Boston Symphony Orchestra. Andris Nelsons, conductor; Yo-Yo Ma, cello. April 11, 2025.

Symphony Hall, Boston, MA.  Orchestra (Seat JJ9, $127).

After the performance of Shostakovich's First Cello Concerto.

Program - Decoding Shostakovich

Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-flat, Op. 107.

Symphony No. 11 in G minor, Op. 103, The Year 1905.

BSO is running a "Decoding Shostakovich" Festival (my term) from early April to early May.  During this time there will be five Shostakovich-focused concerts by the organization, and several other concerts also related to the theme.

I have enjoyed this Shostakovich cello concerto since I first heard it performed in 2011.  Looking over the entries in the blog, this was the fifth or sixth time I listened to the piece.  Despite the prominence of the soloist, and that I had always enjoyed his performances, tonight the piece sounded surprisingly flat.  I often lost the cello, especially during the harmonics passage in the second movement.  One has to understand the disappointment is against my expectations of perfection from a master at his craft, a world-renowned orchestra, and a concert hall known for its acoustics; measured on its own this was a great performance.  For example, there was much energy at the start, and the mood changes were clear and infectious.  And Ma looked very serious during the entire piece.  (To those who think my assessment is too harsh, please read till the end.)

For encore Ma joined the cello section to perform (probably) a compilation of pieces adapted for a group of cellos.  Google couldn't determine what the music was.

The Program Notes points out many consider the uprisings of 1905 to be the dress rehearsal for the 1917 revolution that saw the overturn of the Russian Tsar (Nicholas II).  A march of as many as 100,000 peaceful protestors in St. Petersburg was met with gunfire by Cossack guards, and about 200 were killed.  In 1957, when the 40th anniversary of the successful Bolshevik revolution was celebrated, a lot of artists produced work to mark the events that led up to 1917.  Shostakovich wrote his 11th symphony, and subtitled it "The Year 1905."  Quoting the Program Notes, this was "an emotional, cinematic, accessible, and frankly programmatic work with close links to Soviet popular culture of the revolutionary and post-revolutionary period."

In the symphony Shostakovich incorporated the tunes of seven different revolutionary folk songs, and made use of some of his earlier compositions and quoted work from others.  He seldom did that with his earlier symphonies.  (All this taken from the Program Notes, which are quite extensive.)

The first movement took up about half the time.  Its title "Palace Square" describes the harsh inhumanity of dictatorship.  The second movement ("The Ninth of January") depicts the assault by the Cossack guards.  The third movement ("Eternal Memories") is a tribute to those who died.  The final movement ("The Tocsin") contains many percussion passages.  I gather that "Tocsin" is the title of a revolutionary magazine, and Shostakovich used the movement to anticipate the success of 1917.

Some musicologists and historians believe by this time Shostakovich was suitably disillusioned by the likes of Stalin that the piece was written to reflect how the Soviets were mistreating others to remain in power.

The movements were played without pause, so every now and then I would lose the plot.  In general, however, it was quite easy to associate what I heard with the outline provided in the Program Notes.

A large ensemble was used for the Symphony.  I counted 6 cello stands (thus at least 11 cellists) and 10 double basses.

The next day (April 12) I was driving in the Boston area, and caught the end of the Shostakovich cello concerto over WCRB.  Both Anne and I thought it sounded very good.  Then the announcer came on, and said it was a recording we heard live the day before.  The cello certainly was in great balance with the orchestra, and the jumps from low to high notes were done with precision.  Wonders of engineering?  Or poor acoustics at our seats?  (Note that I wasn't particularly impressed with the acoustics when I heard the H+H Messiah last year either.)

I bought tickets for this concert because Joe P wanted to take Emmie to see a famous cellist at work.  His ticket price (as part of a 3-concert subscription) was $82, ours bought separately were priced at $127 each.

It drizzled this evening, so Joe P dropped us off before he looked for parking.  He just made it before the concert began.

Julia Fischer, violin; Jan Lisiecki, piano. April 1, 2025.

David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center.  Orchestra (Seat Y105, $67).

Program

Sonata for Piano and Violin in B-flat major, K.378 (317d) (1779) by Mozart (1756-91).

Sonata in F major for Piano and Violin, Op. 24, Spring (1800-01) by Beethoven (1770-1827).

Sonata in D minor for Piano and Violin, Op. 121 (1851) by R. Schumann (1810-56).

What is this "NY Phil Artist Spotlight?"

