week 13 debussy poulenc saint-saëns
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Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited www.takeda.com Table of Contents | Week 13
7 bso news 1 5 on display in symphony hall 16 bso music director andris nelsons 18 the boston symphony orchestra 2 2 this week’s program
Notes on the Program
24 The Program in Brief… 25 Claude Debussy 33 Francis Poulenc 41 Camille Saint-Saëns 51 To Read and Hear More…
Guest Artists
57 Alain Altinoglu 59 Thierry Escaich
64 sponsors and donors 80 future programs 82 symphony hall exit plan 8 3 symphony hall information
the friday preview on january 10 is given by composer/pianist jeremy gill.
program copyright ©2020 Boston Symphony Orchestra, Inc. program book design by Hecht Design, Arlington, MA cover photo by Winslow Townson cover design by BSO Marketing
BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Symphony Hall, 301 Massachusetts Avenue Boston, MA 02115-4511 (617) 266-1492 bso.org Abstraction on a Massive Scale Through February 23, 2020
Left: Jackson Pollock, Mural, 1943. Oil and casein on canvas. The University of Iowa Museum of Art, Gift of Peggy Guggenheim, 1959.6. © 2019 The Pollock-Krasner Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Right: Katharina Grosse, Untitled, 2019. Acrylic on fabric. © 2019 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn.
Media Sponsor andris nelsons, ray and maria stata music director bernard haitink, lacroix family fund conductor emeritus seiji ozawa, music director laureate thomas adès, deborah and philip edmundson artistic partner thomas wilkins, germeshausen youth and family concerts conductor 139th season, 2019–2020 trustees of the boston symphony orchestra, inc.
Susan W. Paine, Chair • Joshua A. Lutzker, Treasurer
William F. Achtmeyer • Noubar Afeyan • David Altshuler • Gregory E. Bulger • Ronald G. Casty • Susan Bredhoff Cohen • Richard F. Connolly, Jr. • Cynthia Curme • William Curry, M.D. • Alan J. Dworsky • Philip J. Edmundson • Thomas E. Faust, Jr. • Todd R. Golub • Michael Gordon • Nathan Hayward, III • Ricki Tigert Helfer • Brent L. Henry • Albert A. Holman, III • Barbara W. Hostetter • Stephen B. Kay • Edmund Kelly • Steve Kidder • Tom Kuo, ex-officio • Jeffrey Leiden • Joyce Linde • John M. Loder • Nancy K. Lubin • Carmine A. Martignetti • Robert J. Mayer, M.D. • Peter Palandjian • Pamela L. Peedin • Steven R. Perles • Lina S. Plantilla, M.D. • Arthur I. Segel • Wendy Shattuck • Nicole M. Stata • Theresa M. Stone • Caroline Taylor • Sarah Rainwater Ward, ex-officio • Dr. Christoph Westphal • D. Brooks Zug life trustees Vernon R. Alden • J.P. Barger • George D. Behrakis • Gabriella Beranek • Jan Brett • Peter A. Brooke • Paul Buttenwieser • John F. Cogan, Jr. • Diddy Cullinane • Mrs. Edith L. Dabney • Nelson J. Darling, Jr. • Deborah B. Davis • Nina L. Doggett • William R. Elfers • Nancy J. Fitzpatrick • Charles H. Jenkins, Jr. • George Krupp • Richard P. Morse • David Mugar • Robert P. O’Block • William J. Poorvu • Peter C. Read • John Reed • Edward I. Rudman • Roger T. Servison • Richard A. Smith • Ray Stata • John Hoyt Stookey • John L. Thorndike • Stephen R. Weber • Stephen R. Weiner • Dr. Nicholas T. Zervas other officers of the corporation Mark Volpe, Eunice and Julian Cohen President and Chief Executive Officer • Evelyn Barnes, Jane B. and Robert J. Mayer, M.D., Chief Financial Officer • Bart Reidy, Clerk of the Corporation advisors of the boston symphony orchestra, inc.
Tom Kuo, Co-Chair • Sarah Rainwater Ward, Co-Chair
Nathaniel Adams • James E. Aisner • Holly Ambler • Peter C. Andersen • Bob Atchinson • Lloyd Axelrod, M.D. • Liliana Bachrach • Judith W. Barr • Darcey Bartel • Ted Berk • Paul Berz • William N. Booth • Mark G. Borden • Partha Bose • Karen Bressler • Thomas M. Burger • Joanne M. Burke • Bonnie Burman, Ph.D. • Richard E. Cavanagh • Miceal Chamberlain • Yumin Choi • Michele Montrone Cogan • Roberta L. Cohn • RoAnn Costin • Sally Currier • Gene D. Dahmen • Lynn A. Dale • Anna L. Davol • Peter Dixon • Sarah E. Eustis • Beth Fentin • Peter Fiedler • Sanford Fisher • Adaline H. Frelinghuysen • Stephen T. Gannon • Marion Gardner-Saxe • Levi A. Garraway • Zoher Ghogawala, M.D. • Cora H. Ginsberg • Robert R. Glauber • Barbara Nan Grossman •
week 13 trustees and advisors 3
photos by Robert Torres and Winslow Townson
Alexander D. Healy • James M. Herzog, M.D. • Stuart Hirshfield • Lawrence S. Horn • Jill Hornor • Valerie Hyman • George Jacobstein • Stephen J. Jerome • Giselle J. Joffre • dra O. Moose • Kristin A. Mortimer • Cecile Higginson Murphy • John F. O’Leary • Jean Park • Donald R. Peck • Wendy Philbrick • Randy Pierce • Irving H. Plotkin • Andrew S. Plump • Jim Pollin • William F. Pounds • Esther A. Pryor • James M. Rabb, M.D. • Ronald Rettner • Robert L. Reynolds • Robin S. Richman, M.D. • Dr. Carmichael Roberts • Graham Robinson • Patricia Romeo-Gilbert • Michael Rosenblatt, M.D. • Marc Rubenstein • Sean C. Rush • Malcolm S. Salter • Dan Schrager • Donald L. Shapiro • Phillip A. Sharp, Ph.D. • Carol S. Smokler • Anne-Marie Soullière • Michael B. Sporn, M.D. • Margery Steinberg, Ph.D. • Katherine Chapman Stemberg • Jean Tempel • Douglas Dockery Thomas • Mark D. Thompson • Blair Trippe • Jacqueline Togut • Jillian Tung, M.D. • Sandra A. Urie • Antoine van Agtmael • Edward Wacks, Esq. • Linda S. Waintrup • Vita L. Weir • June K. Wu, M.D. • Patricia Plum Wylde • Gwill E. York • Marillyn Zacharis advisors emeriti Marjorie Arons-Barron • Diane M. Austin • Sandra Bakalar • Lucille M. Batal • Linda J.L. Becker • James L. Bildner • William T. Burgin • Hon. Levin H. Campbell • Carol Feinberg Cohen • Mrs. James C. Collias • Charles L. Cooney • Ranny Cooper • Joan P. Curhan • James C. Curvey • Tamara P. Davis • Mrs. Miguel de Bragança • Paul F. Deninger • JoAnne Walton Dickinson • Phyllis Dohanian • Alan Dynner • Ursula Ehret-Dichter • George Elvin • Pamela D. Everhart • Judy Moss Feingold • Steven S. Fischman • John F. Fish • Myrna H. Freedman • Mrs. James Garivaltis • Dr. Arthur Gelb • Robert P. Gittens • Jordan Golding • Michael Halperson • John Hamill • Deborah M. Hauser • Carol Henderson • Mrs. Richard D. Hill • Lola Jaffe • Everett L. Jassy • Darlene Luccio Jordan, Esq. • Paul L. Joskow • Martin S. Kaplan • Stephen R. Karp • Mrs. Gordon F. Kingsley • Robert I. Kleinberg • Robert K. Kraft • Peter E. Lacaillade • Benjamin H. Lacy • Mrs. William D. Larkin • Robert J. Lepofsky • Frederick H. Lovejoy, Jr. • Diane H. Lupean • Mrs. Harry L. Marks • Jay Marks • Joseph B. Martin, M.D. • Joseph C. McNay • Dr. Martin C. Mihm, Jr. • Robert Mnookin • Paul M. Montrone • Robert J. Morrissey • Joseph Patton • Ann M. Philbin • May H. Pierce • Claudio Pincus • Irene Pollin • Dr. John Thomas Potts, Jr. • Dr. Tina Young Poussaint • Claire Pryor • Robert E. Remis • John Ex Rodgers • Alan W. Rottenberg • Joseph D. Roxe • Kenan Sahin • Roger A. Saunders • Lynda Anne Schubert • L. Scott Singleton • Gilda Slifka • Christopher Smallhorn • Patricia L. Tambone • Samuel Thorne • Albert Togut • Diana Osgood Tottenham • Joseph M. Tucci • David C. Weinstein • James Westra • Mrs. Joan D. Wheeler • Margaret Williams-DeCelles • Richard Wurtman, M.D.
Membership as of January 1, 2020
week 13 trustees and advisors 5 HOW TOWNIES BECOME INTERNATIONA L-IES. Delta now offers the most international flights from Boston.
Based on 2019 departures from Boston, by Delta and its airline partners. Some offerings are seasonal. BSO News
An Adventuresome New CD on Naxos With Andris Nelsons and the BSO Newly released this past November, as part of the Naxos label’s “American Classics” series, is a CD featuring live, world-premiere performances by Andris Nelsons and the Boston Symphony Orchestra of four BSO-commissioned works: Timo Andres’s Everything Happens So Much (from November 2016); Eric Nathan’s the space of a door (also November 2016); George Tsontakis’s Shakespeare-inspired Sonnets, Tone Poems for English Horn and Orchestra, featuring BSO English horn player Robert Sheena, for whom it was written (February 2016); and Sean Shepherd’s Express Abstractionism (February 2018). In this music, Nathan takes us on a journey through a series of interconnected worlds, Tsontakis marks the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, Andres carries on “conversations” with composers of the past, and Shepherd takes inspiration from five giants of artistic modernism. This new CD is available at the Symphony Shop, or online via the Media Center at bso.org, for $17.95.
Boston Symphony Chamber Players at Jordan Hall at New England Conservatory Sunday Afternoon, January 19, at 3 p.m. The next concert of the Boston Symphony Chamber Players’ four-concert series at Jordan Hall takes place on Sunday, January 19, at 3 p.m. The varied program includes Schulhoff’s Concertino for flute, viola, and double bass; a selection for solo violin from György Kurtág’s Signs, Games, and Messages; Martin˚u’s Nonet for winds and strings; Reinecke’s Trio in A minor for oboe, horn, and piano, Op. 188; and Brahms’s Trio in A minor for clarinet, cello, and piano, Op. 114. David Deveau is the guest pianist for this concert. Single tickets at $38, $29, and $22 are available at the Symphony Hall box office, at bso.org, or by calling SymphonyCharge at (617) 266-1200. Please note that on the day of the concert, tickets can only be purchased at the Jordan Hall box office.
BSO Community Chamber Concerts The BSO is pleased to continue its free, hour-long Community Chamber Concerts featuring BSO musicians in communities throughout the greater Boston area on Sunday afternoons at 3 p.m. followed by a coffee-and-dessert reception for the audience and musicians. There
week 13 bso news 7 When it Comes to Dependability, One Stands Alone. a d Commonwealth Worldwide has been the premier choice of discerning clientele in Boston and beyond for more than 35 years. Discover why we are a seven-time Best of Boston® selection by Boston magazine.
Proud to be the Official Chauffeured Transportation Provider for the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Pops. CommonwealthLimo.com 800.558.5466 • 617.787.5575 are two Community Chamber Concerts this month, on Sunday, January 12 at Curtis Hall Community Center in Jamaica Plain, and on Sunday, January 19, at WBUR Cityspace in Brighton. The program on both these dates features BSO string players Alexander Velinzon, Julianne Lee, Cathy Basrak, Steven Laraia, and Adam Esbensen, and BSO percus- sionist Timothy Genis, in Beethoven’s String Quintet in C, Op. 29, and Michael Colgrass’s Variations for Four Drums and Viola. Admission is free, but reservations are required; please call (888) 266-1200. For further details about this and upcoming Community Chamber Concerts, please visit bso.org and go to “Education & Community” on the home page. The BSO’s 2019-20 Community Concerts are sponsored by Bank of America and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited.
BSO 101, the BSO’s Free Adult Education Series, Wednesday, January 15, 5:30-7pm “BSO 101: Are You Listening?” offers the opportunity to enhance your listening abilities, and increase your enjoyment of BSO performances, through discussion of repertoire to be played in upcoming concerts. This season’s third of four BSO 101 sessions—“Great Concertos,” focusing on music of Mozart, Beethoven, and Prokofiev, with BSO Director of Program Publications Marc Mandel joined by a member of the BSO—takes place in Higginson Hall on Wednesday, January 15, from 5:30-7 p.m. Since each session is self- contained, no prior musical training, or attendance at any previous session, is required. In addition, a free tour of Symphony Hall is offered immediately after each session. Though admission to the BSO 101 session is free, we request that you make a reservation to secure your place. Please call (617) 266-1200 or visit bso.org/bso101 (where further details are also available) under “Education & Community” on the BSO’s home page.
A Conversation with Andris Nelsons at Northeastern University’s Fenway Center, Wednesday, January 29, at 6 p.m. Join BSO Music Director Andris Nelsons and Artistic Director Anthony Fogg for a con- versation moderated by Harlow Robinson, Matthews Distinguished University Professor Emeritus, on Wednesday, January 29, at 6 p.m. at the Fenway Center, 77 St. Stephen Street. The conversation will focus on musical, historical, and political aspects relevant to the BSO’s ongoing recordings of Dmitri Shostakovich’s complete symphonies. Other topics will include Andris Nelsons’ interest in music of the Baltic region and his work with the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig. Admission is free; no tickets or reservations are required.
Friday Previews at Symphony Hall Friday Previews take place from 12:15-12:45 p.m. in Symphony Hall prior to all of the BSO’s Friday-afternoon subscription concerts throughout the season. Given by BSO Director of Program Publications Marc Mandel, Associate Director of Program Publications Robert Kirzinger, and occasional guest speakers, these informative half-hour talks incorporate recorded examples from the music to be performed. The speakers for January include author/composer Jan Swafford (January 3), composer/pianist Jeremy Gill (January 10 and 24), Robert Kirzinger with composer Chihchun Chi-sun Lee (January 17), and Elizabeth Seitz of Boston Conservatory at Berklee (January 31).
week 13 bso news 9 individual tickets are on sale for all concerts in the bso’s 2019-2020 season. for specific information on purchasing tickets by phone, online, by mail, or in person at the symphony hall box office, please see page 83 of this program book.
