Boston Philharmonic Orchestra: Nielsen/Beethoven/Rachmaninoff

From Maestro Benjamin Zander:

The second Boston Philharmonic concert opens with an enthralling depiction of the sun rising and falling over the Aegean Sea, as composer Carl Nielsen experienced it during a visit to Greece in 1903. From darkness to brilliance, the Helios Overture builds and recedes as it tracks the path of the sun.

One of the joys of touring to other countries is that occasionally I discover a remarkable artist whose reputation has not yet reached the United States. During the last BPYO tour to Europe, I was introduced to one of Holland’s most revered musicians, Liza Fershtman. Her performance of the Beethoven Violin Concerto is subtle, impassioned, richly hued, and deeply considered. I look forward to merging my own strong convictions about this work with the insights and radiant musical personality of one of our era’s finest violinists.

Considering the intimacy of the Beethoven, the final piece on the program had to be a work that could challenge the orchestra to the limit. What better choice than Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances? A recently released historic recording allows us to hear Rachmaninoff himself demonstrating a substantial portion of the work on the piano. Rachmaninoff forbade private recordings of his piano playing, but fortunately someone secretly switched on a tape recorder in the next room while the composer was showing Eugene Ormandy how he wanted the piece to go. His greatest orchestral work, the Dances inhabit both the Old and New Worlds: they are Russian to the core, but with a film element that reflects its place of birth, Los Angeles. It is also Rachmaninoff’s swan song, and it reflects his mastery of orchestration and a succinctness not evident in his earlier orchestral works.