Richard Dyer

The Latvian violinist Baiba Skride joins her compatriot Andris Nelsons and the BSO for the world premiere of Grawemeyer Award-winning composer Sebastian Currier's "Aether" for violin and orchestra, a work co-commissioned by the BSO and the Gewandhaus Orchestra of Leipzig. Two unpredictable musical rogues bookend the new work: "Till Eulenspiegel", who in Strauss's tone poem thumbs his nose at the establishment, rides his horse through a market, and comes to no good end; and Stravinsky's puppet-come-to-life "Petrushka", whose attempts to win the admiration of a ballerina come to naught. In his second full ballet score for the Ballets Russes, two years before "The Rite of Spring", Stravinsky's astonishing musical depictions of a Russian Shrovetide fair further cemented the reputation of the young composer of "The Firebird".

Strauss, Currier and Stravinsky- Written by Robert Kirzinger and Richard Dyer, narrated by Eleanor McGourty 

Stravinsky's puppet-come-to-life "Petrushka", whose attempts to win the admiration of a ballerina come to naught. In his second full ballet score for the Ballets Russes, two years before "The Rite of Spring", Stravinsky's astonishing musical depictions of a Russian Shrovetide fair further cemented the reputation of the young composer of "The Firebird". Video by Anthony Princiotti.

VIDEO - Stravinsky's "Petrushka" Video Podcast

Andris Nelsons

Brian Bell

BSO Music Director Andris Nelsons speaks with Brian Bell about the Shostakovich Symphony No. 15, being performed on April 25-30, 2019.

Interview: Andris Nelsons chats with Brian Bell 

An in depth look at Shostakovich's final work in the genre, No. 15. Composed in summer 1971 and premiered the following January, the Fifteenth is distinctive in its very surprising quotation from Rossini's William Tell Overture, as well as other musical allusions. The composer's mysterious, introspective late style is evident in the second movement, with its long cello solo. Video by Anthony Princiotti.

VIDEO - Shostakovich's Symphony No. 15 Video Promo

Andris Nelsons and the BSO continue their Shostakovich symphony cycle, being recorded live for release on Deutsche Grammophon, with the composer's final work in the genre, No. 15. Composed in summer 1971 and premiered the following January, the Fifteenth is distinctive in its very surprising quotation from Rossini's William Tell Overture, as well as other musical allusions. The composer's mysterious, introspective late style is evident in the second movement, with its long cello solo. The Russian pianist Daniil Trifonov has won universal acclaim for both his technical brilliance and his expressive intensity. Both qualities are needed in Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3, one of the most enduringly popular concertos in the repertoire, which is powerful, lyrical, and Russian to the core.

Shostakovich and Rachmaninoff- Written by Robert Kirzinger, narrated by Eleanor McGourty 

A brief look at Richard Strauss' tone poem "Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks". Video by Anthony Princiotti.

VIDEO - Strauss's "Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks" Video Promo

A preview of Stravinsky's puppet-come-to-life "Petrushka". Video by Anthony Princiotti.

VIDEO - Stravinsky's "Petrushka" Video Promo

Pianist Francesco Piemontesi speaks about Mozart with Brian Bell. Francesco Piemontesi will perform the Mozart Concerto No. 19 in F major, Kochel 459 on April 18-20, 2019.

Interview: Francesco Piemontesi chats with Brian Bell 

Andrew Manze

Guest conductor Andrew Manze speaks with Brian Bell about the original version of the Mendelssohn Reformation Symphony, which is on the program of April 18-20, 2019. They also talk about the Concerto for String Orchestra by Grazyna Bacewicz being performed by the BSO for the first time.

Interview: Andrew Manze chats with Brian Bell 

Marc Mandel

Each making his BSO debut, English conductor Andrew Manze and Swizz pianist Francesco Piemontesi join the orchestra for a somewhat rarely heard Mozart concerto, the vivacious No. 19 in F, which the BSO hasn't played in Symphony Hall since 1994. Graźyna Bacewicz was one of Poland's most important composers of the mid-20th century, and one of very few women with an international reputation in that era. Her dynamic and soulful Concerto for String Orchestra won the Polish State Prize in 1950. Mendelssohn's Fifth Symphony, "Reformation", is based in part on Martin Luther's hymn "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God." The symphony was written to coincide with the 300th anniversary of a major Reformation event, the Augsburg Confession.

Bacewicz, Mozart and Mendelssohn- Written by Robert Kirzinger and Marc Mandel, narrated by Eleanor McGourty 

Welcome to Boston Symphony Orchestra's Concert Preview Podcast for music programs being performed by the BSO for the 2018-2019 season. We hope you find these previews and videos, as well as the program notes educational, insightful and entertaining, and as always, if you would like to learn more about the Boston Symphony Orchestra, please visit www.bso.org.

