bernard haitink conductor emeritus seiji ozawa music director laureate
2013–2014 Season | Week 19B
andris nelsons music director designate
season sponsors
Table of Contents | Week 19B
7 bso news 17 on display in symphony hall 18 the boston symphony orchestra 21 a brief history of symphony hall 26 this week’s program
Notes on the Program
28 The Program in Brief… 29 Mozart “Serenata notturna,” K.239 33 Mozart Piano Quartet in G minor, K.478 35 Mozart “Gran partita,” K.361 45 To Read and Hear More…
Guest Artist
52 sponsors and donors 64 future programs 66 symphony hall exit plan 67 symphony hall information
program copyright ©2014 Boston Symphony Orchestra, Inc. program book design by Hecht Design, Arlington, MA cover design by BSO Marketing cover photo of BSO bass player Todd Seeber by Stu Rosner
BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Symphony Hall, 301 Massachusetts Avenue Boston, MA 02115-4511 (617)266-1492 bso.org
andris nelsons, ray and maria stata music director designate bernard haitink, lacroix family fund conductor emeritus, endowed in perpetuity seiji ozawa, music director laureate 133rd season, 2013–2014
trustees of the boston symphony orchestra, inc.
Edmund Kelly, Chair • William F. Achtmeyer, Vice-Chair • Carmine A. Martignetti, Vice-Chair • Stephen R. Weber, Vice-Chair • Theresa M. Stone, Treasurer
David Altshuler • George D. Behrakis • Jan Brett • Paul Buttenwieser • Ronald G. Casty • Susan Bredhoff Cohen, ex-officio • Richard F. Connolly, Jr. • Diddy Cullinane • Cynthia Curme • Alan J. Dworsky • William R. Elfers • Thomas E. Faust, Jr. • Michael Gordon • Brent L. Henry • Charles W. Jack, ex-officio • Stephen B. Kay • Joyce G. Linde • John M. Loder • Nancy K. Lubin • Robert J. Mayer, M.D. • Robert P. O’Block • Susan W. Paine • Peter Palandjian, ex-officio • John Reed • Carol Reich • Arthur I. Segel • Roger T. Servison • Wendy Shattuck • Caroline Taylor • Roberta S. Weiner • Robert C. Winters life trustees
Vernon R. Alden • Harlan E. Anderson • David B. Arnold, Jr. • J.P. Barger • Gabriella Beranek • Leo L. Beranek • Deborah Davis Berman • Peter A. Brooke • John F. Cogan, Jr. • Mrs. Edith L. Dabney • Nelson J. Darling, Jr. • Nina L. Doggett • Mrs. John H. Fitzpatrick† • Nancy J. Fitzpatrick • Thelma E. Goldberg • Charles H. Jenkins, Jr. • Mrs. Béla T. Kalman • George Krupp • Mrs. Henrietta N. Meyer • Richard P. Morse • David Mugar • Mary S. Newman • Vincent M. O’Reilly • William J. Poorvu • Peter C. Read • Edward I. Rudman • Richard A. Smith • Ray Stata • Thomas G. Stemberg • John Hoyt Stookey • Wilmer J. Thomas, Jr. • John L. Thorndike • Stephen R. Weiner • Dr. Nicholas T. Zervas other officers of the corporation
Mark Volpe, Managing Director • Thomas D. May, Chief Financial Officer • Bart Reidy, Clerk of the Board board of overseers of the boston symphony orchestra, inc.
Susan Bredhoff Cohen, Co-Chair • Peter Palandjian, Co-Chair
Noubar Afeyan • Peter C. Andersen • Diane M. Austin • Lloyd Axelrod, M.D. • Judith W. Barr • Lucille M. Batal • Linda J.L. Becker • Paul Berz • James L. Bildner • Mark G. Borden • Partha Bose • Karen Bressler • Anne F. Brooke • Stephen H. Brown • Gregory E. Bulger • Joanne M. Burke • Richard E. Cavanagh • Dr. Lawrence H. Cohn • Charles L. Cooney • Ronald A. Crutcher • William Curry, M.D. • James C. Curvey • Gene D. Dahmen • Michelle A. Dipp, M.D., Ph.D. • Dr. Ronald F. Dixon • Ronald M. Druker • Alan Dynner • Philip J. Edmundson • Ursula Ehret-Dichter • Joseph F. Fallon • Peter Fiedler • Steven S. Fischman • John F. Fish • Sanford Fisher • Jennifer Mugar Flaherty • Alexandra J. Fuchs • Robert Gallery • Levi A. Garraway • Cora H. Ginsberg • Robert R. Glauber • Stuart Hirshfield • Susan Hockfield • Lawrence S. Horn • Jill Hornor • Valerie Hyman • Everett L. Jassy • Stephen J. Jerome • Darlene Luccio Jordan, Esq. •
week 19b trustees and overseers 3
photos by Michael J. Lutch
Paul L. Joskow • Stephen R. Karp • John L. Klinck, Jr. • Peter E. Lacaillade • Charles Larkin • Joshua A. Lutzker • Jay Marks • Jeffrey E. Marshall • Robert D. Matthews, Jr. • Maureen Miskovic • Robert Mnookin • Paul M. Montrone • Sandra O. Moose • Robert J. Morrissey • Cecile Higginson Murphy • Joseph J. O’Donnell • Joseph Patton • Donald R. Peck • Steven R. Perles • Ann M. Philbin • Wendy Philbrick • Claudio Pincus • Lina S. Plantilla, M.D. • Irene Pollin • Jonathan Poorvu • Dr. John Thomas Potts, Jr. • William F. Pounds • Claire Pryor • James M. Rabb, M.D. • Robert L. Reynolds • Robin S. Richman, M.D. • Dr. Carmichael Roberts • Graham Robinson • Susan Rothenberg • Joseph D. Roxe • Kenan Sahin • Malcolm S. Salter • Kurt W. Saraceno • Diana Scott • Donald L. Shapiro • Phillip A. Sharp, Ph.D. • Christopher Smallhorn • Michael B. Sporn, M.D. • Nicole Stata • Margery Steinberg • Patricia L. Tambone • Jean Tempel • Douglas Thomas • Mark D. Thompson • Albert Togut • Joseph M. Tucci • Robert A. Vogt • David C. Weinstein • Dr. Christoph Westphal • June K. Wu, M.D. • Patricia Plum Wylde • Dr. Michael Zinner • D. Brooks Zug overseers emeriti
Helaine B. Allen • Marjorie Arons-Barron • Caroline Dwight Bain • Sandra Bakalar • George W. Berry • William T. Burgin • Mrs. Levin H. Campbell • Earle M. Chiles • Carol Feinberg Cohen • Mrs. James C. Collias • Ranny Cooper • Joan P. Curhan • Phyllis Curtin • Tamara P. Davis • Mrs. Miguel de Bragança • Paul F. Deninger • JoAnneWalton Dickinson • Phyllis Dohanian • Harriett Eckstein • George Elvin • John P. Eustis II • Pamela D. Everhart • Judy Moss Feingold • Richard Fennell • Myrna H. Freedman • Mrs. James Garivaltis • Dr. Arthur Gelb • Robert P. Gittens • Jordan Golding • Mark R. Goldweitz • Michael Halperson • John Hamill • Deborah M. Hauser • Carol Henderson • Mrs. Richard D. Hill • Roger Hunt • Lola Jaffe • Martin S. Kaplan • Mrs. Gordon F. Kingsley • Robert I. Kleinberg • David I. Kosowsky • Robert K. Kraft • Farla H. Krentzman • Benjamin H. Lacy • Mrs. William D. Larkin • Robert J. Lepofsky • Edwin N. London • Frederick H. Lovejoy, Jr. • Diane H. Lupean • Mrs. Harry L. Marks • Joseph B. Martin, M.D. • Joseph C. McNay • Albert Merck • Dr. Martin C. Mihm, Jr. • John A. Perkins • May H. Pierce • Dr. Tina Young Poussaint • Daphne Brooks Prout • Robert E. Remis • John Ex Rodgers • Alan W. Rottenberg • Roger A. Saunders • Lynda Anne Schubert • L. Scott Singleton • Gilda Slifka • Samuel Thorne • Diana Osgood Tottenham • Paul M. Verrochi • James Westra • Mrs. Joan D. Wheeler • Margaret Williams-DeCelles • Richard Wurtman, M.D.
† Deceased
week 19b trustees and overseers 5
BSO News
BSO “Insights,” March 9-March 17, 2014: “Beethoven and the Piano” The second of the BSO’s two “Insights” series this season—“Beethoven and the Piano,” presented in conjunction with the BSO’s Beethoven piano concerto cycle of March 13-22— offers a variety of events presented by the BSO in partnership with the New England Conservatory of Music and the Museum of Fine Arts. For a listing of these events, as well as a listing of the BSO’s upcoming all-Beethoven concerts, please see page 64 of this pro- gram book or visit bso.org.
Free Chamber Music Concerts Featuring BSO Musicians at Northeastern University’s Fenway Center on St. Stephen Street Once again this season, the BSO in collaboration with Northeastern University is pleased to offer free chamber music concerts by members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra on selected Friday afternoons at 1:30 p.m. at the Fenway Center at Northeastern University, 77 St. Stephen St. (at the corner of St. Stephen and Gainsborough streets). Free general- admission tickets can be reserved by e-mailing [email protected] or by calling (617) 373-4700; on the day of the performance, remaining tickets are available at the door. This season’s remaining Fenway Center concert is scheduled for Friday, March 14, when BSO members Lucia Lin, Tatiana Dimitriades, Kazuko Matsusaka, and Jonathan Miller play music of Beetho- ven and Debussy. These free concerts are made possible in part by a generous grant from the Lowell Institute.
