Boston Philharmonic Orchestra: Mendelssohn/ Prokofiev/ Brahms

Mendelssohn                                   

The Hebrides Overture

Prokofiev                                             

Violin Concerto No. 2

Brahms                                      

Symphony No. 4

Boston Philharmonic Orchestra

Benjamin Zander, conductor

Stefan Jackiw, violin

Guide to the music with Benjamin Zander, 6:45pm.

Prokofiev wrote his Second Violin Concerto around the same time that he composed the ballet Romeo and Juliet. The similarity of much of the concerto’s music to that of the beloved ballet has certainly played its part in endearing it to audiences. The first movement has a soaring theme that instantly brings to mind the young lovers of the balcony scene. The second movement is tender and graceful, and the finale is like a crazed fiddler stalking a village dance.

I keep inviting Stefan Jackiw back to play, because each time he offers new light on a work that we may have heard over and over. If you have never heard Stefan play, don’t miss this opportunity.

The Brahms Fourth Symphony marks the climax of his entire compositional life, and it is for this reason that I have been drawn back to it so often—I believe this is my seventh performance in Boston, over the past 50 years.

Though its tragic radiance has lodged itself deep in the hearts of music lovers, it demands from its interpreters a lifetime of immersion. Mendelssohn’s Overture opens this concert for a very simple reason, the same reason that Brahms gave in expressing his admiration for the work. He said, “I would give all my compositions to have composed a piece as perfect as The Hebrides.”

–Benjamin Zander, conductor

Praise for Stefan Jackiw “Such soaring beauty of tone, such strength and purity of feeling, that this hardened listener burst into tears.” -Boston Globe