The Gregory E. Bulger Foundation performing arts center that bears his name Guest Artist, Saturday, at Boston College High School, his alma January 11, 2020 mater, where he serves as a trustee and was co-chair of the school’s 150th Anniversary The Gregory E. Bulger Foundation is very Committee, a milestone marked by a celebra- pleased to underwrite organist Thierry tory program at Symphony Hall on October Escaich’s performance on Saturday evening. 20, 2013. Mr. Bulger served as the board BSO Great Benefactor Gregory Bulger has treasurer of the Boston Conservatory prior to been a subscriber to the Boston Symphony its merger with Berklee College of Music and Orchestra for more than forty years and a now serves on its Leadership Council. Tanglewood patron since the late 1970s. Mr. Bulger currently serves as a Trustee The Bulger Foundation was founded in of the orchestra and as a member of 2002 to provide support to performing the Tanglewood Buildings and Grounds arts organizations in the greater Boston Committee, having previously served as an area. In previous years, the Foundation Overseer from 2005 to 2017. Mr. Bulger has underwritten twenty-six BSO and has also held leadership positions at other Tanglewood Music Center concerts, including Boston-based non-profit organizations, such the BSO’s world premiere of a concerto as Opera Boston and Project STEP. He was written by Boston-based composer Michael instrumental in the opening of the new Gandolfi for Symphony Hall’s remarkable,
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10 recently restored Aeolian-Skinner organ; to Friday-afternoon Boston Symphony con- the world premiere of Osvaldo Golijov’s certs, please call the Subscription Office at Ainadamar at Tanglewood; and concert (617) 266-7575. performances of Schoenberg’s Moses und Aron and the double bill of Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex and Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle. BSO Broadcasts on WCRB The Bulger Foundation has supported BSO concerts are heard on the radio at 99.5 the Tanglewood Forever Fund and the WCRB. Saturday-night concerts are broad- Tanglewood Music Center/Tanglewood cast live at 8 p.m. with host Ron Della Chiesa, Learning Institute Building Project; it is also and encore broadcasts are aired on Monday the major underwriter of the live broadcasts nights at 8 p.m. In addition, interviews with of the BSO from Tanglewood and Symphony guest conductors, soloists, and BSO musi- Hall produced by WCRB/WGBH and carried cians are available online at classicalwcrb. by many NPR stations throughout New org/bso. Current and upcoming broadcasts England and eastern New York. The include this week’s all-French program led Foundation is also the lead donor supporting by Alain Altinoglu featuring organist Thierry the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Escaich in music of Poulenc and Saint-Saëns Gewandhausorchester Leipzig Alliance, with (January 11; encore January 20); next week’s Mr. Bulger and his husband, Richard Dix, program led by BSO Assistant Conductor recently chairing the 2019 BSO Symphony Yu-An Chang featuring Till Fellner in Mozart’s Gala that celebrated the alliance. C major piano concerto, K.503, plus the world premiere of Chihchun Chi-sun Lee’s Mr. Bulger was formerly the chief executive BSO-commissioned Formosan Triptych and officer of HealthCare Value Management, Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 3, Polish (Jan- which he founded in 1990. HCVM is a uary 18; encore January 27), and BSO Music managed care organization that operates Director Andris Nelsons’ program the follow- the largest independent preferred provider ing week including Dvoˇrák’s New World organization in New England. Mr. Bulger Symphony plus music of Barber and Shosta- resides in Dover and Stockbridge, MA. kovich (January 25; encore February 3).
Friday-afternoon Bus Service Go Behind the Scenes: to Symphony Hall The Irving W. and Charlotte F. Rabb If you’re tired of fighting traffic and searching Symphony Hall Tours for a parking space when you come to Friday- afternoon Boston Symphony concerts, why The Irving W. and Charlotte F. Rabb Symphony not consider taking the bus from your com- Hall Tours, named in honor of the Rabbs’ munity directly to Symphony Hall? The devotion to Symphony Hall through a gift Boston Symphony Orchestra is pleased to from their children James and Melinda Rabb continue offering round-trip bus service on and Betty (Rabb) and Jack Schafer, provide Friday afternoons at cost from the following a rare opportunity to go behind the scenes communities: Beverly, Canton, Cape Cod, at Symphony Hall. In these free, guided Concord, Framingham, Holyoke, Milton, tours, experienced members of the Boston the South Shore, Swampscott, Wellesley, Symphony Association of Volunteers unfold Weston, and Worcester in Massachusetts; the history and traditions of the Boston Sym- Nashua, New Hampshire; and Rhode Island. phony Orchestra—its musicians, conductors, Taking advantage of your area’s bus service and supporters—as well as offer in-depth not only helps keep this convenient service information about the Hall itself. Tours are operating, but also provides opportunities offered on select weekdays at 4:30 p.m. and to spend time with your Symphony friends, some Saturdays at 5 p.m. during the BSO meet new people, and conserve energy. For season. Please visit bso.org/tours for more further information about bus transportation information and to register.
week 13 bso news 11 YOUR TICKET PROTECTS THE BLUE PLANET
Photo: Keith Ellenbogen
The Tudors 2019/20 Season
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12 Planned Gifts for the BSO: increased, there have also been continuing Orchestrate Your Legacy expressions of concern from concertgoers and musicians who find themselves dis- There are many creative ways that you can tracted not only by the illuminated screens support the BSO over the long-term. Planned on these devices, but also by the physical gifts such as bequest intentions (through movements that accompany their use. For your will, personal trust, IRA, or insurance this reason, and as a courtesy both to those policy), charitable trusts, and gift annuities on stage and those around you, we respect- can generate significant benefits for you fully request that all such electronic devices now while enabling you to make a larger gift be completely turned off and kept from view to the BSO than you may have otherwise while BSO performances are in progress. thought possible. In many cases, you could In addition, please also keep in mind that realize significant tax savings and secure an taking pictures of the orchestra—whether attractive income stream for yourself and/ photographs or videos—is prohibited during or a loved one, all while providing valuable concerts. Thank you very much for your future support for the performances and cooperation. programs you care about. When you establish and notify us of your On Camera With the BSO planned gift for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, you will become a member of The Boston Symphony Orchestra frequently the Walter Piston Society, joining a group records concerts or portions of concerts of the BSO’s most loyal supporters who for archival and promotional purposes via are helping to ensure the future of the our on-site video control room and robotic BSO’s extraordinary performances. The cameras located throughout Symphony Hall. Walter Piston Society is named for Pulitzer Please be aware that portions of this con- Prize-winning composer and noted musician cert may be filmed, and that your presence Walter Piston, who endowed the BSO’s acknowledges your consent to such photog- principal flute chair with a bequest. Members raphy, filming, and recording for possible use of the Piston Society are recognized in sev- in any and all media. Thank you, and enjoy eral of our publications and offered a variety the concert. of exclusive benefits, including invitations to events in Boston and at Tanglewood. Comings and Goings... If you would like more information about Please note that latecomers will be seated planned gift options and how to join the by the patron service staff during the first Walter Piston Society, please contact Jill Ng, convenient pause in the program. In addition, Director of Planned Giving and Senior Indi- please also note that patrons who leave the vidual Giving Officer, at (617) 638-9274 or auditorium during the performance will not [email protected]. We would be delighted to help be allowed to reenter until the next convenient you orchestrate your legacy with the BSO. pause in the program, so as not to disturb the performers or other audience members while Those Electronic Devices… the music is in progress. We thank you for your cooperation in this matter. As the presence of smartphones, tablets, and other electronic devices used for commu- nication, note-taking, and photography has
week 13 bso news 13 We are honored to support the Boston Symphony Orchestra
as Sponsor of Casual Fridays BSO Young Professionals BSO College Card and Youth and Family Concerts
H E R E . F O R O U R C O M M U N I T I E S . H E R E . F O R G O O D . on display in symphony hall This year’s BSO Archives exhibit on the orchestra and first-balcony levels of Symphony Hall encompasses a widely varied array of materials, some of it newly acquired, from the Archives’ permanent collection. highlights of this year’s exhibit include, on the orchestra level of symphony hall: • An exhibit case in the Brooke Corridor documenting the longtime relationship between the great Puerto Rican pianist Jesús María Sanromá and the BSO and Boston Pops from 1923 to 1968 • An exhibit case in the Brooke Corridor spotlighting guest violin soloists with the BSO in the first decades of the 20th century • An exhibit case in the Brooke Corridor providing an overview of the BSO’s principal cellists from 1881 to the present • Two exhibit cases in the Hatch Corridor focusing on outside events at Symphony Hall, including travelogues and community-oriented activities in the first balcony corridors: • An exhibit case, audience-right, highlighting the BSO’s recent acquisition of a 1936 plaster sculpture of legendary BSO conductor Serge Koussevitzky done from life by local artist Paul Vinal Winters • An exhibit case, also audience-right, displaying photographs and postcards depicting Symphony Hall and its environs as part of Boston’s changing cityscape • An exhibit case, audience-left, documenting how patrons secured their tickets in the early years of the BSO in the cabot-cahners room: • In conjunction with the BSO’s upcoming tour to the Far East, three exhibit cases focusing on the BSO’s initial Far East tours in 1960, 1978, and 1979 • A display of photos by George Humphrey, BSO violist from 1934 to 1977, from the 1960 Far East tour
TOP OF PAGE, LEFT TO RIGHT: Jesús María Sanromá and Arthur Fiedler, c.1930 (photographer unknown) Season ticket, made of brass, from the BSO’s inaugural subscription season, 1881-82 (Bridget Carr) Seiji Ozawa conducting at Beijing’s Capital Stadium, March 1979 (Story Lichfield)
week 13 on display 15 Marco Borggreve
Andris Nelsons
The 2019-20 season, Andris Nelsons’ sixth as the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Ray and Maria Stata Music Director, marks his fifth anniversary in that position. Named Musical America’s 2018 Artist of the Year, Mr. Nelsons leads fifteen of the BSO’s twenty- six weeks of concerts this season, ranging from repertoire favorites by Beethoven, Dvoˇrák, Gershwin, Grieg, Mozart, Mahler, Rachmaninoff, Ravel, and Tchaikovsky to world and American premieres of BSO-commissioned works from Eric Nathan, Betsy Jolas, Arturs Maskats, and HK Gruber. The season also brings the continuation of his complete Shosta- kovich symphony cycle with the orchestra, and collaborations with an impressive array of guest artists, including a concert performance of Tristan und Isolde, Act III—one of three BSO programs he will also conduct at Carnegie Hall—with Jonas Kaufmann and Emily Magee in the title roles. In addition, February 2020 brings a major tour to Asia in which Maestro Nelsons and the BSO give their first concerts together in Seoul, Taipei, Hong Kong, and Shanghai.
In February 2018, Andris Nelsons became Gewandhauskapellmeister of the Gewandhaus- orchester (GHO) Leipzig, in which capacity he also brings the BSO and GHO together for a unique multi-dimensional alliance including a BSO/GHO Musician Exchange program and an exchange component within each orchestra’s acclaimed academy for advanced music studies. A major highlight of the BSO/GHO Alliance is a focus on complementary program- ming, through which the BSO celebrates “Leipzig Week in Boston” and the GHO celebrates “Boston Week in Leipzig,” thereby highlighting each other’s musical traditions through uniquely programmed concerts, chamber music performances, archival exhibits, and lecture series. For this season’s “Leipzig Week in Boston,” under Maestro Nelsons’ leadership in October, the entire Gewandhausorchester Leipzig came to Symphony Hall for joint concerts with the BSO as well as two concerts of its own.
In summer 2015, following his first season as music director, Andris Nelsons’ contract with the BSO was extended through the 2021-22 season. In November 2017, he and the orchestra toured Japan together for the first time. They have so far made three European tours together: immediately following the 2018 Tanglewood season, when they played concerts in London, Hamburg, Berlin, Leipzig, Vienna, Lucerne, Paris, and Amsterdam; in May 2016, a tour that
16 took them to eight cities in Germany, Austria, and Luxembourg; and, after the 2015 Tanglewood season, a tour that took them to major European capitals and the Lucerne, Salzburg, and Grafenegg festivals.
The fifteenth music director in the history of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Andris Nelsons made his BSO debut at Carnegie Hall in March 2011, his Tanglewood debut in July 2012, and his BSO subscription series debut in January 2013. His recordings with the BSO, all made live in concert at Symphony Hall, include the complete Brahms symphonies on BSO Classics; Grammy-winning recordings on Deutsche Grammophon of Shostakovich’s symphonies 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, and 11 (The Year 1905) as part of a complete Shostakovich symphony cycle for that label; and a recent two-disc set pairing Shostakovich’s symphonies 6 and 7 (Leningrad). This November, a new release on Naxos features Andris Nelsons and the orchestra in the world premieres of BSO-commissioned works by Timo Andres, Eric Nathan, Sean Shepherd, and George Tsontakis. Under an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon, Andris Nelsons is also recording the complete Bruckner symphonies with the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig and the complete Beethoven symphonies with the Vienna Philharmonic.
