BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ON OCTOBER 20, 21, AND 22
Centerpiece of BSO Series Is Concert Performance of Richard Strauss’s Elektra with
Soprano Christine Goerke Singing the Title Role
Concerts Also Feature Paul Lewis as Guest Soloist in Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3, and
Prokofiev’s Alexander Nevsky with Nadezhda Serdyuk and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus
 Carnegie Hall presents the renowned Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) led by Music Director Andris Nelsons in three concerts this October. The orchestra’s series this season begins on Tuesday, October 20 at 8:00 p.m. with the New York premiere of Sebastian Currier’s Divisions. Acclaimed pianist Paul Lewis is guest soloist in Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 37 and the BSO and Mr. Nelsons conclude with a performance of Brahms’s Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73.
The following evening, on Wednesday, October 21 at 8:00 p.m., Mr. Nelsons leads the orchestra in a concert performance of Richard Strauss’s opera Elektra with soprano Christine Goerke singing the title role. The cast also features soprano Gun-Brit Barkmin as Chrysothemis, mezzo-soprano Jane Henschel as Klytaemnestra, tenor Gerhard Siegel as Aegisth, and baritone James Rutherford as Orest. The Boston Symphony Orchestra and Mr. Nelsons conclude their New York concerts on Thursday, October 22 at 8:00 p.m. with mezzo-soprano Nadezhda Serdyuk and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus singing Prokofiev’s Alexander Nevsky, Op. 78 Also on the program is Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances, Op. 45. Maestro Nelsons and the BSO last appeared at Carnegie Hall in April 2015 at which time Mr. Nelsons made his New York debut as the orchestra’s new music director. About the Artists Mr. Nelsons’s appointment as the BSO’s music director cements his reputation as one of the most renowned conductors on the international scene today, a distinguished name on both the opera and concert podiums. He has been critically acclaimed as music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO), which he led from 2008 to summer 2015. Mr. Nelsons made his debut in Japan on tour with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and returned to tour Japan and the Far East with the CBSO in November 2013. Over the next few seasons, he will continue collaborations with the Berliner Philharmoniker, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the Philharmonia Orchestra. Mr. Nelsons is a regular guest at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; the Vienna State Opera; and New York’s Metropolitan Opera. In summer 2014, he returned to the Bayreuth Festival to conduct Lohengrin in a production directed by Hans Neuenfels, which Mr. Nelsons premiered at Bayreuth in 2010. Born in Riga in 1978 into a family of musicians, Andris Nelsons began his career as a trumpeter in the Latvian National Opera Orchestra before studying conducting. He was principal conductor of Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie in Herford, Germany, from 2006 to 2009 and music director of Latvian National Opera from 2003 to 2007. Now in its 135th season, the Boston Symphony Orchestra gave its inaugural concert in 1881. Today the BSO reaches millions of listeners, not only through its concert performances in Boston and at Tanglewood, but also via the internet, radio, television, educational programs, recordings, and tours. It commissions works from today’s most important composers; its summer season at Tanglewood is among the world’s most important music festivals; it helps develop future audiences through BSO Youth Concerts and educational outreach programs involving the entire Boston community; and, during the Tanglewood season, it operates the Tanglewood Music Center, one of the world’s most important training grounds for young professional-caliber musicians. The Boston Symphony Chamber Players, made up of BSO principals, are known worldwide, and the Boston Pops Orchestra sets an international standard for performances of lighter music. The Boston Symphony Orchestra gave its inaugural concert on October 22, 1881, under Georg Henschel, who remained as conductor until 1884. For nearly twenty years, BSO concerts were held in the old Boston Music Hall; Symphony Hall, one of the world’s most revered concert halls, opened on October 15, 1900. Henschel was succeeded by the German-born and -trained conductors Wilhelm Gericke, Arthur Nikisch, Emil Paur, and Max Fiedler, culminating in the appointment of the legendary Karl Muck, who served two tenures, 1906-08 and 1912-18. Henri Rabaud, engaged as conductor in 1918, was succeeded a year later by Pierre Monteux. These appointments marked the beginning of a French tradition maintained, even during the Russian-born Serge Koussevitzky’s tenure (1924-49), with the employment of many French-trained musicians. Koussevitzky was succeeded in 1949 by Charles Munch, who continued supporting contemporary composers, introduced much French music to the repertoire, and led the BSO on its first international tours. In 1956, the BSO, under the direction of Charles Munch, was the first American orchestra to tour the Soviet Union. Erich Leinsdorf began his term as music director in 1962, to be followed in 1969 by William Steinberg. Seiji Ozawa became the BSO’s thirteenth music director in 1973. His historic twenty-nine-year tenure extended until 2002, when he was named Music Director Laureate. In 1979, the BSO, under the direction of Seiji Ozawa, was the first American orchestra to tour mainland China after the normalization of relations. The first American-born conductor to hold the position, James Levine was the BSO’s music director from 2004 to 2011. Levine led the orchestra in wide-ranging programs that included works newly commissioned for the orchestra’s 125th anniversary, particularly from significant American composers; issued a number of live concert performances on the orchestra’s own label, BSO Classics; taught at the Tangle¬wood Music Center; and in 2007 led the BSO in an acclaimed tour of European music festivals. In May 2013, a new chapter in the history of the Boston Symphony Orchestra was initiated when the internationally acclaimed young Latvian conductor Andris Nelsons was announced as the BSO’s next music director, a position he has taken up in the 2014–2015 season, following a year as music director designate. Program Information SEBASTIAN CURRIER Divisions (NY Premiere) This performance is sponsored by Mizuho Financial Group. Wednesday, October 21, 2015 at 8:00 p.m. RICHARD STRAUSS Elektra, Op. 58 (concert performance) Pre-concert talk starts at 7:00 PM in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage with Fred Plotkin, author of Opera 101 and Classical Music 101. This concert performance is generously underwritten by Robert L. Turner. Thursday, October 22, 2015 at 8:00 p.m. SERGEI PROKOFIEV Alexander Nevsky, Op. 78 Sponsored by DeWitt Stern Group, Inc. Bank of America is the Proud Season Sponsor of Carnegie Hall.
Image of at top of release by Marco Borggreve |
