BOSTON SYMPHONY a? 'i ORCHESTRA FOUNDED IN 1881 BY HENRY LEE HIGGINSON EIGHTY-SIXTH SEASON 1 966- 1 967 ; The Boston Symphony BOSTON SYMPHONY under Leinsdonf ERICH LBlNSWrn? 'The Boston Symphony never sounded finer' was one critic's reac- tion to their performance of Strauss' challenging Ein fieldenleben. Certainly, the orchestration of the semi-autobiographical masterpiece provides a superior showcase for the rich, brilliant sound that is characteristic of the Bostonians. Similarly, the complexities of the score give Leinsdorf ample opportunity to show his directorial bril- liance. Orchestra and conductor together yield a superbly realized whole which has been recordedin D ynagroove on RCA VictorRedSeal. rca Victor The most trusted n*me m sound > @ &^\ r EIGHTY-SIXTH SEASON, 1966-1967 CONCERT BULLETIN OF THE Boston Symphony Orchestra ERICH LEINSDORF, Music Director Charles Wilson, Assistant Conductor The TRUSTEES of the BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, Inc. Henry B. Cabot President Talcott M. Banks Vice-President John L. Thorndike Treasurer Philip K. Allen E. Morton Jennings, Jr. Abram Berkowitz Henry A. La ugh l in Theodore P. Ferris Edward G. Murray Robert H. Gardiner John T. Noonan Francis W. Hatch Mrs. James H. Perkins ! Andrew Heiskell Sidney R. Rabb Harold D. Hodgkinson Raymond S. Wilkins TRUSTEES EMERITUS Palfrey Perkins Lewis Perry Edward A. Taft Oliver Wolcott Thomas D. Perry, Jr., Manager Norman S. Shirk James J. Brosnahan Assistant Manager Business Administrator Sanford R. Sistare Harry J. Kraut Press and Publicity Assistant to the Manager Andrew Raeburn Assistant to the Music Director S Y M PHONY HALL BOSTON [3] Concert programs show that the Steinway is, i Steinway without exception, the choice of pianists piayin America's leading orchestras. Small wonder. official Steinway has the tonal range, the response and artists rely on for their most expressive perforrr piano of Only the Steinway sounds like a Steinway, h in your home. The Instrument the Immorta pianists of You are invited to see and hear our new Steinway Grands and Consoles. Established 1924 Exclusive Steinway Piano Representative for All This Territory 256 Weybosset Street 421-1434 EIGHTY-SIXTH SEASON • NINETEEN HUNDRED SIXTY-SIX-SIXTY-SEVEN Three Hundred and Eighty-ninth Concert in Providence ! Fourth Program THURSDAY EVENING, February 16, at 8:30 o'clock RICHARD BURGIN, Guest Conductor Weber Overture to "Oberon" Shostakovitch * Symphony No. 5, Op. 47 I. Moderato II. Allegretto III. Largo IV. Allegro non troppo INTERMISSION Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2, in C minor, Op. 18 I. Moderato II. Adagio sostenuto III. Allegro scherzando fii SOLOIST GINA BACHAUER Mme. Bachauer plays the Steinway Piano By order of the Chief of the Providence Fire Department, smoking is allowed only in the ticket lobby and the lower lobby of the auditorium. BALDWIN PIANO RCA VICTOR RECORDS RICHARD BURGIN There may be those in Symphony Hall today who recall the Friday afternoon in early October, 1920, when a young man, Richard Burgin, first appeared as Concertmaster of this Orchestra. He was young in years but rich in experience — in his youth he had studied with Joseph Joachim and Leopold Auer, two of the most distinguished teachers of the day, and at the age of eleven had made his first concert appearance with the Warsaw Philharmonic Society. In 1912, Mr. Burgin was appointed Concertmaster of the Helsinki Orchestra, and this engagement was fol- lowed by an appointment in a similar capacity with the Oslo Symphony in 1916, where he stayed until he came to Boston at the invitation of Pierre Monteux, the Conductor at that time. As Concertmaster of this Orchestra, Richard Burgin has made over eighty solo appearances in concertos ranging from Bach to Lopatnikov. His keen musical mind has spanned the repertoire from the classical concertos to those of Prokofiev and Hindemith. His performances of the Sibelius Concerto were particularly noteworthy because of his close association with the Finnish composer. Mr. Burgin first conducted the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1924, substituting for the indisposed Serge Koussevitzky, and from then on his appearances on the podium were frequent. He was appointed Assistant Conductor in 1935, and eight years later became Associate Conductor. Over the years he has conducted more than 320 Boston Symphony Orchestra concerts in the United States, Australia and Japan. These concerts have included many United States and world premieres. Among the latter were the Symphony No. 1 by Easley Blackwood, and Attis by Robert Moevs. His early appreciation of Shostakovitch led him to be the first to perform the First and Fifth Symphonies by that composer at these concerts. He conducted the first Boston performance of the Symphonia Serena of Hindemith, a composer whom he has highly regarded. At the end of last summer's Berkshire Festival, Mr. Burgin retired as Associate Conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He actively continues his career as Professor of Music at