Boston Globe -- Jeremy Eichler columns

Messiaen’s cosmic bells, tolling in a Steinway grand

Jeremy Eichler, Globe Staff — 2010-03-16T00:14:41Z

One of the limitations of the Gardner Museum’s excellent concert series is the size of the stage at one end of the Tapestry Room. You just can’t fit much more than a large chamber ensemble there. And yet on Sunday the space felt more like one of those magical tents from the Harry Potter books, where a modest entrance reveals ...

Lyric Opera brings fresh ‘Ariadne’ to Shubert

Jeremy Eichler, Globe Staff — 2010-03-15T02:14:36Z

Boston Lyric Opera has committed itself these days to mounting more of its own productions. But when it chooses to import a staging, Esther Nelson, the company’s general and artistic director, has said she will be looking not only to American houses but also their European counterparts. BLO is currently making good on her promise with a delightful new production ...

Critic's picks - classical music

Jeremy Eichler, Globe Staff — 2010-03-13T18:00:00Z

KAFKA FRAGMENTS Gyorgy Kurtag’s riveting song cycle for soprano and violin receives a Jordan Hall performance. Four pairs of students and their coaches (violinist Violaine Melançon and soprano Susan Narucki) will divide up the work. March 14, 8 p.m. Free. www.necmusic.edu

The soundtrack in his head

Jeremy Eichler, Globe Staff — 2010-03-11T17:50:30Z

Lukas Ligeti has, in his way, entered the family business. His father was the revered Hungarian composer Gyorgy Ligeti, and Lukas is a drummer and post-minimalist composer fascinated by electronica, West African music, and experimental classical techniques. His more pop-oriented band Burkina Electric played last night in Somerville, but he returns on March 25 for a solo performance at Boston’s ...

An ever-hyped Perlman back at Symphony Hall

Jeremy Eichler, Globe Staff — 2010-03-08T22:10:27Z

These days, the stated program at an Itzhak Perlman recital tends to feel like a warm-up for the encores. Perlman, who returned to Symphony Hall on Sunday afternoon for a Celebrity Series of Boston performance with his pianist Rohan De Silva, now routinely schedules in “additional works to be announced from the stage,’’ as Sunday’s program put it.

Critic's pick - classical music

Jeremy Eichler, Globe Staff — 2010-03-06T18:00:00Z

PAULA ROBISON AND PAAVALI JUMPPANEN (above) The flutist and pianist partner for a recital of works by Jolivet, Harris, Copland, and Schubert. 1:30 p.m., March 7, $23. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. 617-278-5156, www.gardnermuseum.org.

AD:

2010-03-06T18:00:00Z

Artemis hits, misses in Hub debut

Jeremy Eichler, Globe Staff — 2010-03-06T05:54:24Z

When the Celebrity Series announced last year that it would be presenting the Boston debut of the Berlin-based Artemis Quartet, I was happy to hear the news. The Artemis is the kind of distinctive, noncelebrity ensemble that must be part of the mix if the Celebrity Series is to be a vital one.

Emmanuel Music announces new artistic leader

Jeremy Eichler, Globe Staff — 2010-03-02T09:00:18Z

A search period of over two years concludes today as Emmanuel Music has announced that Ryan Turner will be its next artistic director, succeeding the ensemble’s founding leader Craig Smith, who died in 2007. The composer John Harbison has served as acting music director since that time, but will step down at the end of this season.

A return to Mahler’s epic Ninth

Jeremy Eichler, Globe Staff — 2010-03-02T01:12:20Z

Benjamin Zander and the Boston Philharmonic recently journeyed into the music of Wagner, terrain that was uncharted for this conductor and ensemble. But on Saturday night in Jordan Hall the orchestra returned to one of the most familiar corners of its repertoire: Mahler’s Ninth Symphony.

Old orchestra with a fresh approach

Jeremy Eichler, Globe Staff — 2010-03-01T02:40:43Z

Those willing to brave the drenching rain and umbrella-shredding winds on Thursday night were amply rewarded upon arrival at Symphony Hall. The venerable Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra took the stage with its music director Riccardo Chailly and before long, its storied string section was radiating the heat of a crackling fire.

