2016/2017 SEASON
The 2016/2017 Season has been crafted for the greatest possible variety of repertory, to demonstrate all the things that the two orchestras do best, and to showcase some extraordinary soloists, most of them appearing for the first time with the Philharmonic.
PHOTO: DAVE JAMROG
OUR VISION:
PASSIONATE MUSICMAKING WITHOUT BOUNDARIES Radiates out through the energy
of our players as they passionately lead with their bodies and dig their bows deep into their strings Is expressed in the composition
of the orchestra, where top professionals, brilliant students, and passionate amateurs grow into one voice in the intensity and commitment of their musicmaking Stimulates players to take
ownership of the music and to contribute their insights freely Is manifested in the high level
of audience engagement in our illuminating pre-concert talks Moves us to expand, not pull back,
in difficult times, launching the Discovery Series for eager, less experienced, newcomers Inspires us to donate tickets to
bring to the underserved the hope great music can offer Animates the audience, and stirs
players and supporters alike to enroll others, in an ever-widening circle, in the extraordinary power of music Propels the entire Boston
Philharmonic community to be ambassadors of joy and passion
WELCOME TO THE 2016/2017 SEASON The 2016/2017 Season of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra has been crafted for the greatest possible variety of repertory, to demonstrate all the things that the two orchestras do best, and to showcase some extraordinary soloists, most of them appearing for the first time with the Philharmonic. The first program of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra is all-Russian, combining the very familiar (Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky) with the fascinating and new (Lera Auerbach). In the second program we contrast the musical styles of two different cultures. France, with its accent on sensuousness of sound, suggestiveness, and subtlety is represented by masterpieces of Debussy and Dutilleux, while the brilliance of the English at portraiture is demonstrated by illustrative works of Walton and Elgar. The third program brings the first German music of the season, the logical pairing of Beethoven and Bruckner (the latter’s sublime, unfinished Ninth Symphony). And finally the orchestra’s and Benjamin Zander’s ultimate specialty, the beloved, aweinspiring Second Symphony of Mahler. Meanwhile, the three concerts of the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra offer their own varied and fascinating repertory. The long, and sometimes uneasy connection between Finland and Russia is highlighted by the opening Sibelius/Prokofiev program, including Sibelius’s beloved Violin Concerto and Prokofiev’s dazzling Fifth Symphony. The second concert places several virtuoso soloists from the ranks of the orchestra front and center, and is also highlighted by the world premiere of a new piece by Michael Gandolfi especially composed for this occasion. And to end, Mahler’s staggeringly powerful Sixth Symphony, a fiercely difficult undertaking for even the world’s greatest orchestras. The soloists are as stunning an array as we have ever put together. Ya-Fei Chuang is a pianist of tremendous technique and deep musicianship, ideal for Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. One of the premiere cellists of the day, Zuill Bailey will bring his profound communicative ability to the subtle and rich textures of the Dutilleux concerto. The Boston Trio, playing the Beethoven Triple, is a local favorite made all the dearer to us by the recent addition of the BPO’s own Jonah Ellsworth as cellist. And In Mo Yang, who plays Sibelius with the BPYO, recently won the Paganini Competition. His playing will cause jaws to drop. We are enormously excited by this uncommonly varied array of works and the brilliant soloists who will be joining us. We look forward to your joining us as well!
“The Boston Philharmonic has never sounded better.” THE BOSTON MUSICAL INTELLIGENCER
AUERBACH/ RACHMANINOFF/ TCHAIKOVSKY LERA AUERBACH Icarus (Boston premiere)
BOSTON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
RACHMANINOFF Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
BENJAMIN ZANDER conductor YA-FEI CHUANG piano
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 6, Pathétique
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2016 / 7:30PM SANDERS THEATRE DISCOVERY SERIES SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22 , 2016 / 8:00PM NEC’S JORDAN HALL GUIDE TO THE MUSIC WITH BENJAMIN ZANDER, 6:45PM SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23 , 2016 / 3:00PM SANDERS THEATRE GUIDE TO THE MUSIC WITH BENJAMIN ZANDER, 1:45PM
The 2016/2017 Season of the Boston Philharmonic opens with an all-Russian program of three extraordinary works spanning three centuries. The newest, a Boston debut, is Icarus by the contemporary Russian composer Lera Auerbach. This intensely dramatic two-movement tone poem is scored with tremendous imagination (the orchestration even includes a theramin!). It is a work of heroic striving and exalation on the one hand, and confessional intimacy on the other. Auerbach’s is a unique, strikingly individual voice among today’s composers that will be new to most members of the audience. The extraordinary pianist Ya-Fei Chuang, one of Boston’s musical treasures, will be making her debut with the orchestra in Rachmaninoff’s beloved Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. The rhapsody, in the form of variations on one of the most famous tunes ever written, is not only a beloved staple of the concert repertoire, but also possibly the single most polished, finely-crafted work that the composer ever created. It is also one of the most spectacular of all virtuoso show-pieces for the piano. Chuang’s probing musicianship and beauty and variety of sound will make this a very special performance indeed! And to end the concert is Tchaikovsky’s final composition. The Pathetique is one of the greatest tragic utterances in the whole history of music. One is apt to encounter it often in the course of a concert-going lifetime, but no degree of familiarity ever lessens its power to touch places in your heart that are reached almost uniquely by this composition.
