InTune

Whatever you or any listener may seek from live music, the BSO’s 2022-2023 season will have something for you, and you might also discover something new. The season is filled with a rich and varied selection of performances that balances classic works and composers with emerging artists and pieces. Now more than ever, the diverse nature of the classical music world will be reflected in the season, making it truly representative of the world’s musical landscape.

Classic works by Beethoven, Bernstein, and Mozart, among others, will fill Symphony Hall, but the BSO is also committed to presenting works by emerging composers and expanding its repertoire. This season alone has works by more than 20 living composers. The BSO will also host a number of world, American, and local premieres, showcasing works by Unsuk Chin, Iman Habibi, Jessie Montgomery, and Carlos Simon, among others. Audiences can expect familiar faces in returning guest artists like violinists Midori and Anne-Sophie Mutter, and pianists Lang Lang and Mitsuko Uchida. However, they will also be introduced to renowned artists like Nicola Benedetti, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Eric Lu, Awadagin Pratt, and Golda Schultz.

Many works presented during the 2022-2023 season have significant connections to the current state of our world. The first, a festival entitled Voices of Loss, Reckoning, and Hope, will present musical perspectives on race, civil rights, and women’s rights through three large-scale compositions by American composers. The March festival will feature Julia Wolfe’s Her Story, which speaks to the continuing struggle for women’s rights, Anthony Davis’s You Have the Right to Remain Silent, which focuses on the emotional consequences of experiences with law enforcement, and Uri Caine’s The Passion of Octavius Catto, which reflects on the life of the titular civil rights activist. Guest speakers, panel discussions, and chamber concerts will also accompany these programs to further illuminate these issues.

Another season-long program thread entitled Tragedies of War and Conflict consists of three pieces. The first, Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 13, Babi Yar, conducted by Ray and Maria Stata Music Director Andris Nelsons and based on Yevgeny Yevteshenko’s poetry, is an anti-Stalinism criticism of the atrocities committed in Babi Yar. The second, Ella Milch-Sheriff’s The Eternal Stranger, connects Beethoven’s struggles due to his deafness to the hostility and rejection experienced by refugees. This piece, for narrator and orchestra, will be led by Omer Meir Wellber. The third performance, Osvaldo Golijov’s Falling Out of Time, based on the David Grossman novel about the impact of his son’s death in the second Lebanon war, is presented in collaboration with the Celebrity Series of Boston.

Along with the main performances at Symphony Hall, the season will be supplemented by the continuation of the Jordan Hall series with the Boston Symphony Chamber Players. The BSO will also share chamber performances in communities throughout the Greater Boston area in its ongoing efforts to make its music more accessible for all. Finally, Open Rehearsals, Casual Friday concerts, and Youth and Family concert series will also return to Symphony Hall, rounding out another unforgettable season. Visit bso.org for more information or to subscribe.