Boston Symphony Chamber Players 50th Anniversary Season Continues, Sunday, April 6, at 3 p.m. at Jordan Hall Founded in 1964, the Boston Symphony Chamber Players perform the final Jordan Hall concert of their 50th Anniversary Season on Sunday afternoon, April 6, at 3 p.m. at the New England Conservatory. The program includes Milhaud’s Suite après Corrette, for oboe, clarinet, and bassoon; Schubert’s Octet in F for winds and strings, D.803; and the Boston premiere of Sebastian Currier’s Parallel Worlds for flute and string quartet, a BSO co- commission. Single tickets are available through SymphonyCharge at (617) 266-1200, at the Symphony Hall box office, or online at bso.org. On the day of the concert, tickets are available only at the Jordan Hall box office, 30 Gainsborough Street.
week 19b bso news 7
BSO Community Chamber Concerts The BSO is happy to continue offering free Community Chamber Concerts in locations across Massachusetts during the 2013-14 season. These Sunday-afternoon concerts offer engaging chamber music performances by BSO musicians for communities limited in access to the BSO by either distance or economics; they are designed to build personal connections to the BSO and orchestral music, allowing community members to become more deeply engaged with the BSO. Each program lasts approximately one hour and is followed by a coffee-and-dessert reception for the audience and musicians. On Sunday, March 23, at Lowell High School, and on Sunday, April 6, at the Colonial Theater in Pittsfield, a brass quintet made up of BSO members Benjamin Wright, Michael Martin, Jason Snider, Stephen Lange, and James Markey plays music of Bach, Albinoni, Martin, and Arnold. These concerts are free, but tickets are required and available by calling SymphonyCharge at 1-888-266-1200. The BSO’s free Community Concerts are made possible in part by a generous grant from the Lowell Institute.
BSO 101—The Free Adult Education Series at Symphony Hall BSO 101 continues to offer informative sessions about upcoming BSO programming and behind-the-scenes activities at Symphony Hall. This season’s remaining “Are You Listening?” session is scheduled for Wednesday, April 9, when BSO Director of Program Publications Marc Mandel discusses “Symphonic Stances” in music of Berlioz, Tchaikovsky, Mahler, and Stravinsky, with special guest BSO associate principal bassoon Richard Ranti. These sessions take place from 5:30-6:45 p.m. at Symphony Hall, and each is followed by a reception
week 19b bso news 9 offering beverages and a light meal. Admission to the BSO 101 sessions is free; please note, however, that there is a nominal charge to attend the receptions. To reserve your place for the date or dates you’re planning to attend, please e-mail [email protected] or call (617) 638-9395. For further information, please visit bso.org, where “BSO 101” can be found under the “Education & Community” tab on the home page.
individual tickets are on sale for all concerts in the bso’s 2013-2014 season. for specific information on purchasing tickets by phone, online, by mail, or in person at the symphony hall box office, please see page 67 of this program book.
Go Behind the Scenes: The Irving W. and Charlotte F. Rabb (April 9). For more information, please visit bso.org/tours. All tours begin in the Massa- Symphony Hall Tours chusetts Avenue lobby of Symphony Hall. The Irving W. and Charlotte F. Rabb Symphony Special private tours for groups of ten guests Hall Tours provide a rare opportunity to go or more—free for Boston-area elementary behind the scenes at Symphony Hall. In these schools, high schools, and youth/education free, guided tours offered throughout the community groups—can be scheduled in season by the Boston Symphony Association advance (the BSO’s schedule permitting). of Volunteers, experienced volunteer guides Make your individual or group tour reserva- discuss the history and traditions of the BSO tions today by visiting bso.org/tours, by and its world-famous home as they lead contacting the BSAV office at (617) 638- participants through public and selected 9390, or by e-mailing [email protected]. James “behind-the-scenes” areas of the building. and Melinda Rabb and Betty (Rabb) and Jack Free walk-up tours lasting approximately Schafer made a gift in memory of their par- one hour take place in March and April at ents Irving and Charlotte Rabb as a way to 4 p.m. on six Wednesdays (March 5, 12, 19; memorialize their more than sixty years of April 2, 9, 30), at 2 p.m. on three Saturdays loyal devotion to the Symphony and their (March 8; April 5, 19), and at 6:45 p.m. after passion for introducing Symphony Hall to the remaining Wednesday BSO 101 session the community.
week 19b bso news 11 12 Friday-afternoon Bus Service to BSO Members in Concert Symphony Hall The Boston Civic Symphony Orchestra, led If you’re tired of fighting traffic and search- by former BSO violinist Max Hobart, presents ing for a parking space when you come to an all-Beethoven concert on Sunday, March 9, Friday-afternoon Boston Symphony concerts, at 2 p.m. at NEC’s Jordan Hall. Members of why not consider taking the bus from your the Amici Trio— BSO violinist Lucia Lin, community directly to Symphony Hall? The BSO cellist Owen Young, and pianist Sergey Boston Symphony Orchestra is pleased to Schepkin—are the soloists in the Triple continue offering round-trip bus service on Concerto. Also on the program are The Ruins Friday afternoons at cost from the following of Athens Overture and Symphony No. 8. communities: Beverly, Canton, Cape Cod, Tickets at $38 (discounted for seniors and Concord, Framingham, Marblehead/Swamp- students) are available by calling (617) 923- scott, Wellesley, Weston, the South Shore, 6333 or at bostoncivicsymphony.org. and Worcester in Massachusetts; Nashua, The Concord Chamber Music Society, found- New Hampshire; and Rhode Island. Taking ed by BSO violinist Wendy Putnam, presents advantage of your area’s bus service not only its fourth program of the season on Sunday, helps keep this convenient service operating, March 9, at 3 p.m. at the Concord Academy but also provides opportunities to spend Performing Arts Center, 166 Main Street, time with your Symphony friends, meet new Concord, MA. Joining Ms. Putnam and the people, and conserve energy. If you would Concord Chamber Players is pianist Jonathan like further information about bus transporta- Biss, for a program including Beethoven’s tion to Friday-afternoon Boston Symphony Piano Sonata in F, Opus 10, No. 2, Mendels- concerts, please call the Subscription Office sohn’s E minor string quartet, Opus 44, and at (617) 266-7575.
BSO Archives Spotlight: A Closer Look Though you’re probably aware of the various display cases of archival material to be found throughout Symphony Hall, the BSO Archives would like to draw your attention to some of the fascinating artifacts that may have escaped your notice. Anticipating this month’s all-Beethoven concerts, the Archives has mounted a display of memorabilia, located in the first-balcony, audience-left corridor, relevant to past BSO performances of the Beethoven concertos, particularly the piano concertos. Among the noted artists of the past who performed Beethoven piano concertos with the orchestra are Adele aus der Ohe, Amy Beach, Ferruccio Busoni, Teresa Carreño, and Ignace Jan Paderewski. In the second half of the 20th century, both Arthur Rubinstein, in the 1960s under Erich Leinsdorf, and Rudolf Serkin, in the 1980s under Seiji Ozawa, recorded all five of the piano concertos. The image shows the cover of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5, Emperor, as recorded by Seiji Ozawa, Rudolf Serkin, and the BSO for Telarc in January 1981.
week 19b bso news 13 14 Schumann’s Piano Quintet in E-flat, Opus 44. is prohibited during concerts. Thank you very A pre-concert talk begins at 2 p.m. Tickets much for your cooperation. are $42 and $33, discounted for seniors and students. For more information, visit www. concordchambermusic.org or call (978) The Information Table: 371-9667. Find Out What’s Happening at the BSO BSO acting assistant concertmaster Julianne Lee is both violinist and violist for a recital Are you interested in upcoming BSO concert with pianist Susanne Son on Monday, March information? Special events at Symphony 10, at 8 p.m. at Jordan Hall at the New England Hall? BSO youth activities? Stop by the infor- Conservatory of Music. The program includes mation table in the Brooke Corridor on the music of Schubert, Brahms, Janáˇcek, Fritz Massachusetts Avenue side of Symphony Kreisler, and Tchaikovsky. Admission is free. Hall (orchestra level). There you will find the latest performance, membership, and Symphony Hall information provided by Those Electronic Devices… knowledgeable members of the Boston As the presence of smartphones, tablets, and Symphony Association of Volunteers. The other electronic devices used for communica- BSO Information Table is staffed before each tion, note-taking, and photography continues concert and during intermission. to increase, there have also been increased expressions of concern from concertgoers Comings and Goings... and musicians who find themselves distracted not only by the illuminated screens on these Please note that latecomers will be seated devices, but also by the physical movements by the patron service staff during the first that accompany their use. For this reason, convenient pause in the program. In addition, and as a courtesy both to those on stage and please also note that patrons who leave the those around you, we respectfully request hall during the performance will not be that all such electronic devices be turned allowed to reenter until the next convenient off and kept from view while BSO perform- pause in the program, so as not to disturb the ances are in progress. In addition, please performers or other audience members while also keep in mind that taking pictures of the the concert is in progress. We thank you for orchestra—whether photographs or videos— your cooperation in this matter.