During the 2019-20 season, Andris Nelsons continues his ongoing collaborations with the Vienna Philharmonic. Throughout his career, he has also established regular collaborations with the Berlin Philharmonic, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, and has been a regular guest at the Bayreuth Festival and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
Born in Riga in 1978 into a family of musicians, Andris Nelsons began his career as a trumpeter in the Latvian National Opera Orchestra before studying conducting. He was music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra from 2008 to 2015, principal conductor of the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie in Herford, Germany, from 2006 to 2009, and music director of Latvian National Opera from 2003 to 2007. Marco Borggreve
week 13 andris nelsons 17 Boston Symphony Orchestra 2019–2020
andris nelsons bernard haitink seiji ozawa thomas adès Ray and Maria Stata LaCroix Family Fund Music Director Laureate Deborah and Philip Edmundson Music Director Conductor Emeritus Artistic Partner endowed in perpetuity endowed in perpetuity thomas wilkins Germeshausen Youth and Family Concerts Conductor endowed in perpetuity
first violins Wendy Putnam* violas Alexandre Lecarme* Robert Bradford Newman chair, Nancy and Richard Lubin chair (position vacant) endowed in perpetuity Steven Ansell Concertmaster Principal Adam Esbensen* Charles Munch chair, Xin Ding* Charles S. Dana chair, Richard C. and Ellen E. Paine chair, endowed in perpetuity endowed in perpetuity Glen Cherry* endowed in perpetuity Oliver Aldort* Tamara Smirnova Lisa Ji Eun Kim* Cathy Basrak First Associate Concertmaster Assistant Principal Helen Horner McIntyre chair, Anne Stoneman chair, basses endowed in perpetuity second violins endowed in perpetuity Edwin Barker Alexander Velinzon Danny Kim Haldan Martinson Principal Associate Concertmaster Principal Lois and Harlan Anderson chair, Harold D. Hodgkinson chair, Robert L. Beal, Enid L., and Carl Schoenhof Family chair, endowed in perpetuity endowed in perpetuity Bruce A. Beal chair, endowed endowed in perpetuity Rebecca Gitter in perpetuity Lawrence Wolfe Julianne Lee Michael Zaretsky*§ Assistant Principal Elita Kang Assistant Principal Maria Nistazos Stata chair, Assistant Concertmaster Charlotte and Irving W. Rabb Rachel Fagerburg* endowed in perpetuity Edward and Bertha C. Rose chair, chair, endowed in perpetuity endowed in perpetuity Daniel Getz* Benjamin Levy Sheila Fiekowsky Leith Family chair, endowed Yuncong Zhang Shirley and J. Richard Fennell Rebekah Edewards* in perpetuity John and Dorothy Wilson chair, chair, endowed in perpetuity Leah Ferguson*° endowed in perpetuity Dennis Roy Nicole Monahan Kathryn Sievers* Lucia Lin David H. and Edith C. Howie Joseph Hearne Dorothy Q. and David B. Arnold, Jr., chair, endowed in perpetuity Mary Ferrillo* chair, endowed in perpetuity Todd Seeber* Ronan Lefkowitz Steven O. Laraia* Eleanor L. and Levin H. Campbell Ikuko Mizuno chair, endowed in perpetuity Ruth and Carl J. Shapiro chair, Vyacheslav Uritsky* cellos John Stovall* endowed in perpetuity Aza Raykhtsaum*§ Blaise Déjardin Thomas Van Dyck* Bo Youp Hwang Bonnie Bewick* Principal Mary B. Saltonstall chair, Carl Anderson* endowed in perpetuity James Cooke* Philip R. Allen chair, endowed in perpetuity Jennie Shames* Victor Romanul* flutes Catherine and Paul Buttenwieser Sato Knudsen Catherine French* chair Mischa Nieland chair, Elizabeth Rowe Jason Horowitz* endowed in perpetuity Principal Valeria Vilker Kuchment* Mihail Jojatu Walter Piston chair, endowed Kristin and Roger Servison chair Ala Jojatu* in perpetuity Sandra and David Bakalar chair Tatiana Dimitriades* Bracha Malkin* Martha Babcock Clint Foreman Donald C. and Ruth Brooks Brooks and Linda Zug chair Myra and Robert Kraft chair, Vernon and Marion Alden chair, Heath chair, endowed endowed in perpetuity in perpetuity endowed in perpetuity Owen Young* Elizabeth Ostling Si-Jing Huang* Associate Principal John F. Cogan, Jr., and Mary L. Ronald G. and Ronni J. Casty Marian Gray Lewis chair, Cornille chair, endowed chair endowed in perpetuity in perpetuity Mickey Katz* Stephen and Dorothy Weber chair, endowed in perpetuity
18 photos by Robert Torres and Winslow Townson
piccolo bassoons Michael Martin voice and chorus Ford H. Cooper chair, Cynthia Meyers Richard Svoboda endowed in perpetuity James Burton Evelyn and C. Charles Marran Principal BSO Choral Director and chair, endowed in perpetuity Edward A. Taft chair, Conductor of the Tanglewood endowed in perpetuity trombones Festival Chorus Toby Oft Alan J. and Suzanne W. Dworsky oboes Suzanne Nelsen chair, endowed in perpetuity John D. and Vera M. MacDonald Principal John Ferrillo chair J.P. and Mary B. Barger chair, Principal endowed in perpetuity librarians Mildred B. Remis chair, Richard Ranti endowed in perpetuity Associate Principal Stephen Lange D. Wilson Ochoa Diana Osgood Tottenham/ Principal Mark McEwen Hamilton Osgood chair, Lia and William Poorvu chair, James and Tina Collias chair bass trombone endowed in perpetuity endowed in perpetuity James Markey Keisuke Wakao Mark Fabulich Assistant Principal contrabassoon John Moors Cabot chair, Farla and Harvey Chet endowed in perpetuity Paul Greitzer Krentzman chair, endowed Gregg Henegar in perpetuity Helen Rand Thayer chair tuba assistant conductors english horn horns Mike Roylance Principal Yu-An Chang Robert Sheena James Sommerville Margaret and William C. Beranek chair, endowed Principal Rousseau chair, endowed Anna Rakitina in perpetuity Helen Sagoff Slosberg/ in perpetuity Edna S. Kalman chair, orchestra clarinets endowed in perpetuity timpani manager and Richard Sebring director of Timothy Genis William R. Hudgins Associate Principal Sylvia Shippen Wells chair, orchestra Principal Margaret Andersen Congleton endowed in perpetuity personnel Ann S.M. Banks chair, chair, endowed in perpetuity endowed in perpetuity Lynn G. Larsen Rachel Childers Michael Wayne John P. II and Nancy S. Eustis percussion chair, endowed in perpetuity J. William Hudgins assistant Thomas Martin personnel Associate Principal & Michael Winter Peter and Anne Brooke chair, endowed in perpetuity manager E-flat clarinet Elizabeth B. Storer chair, Stanton W. and Elisabeth K. endowed in perpetuity Daniel Bauch (position vacant) Davis chair, endowed Assistant Timpanist Patricia Romeo-Gilbert and in perpetuity Jason Snider Mr. and Mrs. Edward H. Linde Paul B. Gilbert chair Jean-Noël and Mona N. Tariot chair chair bass clarinet Kyle Brightwell stage manager Peter Andrew Lurie chair, (position vacant) trumpets John Demick endowed in perpetuity Thomas Rolfs Matthew McKay Principal Roger Louis Voisin chair, endowed in perpetuity harp Benjamin Wright Jessica Zhou Thomas Siders Principal Nicholas and Thalia Zervas Associate Principal * participating in a system chair, endowed in perpetuity Kathryn H. and Edward M. of rotated seating by Sophia and Bernard Gordon Lupean chair §on sabbatical leave ˚ on leave
week 13 boston symphony orchestra 19
andris nelsons, ray and maria stata music director bernard haitink, lacroix family fund conductor emeritus seiji ozawa, music director laureate thomas adès, deborah and philip edmundson artistic partner Boston Symphony Orchestra 139th season, 2019–2020
Thursday, January 9, 8pm Friday, January 10, 1:30pm Saturday, January 11, 8pm Tuesday, January 14, 8pm | the hal langell concert
alain altinoglu conducting
debussy suite from “pelléas et mélisande,” arranged by alain altinoglu
poulenc concerto for organ, string orchestra, and timpani (in one movement) thierry escaich, organ kyle brightwell, timpani
{intermission}
Marco Borggreve
22 saint-saëns symphony no. 3 in c minor, opus 78, “organ symphony” Adagio—Allegro moderato—Poco adagio Allegro moderato—Presto—Maestoso—Allegro thierry escaich
saturday evening’s performance by thierry escaich is supported by a generous gift from the gregory e. bulger foundation. saturday evening’s performance of saint-saëns’s symphony no. 3 is supported by a gift from sean rush and carol c. mcmullen.
bank of america and takeda pharmaceutical company limited are proud to sponsor the bso’s 2019-20 season. friday-afternoon concert series sponsored by the brooke family
The evening concerts will end about 10, the afternoon concert about 3:30. First associate concertmaster Tamara Smirnova performs on a 1754 J.B. Guadagnini violin, the “ex-Zazofsky,” and James Cooke performs on a 1778 Nicolò Gagliano violin, both generously donated to the orchestra by Michael L. Nieland, M.D., in loving memory of Mischa Nieland, a member of the cello section from 1943 to 1988. Steinway & Sons Pianos, selected exclusively for Symphony Hall. The BSO’s Steinway & Sons pianos were purchased through a generous gift from Gabriella and Leo Beranek. The program books for the Friday series are given in loving memory of Mrs. Hugh Bancroft by her daughters, the late Mrs. A. Werk Cook and the late Mrs. William C. Cox. Special thanks to Fairmont Copley Plaza, Delta Air Lines, and Commonwealth Worldwide Executive Transportation. Broadcasts of the Boston Symphony Orchestra are heard on 99.5 WCRB. In consideration of the performers and those around you, please turn off all electronic equipment during the performance, including tablets, cellular phones, pagers, watch alarms, messaging devices of any kind, anything that emits an audible signal, and anything that glows. Thank you for your cooperation. Please note that the use of audio or video recording devices, or taking pictures of the artists—whether photographs or videos—is prohibited during concerts.
week 13 program 23 The Program in Brief...
French conductor Alain Altinoglu’s all-French program begins with the conductor’s own arrangement of orchestral music from Claude Debussy’s 1902 opera Pelléas et Mélisande. Based on the symbolist writer Maurice Maeterlinck’s play, the opera focuses on the relationship between Mélisande, a mysterious young woman with an unknown past, and two brothers—the domineering Golaud, who takes her as his wife, and the gentle dreamer Pelléas, whom she loves and who loves her. The elusive, fable-like atmosphere of the play is translated by Debussy into characteristically innovative harmonic language and colorful orchestration, which are well represented in the orchestral interludes that make up this twenty-minute suite.
The other two works on the program feature the Symphony Hall organ and the BSO debut of French organist Thierry Escaich. Francis Poulenc’s Concerto for Organ, String Orchestra, and Timpani is one of only a few concertos for the instrument with a consis- tent place in the symphonic repertoire. Poulenc first earned a reputation as a brilliant pianist and witty composer aligned with the loose Paris-based collective known as “Les Six.” By the end of the 1920s he had established the neoclassical style that marked his mature work, known for its charm, melody, beauty, and scintillating energy. Poulenc’s Organ Concerto, completed in 1938, was premiered by the well-known composer and organist Maurice Duruflé (whose Requiem will be performed by the BSO and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus next month). The concerto is laid out in several continuous, clearly defined sections alternating slow with fast, with the slow introduction returning at the end as a coda.
As a child in the 1840s, the French composer Camille Saint-Saëns was considered an incredible musical prodigy rivaling Mozart. Unlike Mozart, Saint-Saëns lived to a ripe old age, continuing to compose even as the Romantic era of Brahms and Wagner gave way to the modern one of Debussy and Stravinsky. He was a phenomenal pianist and extraordinarily prolific composer, as well as (one reads about these kinds of people) an accomplished amateur naturalist and the author of several books on various subjects. Saint-Saëns wrote his Symphony No. 3—his last work in the genre—on commission from London’s Philharmonic Society and conducted its premiere in May 1886. The symphony is unusual in form, being ostensibly in two movements, but with each having several contrasting sections. The presence of the organ, which thrillingly heralds the famous Maestoso section in the second movement, lends this fantasia-like piece an extraordinary new color, surprising in a symphony of any era.
Robert Kirzinger
24 Claude Debussy Suite from “Pelléas et Mélisande,” arranged by Alain Altinoglu
ACHILLE-CLAUDE DEBUSSY was born at St. Germain-en-Laye, outside of Paris, France, on August 22, 1862, and died in Paris on March 25, 1918. He composed his opera “Pelléas et Mélisande” between 1893 and 1895, orchestrating the work in 1901 and 1902; the premiere took place on April 30, 1902, at the Opéra-Comique in Paris, with André Messager conducting. The first American production of “Pelléas et Mélisande” was presented by Oscar Hammerstein at the Manhattan Opera House on February 19, 1908, with Cleofonte Campanini conducting. The present suite, arranged by Alain Altinoglu, was first performed on September 21, 2017, in Berlin, with Altinoglu conducting the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.
THE SCORING OF THE PRESENT SUITE calls for an orchestra of three flutes (third doubling piccolo), two oboes, English horn, two clarinets, three bassoons, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, cymbals, bells, glockenspiel, triangle, two harps, and strings. The duration of the suite is about twenty-one minutes.
Orchestral suites cannot easily be extracted from most operas because the best-known portions of operas are usually arias and ensembles, which make little sense without the voice or voices to articulate the words. Some operas (especially light operas such as Die Fledermaus) have overtures that are, in some sense, suites extracted from the opera itself. Wagner’s revolution in giving the orchestra the lion’s share of the melody made the loss of the vocal line less damaging, a point evidenced by the very successful suite from Richard Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier.
Debussy could not have composed his only opera Pelléas et Mélisande without the precedent of Wagner’s operas, for although it was an unmistakably original opera in many ways, it also drew from Wagner the idea of continuous music without breaks for applause, it adopted a new style of harmony (especially borrowed from Parsifal), and it apportioned the weight of musical interest to the orchestra, leaving Debussy’s vocal lines—which were reduced to something closer to speech or recitative—even less melodic than Wagner’s.
week 13 program notes 25 Program page for the first Boston Symphony performances of music from Debussy’s “Pelléas et Mélisande,” a suite of instrumental excerpts conducted by Pierre Monteux in January 1957 (BSO Archives)
26 In constructing a suite out of Pelléas et Mélisande, therefore, Alain Altinoglu could, in theory, have included some of the scenes where the characters interact, simply omitting the voice parts. In fact, he barely needed to do that since the opera contains a series of interludes whereby the orchestra, always in pursuit of continuity, links one scene to the next. During preparations for the first performance in 1902 in Paris, it was found that at certain points there was too little time to change the sets, so Debussy obliged by composing passages of orchestral music to cover the changes. Although some perform- ances today omit the interludes and revert to the original sequence (elaborate sets being no longer fashionable in opera staging), they lose some of the best music in the whole opera. To assemble the interludes into a suite is to draw on music that very succinctly captures the essence of this strange and remarkable drama.
Based on Maeterlinck’s symbol-laden play and full of mysterious utterances shared by the inhabitants of a castle in legendary times, Pelléas et Mélisande has at its center the frail, vulnerable character of Mélisande. We never learn who she is or where she comes from, and in the opening scene she is lost in the forest. She is found by Prince Golaud, who overcomes her fearfulness and makes her his wife. Once installed in the castle, she finds herself often alone with Golaud’s half-brother Pelléas and a mysterious bond develops between them. Sitting with Pelléas by a spring in the forest one day, she lets her wedding ring fall in the water. On noticing that her ring is gone, Golaud becomes suspicious, then jealous, then abusive, while Mélisande herself seems to be innocently unaware of why his behavior has changed. Pelléas, fully aware of the danger of the situ- ation, resolves to leave, but at his final rendezvous with Mélisande, at which both finally admit their love for each other, they are waylaid by Golaud, who kills Pelléas with his sword. At the end of the opera she too dies, leaving a baby daughter, and a husband and grandfather distraught with grief.
The brothers’ grandfather Arkel, who is blind, observes these events and sees—or thinks he sees—how things will turn out. His radiant hopes for a new era are cruelly betrayed
week 13 program notes 27
French baritone Jean Périer (1869-1954), the first Pelléas, and Scottish soprano Mary Garden (1874-1967), the first Mélisande
by events, making his personal tragedy at least as great as that of the others. His seeing is illusory after all: he is as blind as everyone else.
The music reveals debts to many other sources besides Wagner. Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov, for example, showed how to write speech-song of great dramatic intensity, and while Debussy rejected the hollow spectacle of French grand opera, he had much in common with French composers of the previous generation, namely Gounod, Lalo, Massenet, and Fauré. Debussy had begun to outgrow these influences by the time Pelléas et Mélisande was composed, and some experimental sounds, perhaps derived from Satie, began to be heard.
The suite opens, like the opera, with an evocation of the castle, dimly outlined against the dark forest. We are introduced to the motives attached to Golaud (Mélisande’s husband)—two rich chords in an alternating pattern—and to Mélisande (oboe solo), and then slip seamlessly into the interlude that follows the first scene, allowing the forest décor to be replaced by the interior of the castle. Watery triplets gradually give way to a more rhythmic pulse and a melody on two trumpets at the climax.
The interlude following scene ii, beginning with a violin solo, is particularly rich in Parsifal- like writing as the scene moves to the outside of the castle. The next interlude (now from Act II) displays the tension generated by Mélisande’s first encounter with Pelléas (occasional drum rolls), and the next passage prepares us for the gloomy scene in a cave when Pelléas and Mélisande pretend to search for her lost ring. An even gloomier scene takes place in the castle vaults, from which Pelléas and Golaud emerge into daylight with flutes and harps in full spate. Here follows a scene where voices would normally be singing, but the orchestral accompaniment (with the glockenspiel) is com- plete and fully expressive in itself, descriptive of the garden in the sun.
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30 This suite is truly a distillation of the drama of the opera, not just a medley of “tunes from the show.” The final section is focused on the tragedy, drawing down to the last scene where grandfather Arkel mourns the fatal workings of a blind destiny on all of them. There is no music more deeply infused with tragedy than this.
Pelléas et Mélisande was Debussy’s only completed opera. Perhaps with hindsight one might conclude that he created a new type of opera and solved its problems so com- pletely that no second opera could be imagined. Much the same is said of Beethoven’s Fidelio from time to time. It was not the success of Pelléas et Mélisande that foreclosed any later operatic project, but a deep-seated hesitation that aborted all kinds of plans in Debussy’s later years, not only operatic ones. Style and form, of which he had such confident command in the 1890s, became profoundly problematic in his final years, when, to make matters worse, his health was in gradual decline.
