2024-25 BSO Season

Alan Gilbert, conductor
Isabelle Faust, violin

HAYDN Symphony No. 48, Maria Theresia
STRAVINSKY Violin Concerto
-Intermission-
HAYDN Symphony No. 99

Isabelle Faust and Alan Gilbert return for Stravinsky’s bracing, wry Violin Concerto, a work at the core of his sparkling and witty neoclassical period. Bracketing Stravinsky’s concerto are two Joseph Haydn works from early and late in his symphonic career, during which he largely created the foundations for the 18th-century Viennese Classical era.

Friday afternoon’s concert is generously supported by the Grossman Family in memory of Jerome H. Grossman, MD.

Saturday evening’s concert is generously supported by Jim Aisner, in memory of his wife, Virginia Simpson Aisner.

Saturday evening’s performance by Isabelle Faust is generously supported by Lloyd Axelrod, M.D.

Pre-concert Talk
The February 21 performance will include a pre-concert talk starting at 12:15pm with BSO Director of Program Publications Robert Kirzinger.

Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor
Alban Gerhardt, cello

Gabriela ORTIZ Revolución diamantina
TCHAIKOVSKY Variations on a Rococo Theme, for cello and orchestra
TCHAIKOVSKY Francesca da Rimini

Acclaimed Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz, known for her vibrant instrumental colors and skill with dramatic narrative, wrote her ballet score Revolución diamantina with Mexican writer Cristina Rivera Garza. The recording of the piece won this year’s Grammy Awards for best classical compendium, best orchestral performance, and best contemporary classical composition. Ortiz explores the powerful Mexican feminist “Glitter Revolution” campaign to highlight an epidemic of violence against women. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky wonderfully depicts love’s passion and an infernal whirlwind in his tone poem Francesca da Rimini, inspired by a historic injustice recounted in Dante’s Inferno. Murdered by her husband, Francesca suffers in the second level of hell for her lustfulness, buffeted by an eternal storm. As a contrast, Alban Gerhardt is soloist in the composer’s charming Variations on a Rococo Theme..

Pre-rehearsal Talk
The February 27 open rehearsal will include a pre-concert talk at 9:30am, featuring conductor Giancarlo Guerrero in conversation with BSO Director of Program Publications Robert Kirzinger.

Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor 
Alban Gerhardt, cello 
The Crossing 
 Donald Nally, Artistic Director

Gabriela ORTIZ Revolución diamantina
-Intermission-
TCHAIKOVSKY Variations on a Rococo Theme, for cello and orchestra
TCHAIKOVSKY Francesca da Rimini

Acclaimed Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz, known for her vibrant instrumental colors and skill with dramatic narrative, wrote her ballet score Revolución diamantina with Mexican writer Cristina Rivera Garza. The recording of the piece won this year’s Grammy Awards for best classical compendium, best orchestral performance, and best contemporary classical composition. Ortiz explores the powerful Mexican feminist “Glitter Revolution” campaign to highlight an epidemic of violence against women. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky wonderfully depicts love’s passion and an infernal whirlwind in his tone poem Francesca da Rimini, inspired by a historic injustice recounted in Dante’s Inferno. Murdered by her husband, Francesca suffers in the second level of hell for her lustfulness, buffeted by an eternal storm. As a contrast, Alban Gerhardt is soloist in the composer’s charming Variations on a Rococo Theme.

Thursday evening's performance by Alban Gerhardt is generously supported by the Roberta M. Strang Memorial Fund.

Friday afternoon’s performance by Alban Gerhardt is generously supported by the May and Dan Pierce Guest Artist Fund.

Pre-concert Talk
The February 28 performance will include a pre-concert talk at 12:15pm, featuring conductor Giancarlo Guerrero in conversation with BSO Director of Program Publications Robert Kirzinger.

Eun Sun Kim, conductor
Inon Barnatan, piano

LIADOV The Enchanted Lake
BARTÓK Piano Concerto No. 3
-Intermission-
RACHMANINOFF Symphony No. 3

South Korean conductor Eun Sun Kim makes her BSO debut with a trio of pieces exploring innovation within tradition. Star pianist Inon Barnatan returns to Symphony Hall to take on one of Bartók’s final works, the Third Piano Concerto, a love letter to his wife and his home country. While living in poverty in New York having fled the onslaught of the Nazis into Hungary, Bartók’s creativity had stalled out, and his body was failing from a long illness. The concerto — not quite finished when he passed — is a more gentle and accessibly poetic work than his previous concertos, a summation of where Bartók’s style left him at the end of his life.

