Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra

Beethoven / Stravinsky

BEETHOVEN
Symphony No. 3, Eroica

STRAVINSKY
The Rite of Spring

Benjamin Zander, conductor

About the Program

The two works on this program are among the most famous great works ever written. Even the man in the street who claims no knowledge of classical music whatsoever is apt to find that the words “Eroica” and “Rite of Spring” ring a bell, however dim. There is no doubt whatsoever that Beethoven’s epochal “Eroica” Symphony changed music forever. It heralded a bold new musical language and a whole new stance of the composer towards his audience. Beethoven dictated the terms, made the rules – the tastes and preferences of the audience and the convenience or ego of the performer were no longer to be taken into account.  Everything about this symphony is unprecedented:  its size, its range of expression, its harmonic audacity, its political and philosophical implications, its demands on the orchestra and on the conductor. In these performances the attempt will be to recapture the extraordinary newness, the now-ness, of this pinnacle of the symphonic repertoire.

The other work on the program is probably the most famous piece of music composed in the entire twentieth century, Stravinsky’s shockingly powerful The Rite of Spring. It’s a kaleidoscope of vivid orchestral colors, powerful, complex rhythms, stunningly gorgeous harmonies and brief, powerful melodies that sear their way under your skin. The Rite caused a riot at its first performance; those days are over, and today its every performance is invariably greeted with pandemonium of quite another kind. Audiences can’t seem to get enough of Stravinsky’s masterpiece!

Friday, February 5, 2016
8:00pm / Symphony Hall