Curtain rises on ancient Chinese myth

Jeremy Eichler, Globe Staff — 2010-03-01T02:31:00Z

At Friday night’s world premiere of “Madame White Snake,’’ before a single note was heard, a large audience applauded Opera Boston’s general director Carole Charnow. She had just told the crowd that Boston had not seen a significant operatic world premiere in 40 years, since Sarah Caldwell’s company presented Gunther Schuller’s “The Fisherman and His Wife.’’ Charnow and music director ...

Critic's picks - classical music

Jeremy Eichler, Globe Staff — 2010-02-27T18:00:00Z

“MADAME WHITE SNAKE’’ Opera Boston unveils this first opera by Chinese-American composer Zhou Long, based on an ancient Chinese legend adapted by Brookline librettist Cerise Lim Jacobs. Gil Rose conducts a cast that includes Ying Huang, Michael Maniaci, Dong-Jian Gong, and Peter Tantsits. Robert Woodruff directs. March 2 (Feb. 28 sold out), $32-$127, Cutler Majestic Theatre, 617-451-3388, www.operaboston.org

Opera Boston announces season with two local premieres

Jeremy Eichler, Globe Staff — 2010-02-24T04:43:34Z

Hindemith’s “Cardillac,’’ Donizetti’s “Maria Padilla,’’ and Beethoven’s “Fidelio’’ are the three operas that will make their way to the stage of the Cutler Majestic Theatre next year in new productions by Opera Boston. The company announced details of its 2010-11 offerings today.

BSO trades sober fare for, er, the Waltz King?

Jeremy Eichler, Globe Staff — 2010-02-22T04:07:09Z

Serious, definitely. Probing, quite often. But fun - of the frothy featherweight variety - is probably not top on the list of qualities most closely associated with James Levine’s programs at the Boston Symphony Orchestra. And yet there it was - pure entertainment - as the clear and fully realized goal of yesterday’s pension fund benefit concert in Symphony Hall. ...

Critic's picks - classical music

Jeremy Eichler, Globe Staff — 2010-02-20T18:00:00Z

LEIPZIG GEWANDHAUS ORCHESTRA The venerable ensemble returns to Symphony Hall under the baton of Riccardo Chailly. The program is all-Beethoven, including the Symphony No. 7 and the “Emperor’’ Concerto with piano soloist Louis Lortie. 8 p.m. Feb. 25. $38-$85. 617-482-6661, www.celebrityseries.org

Levine gets his shot at Beethoven

Jeremy Eichler, Globe Staff — 2010-02-20T07:30:27Z

When the Boston Symphony Orchestra canceled its European tour, scheduled for this month, it filled in the tour dates with wholesale repeats of two programs from its fall Beethoven cycle. At the time these repeat concerts were announced, it seemed disappointing that the orchestra would simply retread the same terrain from earlier in the season. But, of course, things have ...

Kennedys honored in Pops’ 125th season

Jeremy Eichler, Globe Staff — 2010-02-19T07:27:15Z

The 125th anniversary season of the Boston Pops will include a new work, “The Dream Lives on: A Portrait of the Kennedy Brothers’’ by composer Peter Boyer and lyricist Lynn Ahrens. A television documentary on the history of the Pops will also air nationally on PBS stations. This and other details of the Pops’ new season were announced today.

Experimental, bold approach enlivens Chiara 4’s Beethoven

Jeremy Eichler, Globe Staff — 2010-02-13T05:00:00Z

String quartets tend to celebrate major anniversaries by tackling the Everest of their repertoire, that is, the complete cycle of 16 Beethoven String Quartets. That there are actually three ensembles scaling these heights in the Boston area this season should not take away from the significance that a Beethoven cycle carries in the life of an individual group, especially when ...

Fleming, BSO put pieces together

Jeremy Eichler, Globe Staff — 2010-02-13T05:00:00Z

At some concerts, the three works on a program feel like strangers at a bus stop with not much to say to one another. On other occasions, there are tremendous resonances; the music shares, if not a common language, at least certain cultural roots and associations that make for a much richer and ...