But Debussy was involved with the theater all his life and never gave up the thought of a follow-up. The nearest he reached was his idea for an opera on Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher, a darkly mysterious story he had looked at as early as 1890 and then returned to in his last years, never finishing more than a series of sketches. Poe’s The Devil in the Belfry was planned as a companion piece. Debussy’s “Poe double bill” is one of the more tantalizing might-have-beens of music history.
Hugh Macdonald hugh macdonald, general editor of the New Berlioz Edition, was for many years Avis Blewett Professor of Music at Washington University in St. Louis. A frequent guest annotator for the BSO, he has written extensively on music from Mozart to Shostakovich, including biographies of Berlioz, Bizet, and Scriabin, and a recently completed book on the operas of Saint-Saëns.
THE BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA has performed suites arranged from the instrumental portions of Debussy’s “Pelléas et Mélisande” on three previous occasions: under Pierre Monteux in January 1957, and under Erich Leinsdorf in October 1962 and January 1992. In February 1999, Seiji Ozawa led a “‘Pelléas et Mélisande’ Symphony, realized by Marius Constant”; this incorporated two dramatically significant scenes from acts IV and V of the opera (omitting the voice parts), as well as purely instrumental portions of Debussy’s score. In April 1992, Bernard Haitink led the Act IV Interlude and Act V Prelude and Close in memory of Olivier Messiaen. In October 2003 at Symphony Hall and then at Carnegie Hall in New York, Haitink led the BSO in concert performances of the complete opera with Simon Keenlyside as Pelléas, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson as Mélisande, Gerald Finley as Golaud, Nathalie Stutzmann as Geneviève (the mother of Pelléas and Golaud), and John Tomlinson as Arkel.
week 13 program notes 31
Francis Poulenc Concerto in G minor for Organ, String Orchestra, and Timpani
FRANCIS POULENC was born in Paris on January 7, 1899, and died in Paris on January 30, 1963. He composed his organ concerto between 1934 and 1938; the first performance, a private one, took place in the Paris salon of the Princesse Edmond de Polignac on December 16, 1938, with Maurice Duruflé, organ, and Nadia Boulanger conducting. The public premiere took place on June 21, 1939, in the Salle Gaveau, Paris, with Duruflé, and Roger Désormière conducting.
POULENC’S ORGAN CONCERTO IS SCORED for solo organ with strings and timpani.
Poulenc was in the habit of noting dates at the end of his published scores, and on the last page of the score of his Concerto for Organ, String Orchestra, and Timpani we read: “Noizay, April 1938—Anost, August 1938,” suggesting that this work occupied him for only four months in his thirty-eighth year. In fact its gestation was long and difficult, and the composer admitted that it was one of the hardest pieces he ever had to write. This was no doubt because he had never written for the organ before, and although there were a few pieces for organ and strings in circulation (Handel’s concertos, for example), the addition of timpani to the mix creates a completely new ambience for which there was no precedent whatever. In addition, Poulenc had decided to avoid the traditional three-movement or three-part concerto form and develop a looser structure related to the 18th-century Fantaisie, a form without standard guidelines of any sort.
Two remarkable women, both of whom contributed immensely to French music between the wars, were at the heart of the concerto’s origin. The first was the Princesse Edmond de Polignac, born Winnaretta Singer, heiress to the sewing-machine fortune. Born in America and brought up in England, she made Paris her home, and by marrying the Prince de Polignac (a modest composer) she supplied her husband with a fortune and herself with a title. After her husband’s death in 1901, the Princess replaced their fash- ionable residence in the XVIe Arrondissement with an enormous Greek-revival mansion containing a sizeable concert room in which she had an organ installed by the celebrated
week 13 program notes 33 Program page for the first Boston Symphony performances of Poulenc’s Concerto for Organ, String Orchestra, and Timpani on October 29 and 30, 1948, with Richard Burgin conducting and organist E. Power Biggs (BSO Archives)
34 builders Cavaillé-Coll. She established a pattern of commissioning works by young composers for performance at her home; the long list of composers who benefited from her largesse includes Satie, Stravinsky, Milhaud, Falla, Tailleferre, Sauguet, Françaix, Poulenc, and Weill. At its height, between the wars, the Princess’s salon was where the most important new French music of any kind was to be heard.
The other godmother to the Poulenc concerto was Nadia Boulanger, who pioneered the revival of early music, taught several generations of young composers, and forced the acceptance of women as conductors upon a resistant world. She became a close friend of the Prin cess and in 1933 started conducting concerts in the salon. The following year the Princess suggested to Nadia that the very young Jean Françaix might write an organ concerto simple enough for her, Winnaretta, to play. Françaix, who had a film score to write, suggested that Poulenc be asked instead (or as well), but the latter, although he accepted the commission, found it exceedingly difficult to do. He had already com- posed a concerto (for two pianos) for the Princess in 1932, which he had played with Jacques Février at the Venice Biennale, where she took obvious pride in her patronage. In the case of the new concerto, three years passed in which Nadia was trying to bring it to the center of Poulenc’s attention, but early in 1938 it was still not ready. His Litanies à la vierge noire, a film score, the Mass in G, and a series of fine songs all somehow got in the way. By the time Poulenc completed the work, making a special effort in the summer of 1938, it was no longer intended for the Princess as its solo performer. When
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week 13 program notes 35 GET LOST.
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Nadia Boulanger, who conducted the premiere of Poulenc’s Concerto for Organ, String Orchestra, and Timpani
it was finally heard in the Hôtel Singer-Polignac in December 1938, it was Maurice Duruflé who played the solo part with Nadia Boulanger conducting, and it was again Duruflé who gave the first public performance in Paris six months later, this time under the baton of Roger Désormière (who in Poulenc’s opinion lacked Nadia’s warmth and lyricism). The score acknowledges Duruflé’s help with the registration of the solo part and is dedicated to the Princess.
The long gestation of the concerto may be in part attributed to the shift in Poulenc’s world-view that occurred at that time. His early music earned him prodigious success just following the end of World War I, and of all the members of Les Six he was the one who most clearly personified the spirit of clowning and frivolity for which they became quickly notorious. His music did not exactly lack seriousness, but its wit, its tunefulness, and its sprightly rhythms seemed to cast him as the ideal composer for Le Jazz-Age. Through his exploration of modern poetry and his reattachment to the Catholic church, a new strain of religious devotion and of poetic depth can be heard. He was aware that the Organ Concerto would probably be performed in churches, and its devotional tone belongs there. It was in keeping with his quest for a deeper spiritual language that he created for himself the obstacles of instrumentation and form that called for a special creative effort to overcome. The clown’s grin is nowhere to be seen.
Bach’s organ fantasias provide the closest model on which Poulenc might have drawn. Bach-like phrases are heard at intervals throughout; Stravinsky’s spiky style is also to be heard (Bach and Stravinsky were Nadia Boulanger’s twin gods). Poulenc’s harmonic palette ranges from forthright common chords (major and minor, offered without shame or embarrassment) to dense coagulations of notes that sound harsh on the organ yet sweetened by the strings. The organ, of course, can tinkle or roar; it can hold a melody over string accompaniment or itself provide a chordal background for the other instru- ments. In the context of 20th-century French organ music, especially that of Messiaen,
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Visit our Sales Gallery: 460 Harrison Ave. Boston, MA 02118 the solo writing does not approach the virtuosity that the instrument can accommodate, but remains more narrowly within the Bach orbit.
If Poulenc was thinking of a normal orchestra, just omitting wind instruments on the grounds that the organ is itself a battery of wind instruments, then the timpani would be a normal remnant. But the timpani adds such a striking tinta to the ensemble that a normal orchestra never even comes to mind. Poulenc writes for the timpani as a fully chromatic instrument with a range of half an octave, leaving the re-tunings and the choice of drums to the player. But like the organ part its purpose is not virtuoso display.
The piece is perhaps best understood as an Introduction and five principal sections, respectively fast-slow-fast-slow-fast, with many suggestions of themes and figures borrowed from one section to another. The Introduction offers an imperious statement in a solid G minor from the organ with a mild-mannered response. The strings suggest a lamentation, and the music remains tentative until a decisive Allegro sets up a bright forward motion, the first main section. This reaches a brilliant G major ending and gives way to another Andante, perhaps to be seen as a slow movement in which the music flows modestly along, mostly subdued. This too rises to a brilliant ending, this time with huge A minor and A major chords on the organ. The third episode is speedy and agitated, and the fourth is calm. The fifth is a reworking of the first Allegro, followed by the return of the opening bars. The rest is a sublimely peaceful coda in which a solo viola and then a solo cello join the organ’s chords against a gently rocking figure in the rest of the strings and a long held G from the organ pedalboard.
Hugh Macdonald
THE FIRST AMERICAN PERFORMANCE of Poulenc’s Concerto for Organ, String Orchestra, and Timpani was given by the Boston Pops at Symphony Hall on May 25, 1941. Arthur Fiedler conducted and E. Power Biggs was the organ soloist.
THE FIRST BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA PERFORMANCES of Poulenc’s concerto were given on October 29 and 30, 1948, with Richard Burgin conducting and E. Power Biggs as soloist, an additional performance being given that November 21. The only BSO performances since then featured Biggs with Charles Munch conducting in November 1949 (a benefit for the Albert Schweitzer Hospital); Berj Zamkochian with Munch conducting in November 1960 (at which time the work was recorded for RCA); Simon Preston (with Seiji Ozawa in November/December 1991, in a program marking the centennial of Charles Munch’s birth, those performances being recorded by Deutsche Grammophon); Preston again (the most recent subscription performances, with Robert Spano in October 2007), and Cameron Carpenter (the most recent Tanglewood performance, with Stéphane Denève on July 10, 2015).
week 13 program notes 39 BUILDING SPACES THAT CREATE HARMONY
Proud supporter of the BSO and builders of Tanglewood’s new Linde Center for Music and Learning. Camille Saint-Saëns Symphony No. 3 in C minor, Opus 78 (“Organ Symphony”)
CAMILLE SAINT-SAËNS was born in Paris, France, on October 9, 1835, and died in Algiers on December 16, 1921. He composed his Symphony No. 3 in Paris and in Germany early in 1886, conducting the first performance on May 19, 1886, in St. James’s Hall, London, in a concert of the Royal Philharmonic Society. He led the first Paris performance on January 9, 1887, at a concert of the Société des Concerts.
SAINT-SAËNS’S SYMPHONY NO. 3 is scored for three flutes (third doubling piccolo), two oboes and English horn, two clarinets and bass clarinet, two bassoons and contrabassoon, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, triangle, cymbals, bass drum, organ, piano four-hands, and strings. The pianists at these performances are Vytas Baksys and Deborah DeWolf Emery.
Although widely known as Saint-Saëns’s Organ Symphony, and although the composer sometimes played the organ part himself, he did not in the least intend the work to be an organ concerto. The organ is in any case silent during the greater part of the work; it is merely a bold addition to what in 1886 would have been regarded as a large sym- phony orchestra, like the occasional appearance of the piano in the second movement, adding an extra—and always startling—color to the orchestral palette.
Equally bold is Saint-Saëns’s division of the symphony into two movements rather than the traditional four, even though the outlines of slow movement and scherzo are easily recognized in their proper place. This unusual layout is shared with the composer’s Fourth Piano Concerto, which he composed shortly before, and he was sufficiently taken with the plan to adopt it on a grand symphonic scale too. The early critics were puzzled by this, and also by the unusual orchestration. Yet no one today regards the symphony as a particularly puzzling work; indeed it is (or at least has been) one of the most fre- quently recorded and performed of all symphonies.
In the age of Haydn and Beethoven there were relatively few French symphonies com- posed; in the following period Berlioz’s symphonies are sui generis, beyond imitation or
week 13 program notes 41 Program page for the first Boston Symphony performances of Saint-Saëns’s “Organ Symphony” on February 15 and 16, 1901, with Wilhelm Gericke conducting (BSO Archives)
42 the notion of a “school.” But in the 1850s the younger French composers—Gounod, Saint-Saëns, Bizet—all wrote symphonies of striking freshness, and after 1870, when the political humiliation of Prussian victory spurred the French to take up arms in a new cultural conflict, the French strove magnificently to build a strong non-operatic reper- toire, ironically by looking to German models, above all Beethoven, for inspiration. One composer after another set his hand to the task of writing symphonies: Bizet in 1871, Messager in 1877, Debussy in 1880, Fauré in 1884, Lalo in 1885, d’Indy in 1886, Franck in 1887. Saint-Saëns was the most energetic of all the French composers calling for cultural renewal, so it was not surprising that he should compose a symphony in 1886 as part of this national effort. He had been writing prodigious quantities of music in every genre for the previous thirty years, and although he had already written five symphonies,
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44 Saint-Saëns in the Church of St. Sulpice, Paris
the last one dated back to 1859. Only two of those five were acknowledged, which gives the present symphony its number “3.”
It was commissioned by Francesco Berger, secretary of the Royal Philharmonic Society, when Saint-Saëns was on a visit to London toward the end of 1885. He then went on tour in Germany and faced a fifteen-gun broadside of hostility everywhere he went because of his views on Wagner. Those views seem eminently reasonable today, but at the time, with Wagner recently dead and Germany in the grip of pan-Germanic fever combined with Wagnermania, Saint-Saëns represented an unacceptable heresy— thinking that Wagner’s music was good up to a certain point, but was not a good model for younger composers: it diminished the great tradition of German music from Bach to Mendelssohn. For Saint-Saëns the supreme model was always Mozart. These views had appeared in a recent book, Harmonie et mélodie, mercilessly attacked in the German press to the point where many cities refused to welcome him.
Saint-Saëns himself took a light view of the situation, expressing his undying faith in the natural musicality of the Germans, and composing, of all things, the frivolous spoof, the Carnival of the Animals, today one of his best-known works. The symphony also took shape on this tour, with its unmistakable homage to the giants of the German symphony, Beethoven and Schubert. On his return to Paris he played it through to Liszt, who had done more than anyone to further Saint-Saëns’s career in its early stages and had mounted Samson et Dalila in Weimar when no one in Paris would consider it. Liszt, alas, was very weak and had only a few months to live, so that the symphony’s dedication, when it was published, was not “à Franz Liszt,” as Saint-Saëns had intended, but “à la mémoire de Franz Liszt.”
The first performance took place in London that May (1886). In the first half of the concert Saint-Saëns played Beethoven’s Fourth Concerto with Arthur Sullivan conducting. When
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The Adagio introduction could be from a tone poem by Liszt, with its broken phrases and plaintive sighs from oboe, English horn, and bassoon. But the Allegro arrives imme- diately, strongly suggestive of Schubert’s Unfinished and giving gradual shape to the broken woodwind phrases. The strings’ restless accompanying figure, (a), is in fact an important theme that will recur in many guises:
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
The second of these acts as a subsidiary theme in a sonata process that is shorter than usual since the slow “movement” has been folded into the first movement. The organ is heard for the first time, laying down soft chords in D-flat major as background to a rich cantabile theme in the strings. The second statement of this theme calls on the unlikely grouping of clarinet, two horns, and two trombones spread across three octaves. The
week 13 program notes 47 48 double basses, pizzicato, throw in a memory of (b) before a reprise of the main tune and a warm, serene close.