Thursday evening’s concert is generously supported by Ann and Michael Strem.

Saturday evening’s concert is generously supported by Ronald G. Casty and Susan Mendik.

Teddy Abrams, conductor
Ray Chen, violin
Dashon Burton, baritone

TCHAIKOVSKY Violin Concerto
-Intermission-
Michael TILSON THOMAS Whitman Songs
BERNSTEIN Symphonic Dances from West Side Story

Ray Chen plays Tchaikovsky’s beloved Violin Concerto, the first work the composer completed after his separation from his disastrous marriage and a piece he almost dedicated to his student – and likely lover and inspiration, Iosif Kotek. 120 years later, Michael Tilson Thomas lovingly set three of Walt Whitman poems about longing and belonging for baritone and orchestra. Leonard Bernstein’s star-crossed lovers close the program in an iconic love letter to New York and love itself.

Pre-concert Talk
The March 14 performance will include a pre-concert talk at 12:15pm, featuring conductor and educator Jeffrey Means in conversation with BSO Director of Program Publications Robert Kirzinger.

Friday afternoon's performance by the vocal soloist is generously supported by the Ethan Ayer Vocal Soloist Fund.

Saturday evening's concert is generously supported by Mr. C. Thomas Brown.

Saturday's performance of Whitman Songs is supported by John Lowell Thorndike, former BSO trustee, treasurer, vice president, and lifelong advocate for the performance of contemporary music.

Thomas Wilkins, conductor

STRAVINSKY Firebird Suite: Infernal Dance
SHOSTAKOVICH Festive Overture
GOUNOD Petite Symphonie: Scherzo
BONDS Montgomery Variations: Dawn in Dixie
Carlos SIMON Four Black American Dances: Ring Shout
GRIEG Peer Gynt Suite: In the Hall of the Mountain King
STRAVINSKY Firebird Suite: Berceuse and Finale

Bracha Malkin and Bonnie Bewick, violins 
Danny Kim, viola 
Mickey Katz, cello

DOHNÁNYI Serenade in C, Op. 10
Oleg PONOMAREV (Arr. Bonnie BEWICK) Polonez, for string quartet
TCHAIKOVSKY String Quartet No. 1 in D, Op. 11 

Edwin Outwater, conductor
Terence Blanchard, trumpet

COLTRANE Legacy for Orchestra
Arranged and curated by Carlos Simon

This concert is performed without intermission.

Considered one of the most preeminent jazz artists of all time, and one of the most influential musical artists of any genre, John Coltrane has truly played a part in shaping the music of today. Coltrane: Legacy for Orchestra is a new live concert experience re-framing some of John Coltrane’s most popular and influential works with lush orchestrations, accompanied by exclusive and recently exhibited personal photographs of John Coltrane.

Friday evening’s performance by Terence Blanchard is generously supported by Minnie and Brent Henry.

Thomas Wilkins, conductor

STRAVINSKY Firebird Suite: Infernal Dance
SHOSTAKOVICH Festive Overture
GOUNOD Petite Symphonie: Scherzo
BONDS Montgomery Variations: Dawn in Dixie
Carlos SIMON Four Black American Dances: Ring Shout
GRIEG Peer Gynt Suite: In the Hall of the Mountain King
STRAVINSKY Firebird Suite: Berceuse and Finale

Thomas Wilkins, conductor

STRAVINSKY Firebird Suite: Infernal Dance
SHOSTAKOVICH Festive Overture
GOUNOD Petite Symphonie: Scherzo
BONDS Montgomery Variations: Dawn in Dixie
Carlos SIMON Four Black American Dances: Ring Shout
ELGAR Cello Concerto, IV. Allegro ma non troppo
GRIEG Peer Gynt Suite: In the Hall of the Mountain King
STRAVINSKY Firebird Suite: Berceuse and Finale

Dima Slobodeniouk, conductor
Alexander Velinzon and Lucia Lin, violins (Pärt) 
Erin Morley, soprano
Avery Amereau, mezzo-soprano
Simon Bode, tenor
Morris Robinson, bass
Tanglewood Festival Chorus,
 James Burton, conductor

Arvo PÄRT Tabula Rasa
-Intermission-
MOZART Requiem

This concert probes the intersection of quiet contemplation and fervent prayers, beginning with Arvo Pärt's Tabula Rasa — an introspective piece exploring silence, space, and spirituality that quietly changed the shape of 20th century music.

