - Parallel Worlds (co-commission) - April 6, 2014*
Eric Nathan - Why Old Places Matter - January 11, 2015*
Elena Langer - Five Reflections on Water - March 3, 2019*
Michael Gandolfi - Cantata, Where can I go from your spirit? - January 23, 2022*