week 19b bso news 15 on display in symphony hall This season’s BSO Archives exhibit once more displays the wide variety of the Archives’ holdings, which document countless aspects of BSO history—music directors, guest artists, and composers, as well as Symphony Hall’s world-famous acoustics, architectural features, and multi-faceted history. highlights of this year’s exhibit include, on the orchestra level of symphony hall: • a display in the Brooke Corridor celebrating the 50th anniversary this season of the Boston Symphony Chamber Players, with special emphasis on the ensemble’s early international tours to Europe and the Soviet Union in 1967, and to Colombia in 1972 • a display case also in the Brooke Corridor exploring the history of the famed Kneisel Quartet formed in 1885 by then BSO concertmaster Franz Kneisel and three of his BSO colleagues • marking the centennial of Benjamin Britten’s birth, a display case in the Huntington Avenue corridor highlighting the American premiere of the composer’s War Requiem, given by Erich Leinsdorf and the BSO at Tanglewood in July 1963 exhibits on the first-balcony level of symphony hall include: • anticipating the BSO’s tour next May to China and Japan, a display case in the first- balcony corridor, audience-right, of memorabilia from the BSO’s 1956 concerts marking the first performances in the Soviet Union by a Western orchestra • a display case, also audience-right, on the installation of the Symphony Hall statues in the period following the Hall’s opening • anticipating this season’s complete cycle in March of the Beethoven piano concertos, a display case, audience-left, spotlighting several of the pianists who have performed those works with the BSO • a display case in the Cabot-Cahners Room spotlighting artists and programs presented in Symphony Hall by the Celebrity Series, which celebrates its 75th anniversary this year
TOP OF PAGE, LEFT TO RIGHT: A Celebrity Series flyer for a 1939 Symphony Hall appearance by soprano Kirsten Flagstad Erich Leinsdorf in rehearsal with the BSO and soprano Phyllis Curtin for the American premiere of Britten’s “War Requiem” at Tanglewood (Heinz Weissenstein, Whitestone Photo) Album cover of the Boston Symphony Chamber Players’ 1966 Grammy-winning first commercial recording on RCA
week 19b on display 17 Boston Symphony Orchestra 2013–2014
andris nelsons bernard haitink seiji ozawa thomas wilkins Ray and Maria Stata LaCroix Family Fund Music Director Laureate Germeshausen Youth and Music Director Designate Conductor Emeritus Family Concerts Conductor endowed in perpetuity endowed in perpetuity
first violins Xin Ding* Cathy Basrak Alexandre Lecarme* Kristin and Roger Servison chair Assistant Principal Nancy and Richard Lubin chair Malcolm Lowe Anne Stoneman chair, Concertmaster Glen Cherry* endowed in perpetuity Adam Esbensen* Charles Munch chair, Donald C. and Ruth Brooks Heath Blaise Déjardin* endowed in perpetuity chair, endowed in perpetuity Edward Gazouleas Lois and Harlan Anderson˚ chair, Tamara Smirnova Yuncong Zhang* endowed in perpetuity Associate Concertmaster Ronald G. and Ronni J. Casty chair basses Robert Barnes Helen Horner McIntyre chair, Edwin Barker endowed in perpetuity second violins Michael Zaretsky Principal Alexander Velinzon Harold D. Hodgkinson chair, Haldan Martinson Mark Ludwig* Assistant Concertmaster˚ endowed in perpetuity Principal Robert L. Beal, Enid L., and Rachel Fagerburg* Carl Schoenhof Family chair, Lawrence Wolfe Bruce A. Beal chair, endowed endowed in perpetuity Kazuko Matsusaka* Assistant Principal in perpetuity Maria Nistazos Stata chair, (position vacant) Elita Kang Rebecca Gitter* endowed in perpetuity Assistant Principal Assistant Concertmaster Charlotte and Irving W. Rabb chair, Wesley Collins* Benjamin Levy Edward and Bertha C. Rose chair, endowed in perpetuity Leith Family chair, endowed endowed in perpetuity Jonathan Chu* in perpetuity Sheila Fiekowsky Julianne Lee Daniel Getz* Shirley and J. Richard Fennell Dennis Roy Acting Assistant Concertmaster chair, endowed in perpetuity Joseph and Jan Brett Hearne cellos chair Bo Youp Hwang Nicole Monahan John and Dorothy Wilson chair, David H. and Edith C. Howie Jules Eskin Joseph Hearne endowed in perpetuity chair, endowed in perpetuity Principal James Orleans* § Philip R. Allen chair, Lucia Lin Ronan Lefkowitz Dorothy Q.and David B.Arnold, Jr., endowed in perpetuity Todd Seeber* chair, endowed in perpetuity Vyacheslav Uritsky* Eleanor L. and Levin H. Campbell Martha Babcock chair, endowed in perpetuity Ikuko Mizuno Nancy Bracken* Associate Principal Muriel C. Kasdon and Marjorie C. Vernon and Marion Alden chair, John Stovall* Aza Raykhtsaum* endowed in perpetuity Paley chair Thomas Van Dyck* Jennie Shames* Bonnie Bewick* Sato Knudsen Mischa Nieland chair, Ruth and Carl J. Shapiro chair, James Cooke* flutes endowed in perpetuity endowed in perpetuity Victor Romanul* Elizabeth Rowe Valeria Vilker Kuchment* Mihail Jojatu Bessie Pappas chair Principal Stephanie Morris Marryott and Sandra and David Bakalar chair Walter Piston chair, endowed Franklin J. Marryott chair Catherine French* Jonathan Miller* in perpetuity Tatiana Dimitriades* Jason Horowitz* Richard C. and Ellen E. Paine Clint Foreman Catherine and Paul Buttenwieser chair, endowed in perpetuity Ala Jojatu* Myra and Robert Kraft chair, chair Owen Young* endowed in perpetuity Si-Jing Huang* John F. Cogan, Jr., and Mary L. Elizabeth Ostling Mary B. Saltonstall chair, violas Cornille chair, endowed in Associate Principal endowed in perpetuity perpetuity Steven Ansell Marian Gray Lewis chair, Wendy Putnam* Principal Mickey Katz* endowed in perpetuity Charles S. Dana chair, endowed Robert Bradford Newman chair, Stephen and Dorothy Weber in perpetuity endowed in perpetuity chair, endowed in perpetuity
18 photos by Michael J. Lutch piccolo Suzanne Nelsen Michael Martin voice and chorus John D. and Vera M. MacDonald Ford H. Cooper chair, Cynthia Meyers chair endowed in perpetuity John Oliver Evelyn and C. Charles Marran Tanglewood Festival Chorus chair, endowed in perpetuity Richard Ranti Conductor Associate Principal trombones Alan J. and Suzanne W. Dworsky Diana Osgood Tottenham/ chair, endowed in perpetuity oboes Hamilton Osgood chair, Toby Oft endowed in perpetuity Principal John Ferrillo J.P. and Mary B. Barger chair, librarians Principal endowed in perpetuity Mildred B. Remis chair, contrabassoon Marshall Burlingame endowed in perpetuity Stephen Lange Principal Gregg Henegar Lia and William Poorvu chair, Mark McEwen Helen Rand Thayer chair endowed in perpetuity James and Tina Collias chair bass trombone William Shisler Keisuke Wakao horns James Markey Assistant Principal John Moors Cabot chair, John Perkel Farla and Harvey Chet Krentzman James Sommerville endowed in perpetuity chair, endowed in perpetuity Principal Helen Sagoff Slosberg/Edna S. associate Kalman chair, endowed in tuba conductor english horn perpetuity Mike Roylance Marcelo Lehninger Robert Sheena Richard Sebring Principal Anna E. Finnerty chair, Beranek chair, endowed in Associate Principal Margaret and William C. endowed in perpetuity perpetuity Margaret Andersen Congleton Rousseau chair, endowed in perpetuity chair, endowed in perpetuity assistant clarinets Rachel Childers conductor John P. II and Nancy S. Eustis timpani William R. Hudgins Andris Poga chair, endowed in perpetuity Principal Timothy Genis Ann S.M. Banks chair, Michael Winter Sylvia Shippen Wells chair, endowed in perpetuity Elizabeth B. Storer chair, endowed in perpetuity personnel endowed in perpetuity managers Michael Wayne Jason Snider percussion Lynn G. Larsen Thomas Martin Associate Principal & Jonathan Menkis J. William Hudgins Bruce M. Creditor E-flat clarinet Jean-Noël and Mona N. Tariot Peter and Anne Brooke chair, Assistant Personnel Manager Stanton W. and Elisabeth K. chair endowed in perpetuity Davis chair, endowed in perpetuity Daniel Bauch stage manager Assistant Timpanist trumpets John Demick Mr. and Mrs. Edward H. Linde bass clarinet Thomas Rolfs chair Principal Craig Nordstrom Roger Louis Voisin chair, Kyle Brightwell endowed in perpetuity Peter Andrew Lurie chair, endowed in perpetuity bassoons Benjamin Wright Matthew McKay * participating in a system Richard Svoboda Thomas Siders of rotated seating Assistant Principal Principal § on sabbatical leave Edward A. Taft chair, Kathryn H. and Edward M. harp on leave endowed in perpetuity Lupean chair Jessica Zhou ˚ Nicholas and Thalia Zervas chair, endowed in perpetuity by Sophia and Bernard Gordon
week 19b boston symphony orchestra 19
S Archives BSO
A Brief History of Symphony Hall
The first home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra was the old Boston Music Hall, which stood downtown where the Orpheum Theatre now stands, held about 2,400 seats, and was threatened in 1893 by the city’s road-building/rapid transit project. That summer, the BSO’s founder, Major Henry Lee Higginson, organized a corporation to finance a new and permanent home for the orchestra. On October 15, 1900—some seven years and $750,000 later—the new hall was opened. The inaugural gala concluded with a perform- ance of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis under the direction of then music director Wilhelm Gericke.
At Higginson’s insistence, the architects—McKim, Mead & White of New York—engaged Wallace Clement Sabine, a young assistant professor of physics at Harvard, as their acoustical consultant, and Symphony Hall became the first auditorium designed in accor- dance with scientifically-derived acoustical principles. It is now ranked as one of the three best concert halls in the world, along with Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw and Vienna’s Musikverein. Bruno Walter called it “the most noble of American concert halls,” and Herbert von Karajan, comparing it to the Musikverein, noted that “for much music, it is even better... because of the slightly lower reverberation time.”
Symphony Hall is 61 feet high, 75 feet wide, and 125 feet long from the lower back wall to the front of the stage. The walls of the stage slope inward to help focus the sound. The side balconies are shallow so as not to trap any of the sound, and though the rear balconies are deeper, sound is properly reflected from the back walls. The recesses of the coffered ceiling help distribute the sound throughout the hall, as do the statue-filled niches along the three sides. The auditorium itself is centered within the building, with corridors and offices insulating it from noise outside. The leather seats are the ones installed for the hall’s opening in 1900. With the exception of the wood floors, the hall is built of brick, steel, and plaster, with only a moderate amount of decoration, the original, more ornate plans for the building’s exterior having been much simplified as a cost-reducing measure. But as architecture critic Robert Campbell has observed, upon penetrating the “outer car- ton” one discovers “the gift within—the lovely ornamented interior, with its delicate play
BSO conductor Wilhelm Gericke, who led the Symphony Hall inaugural concert
week 19b a brief history of symphony hall 21 22 S Archives BSO
Architect’s watercolor rendering of Symphony Hall prior to its construction
of grays, its statues, its hint of giltwork, and, at concert time, its sculptural glitter of instru- ments on stage.”
Symphony Hall was designed so that the rows of seats could be replaced by tables for Pops concerts. For BSO concerts, the hall seats 2,625. For Pops concerts, the capacity is 2,371, including 241 small tables on the main floor. To accommodate this flexible system—an innovation in 1900—an elevator, still in use, was built into the Symphony Hall floor. Once a year the five Symphony Hall chandeliers are lowered to the floor and all 394 lightbulbs are changed. The sixteen replicas of Greek and Roman statues—ten of mythical subjects, six of actual historical figures—are related to music, art, and literature. The statues were donated by a committee of 200 Symphony-goers and cast by P.P. Caproni and Brother, Boston, makers of plaster reproductions for public buildings and art schools. They were not ready for the opening concert, but appeared one by one during the first two seasons.
