This program pairs Shostakovich’s introspective, classically elegant Sixth Symphony with Stravinsky’s austerely profound Symphony of Psalms, commissioned by Serge Koussevitzky for the BSO’s 50th anniversary. In fact, Shostakovich so revered Stravinsky’s piece that he made a two-piano arrangement of the score. The BSO commissioned Aleksandra Vrebalov to compose a psalm setting using the same musical forces as Stravinsky’s masterpiece. Originally from the former Yugoslavia and winner of the prestigious 2023 Grawemeyer Award, Vrebalov composes music of deeply spiritual humanism influenced in part by Orthodox chant.

Andris Nelsons conducts Vrebalov, Stravinsky, and Shostakovich

Boston Symphony Orchestra

Erich Korngold’s Die tote Stadt (“The Dead City”) is an incredibly tender work, embodying the twilight of the Romantic era. Korngold, a remarkable prodigy who later became one of Hollywood’s most important composers, began the opera when he was only 19 and completed it at age 23. It opened simultaneously in December 1920 in Cologne and Hamburg and became one of the biggest operatic successes of the era. The opera’s theme of struggling with the memory of a lost loved one undoubtedly resonated with audiences still traumatized by the recent catastrophe of World War I.

Tanglewood Festival Chorus

Events

Past events

26 - 27 Apr, 2025

Andris Nelsons conducts Vrebalov, Stravinsky, and Shostakovich · Boston Symphony Orchestra

Jan 30 - Feb 1, 2025

Andris Nelsons conducts Korngold Die tote Stadt · Boston Symphony Orchestra

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