2009-2010 Season
As I contemplate the current season of the Boston Philharmonic, I am yet again conscious of how blessed I feel as I embark on my 8th decade. I have, in the Boston Philharmonic, an extraordinary orchestra of highly accomplished musicians, who love playing together and are eager to tackle the great works in the orchestral repertoire. We are introducing three of the most exciting soloists of the new generation—each one performing here for the first time since launching international careers: violinist Feng Ning, who combines in equal measure breathtaking virtuosity and aristocratic musicianship; Linda Watson, who trained at the New England Conservatory and now returns to Boston as one of the leading Wagnerian sopranos of our day; and Dutch harpist, Gwyneth Wentink, who is the hottest star in the harp world.
I've been conducting some of my favorite works, music that has fascinated and enthralled me all my life - Brahms’ violin concerto and Dvořák’s Seventh Symphony. I once spent an entire summer teaching this piece to a group of teenagers and came to recognize it as one of the greatest of all symphonies. I get to return to mammoth orchestral masterpieces like Mahler 9th and the Rite of Spring, works whose budgetary and technical demands preclude frequent performance. And I got to delve, at last, into the intoxicating world of Richard Wagner in the company of a truly great Wagnerian soprano.
And I have YOU, as loyal, discerning and responsive an audience as any musician could wish for. It is the values that you share, with the enormous importance you place on learning and your generous and enthusiastic support of artistic ventures, that make Boston as exciting an arts town as it is a sports town! I cannot wait to share this music with you and to tell you, in the pre-concert lectures just before we perform it, what excites me about the music.
Benjamin Zander
Conductor and Music Director
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Current Season 
2009-2010 Season
Concert 1
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