The Symphony Hall organ, an Aeolian-Skinner designed by G. Donald Harrison and installed in 1949, is considered one of the finest concert hall organs in the world. The console was autographed by Albert Schweitzer, who expressed his best wishes for the organ’s tone. There are more than 4,800 pipes, ranging in size from 32 feet to less than six inches and located behind the organ pipe facade visible to the audience. The organ was commissioned to honor two milestones in 1950: the fiftieth anniversary of the hall’s opening, and the 200th anniversary of the death of Johann Sebastian Bach. The 2004- 2005 season brought the return to use of the Symphony Hall organ following a two-year renovation process by the firm of Foley-Baker, Inc., based in Tolland, CT.
Two radio booths used for the taping and broadcasting of concerts overlook the stage at audience-left. For recording sessions, equipment is installed in an area of the basement. The hall was completely air-conditioned during the summer of 1973, and in 1975 a six- passenger elevator was installed in the Massachusetts Avenue stairwell. The Massachu- setts Avenue lobby and box office were completely renovated in 2005.
Symphony Hall has been the scene of more than 250 world premieres, including major works by Samuel Barber, Béla Bartók, Elliott Carter, Aaron Copland, Henri Dutilleux, George Gershwin, Sofia Gubaidulina, John Harbison, Walter Piston, Sergei Prokofiev, Roger Sessions, Igor Stravinsky, Michael Tippett, John Williams, and Ellen Taaffe Zwilich. For many years the biggest civic building in Boston, it has also been used for many purposes other than concerts, among them the First Annual Automobile Show of the Boston Auto-
week 19b a brief history of symphony hall 23
S Archives BSO
Symphony Hall in the early 1940s, with the main entrance still on Huntington Avenue, before the intersection of Massachusetts and Huntington avenues was reconstructed so the Green Line could run underground
mobile Dealers’ Association (1903), the Boston premiere of Cecil B. DeMille’s film version of Carmen starring Geraldine Farrar (1915), the Boston Shoe Style Show (1919), a debate on American participation in the League of Nations (1919), a lecture/demonstration by Harry Houdini debunking spiritualism (1925), a spelling bee sponsored by the Boston Herald (1935), Communist Party meetings (1938-40; 1945), Jordan Marsh-sponsored fashion shows “dedicated to the working woman” (1940s), and all the inaugurations of former longtime Boston mayor James Michael Curley.
A couple of interesting points for observant concertgoers: The plaques on the proscenium arch were meant to be inscribed with the names of great composers, but the hall’s original directors were able to agree unanimously only on Beethoven, so his remains the only name above the stage. The ornamental initials “BMH” in the staircase railings on the Huntington Avenue side (originally the main entrance) reflect the original idea to name the building Boston Music Hall, but the old Boston Music Hall, where the BSO had performed since its founding in 1881, was not demolished as planned, and a decision on a substitute name was not reached until Symphony Hall’s opening.
In 1999, Symphony Hall was designated and registered by the United States Department of the Interior as a National Historic Landmark, a distinction marked in a special ceremony at the start of the 2000-01 season. In 2000-01, the Boston Symphony Orchestra marked the centennial of its home, renewing Symphony Hall’s role as a crucible for new music activity, as a civic resource, and as a place of public gathering. The programming and celebratory events included world premieres of works commissioned by the BSO, the first steps of a new master plan to strengthen Symphony Hall’s public presence, and the launching of an initiative to extend the sights and sounds of Symphony Hall via the internet. Recent renova- tions have included new electrical, lighting, and fire safety systems; an expanded main lobby with a new marble floor; and, in 2006, a new hardwood stage floor matching the specifications of the original. For the start of the 2008-09 season, Symphony Hall’s clerestory windows (the semi-circular windows in the upper side walls of the auditorium) were reopened, allowing natural light into the auditorium for the first time since the 1940s. Now more than a century old, Symphony Hall continues to serve the purpose for which it was built, fostering the presence of music familiar and unfamiliar, old and new—a mission the BSO continues to carry forward into the world of tomorrow.
week 19b a brief history of symphony hall 25 andris nelsons, ray and maria stata music director designate bernard haitink, lacroix family fund conductor emeritus seiji ozawa, music director laureate Boston Symphony Orchestra 133rd season, 2013–2014
Saturday, March 8, 8pm | the great benefactors concert
members of the boston symphony orchestra menahem pressler, piano
all-mozart program
serenade no. 6 in d, k.239, “serenata notturna” Marcia: Maestoso Menuetto Rondeau: Allegretto malcolm lowe, solo violin haldan martinson, solo violin steven ansell, solo viola lawrence wolfe, solo double bass
The Mozart memorial in Vienna
26 piano quartet in g minor, k.478 Allegro Andante Rondo: Allegro menahem pressler, piano malcolm lowe, violin steven ansell, viola sato knudsen, cello
{intermission}
serenade no. 10 in b-flat for winds, k.361(370a) Largo—Molto allegro Menuetto; Trio I; Trio II Adagio Menuetto: Allegretto; Trio I; Trio II Romance: Adagio—Allegretto—Adagio Theme (Andante) and Variations Finale: Molto allegro
bank of america and emc corporation are proud to sponsor the bso’s 2013-2014 season.
This concert will end about 9:50. Concertmaster Malcolm Lowe performs on a Stradivarius violin, known as the “Lafont,” generously donated to the Boston Symphony Orchestra by the O’Block Family. Steinway and Sons Pianos, selected exclusively for Symphony Hall. Special thanks to The Fairmont Copley Plaza and Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, and Commonwealth Worldwide Chauffeured Transportation. In consideration of the performers and those around you, please turn off all electronic devices during the concert, including tablets, cellular phones, pagers, watch alarms, and texting devices of any kind. Thank you for your cooperation. Please note that taking pictures of the orchestra—whether photographs or videos—is prohibited during concerts.
week 19b program 27 The Program in Brief...
In addition to writing music for concerts and the stage, like most composers of his era Mozart wrote many pieces intended as background for parties and other purposes. These were called by various names, such as serenade or divertimento. The Serenata notturna, written about 1776 while Mozart was living in Salzburg, features an ensemble of two solo violins, viola, and double bass in opposition to a larger group, consisting of groups of first and second violins plus violas, cellos, and timpani. The Serenata notturna is in three movements—a march, a minuet, and a rondeau finale. Throughout the piece, the contrast between the quartet of soloists and the larger ensemble is almost concerto- like, particularly since the two violins in the quartet frequently take the lead.
Mozart’s two works for the combination of piano, violin, viola, and cello are considered the first masterpieces of the genre. The G minor quartet was written in October 1785 to fulfill part of a commission for three piano quartets. Mozart’s publisher felt the piece was too difficult for the amateur performers who formed the market for such works, so the contract was canceled, but the composer went ahead and wrote the E-flat quartet the following spring. These were the years of Mozart’s greatest popularity as a composer and performer of piano concertos, so it’s no surprise that there are parallels between the genres: although the piano in the quartets doesn’t have a solo role, it’s very much in a state of contrast and balance with the string group. The G minor in particular is like a mini-concerto, cast in a concerto-like three-movement form, fast-slow-fast, with a con- cluding rondo. It begins with a rather stentorian unison but leaves an overall impression of lyricism and expressive detail.
The differences between the two serenades on this program illustrate the great variety within the genre. Written about five years after the Serenata notturna, the Gran partita for twelve winds and double bass is on a much larger scale, with seven movements totaling over forty-five minutes. It’s considered by many to be the greatest masterwork for wind ensemble. The Gran partita was likely written around the time Mozart moved to Vienna in 1781; it was probably this work that was performed by his friend, the clarinetist Anton Stadler, in 1784. Mozart was unsurpassed in writing for wind instruments: even Haydn, more than twenty years his senior, gave Mozart credit for teaching him how to write for winds. Encompassing music of many different qualities from boisterous to yearning, the Gran partita has seven movements, including two slow movements, two minuets, and a theme and variations sandwiched between its fast outer movements.
Robert Kirzinger
28 Wolfgang Amadè Mozart Serenade No. 6 in D, K.239, “Serenata notturna”
JOANNES CHRISOSTOMUS WOLFGANG GOTTLIEB MOZART—who began calling himself Wolfgango Amadeo about 1770 and Wolfgang Amadè about 1777 (he used “Amadeus” only in jest)—was born in Salzburg, Austria, on January 27, 1756, and died in Vienna on December 5, 1791. He composed the “Serenata notturna” in January 1776; the date and location of its first per- formance are not known.
THE SCORE OF THE “SERENATA NOTTURNA” calls for a solo ensemble of two violins, viola, and double bass, plus a larger ensemble of timpani and strings.
A large part of Mozart’s musical output—especially during the years before he went to Vienna for good—consisted of what we would call background music, compositions writ- ten for a party given by some socially prominent Salzburger, to be played perhaps during dinner to the inevitable non-musical accompaniment of conversation and the clatter of silverware and crockery. The lucky patrons who had the good fortune to find a genius providing the music for their party (whether they appreciated this fact or not) usually remain unidentified. Such is the case with the Serenata notturna. From Mozart’s own dated manuscript, we know that he composed the piece in the month of January 1776, when outdoor musical activity would have been out of the question.
As with so many 18th-century serenades, the first movement is a march, theoretically designed to allow the musicians to enter and, if played again at the end, to exit. (Of course, string players—especially cellists and bassists—are not likely to march while playing, but the tradition grew up at a time when most serenades were for wind ensem- bles.) The playing off of solo quartet against the larger string ensemble punctuated by timpani lends a concerto grosso quality to the piece, and the occasional pizzicatos in the larger string group suggest guitars and other plucked string instruments that would often be part of a real serenade. The minuet has a Gallic grace, varied by the use of the solo
Posthumous portrait of Mozart by Barbara Krafft, 1819
week 19b program notes 29 Program page for the first Boston Symphony Orchestra performances of Mozart’s “Serenata notturna” on December 9 and 10, 1921, with Vincent d’Indy conducting (BSO Archives)
30 ensemble alone for the Trio. The closing rondo is the largest movement of this short, delightful work. One of the episodes comes as quite a surprise, with a sudden shift to a 3/4 Adagio for a steady dance-like passage presented by the solo quartet, soon followed by a 2/4 Allegro in the full ensemble. Both of the tunes presented here are interpolations, apparently melodies well known to Mozart’s audience but forgotten today. They are included as a kind of joke, but even though we have lost the key to understanding its point, we can’t complain, since the rondo theme recurs and concludes with the greatest charm and good humor.
