2022-23 SEASON
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BY ROSIE CONSTANTINE & ALLISON BURR-LIVINGSTONE
Awakening our senses , evoking connections , and nurturing a greater awareness of ourselves and the world around us .
Nikolaj Lund
The second year of our expansive music director search is both a gentle nod to the past and a look into our future — there are conductors whose names you ’ ll recognize , while seven potential candidates lead the BSO for the very first time . It ’ s a look at our present society with music that is a real reflection of now . And it reinforces a theme that is truly timeless : the spiritual renewal that comes from spending time in nature . This is a season to build upon all that we have discovered — to awaken our senses , our minds , our emotions , our awareness , and our journey to find our next music director .
Eva Ollikainen
Thomas Søndergård
Lorenzo Viotti
Anna Rakitina
Laura Thiesbrummel Daniëlle van Coevorden
REVIVING A CONNECTION TO NATURE
An “ awakening of pleasant feelings upon arriving in the country ” is what Beethoven promised in his “ Pastoral ” Symphony , conducted by Lorenzo Viotti , the 31-year-old who famously rides his skateboard to work at the Netherlands Philharmonic . All season long , conductors , many making their BSO debuts , take us on our own fantastical journeys by channeling the great outdoors and our familiar impressions of nature : whether out at sea with conductor Eva Ollikainen in Britten ’ s tumultuous Four Sea Interludes ; at great peaks in Strauss ’ An Alpine Symphony with Thomas Søndergård ; or navigating imaginary worlds filled with flora , fauna , and sea-monsters in the Songs and Sea Interlude from Where the Wild Things Are with Finnegan Downie Dear and The Imagined Forests of Grace-Evangeline Mason with conductor Jonathon Heyward .
Programs not only revive all of our senses , but they also spark a closer look at how we interact with and impact the world around us . Music Director Laureate Marin Alsop returns with a world premiere by Huang Ruo , and conductor Kwamé
Ryan introduces Become Oceans , a self-described meditation on the tides of existence , by John Luther Adams .
“ Eventually we begin to realize that we ’ re part of something much larger than ourselves ,” said Luther Adams .
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CONDUCTING DEBUTS
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WORLD PREMIERES
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BSO ( CO ) COMMISSIONS
AWAKENING THE SLEEPER
Long silenced by the Stalin regime , Shostakovich could finally openly express himself in his Tenth Symphony , which depicts Stalin just after his death . As part of an evolution of his Recovered Voices mission with the BSO , Artistic Advisor James Conlon pairs the Symphony with three soul-stirring works : Hailstork ’ s Epitaph to the Man Who Dreamed , a memorial to Martin Luther King Jr .; Singleton ’ s 56 Blows , a reflection on police brutality ; and Joel Thompson ’ s To Awaken the Sleeper , inspired by the words of James Baldwin .
“ There is a legacy of composers who look at the society around them , testify , and comment on the society ,” said Thompson . “ Considering the kind of race-related troubles in our society , Baldwin ’ s writings were a beacon for me , a source of comfort , and a way for me to focus my craft . In the world of classical music where my identity is historically marginalized , having a space here where I can speak and be heard is very important , and Baldwin has faced similar obstacles .”
Programs continue to lift traditionally suppressed voices in our history and our industry . Described by the composer as “ strength towards something close to acceptance ,” Ellen Reid ’ s When the World as You ’ ve Known It Doesn ’ t Exist was written to celebrate the American woman ’ s right to vote with the 100 th anniversary of the 19 th Amendment and is led by the Assistant Conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra , Anna Rakitina .
Jonathon Heyward