Boston SO misses the magic in Mahler

By George Slater-Walker, 23 August 2015

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“Mahler’s Sixth Symphony... found a very unlikely friend: the Albert Hall’s acoustic”

Reviewed at Royal Albert Hall, London on 22 August 2015

Dean, Dramatis Personae

Mahler, Symphony no. 6 in A minor "Tragic"

Håkan Hardenberger, Trumpet

Boston Symphony Orchestra

Andris Nelsons, Conductor

Andris Nelsons and the BSO arrive in New York, with baggage in tow

Cameron Kelsall, 9th April

In his first New York appearance since the termination of his contract as BSO Music Director, Nelsons courts public sympathy and makes some thrilling music.

***11

Herbert Blomstedt conducts Brahms with the Boston Symphony

Kevin Wells, 5th March

Herbert Blomstedt demonstrates the “singability” of Brahms in his latest appearance with the Boston Symphony, concluding with the autumnal glow of the Fourth Symphony.

*****

An earthbound Missa Solemnis from Boston Symphony Orchestra

Cameron Kelsall, 11th October

In celebration of the 125th anniversary of Symphony Hall, Andris Nelsons returns to the work that opened the venue on 15th October 1900.

***11

Andris Nelsons and the Boston Symphony perform Debussy and Mahler

Kevin Wells, 4th October

Andris Nelsons celebrates Symphony Hall’s 125th anniversary with two works contemporaneous to the hall’s first season: Debussy’s Nocturnes and Mahler’s Symphony no. 4 (both premiered in 1901).

***11

As usual, Beethoven ushers out the BSO season at Tanglewood

Cameron Kelsall, 24th August

The season-ending performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony loses its intended conductor but remains enjoyable, if somewhat under-rehearsed.

***11

A galactic adventure at Tanglewood: Kazuki Yamada and The Planets

Cameron Kelsall, 23rd August

The guest conductor pairs Holst's perennial crowd pleaser with Poulenc's Gloria, a work deeply associated with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

****1

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George Slater-Walker

George recently graduated with a BA in Music at Magdalen College Oxford and is now pursuing the life of a horn player in London and elsewhere. His particular interest lies in fin-de-siècle Austro-German music and art.

Prom 49: Boston Symphony Orchestra misses the magic in Mahler