Welcome to Boston Symphony Orchestra's Concert Preview Podcast for music programs being performed by the BSO for the 2018-2019 season. We hope you find these previews and videos, as well as the program notes educational, insightful and entertaining, and as always, if you would like to learn more about the Boston Symphony Orchestra, please visit <a href="http://www.bso.org" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.bso.org</a>.

BSO 2018/19 Season - Concert Previews

The popular Spanish conductor Juanjo Mena collaborates with Lithuanian violinist Julian Rachlin in Mendelssohn's evergreen Violin Concerto, among the most charming works in the standard repertoire. Joseph Haydn's Symphony No. 44, Trauer ("Mourning"), is one of the composer's most serious and closely worked symphonies, written during a period of experimentation that saw the composer rapidly expanding the potential of the genre. Closing the program are two works from the 1920s by the great Czech composer Leoš Janáček: a suite of music from his folk-tale opera The Cunning Little Vixen and his brass-dominated Sinfonietta, both of which feature the pungent influence of the Czech musical tradition.

Haydn, Mendelssohn and Janáček- Written by Marc Mandel, narrated by Eleanor McGourty 

Herbert Blomstedt, one of the great conductors of the era, returns to the BSO podium for a work central to the repertoire, Brahms's rich, complex Symphony No. 1. Grappling with the influence of Beethoven, Brahms famously delayed completing his First until well into his forties. Bearing several deliberate touches of homage to Beethoven but fully Brahmsian in its spirit and effect, it stands as one of the great works in the symphonic literature. Opening the program is Haydn's charming, genial Cello Concerto No. 1, featuring the brilliant Norwegian cellist Truls Mørk in his first appearances with the BSO since 2007.

Haydn and Brahms- Written by Richard Dyer, narrated by Eleanor McGourty 

Returning to Symphony Hall for the first time since her tenure as BSO assistant conductor, Korean-born Shiyeon Sung leads a program juxtaposing music of Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel and her brother Felix, surely one of the most brilliant sibling pairs in music history. Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel's Overture in C, her only extant work for orchestra alone (though she wrote several works for chorus with orchestra), is an elegant, ten-minute piece dating from 1830. Begun in the same year, her brother's Piano Concerto No. 1 has a turbulent, Romantic energy; Argentinian pianist Ingrid Fliter is soloist, making her subscription series debut. One of the great 19th-century symphonies, Dvořák's by turns bucolic and thrilling Eighth was composed in 1889 and is arguably his most individual symphony, a departure from the Brahms-influenced Germanic style of his Symphony No. 7.

Mendelssohn, Mendelssohn and Dvořák- Marc Mandel and Robert Kirzinger, narrated by Eleanor McGourty 

A richer look into Richard Strauss and the composer's "Also sprach Zarathustra", his tone poem based on the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche's mystical meditation of the same name. The piece opens with a dramatic fanfare (widely known from its use by Stanley Kubrick in the sound track of 2001: A Space Odyssey), perhaps the most famous "sunrise" in music. Video by Anthony Princiotti.

VIDEO - Strauss's "Also Sprach Zarathustra" Video Podcast

Opening the November 8-13 series is Shostakovich's Symphony No. 1, to be recorded live as part of Andris Nelsons and the BSO's multi-season exploration of the composer's symphonies. Shostakovich wrote this symphony while he was still a student, and it immediately established him as one of Russia's leading artistic figures. Video produced by Anthony Princiotti

Opening the November 8-13 series is Shostakovich's Symphony No. 1, to be recorded live as part of Andris Nelsons and the BSO's multi-season exploration of the composer's symphonies. Shostakovich wrote this symphony while he was still a student, and it immediately established him as one of Russia's leading artistic figures. <br>Video produced by Anthony Princiotti

VIDEO -  Shostakovich's Symphony No. 1 Video  Podcast

In his second week of concerts, François-Xavier Roth works with outstanding French pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard in Bartók's percussive, glittering Piano Concerto No. 1, in which the composer's love for Central European folk music merges imaginatively with early 20th-century modernism. Music by two close Bartók contemporaries fills out the program. Anton Webern's lush twelve-minute, single-movement Passacaglia from 1908 predates the crystalline miniatures for which he is best-known. Composed the following year is Stravinsky's The Firebird, the breathtakingly magical score for the Ballets Russes that catapulted the 27-year-old composer to fame and which, more than a century later, remains one of his most beloved pieces. Produced by Anthony Princiotti.

VIDEO - Stravinsky: The Firebird Podcast

A short look at Mahler's 5th Symphony, composed in 1901-02. Video produced by Anthony Princiotti

VIDEO -  Mahler's Syphony No. 5 Video Short Podcast

Two cornerstones of the repertoire anchor this program. The young English pianist Benjamin Grosvenor is soloist in one of Mozart's most familiar concertos, No. 21 in C, an elegant, good-natured work written and premiered in Vienna in spring 1785. Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 is the concerto's polar opposite in mood,a stormy struggle against destiny with a well-earned victory at the close. Opening the program is a rarity: the overture to the 1811 opera The Amazons by the highly successful and prolific opera composer Étienne Méhul, a contemporary of Mozart and Beethoven. Produced by Anthony Princiotti.

