Beethoven
Triple Concerto for violin, cello, and piano
Bruckner
Symphony No. 9
Benjamin Zander, conductor
Boston Trio
Irina Muresanu, violin
Jonah Ellsworth, cello
Heng-Jin Park, piano
Uncharacteristically for the BPO, it is not until the third program of the season that we encounter any German music. Beethoven’s Triple Concerto is a piece that the orchestra has never performed before, and the reason is simple. It is a piece that has to be held in reserve until exactly the right trio of performers is available to play it. And that is exactly what has happened. The members of the Boston Trio have long and deep ties to the BPO, and, in fact, each has at one time or another been a featured soloist with the orchestra. Violinist Irina Muresanu performed the Bruch Violin Concerto in 1997, and also served as the orchestra’s concertmaster for a time. Pianist Heng-Jin Park participated in many performances of the BPO as orchestral pianist in the early part of her career, and later was the distinguished soloist in the Bloch Concerto Grosso No. 1. Cellist Jonah Ellsworth’s memorable performance of the Saint-Saëns First Cello Concerto was just a year ago, and he is often to be seen sitting in the orchestra’s cello section as well. In the right hands the Triple Concerto is an enthralling piece that can keep you hanging on every phrase, and that’s just what we’re looking forward to with these wonderful players.
Bruckner’s heaven-storming, stubborn, and ultimately sublime final work, his unfinished Ninth Symphony, is as deep and as ecstatic an experience as music has to offer. The gamut of emotions that it runs is extraordinary—as great as that in any Mahler symphony—and the intense beauty that radiates from every bar of the piece leaves very few people unmoved, even those who imagine that they are “allergic” to Bruckner’s music. Every Bruckner performance by Mr. Zander and the BPO, from the very inception of the orchestra, has been a major event, acclaimed equally by audiences and by the press. This is a concert that must not be missed!
thursday, february 23, 2017
7:30pm / sanders theatre
Guide to the music with Benjamin Zander throughout concert (Discovery Series)
saturday, february 25, 2017
8:00pm / nec’s jordan hall
Guide to the music with Benjamin Zander, 6:45pm
sunday, february 26, 2017
3:00pm / sanders theatre
Guide to the music with Benjamin Zander, 1:45pm