Florida State University at Tallahassee, where he teaches violin and is a member of the University's String Quartet-in-Residence, as is his wife, the violinist Ruth Posselt. He has conducted Beethoven's Ninth Symphony at the University, and has also been in charge of the annual Florida State University Conduct- ing Symposium since joining the faculty. Last summer he was active in the Daytona Beach Festival, during which he conducted the London Symphony Orchestra. This Orchestra has been uncommonly fortunate to have as one of its central members a man of such musical gifts, intellectual force and complete dedication. The Trustees gratefully acknowledge their debt and offer their warm wishes to Mr. and Mrs. Burgin in their future careers. [6] OVERTURE TO THE OPERA "OBERON" By Carl Maria von Weber Born in Eutin, Oldenburg in Germany, November 18, 1786; died in London, June 5, 1826 The Opera Oberon, or The Elf King's Oath, completed April 9, 1826, had its first production at Covent Garden, London, on April 12, the composer conducting. Weber composed it by order of Charles Kemble, Manager of the Covent Garden. The text, by James Robinson Planche, was an English translation of C. M. Wieland's Oberon. Planche was helped by the earlier translation of W. Sotheby. Oberon was first heard in Germany in Leipzig, December 23 of the same year. The first performance in America has been stated as given at the Park Theatre, New York, October 9, 1828. Philip Hale, remarking that Oberon has undergone many revisions on account of its bulk of spoken text, doubts whether this performance was "exactly as Weber wrote it" and names the "first veritable performance" as one given at the Academy of Music in New York by the Parepa-Rosa English opera company, March 29, 1870. The first performance in Boston was in Music Hall by this same company, May 23, 1870. The opera was revived at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, December 28, 1918, when Artur Bodanzky conducted; Rosa Ponselle sang Rezia; Giovanni Marti- nelli, Sir Huon. The Overture is scored for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani, and strings. At the end of the manuscript score of the romantic opera Oberon, the composer wrote the customary words "Soli Deo Gloria!" Weber had good reasons to offer this exclamation of pious relief. The text of the opera had been hurried to him act by act for composition. • furniture • carpeting • lamps • accessories • interior planning contemporary furniture \^ NEW INTERIORS 724-5050 north main street at providence-pawtucket line [7] Its production at the Covent Garden on April 12 was but three days away. He had been compelled to work in great haste and likewise to learn English, for the libretto of James Robinson Planche was in that language.* The plot was as involved as most opera plots were apt to be at that time. He objected in a letter to the librettist, "The intermixing of so many principal actors who do not sing — the omission of the music in the most important moments — all these things deprive our Oberon of the title of an opera, and will make him [sic] unfit for all other &P theatres in Europe, which is a very bad thing for me, but — passons Wkl la-dessus." Weber was correct in his assumption. Oberon as a drama with inci- dental music was not suitable for the opera houses of the continent, and accordingly was to undergo revisions with the insertion of recita- tives and even numbers from his other operas. The plot was full of the extravagant conceits of magic and love under tribulation which were the fashion of the time. Oberon quarrels with Titania (hers was a silent part), swears that peace will not be made between them until a pair of mortal lovers prove faithful under the severest trials. The hero, Sir Huon, travels to the East under the supernatural guidance of Puck as Oberon's agent, abducts the Princess Rezia. Both are captured by pirates and condemned to death. But the intervention of the magic horn of Oberon (it is also heard in the Overture) saves their lives. One suspects that the popularity of Oberon in London (it ran through thirty-one performances in its first season) had something to do with its resemblance to a pantomime even more than an opera. Mr. Planche" * Weber, in "one hundred and fifty-three lessons," made himself sufficiently familiar with English for the purposes of composing Oberon. He could express himself in letters to Planche at length and clearly, if not accurately. When Planche sent him a French translation of the text, he answered: "I thank you obligingly for your goodness of having translated the verses in French ; but it was not so necessary, because I am, though yet a weak, however a diligent student of the English language." The Only Maternity Shop in Downtown Providence Every Wardrobe Need for the Mother-to-be One- and two-piece dresses • suits • jackets • skirts sweaters • slacks • lingerie • girdles • bras THE MATERNITY SHOP 172 MATHEWSON STREET PROVIDENCE : RHODE ISLAND PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA Francis Madeira, Musical Director • Oct.