The second movement begins with a scherzo, now back in C minor, and still dark in color. Example (c) soon appears as a subsidiary idea. The equivalent of a Trio section is a brilliant Presto in the major key to which the piano contributes an extraordinary series of both-hand scales, as if Saint-Saëns were still thinking of the scale-plagued pianists in his Carnival of the Animals. This eventually gives way to the finale proper (Maestoso), heralded by a huge C major chord on the organ and a new version of the main theme now taking on the character of a chorale, (d). The pianist is joined by a partner, the duet tinkling in the upper register with a sonority Saint-Saëns learned from Berlioz’s Lélio. He had written the piano reduction of this work when he was nineteen and absorbed several ideas from it.
The splendid close leaves the impression of a grandiose and triumphant symphony, although many of the earlier pages suggest a more questioning and searching character. Saint-Saëns knew that most of his numberless compositions had little future to look forward to, but this was a work he had put his heart into, and which he deeply loved. “I have given it all that I had to give. What I have done I shall never do again.”
Hugh Macdonald
THE FIRST AMERICAN PERFORMANCE of Saint-Saëns’s Symphony No. 3 was led by Theodore Thomas on February 19, 1887, about five weeks after the Paris premiere, at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York.
THE FIRST BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA PERFORMANCES of Saint-Saëns’s Symphony No. 3 (which were also the first in Boston) were led by Wilhelm Gericke on February 15 and 16, 1901 (with a further performance that February 23 in New York), subsequent BSO performances being given by Karl Muck, Henri Rabaud, Pierre Monteux, Serge Koussevitzky (including two 1938 perform- ances with Nadia Boulanger as organist), Richard Burgin, Charles Munch (on numerous occasions between 1946 and 1966 with E. Power Biggs and Berj Zamkochian, also recording it famously with the BSO and Zamkochian for RCA in April 1959), Seiji Ozawa (in October/November 1975 with Anthony Newman, in Boston, New York, and Washington, D.C.), Leonard Slatkin (at Tanglewood in July 1985 with John Finney), Pascal Verrot (at Tanglewood on July 20, 1990, with James David Christie), Ozawa again (in February 1995, also with James David Christie), James Levine (Opening Night and the first subscription program in September/October 2005, with Simon Preston), Charles Dutoit (in February 2008, again with James David Christie), Christoph Eschenbach (March 2013 with Olivier Latry), and Stéphane Denève (the most recent Tanglewood performance, on July 10, 2015, with Cameron Carpenter, and the most recent subscription performances, in March 2016, also with Cameron Carpenter).
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Edward Lockspeiser’s Debussy: His Life and Mind, in two volumes, is the standard study of the composer (Macmillan). Roger Nichols’s The life of Debussy is in the useful series “Musical lives” (Cambridge paperback). Also from Nichols is Debussy Remembered, a 2003 anthology drawing upon recollections from various friends, colleagues, and acquaintances of the composer (Amadeus Press). Victor Lederer’s Debussy: The Quiet Revolutionary, a close look at the composer’s musical style and output, is accompanied by a CD that is specifically referenced in Lederer’s discussion of the music (also Amadeus Press). Still important for its wealth of contemporary documentation is Léon Vallas’s Claude Debussy: His Life and Works, translated from the French by Maire and Grace O’Brien and published originally in 1933 (Dover paperback). Also useful are David Cox’s Debussy Orchestral Music in the series of BBC Music Guides (University of Washington paperback), Marcel Dietschy’s La Passion de Claude Debussy, edited and translated—as A Portrait of Claude Debussy—by William Ashbrook and Margaret G. Cobb (Oxford), and two collections of essays: Debussy and his World, edited by Jane F. Fulcher (Prince- ton University paperback), and The Cambridge Companion to Debussy, edited by Simon Trezise and Jonathan Cross (Cambridge University Press). The Pelléas et Mélisande monograph edited by Roger Nichols and Richard Langham Smith for the Cambridge Opera Handbooks series, and the chapter by Father Owen Lee in A Season of Opera (University of Toronto Press), are good places to read specifically about Debussy’s opera.
There are at least three recordings of purely orchestral suites from Pelléas et Mélisande. Two of them—with Ludovic Morlot conducting the orchestra of La Monnaie in Brussels (on the Cypres label) and Jun Märkl conducting the Lyon National Orchestra (Naxos)— are of a “Pelléas et Mélisande Symphony” arranged by Marius Constant (which Seiji Ozawa led here in 1999). The other, with Claudio Abbado conducting the Berlin Philhar- monic, is based on an arrangement created by Erich Leinsdorf (Deutsche Grammophon). Alain Altinoglu’s suite has not been commercially recorded but can be seen on YouTube in a performance he led with the WDR Sinfonieorchester. Altinoglu also leads a recent, non-traditional production by Dmitri Tcherniakov of the complete opera on DVD and Blu-ray, with Corinne Winters as Mélisande, Jacques Imbrailo as Pelléas, and Kyle Ketelsen as Golaud (BelAir classiques).
Important recordings of the complete Pelléas et Mélisande include (listed alphabetically by conductor) Claudio Abbado’s with Maria Ewing, François Le Roux, José van Dam, and the Vienna Philharmonic (Deutsche Grammophon, recorded 1991); Pierre Boulez’s with
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For more information, contact Michael Costa at 603-695-4321 or [email protected] Elisabeth Söderström, George Shirley, Donald McIntyre, and the orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden (Sony, 1970); Charles Dutoit’s with Colette Alliot-Lugaz, Didier Henry, Gilles Cachemaille, and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra (Decca, 1990); Bernard Haitink’s from live concert performances in March 2000 with Anne-Sofie von Otter, Wolfgang Holzmair, Laurent Naouri, and the Orchestre National de France (Naïve), and Herbert von Karajan’s with Frederica von Stade, Richard Stilwell, José van Dam, and the Berlin Philharmonic (originally EMI, now Warner Classics, 1978). Still of signifi- cant historic interest is the 1941 recording led by Roger Desormière with Irène Joachim, Jacques Jansen, and Henri Etcheverry (originally French EMI).
Poulenc’s own writings about his life and music have been translated into English: Moi et mes amis (Dobson) and Diary of My Songs (Gollancz). General biographies include Henri Hell’s Francis Poulenc, translated from the French and introduced by Edward Lockspeiser (Grove); Benjamin Ivry’s Francis Poulenc (Phaidon paperback, in the copiously illustrated series “20th-Century Composers”), and Carl B. Schmidt’s Entrancing Muse: A Documented Biography of Francis Poulenc (Pendragon). Keith W. Daniel’s Francis Poulenc: His Artistic Development and Musical Style is an important analytical study (UMI Research Press). The Gallic Muse, a classic older study by Laurence Davies, is a collection of essays on Fauré, Duparc, Debussy, Satie, Ravel, and Poulenc (A.S. Barnes and Co.). To read about Paris in the 1920s, there is Roger Nichols’s The Harlequin Years: Music in Paris, 1917-1929 (University of California).
The Boston Symphony Orchestra has recorded Poulenc’s Concerto for Organ, String Orchestra, and Timpani twice: in 1960 with Charles Munch and organist Berj Zamkochian
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54 (RCA), and in 1991 with Seiji Ozawa and soloist Simon Preston (Deutsche Grammophon). Maurice Duruflé, the original soloist, recorded it with Georges Prêtre and the Orchestre de la Société du Conservatoire Paris (originally EMI, now Warner Classics). Other recordings include (listed alphabetically by conductor) Charles Dutoit’s with organist Peter Hurford and the Philharmonia Orchestra (Decca), Jean Martinon’s with Marie- Claire Alain and the ORTF Philharmonic (Apex), Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s live with James O’Donnell and the London Philharmonic Orchestra (Lpo), Robert Shaw’s with Michael Murray and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (Telarc), and Yan Pascal Tortelier’s with Ian Tracey and the BBC Philharmonic (Chandos).
Camille Saint-Saëns and his World is a collection of essays, articles, and documents edited by Jann Passler (Princeton University paperback, in the Bard Music Festival series). Camille Saint-Saëns: On Music and Musicians is a collection of the composer’s writings translated and edited by Roger Nichols (Oxford University Press). The fullest English-language account of the composer’s life and music is Stephen Studd’s Saint- Saëns: A Critical Biography (Fairleigh Dickinson). Worth seeking out are Saint-Saëns and his Circle by James Harding (Humanities) and French Piano Music by the great French pianist Alfred Cortot (1877-1962), whose observations on Saint-Saëns’s music retain their interest (Da Capo).
Charles Munch’s famous Boston Symphony recording of the Organ Symphony from 1959 with Berj Zamkochian was already considered sonically spectacular at the time of its initial LP release and has virtually never been out of the catalog, including multiple CD reissues (RCA). Other recordings include Charles Dutoit’s with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and organist Peter Hurford (Decca), Ludovic Morlot’s live with the Seattle Symphony and Joseph Adam (on that orchestra’s own label), Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s with the Orchestre Métropolitaine du Grand Montréal and Philippe Bélanger (ATMA Classique), Christoph Eschenbach’s with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Olivier Latry (Ondine), Leonard Bernstein’s with the New York Philharmonic and Leonard Raver (Sony), Paul Paray’s with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and Marcel Dupré (Mercury Living Presence), and Yan Pascal Tortelier’s with the Ulster Orchestra and Gillian Weir (Chandos). Arturo Toscanini’s 1952 NBC Symphony broadcast remains powerful and instructive despite dated monaural sound (originally RCA).
Marc Mandel
week 13 read and hear more 55 Now Leasing Call to learn more about our move in specials
Become part of a 62+ community where daily activities, classes and social events keep you energized and engaged at natick Guest Artists
Alain Altinoglu
Conductor Alain Altinoglu is in his fourth season as music director of Brussels’s Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie. Mr. Altinoglu regularly conducts such distinguished orchestras as the Boston, Chicago, City of Birmingham, Danish National, and London symphony orchestras, the Philadelphia, Philharmonia, and Royal Stockholm Philharmonic orchestras, the Berliner Philharmoniker, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, Staatskapelle Berlin, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, and Wiener Philharmoniker, as well as all the major Parisian orchestras. In the 2019-20 season, Mr. Altinoglu appears as guest conductor with the Concertgebouworkest, Orchester der Wiener Staatsoper, Orchestre de Paris, Radio-Sinfonie-Orchester Frankfurt, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, and Wiener Symphoniker, as well as the Boston, Chicago, Danish National, and Finnish Radio symphony orchestras. A regular guest at the world’s leading opera houses, he appears at New York’s Metropolitan Opera, the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in London, the Teatro Colón Buenos Aires, Wiener Staatsoper, Opernhaus Zürich, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Staatsoper Unter den Linden, the Bayerische Staatsoper München, and all three opera houses in Paris. He has also appeared at the Bayreuth, Salzburg, Orange, and Aix-en- Provence festivals. In addition to his conducting career, Mr. Altinoglu maintains a strong affinity for and command of the Lied repertoire as pianist, regularly accompanying mezzo- soprano Nora Gubisch. Their most recent recording for Naïve includes songs by Falla, Obradors, Granados, Berio, and Brahms. Other recordings together have included a disc
week 13 guest artists 57 I’m so glad you can’t hear this right now.
For sound real estate advice, listen to Gail and Ed. For inspiring music, listen to the BSO. 617-245-4044 • gailroberts.com of songs by Henri Duparc, on Cascavelle, and Maurice Ravel, also on Naïve. Mr. Altinoglu has also recorded arias with Piotr Beczała for Deutsche Grammophon. As conductor, his dis- cography includes Lalo’s Fiesque with the Orchestre National de Montpellier and Roberto Alagna on DG, Liszt’s piano concertos with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin on Pen- taTone, and DVDs of Honegger’s Jeanne d’Arc au bûcher (Accord) and Wagner’s Der flieg- ende Holländer (DG). Born in Paris, Alain Altinoglu studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, where he now teaches conducting. Mr. Altinoglu made his BSO subscription series debut, his only previous appearances with the orchestra, in March/April 2017, leading music of Berlioz, Lalo, Dutilleux, and Roussel.
Thierry Escaich
Making his Boston Symphony Orchestra debut this week, Thierry Escaich is an organist, composer, and improviser who sees these three artistic roles as inseparable, allowing him to express himself as performer, creator, and collaborator. Mr. Escaich’s works are performed by leading orchestras in Europe and North America, and by musicians such as Lisa Batiashvili and François Leleux, Valery Gergiev, Paavo Järvi, Alan Gilbert, Alain Altinoglu, Louis Langrée, Renaud and Gautier Capuçon, Emmanuelle Bertrand, and Paul Meyer. He has been composer-in-residence with the Orchestre National de Lyon, Orches- tre National de Lille, and the Paris Chamber Orchestra, and his music has been honored by four Victoires de la Musique awards (2003, 2006, 2011, and 2017). Mr. Escaich attended the Paris Conservatoire, where he now teaches composition and improvisation. In 2013 he was appointed to the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Mr. Escaich’s works for organ— comprising solo and chamber works, three concertos, and the symphonic poem La Barque solaire—are performed by organists around the world. His Organ Concerto No. 1 has been performed by such orchestras as the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Orchestre National de Lyon, and was selected as a highlight of the organ concerto repertoire in Gramophone. As an organist, Mr. Escaich is one of the ambassadors of the great French school of improvi- sation in the tradition of Maurice Duruflé, whom he succeeded as organist of Saint Étienne du Mont in Paris. Major highlights of his 2019-20 season include the world premiere of
week 13 guest artists 59 Proud to support the
Boston Symphony Orchestra his second opera, Shirine, at Opéra de Lyon in May 2020, conducted by Martyn Brabbins, and, this past September, the world premiere of his new orchestral work Ritual Opening at Rotterdam’s Gergiev Festival. He appears in recital internationally, this season’s schedule including engagements at the Gergiev Festival, Wiener Konzerthaus, Dresdner Philharmonie, Mariinsky Concert Hall, and Wrocław Philharmonie. Many of Mr. Escaich’s works have been recorded for Accord (Universal). His most recent disc, “Short Stories,” a collection of chamber music for piano and strings performed by the Tchalik Quintet, was released in September 2019. In 2017, Sony Classical released Mr. Escaich’s “Baroque Song” to critical acclaim. His 2011 release with the Orchestre National de Lyon, “Les Nuits hallucinées,” received numerous distinctions, including a Choc de l’année from Classica.
