The Boston Landmarks Orchestra Comes to Jamaica Pond
by Joseph E. Morgan
On Sunday, July 26, the Boston Landmarks Orchestra presented a free neighborhood concert in the Pinebank Promontory, a newly opened site that is part of Boston’s Emerald Necklace park system. Featuring the world premiere of Thomas Oboe Lee’s The Story of Frederick Law Olmsted, Franz Joseph Haydn’s Cello Concerto No. 1 in C Major, and Felix Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4, “Italian,” the concert continued conductor Charles Ansbacher’s long mission to present “exceptional orchestral music performances in significant architectural, historical, and geographical settings.” [continued]
Americana was present in Lee’s musical portrait of Olmsted, accompanying a text by Nancy Stevenson; unruly dogs barked intermittently as families picnicked, children danced, and tandem bicyclists pushed through the crowd. Jacqueline Choi’s gorgeous first-movement cadenza climaxed with a dissonance that reminded one of his later works. Despite a bit of rushing in the third movement, her performance showed the confidence of an emergent virtuoso. [continued]
In Mendelssohn’s “Italian,” Ansbacher put his orchestra through its paces and the result was marvelous. [Click title for full review.] [continued]
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