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2023-24 BSO Season

Andris Nelsons conducts Haydn, Shostakovich, and Habibi with Yo-Yo Ma, cello

Boston Symphony Orchestra

Symphony Hall, Boston, MA

Andris Nelsons, conductor
Yo-Yo Ma, cello

HAYDN Symphony No. 22, Philosopher
SHOSTAKOVICH Cello Concerto No. 2
Intermission
Iman HABIBI Zhiân (Commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Andris Nelsons, Music Director, through the generous support of the New Works Fund established by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.)
SHOSTAKOVICH Cello Concerto No. 1

Cellist Yo-Yo Ma brings his unsurpassed skill and passion to both of Shostakovich’s powerful cello concertos, originally written for the legendary Mstislav Rostropovich. These performances are part of the BSO’s multi-season survey of Shostakovich’s symphonies and concertos. Haydn’s stately Symphony No. 22, nicknamed Philosopher, pairs with Iman Habibi’s Zhiân, a BSO commission, to round out the evening.

Saturday’s concert is supported by Lloyd Axelrod, M.D.

The Friday Preview on October 13 at 12:15pm will be hosted by author and Northeastern emeritus professor Harlow Robinson with composer Iman Habibi. Admission included with ticket.

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  • The Catherine and Paul Buttenwieser Concert
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  • The Anne and Blake Ireland Concert
Yo-Yo Ma headshot holding his cello and bow

Performance Details

Oct 12, 2023, 7:30pm EDT

Featuring

Program Notes & Works

Symphony No. 22 in E-flat, The Philosopher

Joseph Haydn

Haydn’s Symphony No. 22 was written early in the evolution of the symphony genre. Its unexpected features include an opening slow movement and the use of English horns rather than the flutes or oboes typical of the time.

Cello Concerto No. 2

Dmitri Shostakovich

Like many of Shostakovich's later works, the Cello Concerto No. 2 is dark, probing, and thoughtful, but with a charmingly off-kilter middle-movement scherzo.

Zhiân

Iman Habibi

Iman Habibi wrote his Zhiân on commission for the BSO, which gave the premiere under Andris Nelsons at Tanglewood in July 2023. Habibi was inspired by grass-roots protests in Iran following the death of a young woman, Mahsa Amini, at the hands of Iran’s “morality police.”

Cello Concerto No. 1

Dmitri Shostakovich

Shostakovich’s First Cello Concerto is lively and virtuosic, though it’s scored for a small, Mozart-sized orchestra. The lone horn is featured as a duo-partner of the cello.

Getting Here

A view of the empty Symphony Hall, with the stage in the distance

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