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In the building of his new symphony for Boston, the BSO’s founder and first benefactor, Henry Lee Higginson, knew that ticket revenues could never fully cover the costs of running a great orchestra. From 1881 to 1918, Higginson covered the orchestra’s annual deficits with personal contributions that exceeded $1 million. The Boston Symphony Orchestra now honors each of the following generous donors whose cumulative giving to the BSO is $1 million or more with the designation of Great Benefactor. For more information, please contact Chris Fiecoat, Assistant Director of Donor Relations, at 617-638-9251 or [email protected]. ‡ This symbol denotes a deceased donor.
ten million and above Julian Cohen‡ • Fidelity Investments • Linde Family Foundation • Maria and Ray Stata • Anonymous (2)
seven and one half million Bank of America • Mr. and Mrs. George D. Behrakis • John F. Cogan, Jr. and Mary L. Cornille • Cynthia and Oliver Curme/The Lost & Foundation, Inc. • EMC Corporation • Barbara and Amos Hostetter • William and Lia Poorvu
five million Catherine and Paul Buttenwieser • Alan J. and Suzanne W. Dworsky • Fairmont Copley Plaza • Germeshausen Foundation • Ted and Debbie Kelly • Commonwealth of Massachusetts • Cecile Higginson Murphy • NEC Corporation • The O’Block Family • UBS • Stephen and Dorothy Weber
two and one half million Arbella Insurance Foundation and Arbella Insurance Group • Mary‡ and J.P. Barger • Gabriella and Leo‡ Beranek • Roberta and George‡ Berry • Bloomberg • Peter and Anne‡ Brooke • Eleanor L. and Levin H. Campbell • Chiles Foundation • Mr. and Mrs. William H. Congleton‡ • Mara E. Dole‡ • Eaton Vance Corporation • Jane and Jack Fitzpatrick‡ • Susan Morse Hilles‡ • Charlie and Dorothy Jenkins/The Ting Tsung and Wei Fong Chao Foundation • Stephen B. Kay and Lisbeth L. Tarlow/The Aquidneck Foundation • The Kresge Foundation • Lizbeth and George Krupp • Liberty Mutual Foundation • Kate and Al‡ Merck • Mr. and Mrs. Paul M. Montrone • National Endowment for the Arts • Mrs. Mischa Nieland‡ and Dr. Michael L. Nieland • Cynthia and John S. Reed • Carol‡ and Joe Reich • Kristin and Roger Servison • Miriam Shaw Fund • State Street Corporation and State Street Foundation • Thomas G. Stemberg‡ • Miriam and Sidney Stoneman‡ • Elizabeth B. Storer‡ • Caroline and James Taylor • Samantha and John Williams • Anonymous (3)
64 one million Alli and Bill Achtmeyer • Helaine B. Allen‡ • American Airlines • Lois and Harlan Anderson‡ • Mariann Berg (Hundahl) Appley • Dorothy and David B. Arnold, Jr.‡ • AT&T • Liliana and Hillel Bachrach • Caroline Dwight Bain‡ • William I. Bernell‡ • Estate of Marion Bianchi • BNY Mellon • The Boston Foundation • Lorraine D. and Alan S.‡ Bressler • Jan Brett and Joseph Hearne • Gregory E. Bulger Foundation/Gregory Bulger & Richard Dix • Ronald G. and Ronni J.‡ Casty • Citizens Bank • Commonwealth Worldwide Executive Transportation • William F. Connell‡ and Family • Dick and Ann Marie Connolly • Country Curtains • Diddy and John Cullinane • Edith L. and Lewis S.‡ Dabney • Elisabeth K. and Stanton W. Davis‡ • Mary Deland R. de Beaumont‡ • Delta Air Lines • Bob and Happy Doran • Hermine Drezner and Jan‡ Winkler • Alan and Lisa Dynner and Akiko‡ Dynner • Deborah and Philip Edmundson • William and Deborah Elfers • Elizabeth B. Ely‡ • Nancy S. and John P. Eustis II‡ • Thomas and Winifred Faust • Shirley and Richard‡ Fennell • Anna E. Finnerty‡ • John and Cyndy Fish • Fromm Music Foundation • The Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation • Marie L. Gillet‡ • Sophia and Bernard Gordon • Nathan and Marilyn Hayward • Mrs. Donald C. Heath‡ • Francis Lee Higginson‡ • Major Henry Lee Higginson‡ • John Hitchcock‡ • Edith C. Howie‡ • John Hancock Financial • Muriel E. and Richard L. Kaye‡ • Nancy D. and George H.‡ Kidder • Kingsbury Road Charitable Foundation • Audrey Noreen Koller‡ • Farla and Harvey Chet Krentzman‡ • Barbara and Bill Leith‡ • Elizabeth W. and John M. Loder • Nancy and Richard Lubin • Josh and Jessica Lutzker • Vera M. and John D. MacDonald‡ • Nancy Lurie Marks Family Foundation • Carmine A. and Beth V. Martignetti • Jane B. and Robert J. Mayer, M.D. • The McGrath Family • Joseph C. McNay, The New England Foundation • The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation • Henrietta N. Meyer‡ • Mr. and Mrs. Nathan R. Miller‡ • Richard P. and Claire W. Morse Foundation • William Inglis Morse Trust • Mary S. Newman‡ • Mr.‡ and Mrs. Norio Ohga • P&G Gillette • Perles Family Foundation • Polly and Dan‡ Pierce • Claudio and Penny Pincus • The Pryor Family • Mary G. and Dwight P. Robinson, Jr.‡ • Susan and Dan Rothenberg‡ • Carole and Edward I. Rudman • Richard Saltonstall Charitable Foundation • Wilhelmina C. (Hannaford) Sandwen‡ • Hannah H. and Dr. Raymond Schneider‡ • Carl Schoenhof Family • Ruth‡ and Carl J. Shapiro • Wendy Shattuck and Samuel Plimpton • Marian Skinner‡ • Richard and Susan Smith Family Foundation/Richard A. and Susan F.‡ Smith • Sony Corporation of America • Dr. Nathan B. and Anne P. Talbot‡ • Dorothy Dudley Thorndike‡ and John Lowell Thorndike • Diana O. Tottenham • The Wallace Foundation • Edwin S. Webster Foundation • Roberta and Stephen R. Weiner • Drs. Christoph and Sylvia Westphal • The Helen F. Whitaker Fund • Robert‡ and Roberta Winters • Helen and Josef Zimbler‡ • Brooks and Linda Zug • Anonymous (10)
week 13 the great benefactors 65 INSIGHT
LISTEN. STREAM. DOWNLOAD. The Higginson Society The Higginson Society embodies a deep commitment to supporting musical excellence, which builds on the legacy of the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s founder and first benefactor, Henry Lee Higginson. The BSO is grateful to current Higginson Society members, whose gifts to the Symphony Annual Fund provide more than $5 million in essential funding to sustain our mission. The BSO acknowledges the generosity of the donors listed below, whose contributions were received by September 26, 2019. For further information on becoming a Higginson Society member, please contact Kara O’Keefe, Associate Director of Individual Giving, Annual Funds, at 617-638-9259. ‡ This symbol denotes a deceased donor. founders $100,000 and above Peter A. Brooke • Barbara and Amos Hostetter • Wendy Shattuck and Samuel Plimpton virtuoso $50,000 - $99,999 Alli and Bill Achtmeyer • Noubar and Anna Afeyan • Mr. and Mrs. George D. Behrakis • Mr. and Mrs. William N. Booth • Alan J. and Suzanne W. Dworsky • Thomas and Winifred Faust • Ted and Debbie Kelly • Joyce Linde • Nancy and Richard Lubin • Carmine A. and Beth V. Martignetti • Cynthia and John S. Reed • Sue Rothenberg ‡ • Kristin and Roger Servison • Brooks and Linda Zug • Anonymous (2) encore $25,000 - $49,999 Amy and David Abrams • Jim and Virginia Aisner • Mr. Benjamin Altshuler • Lloyd Axelrod, M.D. • Judith and Harry ‡ Barr • Gabriella and Leo ‡ Beranek • Ann Bitetti and Doug Lober • Joan and John ‡ Bok • Gregory E. Bulger Foundation/Gregory Bulger & Richard Dix • Ronald G. Casty • John F. Cogan, Jr. and Mary L. Cornille • Roberta L. and Lawrence H. ‡ Cohn, M.D. • Donna and Don Comstock • Diddy and John Cullinane • Cynthia and Oliver Curme • Drs. Anna L. and Peter B. Davol • Alan and Lisa Dynner • Deborah and Philip Edmundson • William and Deborah Elfers • Dr. David Fromm • Joy S. Gilbert • Mr. and Mrs. Paul B. Gilbert • Martha and Todd Golub • The Grossman Family Charitable Foundation • Mrs. Francis W. Hatch • Mr. and Mrs. Brent L. Henry • Mrs. Nancy R. Herndon • Albert A. Holman III and Susan P. Stickells • Dr. and Mrs. Jeffrey M. Leiden • Elizabeth W. and John M. Loder • Josh and Jessica Lutzker • Jane B. and Robert J. Mayer, M.D. • Sandra Moose and Eric ‡ Birch • Megan and Robert O’Block • William and Lia Poorvu • William and Helen Pounds • James and Melinda Rabb • Louise C. Riemer • Cynthia and Grant Schaumburg • Richard and Susan Smith Family Foundation: Richard Smith; John and Amy Smith Berylson; James Berylson; Jonathan Block and Jennifer Berylson Block; Robert Katz and Elizabeth Berylson Katz; Robert and Dana Smith; Madeline Smith; Ryan Smith; Debra Smith Knez; Jessica Knez; Andrew Knez • Theresa M. and Charles F. Stone III • Stephen, Ronney, Wendy and Roberta Traynor • Stephen and Dorothy Weber • Anonymous (4)
week 13 the higginson society 67 patron $12,000 - $24,999 Mr. and Mrs. Peter Andersen • Lois and Harlan Anderson ‡ • Liliana and Hillel Bachrach • Mr. Edward B. Berk and Ms. Naomi Weinberg • Roz and Wally Bernheimer • Roberta and George ‡ Berry • Mr. and Mrs. ‡ John M. Bradley • Karen S. Bressler and Scott M. Epstein • Lorraine Bressler • Thomas Burger and Andrée Robert • Joanne and Timothy Burke • Catherine and Paul Buttenwieser • Eleanor L. and Levin H. Campbell • Arthur Clarke and Susan Sloan • Barbara and Fred Clifford • Ernest Cravalho and Ruth Tuomala • Joan P. and Ronald C. Curhan • Sally Currier and Saul Pannell • Edith L. and Lewis S. ‡ Dabney • Gene and Lloyd Dahmen • Mr. and Mrs. Miguel de Bragança • The Gerald Flaxer Charitable Foundation, Nancy S. Raphael, Trustee • Barbara and Robert Glauber • Thelma ‡ and Ray Goldberg • Raymond and Joan Green • Richard and Nancy Heath • Ms. Emily C. Hood • Prof. Paul L. Joskow and Dr. Barbara Chasen Joskow • Michelle and Mark Jung • Steve Kidder and Judy Malone • Tom Kuo and Alexandra DeLaite • Mr. and Mrs. David S. Lee • Dr. and Mrs. Joseph B. Martin • Kurt and Therese Melden • Jo Frances and John P. Meyer • Dr. Martin C. Mihm, Jr. • Kyra and Jean Montagu • Anne M. Morgan • Kristin A. Mortimer • Jerry and Mary ‡ Nelson • Cecilia O’Keefe • In Memory of John Oliver • Polly and Dan ‡ Pierce • Randy and Stephanie Pierce • Janet and Irv Plotkin • Linda H. Reineman • Graham Robinson and Jeanne Yu • Dr. Michael and Patricia Rosenblatt • Sean Rush and Carol C. McMullen • Benjamin Schore • Arthur and Linda Schwartz • Robert ‡ and Rosmarie Scully • Eileen Shapiro and Reuben Eaves • Ann and Phillip Sharp • Anne-Marie Soullière and Lindsey C.Y. Kiang • Katherine Chapman Stemberg • Blair Trippe • Drs. Roger and Jillian Tung • Eric and Sarah Ward • Harvey and Joëlle Wartosky • Mrs. Gwill E. York and Mr. Paul Maeder • Anonymous (3) sponsor $6,000 - $11,999 Nathaniel Adams and Sarah Grandfield • Ms. Deborah L. Allinson • Ms. Maureen Alphonse-Charles and Dr. Jean B. Charles • David and Holly Ambler • Dr. Ronald Arky • Marjorie Arons-Barron and James H. Barron • Diane M. Austin and Aaron J. Nurick • Mrs. Hope Lincoln Baker • Dr. Peter A. Banks • Fred and Joanne Barber • Mr. and Mrs. Eugene F. Barnes III • Lucille Batal • Jim and Nancy Bildner • Mrs. Linda Cabot Black • Traudy and Stephen Bradley • Joseph Brooks • Drs. Andrea and Brad Buchbinder • Julie and Kevin Callaghan • Jane Carr and Andy Hertig • Mr. and Mrs. Miceal Chamberlain, Jr. • Ms. Bihua Chen and Jackson J. Loomis, Ph.D. • Ronald and Judy Clark • Mrs. Abram Collier • Victor Constantiner • Ms. RoAnn Costin • Dr. William T. Curry, Jr. and Ms. Rebecca Nordhaus • Eve and Philip D. Cutter • Lynn Dale and Frank Wisneski • Deborah B. Davis • Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Denbo • Rachel and Peter Dixon • Richard Dixon and Douglas Rendell • Phyllis Dohanian • Mrs. Richard S. Emmet • Pamela Everhart and Karl Coiscou • Roger and Judith Feingold • Shirley Fennell • Beth and Richard Fentin • Mr. and Mrs. Steven S. Fischman • Barbie and Reg Foster • Myrna H. Freedman • Nicki Nichols Gamble • Dr. and Mrs. Levi A. Garraway • Jim and Becky Garrett • Elizabeth T. and Roberto S. Goizueta • Jack Gorman • Marjorie and Nicholas Greville • David and Harriet Griesinger • Robert and Annette Hanson • William Hawes and Mieko Komagata ‡ • Alexander Healy • Mr. and Mrs. Ulf B. Heide • Drs. James and Eleanor Herzog • Mrs. Richard D. Hill • Mr. James G. Hinkle and Mr. Roy Hammer • Mary and Harry Hintlian • Patricia and Galen Ho • Timothy P. Horne • G. Lee and Diana Y. Humphrey •
68 Mr. ‡ and Mrs. Roger Hunt • Joanie V. Ingraham • Blake Ireland, in memory of Anne Ireland • Nancy and G. Timothy Johnson • Susan Johnston • Rita J. and Stanley H. Kaplan Family Foundation, Inc./Susan B. Kaplan and Nancy and Mark Belsky • Barbara and Leo Karas • Stephen B. Kay and Lisbeth L. Tarlow • Dr. Nancy Koehn • Mr. Robert K. Kraft • Pamela S. Kunkemueller ‡ • Mr. Benjamin H. Lacy • Mr. and Mrs. Henry Lee • Thomas and Adrienne Linnell • Betty W. Locke • Dr. and Mrs. Frederick H. Lovejoy, Jr. • Anne R. Lovett and Stephen G. Woodsum • Mahnidahni, in loving memory of her mother Paula • Nancy Lurie Marks Family Foundation • Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey E. Marshall • Ann Merrifield and Wayne Davis • Mr. and Mrs. Paul M. Montrone • Betty Morningstar and Jeanette Kruger • Richard P. and Claire W. Morse Foundation • John O’Leary • Peter Palandjian and Eliza Dushku-Palandjian/Intercontinental Real Estate Corporation • Jane and Neil Pappalardo • Mr. and Mrs. Joseph M. Paresky • Ms. Pamela L. Peedin and Mr. Paul S. Rebuck • Drs. James and Ellen Perrin • Slocumb H. and E. Lee Perry • Susan J. Pharr and Robert C. Mitchell • Ann M. Philbin • Andrew and Suzanne Plump • Susanne and John Potts • Dr. Herbert Rakatansky and Mrs. Barbara Sokoloff • Dr. and Mrs. Michael Rater • Peter and Suzanne Read • Rita and Norton Reamer • John Sherburne Reidy • Sharon and Howard Rich • Mr. and Mrs. Henry Rosovsky • Debora and Alan Rottenberg • William and Kathleen Rousseau • Darin S. Samaraweera • Joanne Zervas Sattley • Roger A. Saunders • Mrs. Marvin G. Schorr • Carol Searle and Andrew Ley • Betsy and Will Shields • Christopher and Cary Smallhorn • Ms. Nancy F. Smith • Tiina Smith and Lawrence Rand • Maria and Ray Stata • Sharon and David Steadman • Ann and David Swanson Fund of the Maine Community Foundation • Tazewell Foundation • Magdalena Tosteson • John Travis • Christopher and Alison Viehbacher • Mark and Martha Volpe • Linda and Daniel Waintrup • Lois Wasoff and James Catterton ‡ • Mr. and Mrs. David Weinstein • Ms. Vita L. Weir and Mr. Edward Brice, Jr. • Howard and Karen Wilcox • John C. Willis, Jr. • Elizabeth H. Wilson • June and Jeffrey Wolf • Marillyn Zacharis • Anonymous (5) member $4,000 - $5,999 Mrs. Sonia Abrams • Helaine B. Allen ‡ • Joel and Lisa Alvord • Lisa G. Arrowood and Philip D. O’Neill, Jr. • Mr. ‡ and Mrs. Lawrence Asquith • Mr. Neil Ayer, Jr. • Mardges Bacon and Charles Wood • Donald P. Barker, M.D. • Ms. Evelyn Barnes and Ms. Mary-Taylor Carter • Chris and Darcey Bartel • Hanna and James Bartlett • John and Molly Beard • Clark and Susana Bernard • Leonard and Jane Bernstein • Mrs. Stanton L. Black • Neil and Margery Blacklow • Mrs. Carolyn Boday • Mark G. and Linda Borden • Partha and Vinita Bose • Mr. Edgar W. Brenninkmeyer and Dr. John D. Golenski • Catherine Brigham • David and Jane Brigham • Ellen and Ronald Brown • Matthew Budd and Rosalind Gorin • Ms. Ruth A. Butler • The Cavanagh Family • Mrs. Assunta Cha • Drs. Magdalena and Lucian Chirieac • Mr. and Mrs. Yumin Choi • Mr. and Mrs. Dan Ciampa • Dr. Frank Clark and Dr. Lynn Delisi • Marjorie B. and Martin Cohn • Mr. Stephen Coit and Ms. Susan Napier • Mrs. I.W. Colburn • Mrs. Albert M. Creighton, Jr. • Robert and Sarah Croce • Prudence and William Crozier • Joanna Inches Cunningham • Mr. Mark H. Dalzell • Robert and Sara Danziger • Tamara P. and Charles H. Davis II • Pat and John Deutch • Nina L. and Eugene B. Doggett • Robert Donaldson and Judith Ober • Bob and Happy Doran • Joanne and Jerry Dreher • Mr. David L. Driscoll • Eran and Yukiko Egozy • Mrs. William V. Ellis • Elaine Epstein and Jim Krachey •