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“After the last chord, the audience jumped to its feet with joy. It was easy to understand why.” THE BOSTON MUSICAL INTELLIGENCER PHOTO: F. REINHOLD
LERA AUERBACH
“They played with fierce commitment, technical accomplishment, and a sense of mission.” THE BOSTON GLOBE
ZUILL BAILEY
DEBUSSY/ DUTILLEUX/ WALTON/ELGAR For the second program of the season we move west, from Russia to France and England. And with the move come very different sound worlds and aesthetics. The two French pieces, by Debussy and Dutilleux, are masterpieces of subtle and luminous orchestral colors and haunting melodic originality, and both have the strange quality of a waking dream. The great French master Henri Dutilleux died in 2013 at the age of 97, and among the many glories of his lifetime of creativity the cello concerto Tout un monde lointain… stands out as possibly the masterpiece. The American cellist Zuill Bailey, one of the real luminaries among today’s great masters of the instrument, is renowned as a performer of extraordinary passion, musical integrity and communicative power. The second half of this program crosses the English channel for two remarkable British works. Walton’s teeming Scapino Overture might be thought of as an English counterpart to Strauss’s Till Eulenspiegel, a tone poem that characterizes the personality of a lovable rogue who always seems to get the last laugh. And to conclude, Elgar’s musical depictions of his unnamed friends, the Enigma Variations, the work that solidified his standing as a master composer and that has remained probably the most beloved of all his works. It is fascinating to hear the contrasts in the two halves of this program: the subtle dreamscapes that are conjured up by the French works, and the extremely realistic and robust portraiture of the English ones.
DEBUSSY Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune
BOSTON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
DUTILLEUX Tout un monde lointain...
BENJAMIN ZANDER conductor
WALTON Scapino Overture
ZUILL BAILEY cello
ELGAR Enigma Variations
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2016 / 7:30PM SANDERS THEATRE DISCOVERY SERIES SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2016 / 8:00PM NEC’S JORDAN HALL GUIDE TO THE MUSIC WITH BENJAMIN ZANDER, 6:45PM SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2016 / 3:00PM SANDERS THEATRE GUIDE TO THE MUSIC WITH BENJAMIN ZANDER, 1:45PM
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BEETHOVEN/ BRUCKNER BEETHOVEN Triple Concerto for violin, cello, and piano
BOSTON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
BRUCKNER Symphony No. 9
BENJAMIN ZANDER conductor BOSTON TRIO Irina Muresanu, violin Jonah Ellsworth, cello Heng-Jin Park, piano
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2017 / 7:30PM SANDERS THEATRE DISCOVERY SERIES SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2017 / 8:00PM NEC’S JORDAN HALL GUIDE TO THE MUSIC WITH BENJAMIN ZANDER, 6:45PM SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2017 / 3:00PM SANDERS THEATRE GUIDE TO THE MUSIC WITH BENJAMIN ZANDER, 1:45PM
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Uncharacteristically for the BPO, it is not until the third program of the season that we encounter any German music. Beethoven’s Triple Concerto is a piece that the orchestra has never performed before, and the reason is simple. It is a piece that has to be held in reserve until exactly the right trio of performers is available to play it. And that is exactly what has happened. The members of the Boston Trio have long and deep ties to the BSO. Violinist Irina Muresanu has played with the orchestra in the past, both as soloist and briefly as concertmaster, pianist Heng-Jin Park participated in many performances of the BPO as orchestral pianist in the early part of her career, and cellist Jonah Ellsworth is doubly familiar to BPO and BPYO audiences from his performances as a player in both orchestras and as an unforgettable soloist. In the right hands the Triple Concerto is an enthralling piece that can keep you hanging on every phrase, and that’s just what we’re looking forward to with these wonderful players. Bruckner’s heaven-storming, stubborn, and ultimately sublime final work, his unfinished Ninth Symphony, is as deep and as ecstatic an experience as music has to offer. The gamut of emotions that it runs is extraordinary—as great as that in any Mahler symphony— and the intense beauty that radiates from every bar of the piece leaves very few people unmoved, even those who imagine that they are “allergic” to Bruckner’s music. Every Bruckner performance by Mr. Zander and the BPO, from the very inception of the orchestra, has been a major event, acclaimed equally by audiences and by the press. This is a concert that must not be missed!