VIDEO - Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 Podcast

It is a celebration of the season with Igor Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring." It was given it's American premiere by the BSO in 1924 and is on the program again in 2019. Video by Anthony Princiotti.

VIDEO - Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring" Video Promo

Shostakovich wrote his Symphony No. 1 while he was still a student, and it immediately established him as one of Russia's leading artistic figures.Video produced by Anthony Princiotti

Shostakovich wrote his Symphony No. 1 while he was still a student, and it immediately established him as one of Russia's leading artistic figures.<br>Video produced by Anthony Princiotti

VIDEO -  Shostakovich's Symphony No. 1 Video Short Podcast

BSO Music Director Andris Nelsons returns to Symphony Hall for three concerts Tuesday, November 21- Saturday, November 25, in continuation of his survey of the complete symphonies of Bruckner with the orchestra. Having previously performed the composer's Third, Sixth, and Seventh symphonies together, Maestro Nelsons and the BSO take on the Symphony No. 4, Romantic, in these concerts. Marked by the soaring grandeur and long-breathed melodies so characteristic of Bruckner, the Fourth is one of the composer's most direct and approachable works. To open the program, Austrian pianist Rudolf Buchbinder, a frequent collaborator with Mr. Nelsons, joins the orchestra for Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1. Produced by Anthony Princiotti.

VIDEO - Bruckner: Symphony No. 4 Podcast

Making his BSO subscription series debut, conductor John Storgårds leads pianist Martin Helmchen in Mozart's gregarious, large-scale Piano Concerto in E-flat, K.482, composed in late 1785. Video produced by Anthony Princiotti

VIDEO -  MOZART Piano Concerto No. 22 in E-flat, K.482 Video Preview

Completing the program November 8-13, is Act II of "Tchaikovsky"'s vibrant, beloved ballet score "The Nutcracker", which includes the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy and the famous series of exotic national dances well-known from the popular Nutcracker Suite.Video produced by Anthony Princiotti

Completing the program November 8-13, is Act II of "Tchaikovsky"'s vibrant, beloved ballet score "The Nutcracker", which includes the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy and the famous series of exotic national dances well-known from the popular Nutcracker Suite.<br>Video produced by Anthony Princiotti

VIDEO -  Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker" Suite Video Short Podcast

A brief preview of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3, one of the most enduringly popular concertos in the repertoire.Video by Anthony Princiotti.

VIDEO - Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 Video Promo

Debussy's immensely colorful "Nocturnes" is an 1899 masterpiece of musical Impressionism. Video produced by Anthony Princiotti

VIDEO -  Debussy "Noctures" Video Podcast

Assembled and composed for Leipzig's Christmas season, Bach's "Christmas Oratorio" is a celebration of the nativity of Jesus Christ originally performed over the course of six days beginning on Christmas Day 1734. As was often Bach's practice, he re-used music from several earlier works, including the independent secular cantatas nos. 214-216. In addition to chorus, the work features soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, and baritone soloists, as well as an orchestra configured differently for each of the six sections. The BSO hasn't performed this important work since Charles Munch conducted it in 1960. For these performances, Andris Nelsons and the orchestra are joined by an outstanding group of soloists and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus. Video produced by Anthony Princiotti

VIDEO -  Bach's "Christmas Oratorio" Video Podcast

Assembled and composed for Leipzig's Christmas season, Bach's "Christmas Oratorio" is a celebration of the nativity of Jesus Christ originally performed over the course of six days beginning on Christmas Day 1734. Video produced by Anthony Princiotti

VIDEO -  Bach's "Christmas Oratorio" Video Promo

Brian Bell provides this tour of Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring", being performed on April 5-9, 2019. Igor Stravinsky's seminal ballet score "The Rite of Spring", which premiered in Paris in 1913, was given its American premiere by the BSO in 1924. Depicting an imagined ancient ritual re-awakening of the earth, the score still has the power to thrill and even shock the listener with its raw, protean power.

Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" Audio Tour

John Harbison

Composer John Harbison chats with Brian Bell about his Second Symphony, being performed on January 10 and 12, 2019.

Interview: Composer John Harbison chats with Brian Bell about his Second Symphony.

The best podcast episodes on global issues affecting everyone. Covering topics such as the #metoo movement, climate change, the impact of technology and some of the biggest global issues facing us right now. For anyone interested in learning more about the world, and some of the issues we're facing, pick an episode below and start listening! Add episodes you're interested into your queue below!

Best Episodes on Global Issues

The best podcast episodes of the most interesting stories and things. From skyping someone while they're in space, to tracking down and meeting a telephone scammer in person, to the story of a Galapagos. These episodes will keep you and all your friends entertained and captivated for hours. Learn something new in every episode! Add episodes you're interested into your queue below!