week 13 the higginson society 69 70 Peter Erichsen and David Palumb • Ziggy Ezekiel ‡ and Suzanne Courtright Ezekiel • Andrew and Margaret Ferrara • Mr. and Mrs. Peter Fiedler • Martha and Mark Fishman • Mr. Guido Frackers • Velma Frank • Beth and John Gamel • Dozier and Sandy Gardner • Diane Gipson • Alfred and Joan Goldberg • Jordan and Sandy Golding • Eric C. Green • Harriet and George Greenfield • Paula S. Greenman • The Rt. Rev. and Mrs. J. Clark Grew • Janice Guilbault • Mr. and Mrs. Graham Gund • Anne Blair Hagan • Elizabeth M. Hagopian • Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Hamilton III • Janice Harrington and John Matthews • John and Ellen Harris • Daphne and George Hatsopoulos • Deborah Hauser • Dr. Edward Heller, Jr. and Ms. Uni Joo • Carol and Robert Henderson • Anneliese Henderson • Mr. Gardner C. Hendrie and Ms. Karen J. Johansen • Mr. and Mrs. Brian Hickox • Joan and Peter Hoffman • Pat and Paul Hogan • Ms. Mary Norato Indeglia • Norman and Irene Jacobs • Ms. Susan L. Johnson and Mr. Robert Wallace • In Memory of Blanche and George Jones • Teresa Kaltz • The Karp Family Foundation • Paul L. King • Mary S. Kingsbery • Mr. John L. Klinck, Jr. • Ms. Marilyn Bone Kloss • Meg and Joseph Koerner • Susan G. Kohn • Anna and Peter Kolchinsky • Alexander Kossey • Barbara N. Kravitz • Mr. and Ms. Tom Kush • Robert A. ‡ and Patricia P. Lawrence • Dr. Gi Soo Lee and Dr. Cynthia Tung • The Leonard Bernstein Office Inc. • Mr. and Mrs. Don LeSieur • Rosemarie and Alexander Levine • Emily Lewis • Mr. and Mrs. Francis V. Lloyd III • Mr. Anthony S. Lucas • Cherry Maddela-Garrido and Paul R. Garrido • Michael and Rosemary McElroy • Mr. and Mrs. George Mellman • Maureen and James Mellowes • Dale and Robert Mnookin • Robert and Jane Morse • Anne J. Neilson • Cornelia G. Nichols • Kathleen and Richard Norman • Mrs. Lawrence A. Norton • Jan Nyquist and David Harding • Jennifer and Alex Ogan • Christine Olsen and Robert Small • Martin and Helene Oppenheimer • Annette and Vincent ‡ O’Reilly • Drs. Roslyn W. and Stuart H. Orkin • Jon and Deborah Papps • Peter Parker and Susan Clare • Richard and Stephanie Parker • Joyce and Bruce Pastor • Michael and Frances Payne • Donald and Laurie Peck • Mr. Edward Perry and Ms. Cynthia Wood • Steven Pittman and Jenifer Handy • Elizabeth F. Potter and Joseph L. Bower • Dr. Tina Young Poussaint and Dr. Alvin Poussaint • Ms. Dorothy Puhy • Michael C.J. Putnam and Kenneth Gaulin • Jane M. Rabb • Helen and Peter Randolph • Peggy Reiser and Charles Cooney • Mr. and Mrs. Richard H. Rhoads • Kennedy P. and Susan M. Richardson • Mrs. Nancy Riegel • Dorothy B. and Owen W. Robbins • Adrianne E. Rogers • Mr. Daniel L. Romanow and Mr. B. Andrew Zelermyer • Donald and Abby Rosenfeld • Arnold Roy • Dan Schrager and Ellen Gaies • David and Marie Louise Scudder • Mr. and Mrs. Ross E. Sherbrooke • Mr. and Mrs. Michael Simon • Maggie and Jack Skenyon • Mr. and Mrs. Nathan Somogie • Kitte ‡ and Michael Sporn • Mr. and Mrs. Joseph D. Spound • Mrs. Lee T. Sprague • In Honor of Ray and Maria Stata • Jan Steenbrugge • Nancy F. Steinmann • Valerie and John ‡ Stelling • Ms. Anne Stetson • Mrs. Edward A. Stettner • John Stevens and Virginia McIntyre • Fredericka and Howard Stevenson • Louise and Joseph Swiniarski • Jeanne and John Talbourdet • Patricia L. Tambone • Jean C. Tempel • Mr. and Mrs. Mark D. Thompson • Judith Ogden Thomson • Mr. and Mrs. W. Nicholas Thorndike • Mr. and Mrs. Richard K. Thorndike III • Marian ‡ and Dick Thornton • Diana O. Tottenham • Polly J. Townsend • Jack Turner and Tee Taggart • Marc and Nadia Ullman • Sandra A. Urie and Frank F. Herron • Mrs. Phyllis Vineyard • Michael Walsh and Susan Ruf • Donald and Susan Ware • Matthew and Susan Weatherbie • Norman Weeks • Ellen B. Widmer • Dudley H. Willis and Sally S. Willis • Chip and Jean Wood • The Workman Family • Drs. Richard and Judith Wurtman • Jean Yeager • Xiaohua Zhang • Anonymous (10)
week 13 the higginson society 71 Never A Still Life
Our unique community celebrates life at every stage, offering the benefits of cooperative ownership on a beautiful 100-acre campus close to Boston’s best. Explore your true colors in our spirited, inclusive senior living community, where you’ll meet others who share your curiosity about the world and your passion for the arts. Inspired Independent Living. Quality Assisted Care. Innovative Memory Care.
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10 Longwood Drive | Westwood, MA 02090 | foxhillvillage.com | 781.948.9295 Administration
Mark Volpe, Eunice and Julian Cohen President and Chief Executive Officer, endowed in perpetuity Evelyn Barnes, Jane B. and Robert J. Mayer, M.D. Chief Financial Officer Sue Elliott, Judith and Stewart Colton Tanglewood Learning Institute Director Anthony Fogg, William I. Bernell Artistic Administrator and Director of Tanglewood Leslie Wu Foley, Helaine B. Allen Director of Education and Community Engagement Alexandra J. Fuchs, Thomas G. Stemberg Chief Operating Officer Ellen Highstein, Edward H. Linde Tanglewood Music Center Director, endowed by Alan S. Bressler and Edward I. Rudman Bernadette M. Horgan, Director of Public Relations Lynn G. Larsen, Orchestra Manager and Director of Orchestra Personnel Bart Reidy, Chief Strategy Officer and Clerk of the Corporation Christopher W. Ruigomez, Director of the Boston Pops and Concert Operations and Assistant Director of Tanglewood Kathleen Sambuco, Director of Human Resources administrative staff/artistic
Colin Bunnell, Library Administrative Assistant • Bridget P. Carr, Blanche and George Jones Director of Archives and Digital Collections • Jennifer Dilzell, Senior Manager of Choruses • Sarah Funke Donovan, Associate Archivist for Digital Assets • Kimberly Ho, Assistant Manager of Choruses • Julie Giattina Moerschel, Executive Assistant to the President and Chief Executive Officer • Vincenzo Natale, Chauffeur/Valet • Sarah Radcliffe-Marrs, Manager of Artists Services • Eric Valliere, Assistant Artistic Administrator administrative staff/production
Brandon Cardley, Video Engineer • Kristie Chan, Orchestra Personnel Administrator • Tuaha Khan, Assistant Stage Manager • Pat Meloveck, Stage Technician • Jake Moerschel, Technical Director • John Morin, Stage Technician • Mark C. Rawson, Stage Technician • Emily W. Siders, Operations Manager • Nick Squire, Recording Engineer • Christopher Thibdeau, Orchestra Management Office Administrator • Joel Watts, Assistant Audio and Recording Engineer • Nolan Welch, Orchestra Personnel Assistant boston pops
Dennis Alves, Director of Artistic Planning • Helen N.H. Brady, Boston Pops Business Director • Richard MacDonald, Executive Producer and Operations Director, July 4 Fireworks Spectacular • Pamela J. Picard, Executive Producer and Event Director, July 4 Fireworks Spectacular, and Broadcast and Media Director Leah Monder, Operations Manager • Wei Jing Saw, Manager of Artistic Administration • Amanda Severin, Artistic Administrator business office
Kathleen Donahue, Controller • Mia Schultz, Director of Risk Management • Bruce Taylor, Director of Financial Planning and Analysis James Daley, Financial Analyst • Jennifer Dingley, Senior Accountant • Mary Grace, Accounting Manager • Karen Guy, Accounts Payable Accountant • Jared Hettrick, Business Office Administrator • Evan Mehler, Financial Analyst • Nia Patterson, Staff Accountant • Michael Scarlata, Accounts Payable Accountant • Teresa Wang, Staff Accountant • Maggie Zhong, Senior Endowment Accountant
week 13 administration 73 GUITAR GONG GLOCKENSPIEL
ANY WAY YOU PLAY IT, THE BSO IS ALWAYS GOURMET
Boston Gourmet is proud to be the exclusive caterer of the Boston Symphony Orchestra
GOURMETCATERERS.COM/BSO • BSO.ORG corporate partnerships Joan Jolley, Director of Corporate Partnerships Hester C.G. Breen, Corporate Partnerships Coordinator • Mary Ludwig, Senior Manager, Corporate Sponsor Relations • Laurence E. Oberwager, Director of Tanglewood Business Partners • Kira Svirskiy, Administrative Assistant, Tanglewood Business Partners • Claudia Veitch, Director, BSO Business Partners development
Nina Jung Gasparrini, Director of Donor and Volunteer Engagement • Ryan Losey, Director of Foundation and Government Relations • Jill Ng, Director of Planned Giving and Senior Individual Giving Officer • Richard Subrizio, Director of Development Communications • Mary Thomson, Director of Corporate Initiatives • Jennifer Roosa Williams, Director of Development Research, Information Systems, and Analytics Kaitlyn Arsenault, Graphic Designer • Erin Asbury, Manager of Volunteer Services • Stephanie Baker, Associate Director of Development Analytics and Strategic Planning • Shirley Barkai, Manager, Friends Program and Direct Fundraising • Stephanie Cerniauskas, Executive Assistant • Caitlin Charnley, Assistant Manager of Donor Relations and Ticketing • Allison Cooley, Senior Individual Giving Officer • Gina Crotty, Individual Giving Officer • Hanna Danziger, Individual Giving Coordinator • Kelsey Devlin, Donor Ticketing Associate • Emily Diaz, Assistant Manager, Gift Processing • Ruth Dinerman, Manager of Foundation Relations • Chris Fiecoat, Assistant Director of Donor Relations • Joshua Hahn, Assistant Manager of Individual Giving, Annual Funds • Barbara Hanson, Senior Individual Giving Officer • Michelle Houle, Donor Acknowledgment and Research Coordinator • Rachel Ice, Individual Giving Coordinator • James Jackson, Associate Director, Telephone Outreach • Heather Laplante, Assistant Director of Development Information Systems • Anne McGuire, Manager, Corporate Initiatives and Development Research • Katie Moore, Assistant Manager of Donor Relations • Kara O’Keefe, Associate Director of Individual Giving, Annual Funds • Kathleen Pendleton, Manager, Development Events and Volunteer Services • Jana Peretti, Assistant Director of Development Research • Jenny Schulte, Assistant Manager of Development Communications • Alexandria Sieja, Assistant Director, Development Events • Yong-Hee Silver, Senior Individual Giving Officer • Emily Wivell, Assistant Manager of Planned Giving education and community engagement
Jenna Goodearl, Program Director, Youth and Family Initiatives • Cassandra Ling, Head of Strategic Program Development, Education • Beth Mullins, Program Director, Community Partnerships and Projects • Sarah Saenz, Manager of Education and Community Engagement event services Kyle Ronayne, Director of Events Administration Missy Brassie, Venue and Events Manager • James Gribaudo, Function Manager • Katherine Ludington, Tanglewood Venue Rental Manager • John Stanton, Venue and Events Manager facilities Robert Barnes, Director of Facilities symphony hall operations Peter J. Rossi, Symphony Hall Facilities Manager Charles F. Cassell, Jr., Facilities Compliance and Training Coordinator • Shawn Wilder, Mailroom Clerk maintenance services Jim Boudreau, Lead Electrician • Samuel Darragh, Painter • Thomas Davenport, Carpenter • Steven Harper, HVAC Technician • Adam Twiss, Electrician environmental services Landel Milton, Lead Custodian • Julien Buckmire, Custodian/Set-up Coordinator • Claudia Ramirez-Calmo, Custodian • Garfield Cunningham, Custodian • Bernita Denny, Custodian • Errol Smart, Custodian • Gaho Boniface Wahi, Custodian
week 13 administration 75 human resources
Michelle Bourbeau, Payroll Administrator • John Davis, Associate Director of Human Resources • Kevin Golden, Payroll Manager • Rob Williams, Human Resources Generalist information technology Timothy James, Director of Information Technology James Beaulieu, IT Services Team Leader • Andrew Cordero, IT Services Analyst • Ana Costagliola, Senior Database Analyst • Michael Finlan, Telephone Systems Manager • Karol Krajewski, Senior Infrastructure Architect • Brian Van Sickle, IT Services Analyst public relations
Emily Cotten, Junior Publicist • Matthew Erikson, Senior Publicist publications Marc Mandel, Director of Program Publications James T. Connolly, Program Publications Coordinator and Pops Program Editor • Robert Kirzinger, Associate Director of Program Publications sales, subscriptions, and marketing
Amy Aldrich, Director of Patron Experience • Gretchen Borzi, Director of Marketing and Audience Development • Allison Fippinger, Interim Director of Content and Digital Services • Roberta Kennedy, Director of Retail Operations Patrick Alves, Front of House Associate Manager • Amanda Beaudoin, Senior Graphic Designer • Lenore Camassar, Associate Manager, SymphonyCharge • Megan Cokely, Group Sales Senior Manager • Susan Coombs, SymphonyCharge Coordinator • Jonathan Doyle, Graphic Designer • Diane Gawron, Executive Assistant to the Chief Operating Officer • Paul Ginocchio, Manager, Symphony Shop and Tanglewood Glass House • Neal Goldman, Subscriptions Representative • Cynthia Kollios, SymphonyCharge Representative • Tammy Lynch, Front of House Director • Michael Miller, Director of Ticketing • Michael Moore, Associate Director of Marketing Insights • Ellen Rogoz, Marketing Manager • Robert Sistare, Senior Subscriptions Representative • Richard Sizensky, Access Coordinator • Emma Staudacher, Subscriptions Associate • Kevin Toler, Director of Creative Services • Thomas Vigna, Group Sales Associate Manager • Eugene Ware, Associate Marketing Manager • David Chandler Winn, Tessitura Liaison and Associate Director of Tanglewood Ticketing box office Jason Lyon, Symphony Hall Box Office Manager • Nicholas Vincent, Assistant Manager Shawn Mahoney, Box Office Representative • Evan Xenakis, Box Office Administrator strategy and governance