“Whenever this trio plays, drop everything and go hear them!” THE BOSTON GLOBE
BOSTON TRIO
“A rare Boston treat...the orchestra’s sound...was broad, warm, and full.” THE BOSTON GLOBE
BENJAMIN ZANDER
MAHLER A live performance of Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony is always more than a concert—it is a communal experience. This overwhelming, heaven-storming symphony takes the listener on a long journey towards an exalted destination. It starts by laying the hero of Mahler’s First Symphony, the Titan, to rest, with a shatteringly dramatic, annihilating funeral march. And then the rest of the symphony builds a new pathway to hope and ultimate affirmation. In the second and third movements a critical eye scans both the beauty and the absurdity of this world. And in the final two movements the transition is effected from earthly striving and insufficiency to heavenly fulfillment. There is no work in the repertory, none whatsoever, that so completely unites performers and audience in a transformative musical affirmation. We are extraordinarily fortunate in our vocal soloists for this performance. British mezzosoprano Alice Coote is justly famed as one of today’s leading interpreters of Mahler’s vocal music, and Sonja Tengblad’s silvery soprano voice, familiar to Boston audiences from her many performances with the Handel and Haydn Society, is a perfect match for the ecstatic music Mahler wrote at the end of the symphony.
MAHLER Symphony No. 2, Resurrection
BOSTON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA BENJAMIN ZANDER conductor SONJA TENGBLAD soprano ALICE COOTE mezzo-soprano
ONE NIGHT ONLY! FRIDAY, APRIL 14, 2017 / 8:00PM SYMPHONY HALL GUIDE TO THE MUSIC WITH BENJAMIN ZANDER, 6:45PM
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SIBELIUS/ PROKOFIEV SIBELIUS Finlandia
BOSTON PHILHARMONIC YOUTH ORCHESTRA
SIBELIUS Violin Concerto
BENJAMIN ZANDER conductor
PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 5
IN MO YANG violin
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2016 / 7:30PM SYMPHONY HALL
The long, and sometimes uneasy connection between Finland and Russia is highlighted in the first concert of the BPYO, as is the profound difference between the two composers. On the one hand we have the inspiring and liberating nationalism of Sibelius’s Finlandia, a piece that glories in the idea of Finnish liberation from Russian dominance and in the firm establishing of its own national identity. This is a true declaration of independence in all but name. On the other hand, we have the great Fifth Symphony of Prokofiev, a wily yet oddly profound work in which the composer fully embraces Soviet dictates about the nature and purpose of art while still, almost miraculously, maintaining the integrity of his own personal voice. At the center of this powerful program is the breathtaking Violin Concerto of Sibelius. And to play it we have one of today’s most breathtaking young stars. Korean violinist In Mo Yang recently won First Prize in the International Paganini Competition in Cremona, Italy, a competition so prestigious and so demanding that the First Prize hadn’t been awarded to anybody since 2006! Since then he has given many concerts in Europe and in the United States (including his Carnegie Hall debut), and has garnered overwhelming acclaim everywhere. Critics are unanimous in praising his subtle artistry, perfect technique, and powerful communication with the audience. He plays on a Stradivarius that is on loan to him, and is currently a student at New England Conservatory.
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“One of the new generation’s most talented young string virtuosi” THE VIOLIN CHANNEL
IN MO YANG
“...it was first and foremost the players’ palpable sense of excitement that lifted this concert and made it an event.” THE BOSTON GLOBE
BENJAMIN ZANDER AND THE BOSTON PHILHARMONIC YOUTH ORCHESTRA
CONCERTO COMPETITION WINNERS/ GANDOLFI/ STRAUSS Every couple of years the BPYO holds a competition for its players. An amazing number of young players from the orchestra come forward, auditioning with the hardest concertos written for their instruments, and the level of playing is phenomenal.
MICHAEL GANDOLFI World Premiere
One wonders how many professional orchestras in the USA can boast of so many virtuosos among their ranks! So the second concert of the BPYO season will present the winners of this competition in a variety of works for a variety of instruments.
STRAUSS Till Eulenspiegel
The distinguished composer Michael Gandolfi has been commissioned to write a new piece especially for the occasion, and the concert will conclude with Strauss’s familiar, ever-youthful Till Eulenspiegel.
