Music Director Andris Nelsons leads two very different works that we both innovative and experimental for their time. A staple of the BSO’s repertoire for generations, Hector Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique virtually defined the emotional intensity of musical Romanticism while also vastly expanding orchestral virtuosity. Its five movements describe an artist’s emotional turmoil, ranging from blissful to unhinged, as he daydreams about his lover. Much more abstract and metaphysical is the American composer Charles Ives’s mysterious and questing tone poem The Unanswered Question (1908), which features a striking solo trumpet part against ensembles of strings and winds.
After the BSO’s performance, enjoy the special program Sing to the Moon by the Tanglewood Festival Chorus. This half hour of music includes choral works by Elgar, Augusta Read Thomas, Brahms, Laura Mvula, and more.