Most violin students at the intermediate/advanced level would have learned several of Mozart's and Beethoven's sonatas, and then move on to Brahms.  At least that was the case when I was learning the instrument many decades ago.  Indeed I don't recall encountering any Schumann violin concertos or sonatas before today (he wrote one concerto and two sonatas).  Fischer describes the concertos as a progression from where the piano takes the lead to the instruments are equal partners to where the violin comes on its own.  One can debate how correct her assessment is; I note in the Program they are all called sonatas for piano and violin.  It must be noted Fischer is also a concert pianist, although I believe she is better known as a violinist.

To most people the sound of the violin dominates in a "violin sonata," regardless of which instrument is carrying the load, so to speak.  That is even true of the Mozart sonata, even though it is from Mozart's mature period.

It was a delight to see how the two artists work together, at times challenging each other, at times simply enjoying the banter between the instruments.  Of the three pieces on the Program, I am most familiar with the Spring sonata, and I appreciated how clean and refreshing the two artists sounded - just as spring should be.

The movements of the sonatas are as follows.

Mozart.  Allegro moderato; Andantino sostenuto e cantabile; Rondo: Allegro.

Beethoven.  Allegro; Adagio molto expressivo; Scherzo: Allegro molto; Rondo: Allegro ma non troppo.

Schumann.  Ziemlich langsam - lebhaft (Rather slowly - lively); Sehr lebhalt (Very lively); Leise, einfach (Gentle, simply); Bewegt (Agitated).

I bought this ticket when I was in Hong Kong and found out it was on sale.  Anne had class commitments so she couldn't join - and she was no keen on doing it between trips anyway.  I took the train in, and caught the 9:38 pm train back to NJ.

Photo from Lisiecki's Instagram page.  From a concert in Chicago a couple of days prior.   Some soloists would change during the intermission.  Fischer is more practical.

Julliard String Quartet. March 30, 2025.

Town Hall, New York City.  Orchestra ($15).

Program

Selections from Cypresses, B. 152 (1865/1887) by Dvorak (1841-1904).

String Quartet No. 2 "Intimate Letters" (1928) by Janacek (1854-1928).

String Quartet in E Minor "From My Life" (1876) by Smetana (1824-1884).

Quartet members

Areta Zhulia, violin; Ronald Copes, violin; Molly Carr, viola; Astrid Schween, cello.

This concert would be the last in the series of Peoples' Symphony Concerts subscription I got for this season.  Attendance was a lot better than usual.  As usual, I sat in one of the last rows so I could make a swift exit after the concert.

All the composers were Czech.  Dvorak of course still has a huge repertoire performed often.  I know a couple of compositions by Smetana, most notably Ma Vlast, and other than the opera Janufa, I can't recall a single work of Janacek's.  (Well, I can find a couple of additional entries in this blog.)

Sure enough, Dvorak was quite easy to get, Smetana was okay, and Janacek was a bit puzzling.  Particularly if one bears in mind the titles given to the compositions by the composers themselves.

Dvorak wrote 18 love songs for the voice and piano under the collective name "Cypresses" in 1865 (there is a story there) and arranged twelve of them for a string quartet in 1887.  The ones selected for today's performance are V. The Old Letter in My Book; II.  Death Reigns in Many a Human Breast; VII.  I Wander Often Past Yonder House; XII.  You Ask Why My Songs; and III.  When Thy Sweet Glances Fall on Me.  I guess one can use one's imagination to associate the music with the titles, but I found it quite difficult.  Perhaps if I had read up on the lyrics I would have appreciated it more.  As far as I could tell, the string players played close to the bridge (sul pontecello) to produce an eerie sound.

Smetana's "From My Life" has four movements: I.  Allegro vivo appassionato; II.  Allegro moderato a la Polka; III. Largo sostenuto; and IV. Vivace.  Perhaps a biography?  Indeed the Wikipedia entry on this work describes it as an autographical work with nationalistic elements, and premiered with Dvorak as the violist.  The third movement was specifically written in memory of the composer's first wife.

Per Wikipedia, Janacek wrote his second string quartet to reflect his relationship with a married woman 38 years his junior.  The two exchanged over 700 letters, so Janacek probably had a lot of "source material" to draw on.  The love was unrequited, yet Stosslova was by his side when Janacek died.  Someone probably could compose an opera based on this story.

In any case, all three pieces have significant viola solos, which the violist Molly Carr brought out beautifully.  Overall the concert was very enjoyable.  The second violin was a substitute for Ronald Copes, who was sick.

I did left right after the concert, the train downtown pulled up just as I got to the subway station, and caught the 4:07 pm train back to South Amboy with a couple of minutes to spare.