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BSO, Pops, Tanglewood, and Symphony Hall Logos
2023-24 BSO Season

Hannu Lintu conducts Lieberson, Berg, and Schumann with Leonidas Kavakos, violin

Boston Symphony Orchestra

Symphony Hall, Boston, MA

Hannu Lintu, conductor
Leonidas Kavakos, violin

LIEBERSON Drala
BERG Violin Concerto
Intermission
SCHUMANN Symphony No. 4

How do you see the world? Drala, a BSO commission by American composer Peter Lieberson, premiered in 1986 and takes its title from a Tibetan Buddhist term. The word “drala” has many meanings, one of which relates to deepening and expanding one’s perception of the world. Finnish conductor Hannu Lintu leads the BSO and frequent guest Leonidas Kavakos in Alban Berg’s final finished piece; quoting poignantly from Bach, this haunting 1935 Violin Concerto was written in response to the death of a friend’s daughter. In closing, Robert Schumann’s majestic Symphony No. 4, which draws inspiration from Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony in its use of recurring musical themes to tie together the work’s four movements.

Saturday evening’s concert is supported by Alan and Lisa Dynner.

Please allow additional arrival and entry time before your concert due to MBTA construction at the Symphony Green Line station. Parts of the sidewalk in front of Symphony Hall will be closed Mon-Fri 9:30am–3:30pm until further notice, however sidewalks will reopen two hours before BSO events

A headshot of Leonidas Kavakos holding a violin
A headshot of Hanna Lintu sitting backwards on a chair wearing a white shirt

Performance Details

Nov 9, 2023, 7:30pm EST

Featuring

Program Notes & Works

Drala

Peter Lieberson

A longtime student of Buddhism, Peter Lieberson explored the concept of Drala in his dynamic, colorful work of the same name. Drala was commissioned and premiered by the BSO under Seiji Ozawa.

Violin Concerto

Alban Berg

Berg’s Violin Concerto was first performed in Barcelona in 1936 by Louis Krasner, longtime violin teacher at the New England Conservatory and at Tanglewood; the BSO gave the American premiere with Krasner under Serge Koussevitzky.

Symphony No. 4

Robert Schumann

The fundamental melodic idea of Schumann's Symphony No. 4 is derived from pitches corresponding to his wife Clara’s name, a not-so-hidden code that underlies the passion and the lyrical warmth of this innovative symphony.

Getting Here

A view of the empty Symphony Hall, with the stage in the distance

Plan Your Visit