BSO 2018/19 Season - Concert Previews

Making his BSO subscription series debut, conductor John Storgårds leads pianist Martin Helmchen in Mozart's gregarious, large-scale Piano Concerto in E-flat, K.482, composed in late 1785 when Mozart was also working on his comic opera The Marriage of Figaro. The Finnish Storgårds also brings three Finnish works to Symphony Hall, beginning with Kaija Saariaho's gorgeous study of orchestral color Ciel d'hiver ("Winter Sky"), an arrangement of a movement from her earlier, symphony-like Orion. Jean Sibelius's final two symphonies, nos. 6 and 7, are two of the greatest works in the symphonic literature. Though very different from one another, both demonstrate the composer's distinctively rich orchestration and organic, fluid transformations of material.

John Storgårds speaks with Brian Bell about his upcoming BSO performances, being performed on January 24 - 29, 2019.

The Georgian violinist Lisa Batiashvili joins Andris Nelsons and the BSO as soloist in the important Polish composer Karol Szymanowski's Violin Concerto No. 1. Video produced by Anthony Princiotti

A quick look at Aaron Copland's Symphony No. 3, which was premiered by the BSO under Serge Koussevitzky in 1946. Video produced by Anthony Princiotti

The Georgian violinist Lisa Batiashvili joins Andris Nelsons and the BSO as soloist in the important Polish composer Karol Szymanowski's Violin Concerto No. 1. Video produced by Anthony Princiotti

A quick look at Aaron Copland's Symphony No. 3, which was premiered by the BSO under Serge Koussevitzky in 1946. Video produced by Anthony Princiotti

Making his BSO subscription series debut, conductor John Storgårds leads pianist Martin Helmchen in Mozart's gregarious, large-scale Piano Concerto in E-flat, K.482, composed in late 1785. Video produced by Anthony Princiotti

The popular Spanish conductor Juanjo Mena collaborates with Lithuanian violinist Julian Rachlin in Mendelssohn's evergreen Violin Concerto, among the most charming works in the standard repertoire. Video produced by Anthony Princiotti

The popular Spanish conductor Juanjo Mena leads the BSO in the great Czech composer Leoš Janáček's brass-dominated Sinfonietta. Video produced by Anthony Princiotti

Herbert Blomstedt, one of the great conductors of the era, returns to the BSO podium for a work central to the repertoire, Brahms's rich, complex Symphony No. 1. Grappling with the influence of Beethoven, Brahms famously delayed completing his First until well into his forties. Bearing several deliberate touches of homage to Beethoven but fully Brahmsian in its spirit and effect, it stands as one of the great works in the symphonic literature. Opening the program is Haydn's charming, genial Cello Concerto No. 1, featuring the brilliant Norwegian cellist Truls Mørk in his first appearances with the BSO since 2007.

Making his BSO subscription series debut, conductor John Storgårds leads pianist Martin Helmchen in Mozart's gregarious, large-scale Piano Concerto in E-flat, K.482, composed in late 1785. Video produced by Anthony Princiotti

The popular Spanish conductor Juanjo Mena collaborates with Lithuanian violinist Julian Rachlin in Mendelssohn's evergreen Violin Concerto, among the most charming works in the standard repertoire. Video produced by Anthony Princiotti

The popular Spanish conductor Juanjo Mena leads the BSO in the great Czech composer Leoš Janáček's brass-dominated Sinfonietta. Video produced by Anthony Princiotti

Steeped in the musical tradition of England, Vaughan Williams's Fifth Symphony was composed at the beginning of World War II but maintains an optimistic and affirmative outlook. Video produced by Anthony Princiotti

A deep look into Brahms's rich, complex Symphony No. 1. Grappling with the influence of Beethoven, Brahms famously delayed completing his First until well into his forties. Bearing several deliberate touches of homage to Beethoven but fully Brahmsian in its spirit and effect, it stands as one of the great works in the symphonic literature. Video produced by Anthony Princiotti