CONCERTO COMPETITION WINNERS
BOSTON PHILHARMONIC YOUTH ORCHESTRA BENJAMIN ZANDER conductor
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2017 / 3:00PM SANDERS THEATRE
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MAHLER MAHLER Symphony No. 6
BOSTON PHILHARMONIC YOUTH ORCHESTRA BENJAMIN ZANDER conductor
SUNDAY, APRIL 23, 2017 / 3:00PM SYMPHONY HALL
If there were yearbooks for musical compositions it is likely that the Mahler Sixth would be voted “Symphony least likely to be performed by a youth orchestra.” The tragic weight of this work is devastating and inescapable. The difficulties of its performance—technical, interpretive, emotional, even logistical—are legendary, and for many decades were responsible for the work’s not being performed at all. And yet, in characteristic fashion, the BPYO is taking on this formidable challenge. It will test not only every aspect of the players’ musical maturity, but it will also call on every aspect of their personal maturity too. The Sixth Symphony is the most tragic and most disturbing of all Mahler’s works, and on the relatively rare occasions when one is privileged to hear it live it never fails to stun audiences and to move them at a level that few works of art are able to reach. Every year—and to everyone’s astonishment— the BPYO manages to raise the bar a little higher. This amazing work and this performance will be the new benchmark for what these extraordinary young players can achieve. Just four years ago who would have believed it?
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“It is my pleasure to report that the BPYO outing... satisfied me more fully than any other orchestral concert I have heard all season” BOSTON MUSICAL INTELLIGENCER
PHOTO: ANDY HURLBUT
THE BOSTON PHILHARMONIC YOUTH ORCHESTRA
SPECIAL PROGRAMS INTERPRETATIONS OF MUSIC: LESSONS FOR LIFE HELD THROUGHOUT THE SEASON, VISIT BOSTONPHIL.ORG FOR DATES Benjamin Zander’s world-renowned master classes on musical interpretation return to the Boston area. Young performers of exceptional ability will have the opportunity to work on the most inspiring aspects of music-making with conductor and master educator Benjamin Zander. All classes are held Saturday mornings for two hours at either the Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology in Boston’s South End or the Longy School of Music of Bard College in Cambridge. Attendance is FREE and open to the public. The interpretation master classes will consist of highly accomplished young musicians residing or studying in the Boston area, all of them performing at a professional level; Maestro Zander will guide them to more inspiring, communicative, and alive interpretations, engaging the entire audience at the same time. Benjamin Zander’s power to connect with listeners through his unequaled communication skills and experience as speaker across the world, coupled with his musical expertise, makes him a transformative musical coach who guides and inspires players of all instruments to a higher level of communication and performance. Maestro Zander has presented celebrated interpretation master classes at major musical institutions across the world, at the New England Conservatory over the course of 45 years, and at the Walnut Hill School for some 30 years. Many hundreds of the finest classical music performers on the world stage attribute their most significant understanding of musical interpretation to Maestro Zander’s inimitable coaching. What does a musician actually do to create a sense of human contact and uplift? Watching a piece of music be transformed from good to inspired gives the entire audience a key to the deepest elements of the musical art and a key to bring whatever they do in life to a higher level of effectiveness, contribution, and joy. These classes give everyone involved a window into how music can and might be performed, to most fully communicate, engage, stimulate, and inspire the audience.
DISCOVERY SERIES THURSDAY BPO PERFORMANCES, SANDERS THEATRE The perfect program for the novice concertgoer. Maestro Zander engages the audience with illuminating and entertaining commentary immediately before each piece on the program, joined by the orchestra to illustrate points with musical examples.
GUIDE TO THE MUSIC WITH BENJAMIN ZANDER 6:45PM FOR 8:00PM BPO PERFORMANCES, 1:45PM FOR 3:00PM BPO PERFORMANCES Maestro Zander pours his passion and energy into bringing music alive for the novice and experienced music lover alike during his acclaimed talks.
KIDS’ NOTES UPBEAT PRE-CONCERT TALKS 7:30PM FOR JORDAN HALL PERFORMANCES These 20-minute pre-concert talks help prepare young concertgoers for the musical program through interactive experiences, discovery activities, and hearing a live BPO orchestral musician.
“Music lovers have not had so enthusiastic a guide into the mysterious world of classical music since the glory days of Leonard Bernstein.” HIGH FIDELITY
BENJAMIN ZANDER LEADS AN INTERPRETATION CLASS
BE A PART OF THE 2016/2017 SEASON The best way to make sure you don’t miss out on any of the outstanding music is with a season subscription. Guarantee your place at all the performances you want by subscribing today! THE BEST SEATS Subscriber seats are assigned before single tickets go on sale. As a subscriber, you are always first in line to change your seating location or your seats. SIGNIFICANT SAVINGS Subscribers receive 10% savings over regular ticket prices on subscription packages and additional single ticket purchases. Subscribers also receive a 10% discount on all Boston Philharmonic merchandise. EXCHANGE PRIVILEGES Subscribers may exchange tickets within the same concert series, based on availability, with a waived exchange fee. Pay only the difference in ticket price.
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COVER PHOTO: KOREN REYES
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