PROGRAM TO INCLUDE MUSIC BY JOHN WILLIAMS, J.S. BACH, JESSIE MONTGOMERY, AND HOLST, WITH AMERICAN PIANIST AWADAGIN PRATT IN HIS BSO DEBUT; BSO.ORG
THE BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA IS PLEASED TO WELCOME SEVEN NEW MEMBERS IN THE 2022–23 SEASON
EFFECTIVE SEPTEMBER 22, THURSDAY-EVENING BSO PERFORMANCES START AT 7:30 P.M.
Andris Nelsons, marking his ninth season as BSO Music Director, leads the Boston Symphony Orchestra in the opening concert of the 2022–23 season on September 22 at Symphony Hall. Pianist Awadagin Pratt appears for the first time with the BSO, performing a work written for him by American composer Jessie Montgomery (Rounds, for piano and string orchestra) and J.S. Bach’s Concerto in A, BWV 1055.
Bookending these works are John Williams’ A Toast! first performed in 2014 and written to celebrate the 134th anniversary of the BSO and the appointment of Andris Nelsons as its 15th music director—and Gustav Holst’s orchestral showpiece The Planets, which depicts various characteristics associated with the planets, ranging from Venus’ sweet lyricism to Mars’ propulsive energy. The Lorelei Ensemble (Beth Willer, conductor) performs the wordless chorus part in the last movement, “Neptune.” This program will be repeated on Friday, September 23, at 1:30 p.m.
In 1992, Awadagin Pratt, born in Pittsburgh, became the first African American to win the Naumburg International Piano Competition. That achievement launched an active career as a performer (including appearances with numerous American orchestras and for the Clinton White House and Obama White House), a recording artist, and professor of piano at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.
The Boston Symphony Orchestra is pleased to welcome seven new members: violinists Jenny Ahn, Sophie Wang, and Takumi Taguchi; clarinetists Christopher Elchico and Andrew Sandwick; cellist Will Chow; and Assistant Librarian Russel Allyn. Click here to view a press release about these musicians.
Symphony Hall’s new COVID-19 protocols do not require visitors to show proof of vaccination or a negative test result. Masking will be optional, but encouraged, per guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.