Steven Ledbetter steven ledbetter was program annotator of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1979 to 1998 and now writes program notes for orchestras and other ensembles throughout the country.
THEFIRSTBOSTONSYMPHONYPERFORMANCESOFTHE“SERENATANOTTURNA” were given by Vincent d’Indy in December 1921, subsequent BSO performances being given only much later, starting with a Tanglewood performance under Charles Munch in July 1960. Since then, there have been BSO performances led by Bernard Haitink (February 1971, to open his very first program with the orchestra), Sir Colin Davis, Christoph Eschenbach, André Previn, Marek Janowski, and Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos (whose subscription performances in April 2006 were the orchestra’s most recent until the performance played here on this season’s all-Mozart concert of January 14). It was also Frühbeck de Burgos who led the most recent Tanglewood performance, on July 11, 2010.
week 19b program notes 31
Wolfgang Amadè Mozart Quartet in G minor for piano, violin, viola, and cello, K.478
The key of G minor seemed to have a special resonance for Mozart. When he chose to use it, the music that resulted was always of a special impassioned character, whether it was in the early symphony, K.183, the string quintet K.516, the later and incomparably greater Symphony No. 40, K.550, or Pamina’s aria, “Ach ich fühl’s,” from The Magic Flute. And, of course, the Piano Quartet, K.478. With this piece Mozart virtually created the genre of piano quartet and established it as a useful chamber ensemble (though a danger- ous one, since in the hands of a composer with an ear less acute than Mozart’s the piano inevitably tends to overbalance the strings). The quartet was apparently composed on commission from the publisher Franz Anton Hoffmeister, who requested three pieces in this medium. The first to be composed was the present G minor quartet (it was completed on October 16, 1785); the public didn’t buy it, finding it much too difficult to play, and Hoffmeister decided to cancel the commission rather than to waste money publishing more works that were beyond the abilities of the average chamber performer. (Mozart did, in the end, write one more piano quartet about nine months later, but it was published by Artaria rather than Hoffmeister.)
The first movement, an imperious Allegro in G minor, features a powerful opening in octaves that plays a strong motivic role throughout the movement. Adroitly placed sforzandi stretch the phrases of the second theme in a charmingly unexpected way. The Andante, in the closely related key of B-flat, has a wonderful harmonic richness decorated by elabo- rate runs for each of the four instruments in turn. It comes as a bit of a surprise that the final movement turns to the conventional “happy ending” of the major key after such expressive weight in the first two movements. But though it is undeniably lighter in mood than what preceded it, the frequent passing chromatic notes, entering already in the first measure, show that the finale, too, is cut from the same expressive cloth and is not merely a bow to custom. With this quartet and its later companion piece (K.493), Mozart at one stroke set a standard for the new medium that has been aimed at but never surpassed.
Steven Ledbetter
Silverpoint drawing of Mozart by Doris Stock, 1789
week 19b program notes 33
Wolfgang Amadè Mozart Serenade No. 10 in B-flat for winds, K.361(370a), “Gran partita”
WOLFGANG MOZART evidently composed his B-flat wind serenade shortly before February 1784, though he may have begun it as early as 1781; the work was first performed in late March of 1784 in a concert given by Anton Stadler.
THE WORK IS SCORED for two oboes, two clarinets, two basset horns, two bassoons, four horns, and double bass.
Anton Stadler was Mozart’s favorite clarinetist, with whom he played the first performance of the E-flat quintet, K.452, for piano and winds (Mozart was the pianist on that occasion) and who premiered the Clarinet Quintet, K.581, in 1789. When Stadler planned a benefit concert in the early spring of 1784, a Vienna newspaper announced that the program would include “a big wind piece of quite an exceptional kind composed by Herr Mozart.” A later writer described the piece with enough detail to pinpoint the B-flat serenade: I heard music for wind instruments today by Herr Mozart, in four movements, glorious and sublime. It consisted of thirteen instruments; viz. four corni, two oboi, two fagotti, two clarinetti, two basset-corni, a contre-violin, and at each instrument sat a master— glorious and grand, excellent and sublime.
The instrumentation listed here (in a terminology in the style of Mozart’s day) corresponds exactly to that of this Serenade in B-flat. The only surprise is the mention of four move- ments, since the full work as we know it has seven. One possibility is that Mozart enlarged the piece to seven movements after the premiere. But inspection of the composer’s manuscript suggests, rather, that it was all composed at the same time. What no doubt happened, then, is that the players chose the movements they liked best from a very long
A 1777 portrait of Mozart wearing the Papal Order of the Golden Spur, presented to him in 1770 in Rome by the Pope
week 19b program notes 35 Program page for the first Boston Symphony Orchestra performances of Mozart’s “Gran partita” (five movements only) on December 2 and 3, 1932, with Serge Koussevitzky conducting (BSO Archives)
36 composition (it runs nearly an hour at full length) and just played those, as has been the case at many performances since then.
The classical serenade was a rather freewheeling genre, designed for entertainment and employed frequently in circumstances where listeners would not be concentrating on music so much as on food, drink, and conversation. The performers sought to fill the available time with attractive and varied music. Rarely was such music composed by a master of the likes of Mozart, and rarely does it reward serious attention so much as in the present instance. There has long been a tradition, repeated in many books, that Mozart began to compose the Serenade when he was in Munich in 1781 for the perform- ances of his opera Idomeneo, in which Stadler was the principal clarinetist, and that he completed it at a later time. But the paper and handwriting in the original manuscript offer no support for this view. It is most likely that he composed it fairly soon after arriving
week 19b program notes 37 in Vienna in 1781, though it then (most unusually) remained unperformed for some three years. In February 1784, Mozart began keeping a carefully dated catalogue of his works; because the Serenade is not listed therein, it is safe to assume that it was completed, at the very latest, by January 1784.
Mozart loved the sound of the clarinet and wrote for it felicitously, so it is not surprising that with Stadler playing the principal part he should feature the clarinets. Indeed, he created a unique sonority by adding to his two clarinets the plaintive tone of two basset horns (a lower-pitched cousin of the clarinet) and the richness of four horns (two pairs in different keys). The work revels in ever-changing combinations of instruments, alter- nating solo with tutti, mixing the timbres, yet retaining a brilliant clarity overall.
Mozart composed three great wind serenades in Vienna: the present work in B-flat, K.361(370a), often called the “Gran Partita” from a heading added to the manuscript in a hand other than Mozart’s; a serenade in E-flat, K.375, composed in October 1781 for wind sextet (clarinets, bassoons, and horns in pairs) and expanded the following July to include two oboes; and a work in C minor, K.388(384a), “Nacht Musique,” composed in July 1782. The change in character of these consecutive pieces is striking. The first is the most loosely built of the three, in an open-ended pattern of seven movements, suitable for use as accompaniment to a cheerful occasion. The second is similar in character, but briefer, consisting of five movements, with a Menuetto placed on either side of a slow movement, and the whole framed by two larger and faster movements. The remaining
week 19b program notes 39 40 work is altogether mysterious: composed for an unknown occasion, it has four move- ments (like a symphony) and is surprisingly somber and scarcely suitable for a party. Evidently Mozart was moving decisively away from the Salzburg style of serenade, which had, first of all, been a work for orchestra, with the full string complement, and had embodied the loose-limbed, almost casual character of the B-flat serenade. Later he increasingly considered these works as “night pieces,” ultimately composing one that approaches a dark night of the soul. In Vienna, where the social milieu for the earlier sort of party pieces was lacking, Mozart turned more and more from the associated casual- ness of style.
With the Gran Partita, however, we have not moved far from the Salzburg origins. The first movement begins with a slow introduction that wastes no time in introducing the principal clarinet (undoubtedly Stadler’s part). The introduction builds to a climax that resolves in sighs, a gesture that will play an important part in the main section of the movement. The ensuing Molto allegro quotes a theme from the aria “Je suis douce, je suis bonne,” from Philidor’s opera Maréchal ferrant, a work Mozart might have heard in Paris. The theme serves as both first and second subject, a Haydnesque trick rarely found in Mozart.
The second movement is the first of two labeled “Menuetto”; like the beginning of the Jupiter Symphony, it takes its energy at the outset from the contrast of bold assertions, forte, and gentler responses, piano. The second section features a canon between the top
week 19b program notes 41 42 and bottom of the ensemble, with sustained notes on the horns in the middle. Mozart limits the first of the two Trios to clarinets and their basset horn cousins. After a repeti- tion of the Menuetto, the second Trio arrives in G minor, but with lively triplets counter- acting the poignancy of the key.
The Adagio is one of the great slow movements for winds. Oboe, clarinet, and basset horn enter one by one, then function as a leading trio against the incantatory rhythmic figure of the other parts. The movement’s sustained solemnity is so striking that an unknown musician once arranged it as a sacred chorus to the words “Quis te compre- hendet” (“Who might understand Thee?”) with an attribution to Mozart himself. Few indeed are the serenade movements that could sustain such a sea change!
The second minuet sports two Trios, like the first, again alternating with the main Menuetto in the pattern ABACA. The movement as a whole is in the home key of B-flat, with the first Trio in the dark, then-rare key of B-flat minor. The contrasting second Trio, in F, dances along cheerfully in the rustic mood of an Austrian Ländler.
“Romanze” is a term that Mozart used very rarely in instrumental music. The heading may imply that the work is based on a song, but no one has succeeded in locating the original. The E-flat melody gives way to a dark, fretful, faster middle section in C minor.
The theme with variations is evidently a reworking of a movement from a C major flute quartet composed in 1778 and finished, in any case, before the composition of the pres- ent serenade. But Mozart has thoroughly rethought the scoring of the music, to show off each of the instruments in its best light and to provide abundantly diverse sonorities. One of the variations (No. 4) is in the minor mode, to be followed by a soulful Adagio aria for the oboe (with commentary from the clarinet) and a jovial finale once again evoking the Ländler.
