Times, tastes, and training have all changed, of course; yet the notion that an orchestra comprising almost entirely underage players would attempt either the “Eroica” Symphony (No. 3) of Ludwig van Beethoven or the Rite of Spring by Igor Stravinsky is still remarkable. The Boston Youth Symphony under the baton of Federico Cortese chose to present both these pieces on the same program. [Click on title for full review]    [continued]

It hardly needs saying, to a Boston audience that knows them so well, that the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra under Benjamin Zander is much more than a simple alternative to the Boston Symphony under James Levine. In 30 years it has proved itself to be a first-rate ensemble worthy of comparison, in discipline and cohesiveness, to any professional orchestra in America…[Click title for full review]    [continued]

Will the Mahler revival ever ever end? Fifty years on, the music has become (and stayed) more than just popular: it’s inescapable, so always-with-us, such a cultural “given” that, some will say, that none of us can hear – that is, really hear – his music any more. [Click title for full review]    [continued]

Today, concerts more often than not come with program titles which are meant to inform and even pique the curiosity of the concertgoer. The Chameleon Arts Ensemble’s program title, “transcendent music I have heard,” puzzled me. [Click title for full review]    [continued]

New Music veteran Boston Musica Viva, in celebration of its 40th anniversary, performed a mix of 20th-century chamber works and two premieres of mini-operas at Boston University’s Tsai Performance Center last Friday evening. [Click title for full review]    [continued]

The New England String Ensemble delighted the audience with the first concert of their 15th season’s opening program, featuring Boston’s beloved violinist, Irina Muresanu. Performing string ensemble works by Schubert, Lutoslawski, and Enescu, NESE apparently opted for eclecticism over cohesiveness. [Click on title for full review]    [continued]

Liszt’s Transcendental Etudes represent some of the most technically challenging works in the repertory. It is always an event to hear just a few of them, and a tour-de-force for any pianist to play all in a single evening. Russell Sherman did just that in Jordan Hall last Thursday, and he brought with him his formidable arsenal of fingers and probing musicianship for the occasion. [Click on title for full review]    [continued]

The Concord Orchestra, Alan Yost, conductor, plays the Mozart Horn Concerto No. 2, Kathryn Denney soloist; Debussy’s Syrinx for solo flute with Susan Jackson and Sacred and Profane Dances for Harp and String Orchestra with Emily Halpern Lewis; 3 Poems of Mallarmé with soprano Sarah Telford; and Ravel’s Pavane for a Dead Princess. [Click on title for full review]    [continued]