Fleming, BSO forge pieces into a whole

Jeremy Eichler, Globe Staff — 2010-02-12T05:39:44Z

Musical kindred spirits, conversing at the keyboard

Jeremy Eichler, Globe Staff — 2010-02-09T01:09:23Z

Richard Goode and Jonathan Biss teamed up on Sunday for an unusual duo piano recital, presented by the Celebrity Series. Both are marvelous pianists as well as musical kindred spirits, despite being separated by a generation. Sunday afternoon was not the transcendent keyboard summit some may have hoped for, but these players gave vivid and engaging accounts of music by ...

AD:

2010-02-09T01:09:23Z

Critic's picks - classical music

Jeremy Eichler, Globe Staff — 2010-02-06T18:09:41Z

CLASSICAL MUSIC BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA In a keenly anticipated upcoming program (Feb. 11-13), James Levine leads the BSO in a resonant grouping of works: Mahler’s Fourth Symphony and Berg’s Three Pieces for Orchestra (Op. 6) alongside Strauss’s “Four Last Songs’’ with soprano Renée Fleming. Next month’s notable BSO event will be the premiere (March 25-30) of Peter Lieberson’s “Farewell Songs.’’ ...

Honey, please pass the melody

Jeremy Eichler, Globe Staff — 2010-02-06T18:09:34Z

Like many married couples, Mira Wang and Jan Vogler deal with the stresses of maintaining two busy careers. But they also have some unique marital challenges, like for instance expanding the repertoire of double concertos written for the violin and cello. Because, you know, there are days when Brahms just won’t do.

A classical show with pop

Jeremy Eichler, Globe Staff — 2010-02-05T17:15:26Z

The popular public radio show, “From the Top,’’ is in its 10th anniversary season of spotlighting kids, mostly teenagers, who are passionately devoted to classical music. The show returns this evening to its home in Jordan Hall for a performance taping that will feature several individual Boston-area students as well as 60 members of the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra performing ...

BSO unveils Carter’s Flute Concerto

Jeremy Eichler, Globe Staff — 2010-02-05T14:22:00Z

Elliott Carter’s remarkable Indian summer lives on. Last night in Symphony Hall, soloist Elizabeth Rowe and the BSO under James Levine’s baton delivered a triumphant first American performance of Carter’s Flute Concerto, completed in early 2008, when the composer was 99 years old.

BLO leaves home with ‘Turn of the Screw’

Jeremy Eichler, Globe Staff — 2010-02-05T02:05:40Z

Boston Lyric Opera is on the move. New England’s largest opera company, both loved and criticized in recent years for its staunch traditionalism, has launched a new and rather untraditional initiative called Opera Annex, promising one adventurous work a year outside of its home at the Shubert Theatre.

BLO leaves home with Britten’s ‘Turn of the Screw’

Jeremy Eichler, Globe Staff — 2010-02-04T10:13:32Z

A lone violin, when nothing more is needed

Jeremy Eichler, Globe Staff — 2010-02-02T15:17:57Z

There were no gimmicks in Jordan Hall Sunday night. No semi-staging. No actors employed. No mood lighting. No screen projections to help us feel the music. There was not even a pianist to accompany it.

Critic's picks - classical music

Jeremy Eichler, Globe Staff — 2010-01-30T17:31:26Z

CLASSICAL MUSIC ‘SYMPHONIC RELIEF FOR HAITI’ The Longwood Symphony Orchestra and the New England Conservatory are joining forces to present this benefit concert, which aims to raise $250,000 for disaster relief in Haiti. Among the performers will be flutist Paula Robison, clarinetist Richard Stoltzman, A Far Cry chamber orchestra, and the Boston Children’s Chorus in music by Bach, Tchaikovsky, Jobim, ...

Handel and Haydn shines under new artistic leader

Jeremy Eichler, Globe Staff — 2010-01-30T05:33:43Z

Mozart’s great Mass in C Minor was the chief offering on last night’s Handel and Haydn Society program, the prime destination toward which the rest of the evening pointed. Yet under the direction of Harry Christophers, some exceptionally lively music-making on the first half of the program made sure that Symphony Hall listeners could enjoy themselves along the way.

Levine returns to lead BSO

Jeremy Eichler, Globe Staff — 2010-01-30T02:14:49Z

Those taut, jagged lines of Elliott Carter’s music darting around the Symphony Hall stage could mean only one thing. James Levine is back in town.