The finale is a cheerful rondo, offering brilliant scoring and infectious musical delight. Its main purpose, it would seem, is to cast out the possible shadows of poignant sentiment that might remain from some of the previous movements and leave every listener in a state of high good humor.
Steven Ledbetter
THEFIRSTBOSTONSYMPHONYPERFORMANCESOFTHE“GRANPARTITA” were given by Serge Koussevitzky, who led five movements of the work on December 2 and 3, 1932, and then again at Tanglewood in 1947. Subsequent BSO performances—complete unless otherwise noted—were led by Charles Munch (four movements), Erich Leinsdorf, Edo de Waart (four movements), Bernard Haitink, and Ingo Metzmacher. It was Leinsdorf who led the BSO’s first complete performance, at Tanglewood on July 11, 1964, as well as the BSO’s first complete subscription performances, in January 1989. The most recent Tanglewood performance was de Waart’s, on July 12, 1987. Until the single performance played in the all-Mozart concert of this past January 14, the most recent sub- scription performances were Metzmacher’s, in February 2005.
week 19b program notes 43
To Read and Hear More...
The important modern biography of Mozart is Maynard Solomon’s Mozart: A Life (HarperPerennial paperback). Peter Gay’s Mozart is a concise, straightforward introduc- tion to the composer’s life, reputation, and artistry (Penguin paperback). John Rosselli’s The life of Mozart is one of the readable, compact composer biographies in the series “Musical Lives” (Cambridge paperback). For deeper delving, there are Stanley Sadie’s Mozart: The Early Years, 1756-1781 (Oxford); Volkmar Braunbehrens’s Mozart in Vienna, 1781-1791, which provides a full picture of the composer’s final decade (HarperPerennial paperback); Julian Rushton’s Mozart: His Life and Work, in the “Master Musicians” series (Oxford), and Robert Gutman’s Mozart: A Cultural Biography (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich/ Harvest paperback). Peter Clive’s Mozart and his Circle: A Biographical Dictionary is a handy reference work with entries on virtually anyone you can think of who figured in Mozart’s life (Yale University Press). The Mozart Compendium: A Guide to Mozart’s Life and
week 19b read and hear more 45 Symphony Shopping
VisitVisit the Symphony ShopShop inin the the Cohen Cohen Wing atat the West Entrance ononHuntington Huntington Avenue. Hours:Open Thursday Tuesday andthrough Saturday, Friday, 3-6pm, 11–4; Saturdayand for all from Symphony 12–6; and Hall from performances one hour beforethrough each intermission. concert through intermission.
46 Music, edited by H.C. Robbins Landon, includes discussion by David Wyn Jones (under the subject heading “Miscellaneous instrumental”) of the Serenata notturna, by Derek Carew of the chamber music for piano and strings, and by Roger Hellyer (under “Har- moniemusik and other works for multiple wind instruments) of the Gran Partita (Schirmer). Basil Smallman includes discussion of the two Mozart piano quartets in The Piano Quartet and Quintet: Style, Structure, and Scoring (Clarendon Press). A. Hyatt King discusses the two piano quartets in Mozart Chamber Music, a volume in the BBC Music Guides series; the series also includes Erik Smith’s Mozart Serenades, Divertimenti, and Dances (University of Washington paperback).
Recordings of the Serenata notturna include Karl Böhm’s with the Berlin Philharmonic (Deutsche Grammophon), Benjamin Britten’s with the English Chamber Orchestra (Decca), Colin Davis’s with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (Brilliant Classics), Roy Goodman’s with the Hanover Band (Nimbus), Peter Maag’s with the London Symphony Orchestra (London/Decca “Legends”), Sir Charles Mackerras’s with the Prague Chamber Orchestra (Telarc), and Sir Neville Marriner’s with Academy of St. Martin in the Fields (Philips).
Menahem Pressler recorded Mozart’s G minor piano quartet, K.478, with his Beaux Arts Trio colleagues Isidore Cohen and Bernard Greenhouse, plus violist Bruno Giuranna (Philips). This is paired with Mozart’s Piano Quartet in E-flat, K.493, as also are the recordings of K.478 with Emanuel Ax, Isaac Stern, Jaime Laredo, and Yo-Yo Ma (Sony); pianist Paul Lewis with the Leopold String Trio (Hyperion); Arthur Rubinstein with Guarneri Quartet members John Dalley, Michael Tree, and Roger Soyer (RCA); Christian Zacharias, Frank Peter Zimmermann, Tabea Zimmermann, and Tilman Wick (EMI); Sir Georg Solti (as pianist) with members of the Melos String Quartet (Decca); and George Szell (as pianist) with members of the Budapest String Quartet, from 1946 (Sony or Archipel).
Recordings of the Gran partita include Daniel Barenboim’s with members of the English Chamber Orchestra (EMI), Pierre Boulez’s with the Ensemble InterContemporain (Decca), Edo de Waart’s with the Netherlands Wind Ensemble (Philips), Philippe Herreweghe’s with the Champs-Élysées Wind Ensemble (Harmonia Mundi), Christopher Hogwood’s with the Amadeus Wind Ensemble (Oiseau-Lyre), Karl Böhm’s with members of the Vienna Philharmonic (Deutsche Grammophon), Sir Charles Mackerras’s with members of the Orchestra of St. Luke’s (Telarc), and a famous 1947 account made by Wilhelm Furtwängler with wind soloists from the Vienna Philharmonic (EMI).
Marc Mandel
week 19b read and hear more 47
Guest Artist
Menahem Pressler
Menahem Pressler, founding member and pianist of the Beaux Arts Trio, has established him- self among the world’s most distinguished and honored musicians, with a career spanning over five decades. Mr. Pressler continues captivating audiences throughout the world as per- former and pedagogue, performing solo and chamber music recitals to critical acclaim while maintaining a dedicated and robust teaching career. Highlights of the current season include multiple “Menachem Pressler and Friends 90th Birthday Celebration Concerts” around the globe, including performances in Paris, New York, and Bloomington (Indiana); solo appear- ances with the Magdeburg Symphony Orchestra and Amsterdam Concertgebouw; a chamber music concert in San Francisco and with members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Symphony Hall; solo piano recitals in Rockford (Illinois), and Leipzig; and collaborations with the New York Chamber Soloists, as well as with the Pacifica, Miro, Ariel, American, Emerson, Gewandhaus, and New Orford quartets. Born in Magdeburg, Germany, in 1923, he fled Nazi Germany in 1939 and emigrated to Israel. His career was launched after he was awarded first prize at the 1946 Debussy International Piano Competition in San Francisco. This was followed by his successful American debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Eugene Ormandy. Since then, his extensive tours of North America and Europe have included per- formances with the orchestras of New York, Chicago, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Dallas, San Francisco, London, Paris, Brussels, Oslo, and Helsinki, among others. In 2007 he was appointed an Honorary Fellow of the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance in recognition of a lifetime of performance and leadership in music. In 2005 he received two additional awards of inter- national merit: the German President’s Deutsche Bundesverdienstkreuz (Cross of Merit) First
week 19b guest artist 49 ZAREH THOMAJAN ~ GREG THOMAJAN
Celebrating our 80th Anniversary
SERVING THE FINANCIAL DISTRICT SINCE 1933
ONE LIBERTY SQUARE BOSTON, MA 02109 617-350-6070
New England’s Largest Oxxford Dealer Visit us at ZarehBoston.com Class, Germany’s highest honor; and France’s highest cultural honor, the Commandeur in the Order of Arts and Letters. Mr. Pressler has received honorary doctorates from the University of Nebraska and the North Carolina School of the Arts, five Grammy nominations, a lifetime achievement award from Gramophone magazine, Chamber Music America’s Distinguished Service Award, and the Gold Medal of Merit from the National Society of Arts and Letters. He has also been awarded the German Critics’ Ehrenurkunde award, election into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2011 International Classical Music Awards. More recently, Gramophone magazine honored Mr. Pressler—as part of the Beaux Arts Trio—in the May 2012 issue “Hall of Fame: 50 People Who Changed Classical Music.” In July 2012, Queen Sofia of Spain presented him with the Yehudi Menuhin Prize for the Integration of Arts and Education. In addition to his busy schedule as a performer, Menahem Pressler has given master classes in Germany, France, Canada, and Argentina, and continues to serve on the jury of the Van Cliburn, Queen Elisabeth, and Arthur Rubinstein competitions. His debut as a chamber musician came in 1955 at Tanglewood, as pianist with the Beaux Arts Trio. Fittingly, Tanglewood presented the Beaux Arts Trio’s farewell American performances in August 2008. Last summer at Tanglewood he appeared with the Boston Symphony Chamber Players. Mr. Pressler’s other chamber music collaborations have included multiple perform- ances with the Juilliard, Emerson, Guarneri, and Cleveland quartets. Besides his many recordings with the Beaux Arts Trio, he has made more than thirty solo recordings, ranging from Bach to Ben Haim. When not touring or giving master classes, Mr. Pressler lives with his wife Sara in Bloomington, Indiana, where he holds the rank of Distinguished Professor at Indiana University.
week 19b guest artist 51 The Great Benefactors
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 Bart Reidy, Director of Development, at 617-638-9469 or [email protected].
