Name: Ravel / Rachmaninoff / Shostakovich
Start: 2027-02-26T20:00:00
Location: Boston Symphony Hall

George Li

Benjamin Zander

Boston Philharmonic Orchestra

This stunning program that opens the final season for the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra has been expressly designed to show you, in case you don’t already know, just what the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra is all about.

Glinka / Stravinsky / Tchaikovsky

Boston Symphony Hall

Schubert’s “Unfinished” Symphony is among Mr. Zander’s very favorite works. No one knows why Schubert failed to finish this symphonic torso of almost heavenly beauty (he lived for six more years after writing it), although speculation has been as endless as it is fruitless. Whatever the reason, there is no doubt that it has deservedly become one of the most beloved works in the classical canon, and, after the Beethoven Fifth, the one that everybody recognizes.

Schubert & Bruckner

Celebrate Valentine's Day with Beethoven's towering Ninth Symphony,  The Ninth remains music’s ultimate affirmation of the human spirit. Featuring  a "who's who" of operatic superstars, no other work delivers this particular, powerful message in music of the richest complexity, that is still understandable by everyone, everywhere. Featuring: Angel Blue, soprano,  Jamie Barton, mezzo-soprano, Nicholas Phan, tenor and Solomon Howard, bass, and Chorus pro Musica.

Beethoven 9

“Rach 2” is a piece so loved, so well known, that it barely needs to be described. Still, it is worth discovering it again under the mastery of Cambridge pianist and long time collaborator, George Li.

Ravel / Rachmaninoff / Shostakovich

In 1940, Benjamin Britten was commissioned to compose a piece by the Japanese Government, to mark the 2600th Anniversary Celebrations of the Japanese Empire. The result was the Requiem. Japan was not pleased with this piece – in fact, they were insulted by its Christian theme and mournful tone. It was not included in the celebration. This work is Britten’s first major purely orchestral work.

Mahler 9

It is an apocalyptic work requiring vast forces: a giant orchestra, as well as an organ, chorus, two soloists and multiple offstage musicians. Mahler poses the great questions of life and provides heart-stopping answers. In the finale the earth quakes, graves burst open, the last trumpet sounds, and a heavenly choir reassures all humankind: "Rise again, yes, thou shalt rise again." Of the culminating moments Mahler wrote: "A feeling of overwhelming love fills us with blissful knowledge and illuminates our existence."