Friday afternoon’s performance by Erin Morley is generously supported by a gift in loving memory of Alan J. Dworsky.

This week's performances by the Tanglewood Festival Chorus are supported by the Alan J. and Suzanne W. Dworsky Fund for Voice and Chorus.

Pre-concert Talk
The March 28 performance will include a pre-concert talk starting at 12:15pm with BSO Director of Program Publications Robert Kirzinger.

Dima Slobodeniouk, conductor
Frank Peter Zimmermann, violin

Adolphus HAILSTORK Lachrymosa: 1919
STRAVINSKY Symphony in Three Movements
ELGAR Violin Concerto

Dima Slobodeniouk leads three works, all notable for their proximity to wartime. Edward Elgar’s Violin Concerto can be seen in retrospect as an idyllic calm before the storm of World War I. Adolphus Hailstork’s Lachrymosa: 1919 explores the Red Summer of 1919, a deadly backlash against Black American prosperity in the wake of the war. Stravinsky’s Symphony in Three Movements was the composer’s dark reaction to the universal devastation of World War II.

Pre-rehearsal Talk
The April 3 open rehearsal will include a pre-rehearsal talk starting at 9:30am with music and culture historian Lucy Caplan.

Dima Slobodeniouk, conductor
Frank Peter Zimmermann, violin

Adolphus HAILSTORK Lachrymosa: 1919
STRAVINSKY Symphony in Three Movements
-Intermission-
ELGAR Violin Concerto

Dima Slobodeniouk leads three works, all notable for their proximity to wartime. Edward Elgar’s Violin Concerto can be seen in retrospect as an idyllic calm before the storm of World War I. Adolphus Hailstork’s Lachrymosa: 1919 explores the Red Summer of 1919, a deadly backlash against Black American prosperity in the wake of the war. Stravinsky’s Symphony in Three Movements was the composer’s dark reaction to the universal devastation of World War II.

Saturday evening’s concert is generously supported by Alan and Lisa Dynner.

Saturday evening’s performance by Frank Peter Zimmermann is generously supported by Dr. Dorothy A. Weber, in memory of Stephen R. Weber.

Pre-concert Talk
The April 4 performance will include a pre-concert talk starting at 12:15pm with music and culture historian Lucy Caplan.

Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra (BYSO)
Marta Żurad, conductor
Matt Roberts, magician

Ala Jojatu and Sophie Wang, violins 
Mary Ferrillo, viola 
Will Chow, cello

MOZART Serenade in C for two violins and cello, KV 648, Ganz Kleine Nachtmusik
MOZART String Quartet No. 19 in C, K.465, Dissonance
WEINER String Trio in G minor, Op. 6

Anna Handler, conductor (Langer)
Gilbert Kalish, piano

Elena LANGER Five Reflections on Water, for winds and strings
Sofia GUBAIDULINA Sonata for double bass and piano
-Intermission-
SHOSTAKOVICH Piano Quintet in G minor, Op. 57

Andris Nelsons, conductor

ALL-SHOSTAKOVICH program
Symphony No. 6
Symphony No. 11, The Year 1905

The first in our series looking at the music and times of Dmitri Shostakovich and how the composer folded messages of revolution and resistance into his music during a politically turbulent time. Written more than 50 years after the Russian Revolution and during another point of political and historical upheaval, Shostakovich’s Eleventh Symphony is a revisitation of the events of Bloody Sunday, integrating Russian folk and revolutionary songs. The final movement is simultaneously a rallying cry and a warning to future tyrants.

Pre-rehearsal Talk
The April 10 open rehearsal will include a pre-rehearsal talk at 9:30am with BSO Director of Program Publications Robert Kirzinger.

Andris Nelsons, conductor

ALL-SHOSTAKOVICH program
Symphony No. 6
-Intermission-
Symphony No. 11, The Year 1905

The first in our series looking at the music and times of Dmitri Shostakovich and how the composer folded messages of revolution and resistance into his music during a politically turbulent time. Written more than 50 years after the Russian Revolution and during another point of political and historical upheaval, Shostakovich’s Eleventh Symphony is a revisitation of the events of Bloody Sunday, integrating Russian folk and revolutionary songs. The final movement is simultaneously a rallying cry and a warning to future tyrants.