ten million and above
Julian Cohen ‡ • Fidelity Investments • Linde Family Foundation • Maria and Ray Stata • Anonymous
seven and one half million
Mr. and Mrs. George D. Behrakis • John F. Cogan, Jr. and Mary L. Cornille
five million
Bank of America and Bank of America Charitable Foundation • Catherine and Paul Buttenwieser • EMC Corporation • Germeshausen Foundation • Ted and Debbie Kelly • NEC Corporation • Megan and Robert O’Block • UBS • Stephen and Dorothy Weber
two and one half million
Mary and J.P. Barger • Peter and Anne Brooke • Eleanor L. and Levin H. Campbell • Chiles Foundation • Cynthia and Oliver Curme/The Lost & Foundation, Inc. • Mara E. Dole ‡ • Alan J. and Suzanne W. Dworsky • The Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel and Fairmont Hotels & Resorts • Jane and Jack Fitzpatrick ‡ • Sally ‡ and Michael Gordon • Susan Morse Hilles ‡ • Stephen B. Kay and Lisbeth L. Tarlow/The Aquidneck Foundation • The Kresge Foundation • Liberty Mutual Foundation, Inc. • Kate and Al Merck • Cecile Higginson Murphy • National Endowment for the Arts • William and Lia Poorvu • John S. and Cynthia Reed • 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 (2)
52 one million Alli and Bill Achtmeyer • Helaine B. Allen • American Airlines • Lois and Harlan Anderson • Mariann Berg (Hundahl) Appley • Arbella Insurance Foundation and Arbella Insurance Group • Dorothy and David B. Arnold, Jr. • AT&T • Gabriella and Leo Beranek • William I. Bernell ‡ • Roberta and George Berry • BNY Mellon • The Boston Foundation • Lorraine D. and Alan S. ‡ Bressler • Jan Brett and Joseph Hearne • Gregory E. Bulger Foundation/Gregory Bulger and Richard Dix • Ronald G. and Ronni J. Casty • Commonwealth Worldwide Chauffeured Transportation • Mr. and Mrs. William H. Congleton ‡ • William F. Connell ‡ and Family • Country Curtains • Diddy and John Cullinane • Edith L. and Lewis S. Dabney • Elisabeth K. and Stanton W. Davis ‡ • Mary Deland R. de Beaumont ‡ • William and Deborah Elfers • Elizabeth B. Ely ‡ • Nancy S. ‡ and John P. Eustis II • Shirley and Richard Fennell • Anna E. Finnerty ‡ • The Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation • Marie L. Gillet ‡ • Sophia and Bernard Gordon • Mrs. Donald C. Heath ‡ • Francis Lee Higginson ‡ • Major Henry Lee Higginson ‡ • Edith C. Howie ‡ • Dorothy and Charlie Jenkins • John Hancock Financial Services • Muriel E. and Richard L. ‡ Kaye • Nancy D. and George H. ‡ Kidder • Kingsbury Road Charitable Foundation • Farla and Harvey Chet ‡ Krentzman • Lizbeth and George Krupp • Barbara and Bill Leith ‡ • Nancy and Richard Lubin • Vera M. and John D. MacDonald ‡ • Nancy Lurie Marks Family Foundation • Carmine A. and Beth V. Martignetti • Commonwealth of Massachusetts • Massachusetts Cultural Council • The McGrath Family • The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation • Henrietta N. Meyer • Mr. and Mrs. Nathan R. Miller ‡ • Mr. and Mrs. Paul M. Montrone • Richard P. and Claire W. Morse Foundation • William Inglis Morse Trust • Mary S. Newman • Mrs. Mischa Nieland ‡ and Dr. Michael L. Nieland • Mr. ‡ and Mrs. Norio Ohga • P&G Gillette • Polly and Dan Pierce • Carol and Joe Reich • Mary G. and Dwight P. Robinson, Jr. ‡ • Susan and Dan ‡ Rothenberg • Carole and Edward I. Rudman • Richard Saltonstall Charitable Foundation • Wilhemina C. (Hannaford) Sandwen ‡ • Hannah H. ‡ and Dr. Raymond Schneider • Carl Schoenhof Family • Kristin and Roger Servison • Ruth ‡ and Carl J. Shapiro • Miriam Shaw Fund • 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 ‡ • Diana O. Tottenham • The Wallace Foundation • Edwin S. Webster Foundation • Roberta and Stephen R. Weiner • The Helen F. Whitaker Fund • Helen and Josef Zimbler ‡ • Brooks and Linda Zug • Anonymous (8)
‡ Deceased
week 19b the great benefactors 53
Administration
Mark Volpe, Eunice and Julian Cohen Managing Director, endowed in perpetuity Anthony Fogg, Artistic Administrator Marion Gardner-Saxe, Director of Human Resources 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 Thomas D. May, Chief Financial Officer Kim Noltemy, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Bart Reidy, Director of Development Ray F. Wellbaum, Orchestra Manager administrative staff/artistic
Bridget P. Carr, Senior Archivist • Julie Giattina Moerschel, Executive Assistant to the Managing Director • Vincenzo Natale, Chauffeur/Valet • Claudia Robaina, Manager of Artists Services administrative staff/production Christopher W. Ruigomez, Director of Concert Operations
Jennifer Chen, Audition Coordinator/Assistant to the Orchestra Personnel Manager • H.R. Costa, Technical Director • Vicky Dominguez, Operations Manager • Erik Johnson, Chorus Manager • Jake Moerschel, Assistant Stage Manager • Leah Monder, Production Manager • John Morin, Stage Technician • Sarah Pantcheff, Concert Operations Administrator • Mark C. Rawson, Stage Technician boston pops Dennis Alves, Director of Artistic Planning
Wei Jing Saw, Assistant Manager of Artistic Administration • Amanda Severin, Manager of Artistic Planning and Services business office
Sarah J. Harrington, Director of Planning and Budgeting • Mia Schultz, Director of Investment Operations and Compliance • Natasa Vucetic, Controller
Sophia Bennett, Staff Accountant • Thomas Engeln, Budget Assistant • Karen Guy, Accounts Payable Supervisor • Minnie Kwon, Payroll Associate • Evan Mehler, Budget Manager • John O’Callaghan, Payroll Supervisor • Nia Patterson, Senior Accounts Payable Assistant • Harriet Prout, Accounting Manager • Mario Rossi, Staff Accountant • Teresa Wang, Staff Accountant
week 19b administration 57 58 development
Joseph Chart, Director of Major Gifts • Susan Grosel, Director of Annual Funds and Donor Relations • Nina Jung, Director of Board, Donor, and Volunteer Engagement • Ryan Losey, Director of Foundation and Government Relations • John C. MacRae, Director of Principal and Planned Gifts • Richard Subrizio, Director of Development Communications • Mary E. Thomson, Director of Corporate Initiatives • Jennifer Roosa Williams, Director of Development Research and Information Systems
Cara Allen, Assistant Manager of Development Communications • Leslie Antoniel, Assistant Director of Society Giving • Erin Asbury, Manager of Volunteer Services • Stephanie Baker, Assistant Director, Campaign Planning and Administration • Lucy Bergin, Annual Funds Coordinator • Maria Capello, Grant Writer • Diane Cataudella, Associate Director of Donor Relations • Allison Cooley, Associate Director of Society Giving • Catherine Cushing, Donor Relations Coordinator • Emily Diaz, Assistant Manager of Gift Processing • Christine Glowacki, Annual Funds Coordinator, Friends Program • David Grant, Assistant Director of Development Information Systems • Barbara Hanson, Senior Major Gifts Officer • James Jackson, Assistant Director of Telephone Outreach • Jennifer Johnston, Graphic Designer • Sabrina Karpe, Manager of Direct Fundraising and Friends Membership • Anne McGuire, Assistant Manager of Major Gifts and Corporate Initiatives • Jill Ng, Senior Major and Planned Giving Officer • Suzanne Page, Campaign Gift Officer • Kathleen Pendleton, Development Events and Volunteer Services Coordinator • Carly Reed, Donor Acknowledgment Coordinator • Emily Reeves, Manager of Planned Giving • Amanda Roosevelt, Senior Executive Assistant for Development • Alexandria Sieja, Manager of Development Events • Yong-Hee Silver, Senior Major Gifts Officer • Michael Silverman, Call Center Senior Team Leader • Szeman Tse, Assistant Director of Development Research • Nicholas Vincent, Donor Ticketing Associate education and community engagement Jessica Schmidt, Helaine B. Allen Director of Education and Community Engagement
Claire Carr, Manager of Education Programs • Anne Gregory, Assistant Manager of Education and Community Engagement • Emilio Gonzalez, Manager of Curriculum Research and Development • Darlene White, Manager of Berkshire Education and Community Programs facilities C. Mark Cataudella, Director of Facilities symphony hall operations Peter J. Rossi, Symphony Hall Facilities Manager • Tyrone Tyrell, Security and Environmental Services Manager
Charles F. Cassell, Jr., Facilities Compliance and Training Coordinator • Alana Forbes, Facilities Coordinator • Shawn Wilder, Mailroom Clerk maintenance services Jim Boudreau, Electrician • Thomas Davenport, Carpenter • Michael Frazier, Carpenter • Paul Giaimo, Electrician • Steven Harper, HVAC Technician • Sandra Lemerise, Painter environmental services Landel Milton, Lead Custodian • Rudolph Lewis, Assistant Lead Custodian • Desmond Boland, Custodian • Julien Buckmire, Custodian • Claudia Ramirez Calmo, Custodian • Errol Smart, Custodian • Gaho Boniface Wahi, Custodian tanglewood operations Robert Lahart, Tanglewood Facilities Manager
Bruce Peeples, Grounds Supervisor • Peter Socha, Buildings Supervisor • Fallyn Girard, Tanglewood Facilities Coordinator • Stephen Curley, Crew • Richard Drumm, Mechanic • Maurice Garofoli, Electrician • Bruce Huber, Assistant Carpenter/Roofer human resources
Heather Mullin, Human Resources Manager • Susan Olson, Human Resources Recruiter • Kathleen Sambuco, Associate Director of Human Resources
week 19b administration 59 For rates and information on advertising in the Boston Symphony, Boston Pops, and Tanglewood program books, please contact
Eric Lange |Lange Media Sales |781-642-0400 |[email protected]
60 information technology Timothy James, Director of Information Technology
Andrew Cordero, Manager of User Support • Ana Costagliola, Database Business Analyst • Stella Easland, Telephone Systems Coordinator • Michael Finlan, Telephone Systems Manager • Karol Krajewski, Infrastructure Systems Manager • Brian Van Sickle, User Support Specialist • Richard Yung, IT Services Manager public relations
Samuel Brewer, Public Relations Associate • Taryn Lott, Senior Public Relations Associate • David McCadden, Senior Publicist publications Marc Mandel, Director of Program Publications
Robert Kirzinger, Assistant Director of Program Publications—Editorial • Eleanor Hayes McGourty, Assistant Director of Program Publications—Production and Advertising sales, subscription, and marketing
Amy Aldrich, Ticket Operations Manager • Helen N.H. Brady, Director of Group Sales • Alyson Bristol, Director of Corporate Partnerships • Sid Guidicianne, Front of House Manager • Roberta Kennedy, Buyer for Symphony Hall and Tanglewood • Sarah L. Manoog, Director of Marketing • Michael Miller, Director of Ticketing
