BSO 2016/17 Season - Concert Previews

After the first rehearsal, Brian Bell spoke with Christoph von Dohnányi about the program, beginning with the Beethoven Fifth Symphony.

Listen to the concert preview for this series! The eminent German conductor Christoph von Dohnányi leads three masterpieces from the heart of the orchestral repertoire. The program begins with Brahms's earliest orchestral masterpiece, his Variations on a Theme by Haydn, a prime example of theme-and-variations form that demonstrates the Romantic-era composer's fidelity to the Classical tradition. French violinist Renaud Capuçon, in his BSO debut, then joins the orchestra for Sibelius's Violin Concerto, a pinnacle of the concerto repertoire. The program concludes with Beethoven's Symphony No. 5.

Watch the tenth Video in this new podcast series! Steven Ansell joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra as principal viola in September 1996, occupying the Charles S. Dana chair, having already appeared with the BSO in Symphony Hall as guest principal viola. A native of Seattle, he also remains a member of the acclaimed Muir String Quartet, which he co-founded in 1979, and with which he has toured extensively throughout the world.

Download the program notes for this series! Latvian conductor Andris Nelsons makes his BSO debut in these concerts, having previously conducted the orchestra at Carnegie Hall. He is joined by the exciting young Latvian violinist Baiba Skride, who makes her BSO debut as soloist in Shostakovich's Violin Concerto No. 1.

Listen to the concert preview for this series! Latvian conductor Andris Nelsons makes his BSO debut in these concerts, having previously conducted the orchestra at Carnegie Hall. He is joined by the exciting young Latvian violinist Baiba Skride, who makes her BSO debut as soloist in Shostakovich's Violin Concerto No. 1.

Charles Dutoit talks with Brian Bell about Paul Hindemith and Sergei Prokofiev, two composers on the January 2013 program.

Daniele Gatti talks about the Verdi Requiem with Brian Bell

Download the program notes for this series! To mark the bicentennial of Verdi's birth in 1813, Italian conductor Daniele Gatti, music director of the Orchestre National de France, leads the BSO in three performances of the composer's Requiem with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus and four vocal soloists all making their BSO debuts. One of the greatest of all works for orchestra, soloists, and chorus, Verdi's massive, theatrical Requiem was completed in 1874, dedicated to the memory of the great Italian poet and novelist Alessandro Manzoni-a personal hero of Verdi's-and premiered on the first anniversary of Manzoni's death.

Listen to the concert preview for this series! To mark the bicentennial of Verdi's birth in 1813, Italian conductor Daniele Gatti, music director of the Orchestre National de France, leads the BSO in three performances of the composer's Requiem with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus and four vocal soloists all making their BSO debuts. One of the greatest of all works for orchestra, soloists, and chorus, Verdi's massive, theatrical Requiem was completed in 1874, dedicated to the memory of the great Italian poet and novelist Alessandro Manzoni-a personal hero of Verdi's-and premiered on the first anniversary of Manzoni's death.

Listen to the concert preview for this series! Conductor Charles Dutoit returns for his third week of concerts during the 2012-13 season, this time for a program featuring virtuoso English pianist Stephen Hough in Liszt's scintillatingly virtuosic Piano Concerto No. 1. The program begins with Hindemith's Symphonic Metamorphoses on Themes of Weber-which translates material from works by Carl Maria von Weber into a virtuoso showpiece for orchestra-and concludes with music from Prokofiev's sweeping and colorful ballet score Romeo and Juliet.

Download the program notes for this series! Conductor Charles Dutoit returns for his third week of concerts during the 2012-13 season, this time for a program featuring virtuoso English pianist Stephen Hough in Liszt's scintillatingly virtuosic Piano Concerto No. 1. The program begins with Hindemith's Symphonic Metamorphoses on Themes of Weber-which translates material from works by Carl Maria von Weber into a virtuoso showpiece for orchestra-and concludes with music from Prokofiev's sweeping and colorful ballet score Romeo and Juliet.

Listen to the concert preview for this series! Julian Rachlin is featured in Tchaikovsky's ultra-Romantic Violin Concerto at the heart of a program conducted by New York Philharmonic music director Alan Gilbert, who also leads the BSO in three 20th-century works: Dutilleux's Métaboles for Orchestra, Stravinsky's Symphony in Three Movements, the first major work the composer wrote after moving to the United States in 1939; and Ravel's remarkable musical deconstruction of dance, La Valse.

Download the program notes for this series! Julian Rachlin is featured in Tchaikovsky's ultra-Romantic Violin Concerto at the heart of a program conducted by New York Philharmonic music director Alan Gilbert, who also leads the BSO in three 20th-century works: Dutilleux's Métaboles for Orchestra, Stravinsky's Symphony in Three Movements, the first major work the composer wrote after moving to the United States in 1939; and Ravel's remarkable musical deconstruction of dance, La Valse.

Watch the ninth Video in this new podcast series! Cellist Owen Young joined the BSO in August 1991. A frequent collaborator in chamber music concerts and festivals, he has also appeared as concerto soloist with numerous orchestras. He has appeared in the Tanglewood, Aspen, Banff, Davos, Sunflower, Gateway, Brevard, and St. Barth's music festivals and is a founding member of the innovative chamber ensemble Innuendo. He has performed frequently with singer/songwriter James Taylor, including the nationally televised concert "James Taylor Live at the Beacon Theatre" in New York City.

Alan Gilbert speaks with Brian Bell about the January 2013 Boston Symphony program.