Emily Fritz-Endres, Assistant Director of Board Administration • Laura Sancken, Board Engagement Officer tanglewood learning institute
Emilio Gonzalez, TLI Program Manager tanglewood music center
Karen Leopardi, Associate Director for Faculty and Guest Artists • Michael Nock, Associate Director and Dean of Fellows • Matthew Szymanski, Manager of Administration • Gary Wallen, Associate Director for Production and Scheduling
week 13 administration 77
Boston Symphony Association of Volunteers executive committee Chair, Jerry Dreher Vice-Chair, Boston, Ellen Mayo Vice-Chair, Tanglewood, Susan Price Secretary, Beverly Pieper Co-Chairs, Boston Karen Brown • Cathy Mazza • George Mellman Co-Chairs, Tanglewood Scott Camirand • Nancy Finn • Judy Levin Liaisons, Tanglewood Glass Houses, Adele Cukor • Ushers, Lynne Harding boston project leads 2019-20
Café Flowers, Virginia Grant, Stephanie Henry, and Kevin Montague • Chamber Music Series, Deborah Slater • Computer and Office Support, Helen Adelman • Flower Decorating, Stephanie Henry • Guide’s Guide, Audley H. Fuller and Marcia Smithen Cohen • Instrument Playground, Cassidy Roh • Mailings, Steve Butera • Membership Table/Hall Greeters, Andrew Royer • Newsletter, Cassandra Gordon • Volunteer Applications, Suzanne Baum • Symphony Shop, Sue O’Neill • Tour Guides, Carol Brown
Join the conversation on social. #BSO1920
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week 13 administration 79 Next Program…
Thursday, January 16, 8pm Friday, January 17, 1:30pm Saturday, January 18, 8pm Tuesday, January 21, 8pm
yu-an chang conductor
chihchun chi-sun lee “formosan triptych” (2019) (world premiere; bso commission) (in three movements, played without pause)
mozart piano concerto no. 25 in c, k.503 Allegro maestoso Andante [Allegretto] till fellner
{intermission}
tchaikovsky symphony no. 3 in d, opus 29, “polish” Introduction and Allegro: Moderato assai (Tempo di Marcia funebre)—Allegro brillante Alla tedesca: Allero moderato e simplice Andante elegiaco Scherzo: Allegro vivo; Trio: L’istesso tempo Finale: Allegro con fuoco (Tempo di Polacca)
Making his subscription series debut with these concerts, BSO Assistant Conductor Yu-An Chang, who is from Taiwan, leads the world premiere of a new BSO-commissioned work by the prominent Taiwanese-American composer Chihchun Chi-sun Lee. Lee’s Formosan Triptych draws on traditional music of Taiwan. For his first appearances with the orchestra since his BSO debut in April 2012, Austrian pianist Till Fellner is soloist in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 25, the biggest, most symphonic, and most contrapuntally intricate of his concertos. Tchaikovsky’s rarely performed Symphony No. 3 (the nickname “Polish” was not the composer’s own) is, unusually, in five movements, three of which are strongly dance-oriented. Since the BSO’s initial performances of the piece with Wilhelm Gericke conducting in 1899 in Boston, Brooklyn, and Providence, and again in 1903 in New York, it has been played by the orchestra on just two occasions, in 1995 at Symphony Hall, Carnegie Hall, and C.W. Post College under Seiji Ozawa, and in 2002 at Tanglewood under Sir Neville Marriner.
80 Coming Concerts… friday previews and pre-rehearsal talks: The BSO offers half-hour talks prior to all of the BSO’s Friday-afternoon subscription concerts and Thursday-morning Open Rehearsals. Free to all ticket holders, the Friday Previews take place from 12:15-12:45 p.m. and the Open Rehearsal Talks from 9:30-10 a.m. in Symphony Hall.
Thursday ‘D’ January 16, 8-10:10 Thursday ‘A’ January 23, 8-9:55 Friday ‘A’ January 17, 1:30-3:40 Friday ‘B’ January 24, 1:30-3:25 Saturday ‘A’ January 18, 8-10:10 Saturday ‘B’ January 25, 8-9:55 Tuesday ‘C’ January 21, 8-10:10 ANDRIS NELSONS, conductor YU-AN CHANG , conductor BARBER Medea’s Meditation and TILL FELLNER, piano Dance of Vengeance CHIHCHUN Formosan Triptych (world SHOSTAKOVICH Chamber Symphony, Op. 110a CHI-SUN LEE premiere; BSO commission) (arr. BARSHAI) MOZART Piano Concerto No. 25 in C, DVORÁˇ K Symphony No. 9, From the K.503 New World TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 3, Polish
Tuesday ‘B’ January 28, 8-10:10 Sunday, January 19, 3pm ANDRIS NELSONS, conductor Jordan Hall, New England Conservatory YEFIM BRONFMAN, piano BOSTON SYMPHONY CHAMBER PLAYERS SHOSTAKOVICH Chamber Symphony, Op. 110a with BENJAMIN PASTERNACK, piano (arr. BARSHAI) SCHULHOFF Concertino for flute, viola, BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 4 and double bass DVORÁˇ K Symphony No. 9, From the GYÖRGY KURTÁG Selection from Signs, Games, New World and Messages, for violin MARTINU˚ Nonet for winds and strings Thursday ‘C’ January 30, 8-10:05 REINECKE Trio in A minor for oboe, horn, Friday ‘A’ January 31, 1:30-3:35 and piano, Op. 188 BRAHMS Trio in A minor for clarinet, ANDRIS NELSONS, conductor cello, and piano, Op. 114 YEFIM BRONFMAN, piano BARTÓK Concerto for Orchestra MOZART Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor, K.491 RAVEL Daphnis et Chloé, Suite No. 2
The BSO’s 2019-20 season is supported in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, which receives support from the State of Massachusetts and the National Endowment for the Arts. Programs and artists subject to change.
Single tickets for all Boston Symphony concerts throughout the season are available online at bso.org via a secure credit card order; by calling SymphonyCharge at (617) 266-1200 or toll-free at (888) 266-1200; or at the Symphony Hall box office, Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Saturdays from 4:30-8:30 p.m. when there is a concert). Please note that there is a $6.50 handling fee for each ticket ordered by phone or online.
week 13 coming concerts 81 Symphony Hall Exit Plan
82 Symphony Hall Information
The Boston Symphony Orchestra performs ten months a year, in Symphony Hall and at Tanglewood. For infor- mation about any of the orchestra’s activities, please call Symphony Hall, visit bso.org, or write to the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Hall, 301 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, MA 02115. The BSO’s web site (bso.org) provides information on all of the orchestra’s activities at Symphony Hall and at Tanglewood, and is updated regularly. In addition, tickets for BSO concerts can be purchased online through a secure credit card transaction. The Eunice S. and Julian Cohen Wing, adjacent to Symphony Hall on Huntington Avenue, may be entered by the Symphony Hall West Entrance on Huntington Avenue. In the event of a building emergency, patrons will be notified by an announcement from the stage. Should the building need to be evacuated, please exit via the nearest door (see map on opposite page), or according to instructions. For Symphony Hall rental information, call (617) 638-9241, or write the Director of Events Administration, Symphony Hall, Boston, MA 02115. The Box Office is open from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, or until a half-hour past starting time on performance evenings. On Saturdays, the box office is open from 4:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. when there is a concert, but is otherwise closed. For an early Saturday or Sunday performance, the box office is generally open two hours before concert time. To Purchase BSO Tickets: American Express, MasterCard, Visa, Diners Club, Discover, a personal check, and cash are accepted at the box office. To charge tickets instantly on a major credit card, call “SymphonyCharge” at (617) 266-1200, from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday through Friday (12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday). Outside the 617 area code, phone (888) 266-1200. As noted above, tickets can also be purchased online. There is a handling fee of $6.50 for each ticket ordered by phone or online. Group Sales: Groups may take advantage of advance ticket sales. For BSO concerts at Symphony Hall, groups of twenty or more may reserve tickets by telephone and take advantage of ticket discounts and flexible payment options. To place an order, or for more information, call the Group Sales Office at (800) 933-4255 or e-mail [email protected]. For patrons with disabilities, elevator access to Symphony Hall is available at both the Massachusetts Avenue and Cohen Wing entrances. An access service center, large-print programs, and accessible restrooms are avail- able inside the Cohen Wing. For more information, call the Access Services line at (617) 638-9431 or TDD/TTY (617) 638-9289. In consideration of our patrons and artists, children under age five will not be admitted to Boston Symphony Orchestra concerts. Please note that no food or beverage (except water) is permitted in the Symphony Hall auditorium. Patrons who bring bags to Symphony Hall are subject to mandatory inspections before entering the building. Those arriving late or returning to their seats will be seated by the patron service staff only during a convenient pause in the program. Those who need to leave before the end of the concert are asked to do so between pro- gram pieces in order not to disturb other patrons. Subscriber Ticket Resale: If you are unable to attend a Boston Symphony concert for which you hold a subscrip- tion ticket, you may make your ticket available for resale by calling (617) 638-9426 up to one hour before the
Each ticket purchased from the Boston Symphony Orchestra constitutes a license from the BSO to the pur- chaser. The purchase price of a ticket is printed on its face. No ticket may be transferred or resold for any price above its face value. By accepting a ticket, you are agreeing to the terms of this license. If these terms are not acceptable, please promptly contact the Box Office at (617) 266-1200 or [email protected] in order to arrange for the return of the ticket(s).
week 13 symphony hall information 83 concert. This helps bring needed revenue to the orchestra and makes your seat available to someone who wants to attend the concert. A mailed receipt will acknowledge your tax-deductible contribution. Rush Seats: There are a limited number of Rush Seats available for Boston Symphony subscription concerts on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, and on Friday afternoons. The low price of these seats is assured through the Richard and Claire Morse Rush Ticket Fund. Rush Tickets are sold at $10 each, cash or credit card, one to a customer, at the Symphony Hall box office on Fridays as of 10 a.m. for afternoon concerts, and on Tuesdays and Thursdays as of 5 p.m. for evening concerts. Please note that there are no Rush Tickets available for Friday and Saturday evenings. Please note that smoking is not permitted anywhere in Symphony Hall. Camera and recording equipment may not be brought into Symphony Hall during concerts. Lost and found is located at the security desk at the stage door to Symphony Hall on St. Stephen Street. First aid facilities for both men and women are available. On-call physicians attending concerts should leave their names and seat locations at the Cohen Wing entrance on Huntington Avenue. Parking: The Prudential Center Garage (after 2 p.m.) and Copley Place Parking on Huntington Avenue offer discounted parking to any BSO patron with a ticket stub for evening performances. Limited street parking is available. Elevators are located outside the O’Block/Kay and Cabot-Cahners rooms on the Massachusetts Avenue side of Symphony Hall, and in the Cohen Wing. Ladies’ rooms are located on both main corridors of the orchestra level, as well as at both ends of the first balcony, audience-left, and in the Cohen Wing. Men’s rooms are located on the orchestra level, audience-right, outside the O’Block/Kay Room near the elevator; on the first-balcony level, also audience-right near the elevator, outside the Cabot-Cahners Room; and in the Cohen Wing. Coatrooms are located on the orchestra and first-balcony levels, audience-left, outside the O’Block/Kay and Cabot-Cahners rooms, and in the Cohen Wing. Please note that the BSO is not responsible for personal apparel or other property of patrons. Lounges and Bar Service: There are two lounges in Symphony Hall. The O’Block/Kay Room on the orchestra level and the Cabot-Cahners Room on the first-balcony level serve drinks starting one hour before each performance. For the Friday-afternoon concerts, both rooms open at noon, with sandwiches available until concert time. Drink coupons may be purchased in advance online or through SymphonyCharge for all performances. Boston Symphony Broadcasts: Saturday-evening concerts of the Boston Symphony Orchestra are broadcast live in the Boston area by 99.5 WCRB Classical Radio Boston. BSO Friends: The Friends are donors who contribute $100 or more to the Boston Symphony Orchestra Annual Funds. For information, please call the Friends of the BSO Office at (617) 638-9276 or e-mail [email protected]. If you are already a Friend and you have changed your address, please inform us by sending your new and old addresses to Friends of the BSO, Symphony Hall, Boston, MA 02115. Including your patron number will assure a quick and accurate change of address in our files. BSO Business Partners: The BSO Business Partners program makes it possible for businesses to participate in the life of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Benefits include corporate recognition in the BSO program book, access to the Beranek Room reception lounge, two-for-one ticket pricing, and advance ticket ordering. For further infor- mation, please call the BSO Business Partners Office at (617) 638-9275 or e-mail [email protected]. The Symphony Shop is located in the Cohen Wing at the West Entrance on Huntington Avenue and is open Thurs day and Saturday from 3 to 6 p.m., and for all Symphony Hall performances through intermission. The Symphony Shop features exclusive BSO merchandise, including calendars, coffee mugs, an expanded line of BSO apparel and recordings, and unique gift items. The Shop also carries children’s books and musical-motif gift items. A selection of Symphony Shop merchandise is also available online at bso.org and, during concert hours, outside the Cabot-Cahners Room. All proceeds benefit the Boston Symphony Orchestra. For further information and telephone orders, please call (617) 638-9383, or purchase online at bso.org.
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