Boston Philharmonic Spring Concerts
Benjamin Zander Conducts with Cellist Natalia Gutman
By: Ariel Petrova - Mar 20, 2011
Benjamin Zander, Music Director and Conductor of The Boston Philharmonic, will present the orchestra’s spring concert series featuring Shostakovich: Second Cello Concerto with Special Guest cellist Natalia Gutman, and Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet on Saturday, April 30 at 8:00 PM at Jordan Hall in Boston and Sunday, May 1 at 3:00 PM and Monday, May 2 at 7:00 PM at Sanders Theatre in Cambridge.
Concert tickets priced at $85.00, $65.00, $45.00 and $25.00 for Saturday, April 30 at 8:00 pm [pre-concert talk at 6:45 pm] at Jordan Hall [30 Gainsborough Street, Boston] and Sunday, May 1 at 3:00 pm [pre-concert talk beginning at 1:45 pm] at Sanders Theatre [45 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA 02138] and $75.00, $55.00, $35.00 and $15.00 for Monday, May 2 at 7:00 pm [Discovery Series] at Sanders Theatre are on sale now at www.bostonphil.org. Discounts are available to WGBH members, students and seniors. For full information, call 617-236-0999 or visit www.bostonphil.org.
Natalia Gutman, one of the greatest cellists of our time and overwhelmingly beloved by Boston Philharmonic audiences, returns for the third time to the Boston Philharmonic, this time in Shostakovich’s Second Cello Concerto. Written towards the end of his life, this is one of the most eloquent of all Shostakovich’s works, almost a self-portrait. It is the testament of a man who experienced the worst the Stalinist regime could do, and survived, just barely. Ms. Gutman is the living heir to the generation of Russian musicians who experienced the terror first hand, and with her unequaled gift for reaching into the soul of every work she plays, she is the foremost interpreter of this masterpiece.
“It is an immense privilege to welcome back Natalia Gutman,” states Benjamin Zander. “Whenever she comes to Boston, all the string players start vibrating with excitement. No musician today carries the authentic flame of Russian performance art like Natalia! To be in her rehearsals is a revelation — we have no spoken language in common, but her extraordinary communicative ability and the certainty of her “voice” inspire everyone to greater expressive heights. The prospect of performing Natalia’s Shostakovich Second Cello Concerto and Prokoviev’s staggeringly powerful Romeo and Juliet together on one program thrills me perhaps more than anything else in this unusually rich and varied season.”
Prokofiev’s ballet Romeo and Juliet is probably the greatest “story,” ballet ever composed. Its music is alternately playful, ribald, searing and ecstatic, much like the play on which it is based. Benjamin Zander has prepared an extensive suite from the three acts of the ballet, different from what is usually heard in the concert halls, that projects the variety and tragic grandeur of this rich score with the visceral power of an actual staged performance.
These two extraordinarily gripping works, combined with the mesmerizing presence of Natalia Gutman, guarantee that this concert will be one of the most thrilling and talked-about musical events in Boston this year.
Shostakovich: Second Cello Concerto featuring Natalia Gutman, cello
Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet
This concert program takes place:
• Saturday, April 30, 2011, 8:00 PM, [with pre-concert talk beginning at 6:45 PM] Jordan Hall, New England Conservatory of Music, 30 Gainsborough Street, Boston, MA 02115
• Sunday, May 1, 2011, 3:00 PM [with pre-concert talk beginning at 1:45 PM], Sanders Theatre, 45 Quincy Street, Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA, 02138
• Monday, May 2, 2011, 7:00 PM at Sanders Theatre, 45 Quincy Street, Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA, 02138 [Discovery Series
Boston Philharmonic concerts have long been a two-part experience; each performance is preceded by one of Benjamin Zander’s pre-concert lectures, which prepare listeners to understand the ideas and the structure of the music they are about to hear. The Philharmonic’s commitment to reaching and educating a wide audience is maintained by their Music Without Boundaries program which raises money to provide subscriptions for school-age students and to distribute tickets through local charities. To further accommodate new and uninitiated listeners, the Boston Philharmonic is in its fifth season of their Weeknight Discovery Series, which incorporates Benjamin Zander’s lecture into the concert.