Elizabeth Battey, Subscriptions Representative • Gretchen Borzi, Associate Director of Marketing • Rich Bradway, Associate Director of E-Commerce and New Media • Lenore Camassar, Associate Manager, SymphonyCharge • Megan Cokely, Group Sales Coordinator and Administrator of Visiting Ensemble Events • Susan Coombs, SymphonyCharge Coordinator • Peter Danilchuk, Subscriptions Representative • Jonathan Doyle, Graphic Designer • Paul Ginocchio, Manager, Symphony Shop and Tanglewood Glass House • Randie Harmon, Senior Manager of Customer Service and Special Projects • George Lovejoy, SymphonyCharge Representative • Jason Lyon, Director of Tanglewood Tourism/ Associate Director of Group Sales • Ronnie McKinley, Ticket Exchange Coordinator • Jeffrey Meyer, Senior Manager, Corporate Partnerships • Michael Moore, Manager of Internet Marketing • Allegra Murray, Manager, Business Partners • Laurence E. Oberwager, Director of Tanglewood Business Partners • Doreen Reis, Advertising Manager • Laura Schneider, Web Content Editor • Robert Sistare, Senior Subscriptions Representative • Richard Sizensky, Access Coordinator • Kevin Toler, Art Director • Himanshu Vakil, Web Application and Security Lead • Amanda Warren, Graphic Designer • Stacy Whalen-Kelley, Senior Manager, Corporate Sponsor Relations box office David Chandler Winn, Manager • Megan E. Sullivan, Assistant Manager/Subscriptions Coordinator box office representatives Mary J. Broussard • John Lawless • Arthur Ryan event services Kyle Ronayne, Director of Event Administration • Sean Lewis, Manager of Venue Rentals and Events Administration • Luciano Silva, Events Administrative Assistant tanglewood music center
Andrew Leeson, Budget and Office Manager • Karen Leopardi, Associate Director for Faculty and Guest Artists • Michael Nock, Associate Director for Student Affairs • Gary Wallen, Associate Director for Production and Scheduling
week 19b administration 61
Boston Symphony Association of Volunteers executive committee Chair, Charles W. Jack Vice-Chair, Boston, Audley H. Fuller Vice-Chair, Tanglewood, Martin Levine Secretary, Susan Price Co-Chairs, Boston Suzanne Baum • Leah Driska • Natalie Slater Co-Chairs, Tanglewood Judith Benjamin • Roberta Cohn • David Galpern Liaisons, Tanglewood Ushers, Judy Slotnick • Glass Houses, Stanley Feld boston project leads and liaisons 2013-14
Café Flowers, Stephanie Henry and Kevin Montague • Chamber Music Series, Judy Albee and Sybil Williams • Computer and Office Support, Helen Adelman and Gerald Dreher • Flower Decorating, Linda Clarke • Guide’s Guide, Audley H. Fuller and Renee Voltmann • Instrument Playground, Beverly Pieper • Mailings, George Mellman • Membership Table/Hall Greeters, Melissa Riesgo • Newsletter, Judith Duffy • Recruitment/Retention/Reward, Gerald Dreher • Symphony Shop, Karen Brown • Tour Guides, Richard Dixon
week 19b administration 63 Next Programs…
From Thursday, March 13, to Saturday, March 22, the Boston Symphony Orchestra under the direc- tion of Christoph von Dohnányi, with piano soloist Yefim Bronfman, performs all five of Beethoven’s piano concertos, plus the Triple Concerto for piano, violin, and cello and the three Leonore Overtures. In addition, the BSO is pleased to offer, in conjunction with these concerts, the second of this sea- son’s “Insights” series, as detailed below.
Thursday, March 13, 8pm Friday, March 14, 8pm (UnderScore Friday concert, including comments from the stage) christoph von dohnányi conducting yefim bronfman, piano beethoven “leonore” overture no. 3; piano concertos 1 and 2
Saturday, March 15, 8pm Tuesday, March 18, 8pm christoph von dohnányi conducting yefim bronfman, piano beethoven “leonore” overture no. 2; piano concertos 3 and 4
Thursday, March 20, 8pm Friday, March 21, 1:30pm (Friday Preview from 12:15-12:45 in Symphony Hall) Saturday, March 22, 8pm christoph von dohnányi conducting yefim bronfman, piano guy braunstein, violin alisa weilerstein, cello beethoven “leonore” overture no. 1; triple concerto; piano concerto no. 5, emperor
BSO “Insights,” March 9-March 17, 2014: BEETHOVEN AND THE PIANO The second of the BSO’s two “Insights” series this season—“Beethoven and the Piano,” presented in connection with the BSO’s Beethoven piano concerto cycle of March 13-22—offers a variety of events presented in partnership with the Museum of Fine Arts and the New England Conservatory of Music: Sunday, March 9, 2:30-4pm, Museum of Fine Arts: “Great Beethoven Piano Performances on Film,” session 1, selected and presented by Richard Dyer Monday, March 10, 7-8:30pm, Symphony Hall: “Beethoven the Pianist: Public and Private, Notation and Improvisation,” a lecture/performance/demonstration by pianists Ran Blake and Bruce Brubaker Thursday, March 13, 5:30-7pm, Museum of Fine Arts: “Sound Bites: Beethoven’s Legacy Among Contemporary Improvisers,” performances by students of the New England Conservatory’s Jazz and Contemporary Improvisation programs, offering personal responses to Beethoven’s enduring influence Sunday, March 16, 2:30-4pm, Museum of Fine Arts: “Great Beethoven Piano Performances on Film,” session 2, selected and presented by Richard Dyer Monday, March 17, 7-8:30pm, Symphony Hall: “From the Prometheus Variations for Piano to the Eroica Symphony: Beethoven as Virtuoso Pianist and Symphonic Revolutionary,” a lecture by preeminent Beethoven scholar Lewis Lockwood For additional information, please visit bso.org.
64 Coming Concerts… friday previews and 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’ March 13, 8-9:55 Thursday ‘B’ March 27, 8-9:55 UnderScore Friday March 14, 8-10:05 Friday ‘B’ March 28, 1:30-3:25 (includes comments from the stage) Saturday ‘B’ March 29, 8-9:55 CHRISTOPHVONDOHNÁNYI, conductor SIR ANDREW DAVIS, conductor YEFIMBRONFMAN, piano YUJAWANG, piano ALL- Leonore Overture No. 3 VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Symphony No. 6 BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 1 PROKOFIEV Piano Concerto No. 2 PROGRAM Piano Concerto No. 2 RIMSKY-KORSAKOV Capriccio espagnol
Saturday ‘A’ March 15, 8-10 Thursday ‘C’ April 3, 8-9:55 Tuesday ‘B’ March 18, 8-10 Friday ‘A’ April 4, 1:30-3:25 CHRISTOPHVONDOHNÁNYI, conductor Saturday ‘A’ April 5, 8-9:55 YEFIMBRONFMAN, piano Tuesday ‘C’ April 8, 8-9:55 ALL- Leonore Overture No. 2 ROBERTSPANO, conductor BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 3 JONATHAN BISS, piano PROGRAM Piano Concerto No. 4 DEBUSSY “Nuages” and “Fêtes” from Nocturnes RANDS Concerto for Piano and Thursday ‘A’ March 20, 8-10 Orchestra (world premiere; Friday ‘A’ March 21, 1:30-3:30 BSO commission) Saturday ‘A’ March 22, 8-10 RACHMANINOFF Symphonic Dances CHRISTOPHVONDOHNÁNYI, conductor YEFIMBRONFMAN, piano Sunday, April 6, 3pm GUYBRAUNSTEIN, violin Jordan Hall, New England Conservatory ALISAWEILERSTEIN, cello BOSTONSYMPHONYCHAMBERPLAYERS ALL- Leonore Overture No. 1 RANDALLHODGKINSON, piano BEETHOVEN Triple Concerto for piano, PROGRAM violin, and cello MILHAUD Suite d’après Corrette, for oboe, clarinet, and bassoon Piano Concerto No. 5, Emperor CURRIER Parallel Worlds, for flute and string quartet (Boston premiere; BSO co-commission) SCHUBERT Octet in F for winds and strings, D.803
Programs and artists subject to change.
Single tickets for all Boston Symphony concerts throughout the season are available online at bso.org, by calling Symphony Charge 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. (Saturday from 12 noon to 6 p.m.). Please note that there is a $6.25 handling fee for each ticket ordered by phone or online.
week 19b coming concerts 65 Symphony Hall Exit PlanPlanSymphony
66 Symphony Hall InformationInformationSymphony
For Symphony Hall concert and ticket information, call (617) 266-1492. For Boston Symphony concert program information, call “C-O-N-C-E-R-T” (266-2378). 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 Event Administration, Symphony Hall, Boston, MA 02115. The Box Office is open from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. Monday through Friday (12 noon until 6 p.m. on Saturday). On concert evenings it remains open through intermission for BSO events or a half-hour past starting time for other events. In addition, the box office opens Sunday at 12 noon when there is a concert that afternoon or evening. Single tickets for all Boston Symphony subscription concerts are available at the box office. For most outside events at Symphony Hall, tickets are available three weeks before the concert at the box office or through SymphonyCharge. 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 6 p.m. Monday through Friday (12 noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday). Outside the 617 area code, phone 1-888-266-1200. As noted above, tickets can also be purchased online. There is a handling fee of $6.25 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-five 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 Group Sales at (617) 638-9345 or (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 Administrator line at (617) 638-9431 or TDD/TTY (617) 638-9289. In consideration of our patrons and artists, children age four or younger 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.
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 19b symphony hall information 67 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. Ticket Resale: If you are unable to attend a Boston Symphony concert for which you hold a subscription ticket, you may make your ticket available for resale by calling (617) 266-1492 during business hours, or (617) 638-9426 up to one hour before the 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, Thursday, and Friday evenings, and on Friday afternoons. The low price of these seats is assured through the Morse Rush Seat Fund. Rush Tickets are sold at $9 each, one to a customer, at the Symphony Hall box office on Fridays as of 10 a.m. for afternoon concerts, and on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays as of 5 p.m. for evening concerts. Please note that there are no Rush Tickets available for 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 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. As a special benefit, guaranteed pre-paid parking near Symphony Hall is available to subscribers who attend evening con- certs. For more information, call the Subscription Office at (617) 266-7575. 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 bal- cony, 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 All-Classical. BSO Friends: The Friends are donors who contribute $75 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 Thursday 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.
68