Beethoven , Rachmaninoff, and ME

BOSTON  SYMPHONY  ORCHESTRA

131st season,
2011-2012

.

But first, dinner !

The start of an enjoyable evening in Boston began with dinner at

THE

 CHATEAU

(Italian Family Dining since 1933) 

535 John Mahar Hwy.

Braintree, MA

www.chateaurestaurant.com

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The evening continued on to Symphony Hall, Boston:

This evenings performance with the

 Boston Symphony Orchestra included works by

Beethoven    &  Rachmaninoff

JAAP VAN ZWEDEN conducting

BEETHOVEN:

PIANO CONCERTO NO. 2 IN B-FLAT, POUS 19

Allegro con brio

Adagio

Rondo: Molto allegro

EMANUEL AX

Ludwwig van Beethoven was baptized in Bonn, Germany, on December 17, 1770, and died in Vienna on March 26^th, 1827. 

His Piano Concert No. 2 had its origins in 1790, in Bonn and was finished in 1798
The first American performance of Beethoven's piano concerto No.2 was given by the Brooklyn Philharmonic on January 21,1865, with Theodor Eisfeld conducting.   B.J. Lang gave the first Boston performance at a Harvard Musical Association concert under the direction of Carl Zerrahan on February 1, 1867.  The first Boston symphony performance of Beethoven's B-Flat Piano concerto was a single performance on February 17, 1948, in New Haven, with soloist Bruce Simonds.

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RACHMANINOFF:

SYMPHONY NO. 2 IN E MINOR, OPUS 27

Largo ---- Allegro moderato

Allegro molto

Adagio

Allegro vivace

Sergei Rachmaninoff was born in Semyonovo, district of Starorusky, Russia, on April 1, 1873, and died in Beverly Hills, California, on March 28th 1943.
He composed his Symphony No. 2 between October 1906 and April 1907, completing the orchestration in January 1908.  The symphony was performed for the first time on January 26, 1908, is St. Petersburg, with Rachmaninoff conduction.
Of all of Rachmaninoff's works for orchestra, the Symphony No. 2 has always been one of the most popular with audiences. This large, lengthy, and unabashedly late Romantic symphony, overflowing wit memorable tunes and an ineffable sense of bittersweet nostalgia, was written relatively quickly and easily, between late 1906 and early 1908. 
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A brief History of the BSO

Now in its 131^st season, the Boston Symphony Orchestra gave its inaugural concert in 1881, realizing the dream of founder Henry Lee Higginson, who envisioned a great and permanent orchestra in his hometown.  Today the BSO reaches millions through radio, television, recordings, and tours.  It commissions works from today’s most important composers; it helps develop future audiences through BOS Youth Concerts and programs involving the Boston community; and, during the Tanglewood season, it sponsors the Tanglewood Music Center, one of the most important training grounds for young professional-caliber musicians.  The Boston Symphony Chamber Players, made up of BSO principals, is known world-wide, and the Boston Pops Orchestra sets an international standard for performances of lighter music. 

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                                                                                                                                                                                           Not just great music…

On Display in symphony Hall, this season’s BSO Archives exhibit, located throughout the orchestra and first-balcony levels of the building, displays the breadth and depth of the Archives’ holdings, which documents countless facets of the orchestra’s history --- music directors, players and instrument sections, and composers, as well as the world-famous acoustics, architectural features, and multi-faceted history of Symphony Hall.

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Some little known facts :

In 1915 the orchestra made its first transcontinental trip, playing thirteen concerts at the  Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco. 

In 1929 free Esplanade concerts were inaugurated by Arthur Fiedler, a member of the orchestra since 1915 and who in 1930 became eighteenth conductor of the Boston Pops. 

Fiedler  was Pops conductor for half a century, being followed by John Williams in 1980 and Keith Lockhart in 1995.

1936 Koussevitzky led the orchestra’s first concerts in the Berkshires.  A year later, he and the players took up annual summer residence at Tanglewood.

The first American-born conductor to hold the position, James Levine was the BSO’s music director form 2004 to 2011.

James Levine  taught at Tanglewood Music Center, and in summer of 2007 led the BSO in an acclaimed tour of European music festivals. 

Make Symphony Hall your next destination  for a GREAT Boston experience !