There are countless brilliant young musicians, but few are as musically alert — and deep — as Dudamel. The opening of the Beethoven concerto alternated the most elegant, delicate dance with sudden military intervention, which in turn heralded the arrival of a second theme of pure lyric sweetness. The second movement, Largo, the longest slow movement in a Beethoven concerto, had a living pulse and therefore a remarkable sense of continuity and flow. Dudamel never upstaged Cooper, whose teasing wit, buoyantly propulsive energy, and unsentimental charm were always front and center.
And the Falla was a knockout, not just because it was a glamorous and dazzling orchestral showpiece but because it’s funny (the orchestra gets to clap and shout in rhythm) and romantic and brimming with unforgettable tunes, all of which Dudamel understands. He didn’t need a score to lead this. I hope I don’t have to go as far as Tanglewood, or Venezuela, to hear him again.
For this concert I tried out the bus from Symphony Hall to Tanglewood and back that the BSO instituted this summer. For $30 round trip, those who don’t drive or who couldn’t stay over and didn’t want to drive back late could leave the driving to someone else. Traffic? Not my problem. The seats were comfortable. And I got in four hours of solid reading, which I can’t always do when I’m driving myself.
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- The best of times, the worst of times
This year Boston classical music lost some of its most beloved figures — some, like mezzo-soprano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, at the very height of their extraordinary powers, others, like opera director Sarah Caldwell and her conductor/collaborator, Osbourne McConathy, after long and gratifying runs.
- Taking chances
The most extraordinary event at last week’s extraordinary Boston Symphony Orchestra concert was the one the fewest people heard.
- World music
There’s more to Boston’s classical music scene than the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
- Boston feasts
The Boston Symphony Orchestra, Celebrity Series, Emmanuel Music, Boston Early Music Festival, and more.
- Super abundance
“Something absolutely extraordinary is happening in Venezuela,” announced Tony Woodcock.
- Over (and under) the top
With only one rehearsal, 31-year-old BSO Assistant Conductor Julian Kuerti confronted a challenging two-and-a-half-hour program of not-quite-standard 19th- and 20th-century repertoire.
- Loved these but not those
Of the great international orchestras, perhaps the one that's most unfairly overlooked is the London Symphony Orchestra. Yet a handful of the very greatest orchestral performances I've ever heard have been with the LSO.
- Diva-gations
Last week's Boston Symphony concert was a snaggle of contradictions. British guest conductor Mark Wigglesworth was substituting for the exciting but erratic Russian maestro Yuri Termirkanov, who'd cancelled all his American appearances.
- Erwartung . . .
BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA music director James Levine will be back in February to continue his survey of Beethoven and Schoenberg with Metropolitan Opera diva Deborah Voigt in Beethoven’s “Ah! perfido” and Schoenberg’s Erwartung (“Awaiting”), along with Beethoven’s Coriolan Overture and Eighth Symphony (Symphony Hall, February 1-3).
- Flirting with Beethoven
It is said that Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) “got around.” Even today, the old dog arouses the interests of performers and seduces listeners.
- Beethoven summer
The only music festival in Maine to be mentioned in the New York Times "Summer Stages" segment, this spectacular music fest can be appreciated by classical connoisseurs and novices alike.
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Music Features
, Entertainment, Music, Imogen Cooper, More
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