Levine returns from leave to lead BSO

Jeremy Eichler, Globe Staff — 2010-01-29T05:59:48Z

Those taut, jagged lines of Elliott Carter’s music darting around the Symphony Hall stage could mean only one thing. James Levine is back in town.

Critic’s Picks

Jeremy Eichler, Globe Staff — 2010-01-28T18:29:30Z

BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA After an extended leave for back surgery, music director James Levine returns to the podium to lead a program devoted to Ravel’s “Daphnis et Chloé’’ (Second Suite) and Piano Concerto for the Left Hand (with pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard); Berlioz’s “Harold in Italy’’ (with violist Steven Ansell); and Carter’s “Dialogues’’ for piano and orchestra. Jan. 29 and 30. ...

Summer festival expands into new hall

Jeremy Eichler, Globe Staff — 2010-01-28T18:26:36Z

The high-profile visiting artists at this summer’s Rockport Chamber Music Festival will include the violinist Midori and the pianist Garrick Ohlsson. But the real star of this summer’s festival, organizers are hoping, will be Rockport Music’s brand new concert venue, the Shalin Liu Performance Center, which is scheduled to officially open with the start of the festival on June 10.

A new music concert with a twist (and a slide)

Jeremy Eichler, Globe Staff — 2010-01-25T01:23:02Z

The myriad connections between classical music and dance may often be heard but they are seldom seen. And to be sure, having tango lessons before a new music concert, dancing throughout the performance, and a milonga afterward, is not exactly an everyday occurrence on the local classical music scene.

Critic's pick - classical music

Jeremy Eichler, Globe Staff — 2010-01-23T17:33:09Z

CLASSICAL MUSIC RHONDA RIDER Pianist Jung-Ja Kim partners with the eloquent Boston cellist for a marathon traversal of the complete Beethoven Cello Sonatas. 7:30 p.m. Jan. 28. Free. Seully Hall, Boston Conservatory. 617-912-9222, www.bostonconservatory.edu

With an ambitious vision, he takes the reins of H&H

Jeremy Eichler, Globe Staff — 2010-01-23T17:32:31Z

No one can accuse Harry Christophers of setting his sights too low. The British conductor, who this weekend will lead his second set of concerts as artistic director of the Handel and Haydn Society, has big plans for the chorus and period-instrument orchestra.

AD:

2010-01-23T17:32:31Z

BSO and conductor Davis bring ‘St. John Passion’ to the US

Jeremy Eichler, Globe Staff — 2010-01-23T02:32:25Z

Composers once worked hard to untether their music from the demands of church and state so they could be free to write whatever they pleased. They succeeded in the West, though you could argue that modern music in the 20th century did not always know what to do with its newly endless set of possibilities.

BSO and Davis give new ‘St. John Passion’ a US premiere

Jeremy Eichler, Globe Staff — 2010-01-22T05:43:49Z

Jeremy Eichler, Globe Staff — 2010-01-21T18:30:28Z

CLASSICAL MUSIC BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Sir Colin Davis leads the BSO and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus in the American premiere of Scottish composer James MacMillan’s “St. John Passion.’’ British baritone Christopher Maltman will be the vocal soloist. 8 p.m., Jan. 22 and 23, $29-$115, Symphony Hall, 617-266-1200

Discovery Ensemble journeys from Bach to Stravinsky

Jeremy Eichler, Globe Staff — 2010-01-19T04:17:31Z

In the last couple of years, the city’s classical music scene has been receiving shots of adrenaline from what might appear to be unlikely sources: two scrappy chamber orchestras newly founded and staffed by prodigiously talented conservatory students and recent graduates. The groups - A Far Cry and Discovery Ensemble - are structured differently (the former plays without a conductor, ...

Critic's picks - classical music

Jeremy Eichler, Globe Staff — 2010-01-16T17:39:57Z

CLASSICAL MUSIC BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA The Danish violinist Nikolaj Znaider makes his BSO debut with the seldom performed Elgar Violin Concerto. Znaider recently recorded it with Sir Colin Davis, who returns to the BSO podium to lead the Elgar as well as Mozart’s Symphony No. 38, “Prague.’’ 8 p.m. Jan. 19 . $29-$115 . Symphony Hall . 617-266-1200, www.bso.org