Andris Nelsons, conductor
Yo-Yo Ma, cello

ALL-SHOSTAKOVICH program
Cello Concerto No. 1
-Intermission-
Symphony No. 11, The Year 1905

A part of our series looking at the music and times of Dmitri Shostakovich and how the composer folded messages of revolution and resistance into his music during a politically turbulent time. Yo-Yo Ma brings the specter of resistance to the stage. Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto is a prime example of the composer using music to protest an authoritarian regime; the cello stands defiant against the orchestra, often playing out its own theme not reflected in the ensemble, until it disseminates into a wild cadenza and is whisked away into a sudden abrupt end.

Friday evening’s concert is generously supported by Brooks and Linda Zug.

Andris Nelsons, conductor
Mitsuko Uchida, piano

BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 4
-Intermission-
SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 15

Mitsuko Uchida has, from an early age, been considered a standout interpreter of Beethoven. The Fourth is considered the first of Beethoven’s piano concertos to depart from the format prescribed by Mozart (an orchestral introduction with a dramatic solo entrance). The concerto’s opening lets the instrument speak for itself — intimately and delicately so—to lead the way for the rest of the ensemble. Shostakovich’s Fifteenth Symphony is his last symphony and is full of quotations, codes, clues, and ambiguity. This is an experience defying description that invites the listener to create their own personal interpretation.

Pre-concert Talk
The April 18 concert will include a pre-concert talk at 12:15pm with BSO Director of Program Publications Robert Kirzinger.

Corporate support for Thursday evening's concert is generously provided by Hemenway & Barnes.

Friday afternoon’s performance by Mitsuko Uchida is generously supported by the Nathan R. Miller Family Guest Artist Fund.

Andris Nelsons, conductor
Tanglewood Festival Chorus,
 James Burton, conductor

Aleksandra VREBALOV Love Canticles for chorus and orchestra (world premiere; commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Andris Nelsons, Music Director, through the generous support of Catherine and Paul Buttenwieser and the New Works Fund established by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.)
STRAVINSKY Symphony of Psalms
-Intermission-
SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 6

This program pairs Shostakovich’s introspective, classically elegant Sixth Symphony with Stravinsky’s austerely profound Symphony of Psalms, commissioned by Serge Koussevitzky for the BSO’s 50th anniversary. In fact, Shostakovich so revered Stravinsky’s piece that he made a two-piano arrangement of the score. Commissioned by the BSO especially for these concerts, Aleksandra Vrebalov’s Love Canticles sets Psalm texts in English from the King James Bible, using the same musical forces as Stravinsky’s masterpiece. Originally from the former Yugoslavia and winner of the prestigious 2024 Grawemeyer Award, Vrebalov composes music of deeply spiritual humanism influenced in part by traditional Eastern Orthodox chant.

This week's performances by the Tanglewood Festival Chorus are supported by the Alan J. and Suzanne W. Dworsky Fund for Voice and Chorus.

Pre-concert Talk
The April 27 performance will include a pre-concert talk starting at 12:30pm with composer Aleksandra Vrebalov and the BSO Director of Program Publications, Robert Kirzinger.

Andris Nelsons, conductor
Baiba Skride, violin

ALL-SHOSTAKOVICH program
Violin Concerto No. 1
-Intermission-
Symphony No. 8

Friday afternoon's performance by Baiba Skride is generously supported by the Plimpton Shattuck Fund.

A part of our series looking at the music and times of Dmitri Shostakovich and how the composer folded messages of revolution and resistance into his music during a politically turbulent time. Latvian violinist Baiba Skride brings her signature dulcet tones to Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1. This work is a deeply personal one, influenced by the composer’s fear of the Soviet censors and actual encounters with restrictive directives from the government. These bitter feelings toward the regime especially color the third and fourth movements. In this way and many others, we see the composer finding ways to stand up to prevailing political winds; for example, the whole piece is shot through with Jewish klezmer influence at a time when antisemitism was on the rise in the USSR.

Pre-concert Talk
The May 2 concert will include a pre-concert talk at 12:15pm with Soviet and Russian cultural historian Harlow Robinson.