Open Rehearsal: Joana Mallwitz conducts Kodály, Tchaikovsky, and Schubert with Anna Vinnitskaya, piano
Boston Symphony Orchestra
Symphony Hall, Boston, MA
Joana Mallwitz, conductor
Anna Vinnitskaya, piano
KODÁLY Dances of Galánta
TCHAIKOVSKY Piano Concerto No. 1
Intermission
SCHUBERT Symphony in C, The Great
The orchestra opens with the lively Dances of Galánta (1933) by Hungarian composer Zoltán Kodály, which combines traditional folk melodies from the composer’s home region with a symphonic context. The excitement continues with German conductor Joana Mallwitz and Russian pianist Anna Vinnitskaya, both in their BSO debuts, performing Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s beloved and epic Piano Concerto No. 1, which originally premiered in Boston! In closing, Schubert’s towering Symphony in C, The Great, written near the end of his life and premiered a decade after his death by none other than Felix Mendelssohn.
The Pre-Rehearsal Talk on November 3 at 9:30am will be given by Marc Mandel, former BSO Director of Program Publications. Admission included with ticket.
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
Performance Details
Nov 2, 2023, 10:30am EDT
Program Notes & Works
Dances of Galánta
Warm and colorful, Dances of Galánta is Zoltán Kodály’s best-known orchestral work. Like his friend and compatriot Bartók, he infused his music with Central European folk music elements.
Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, Opus 23
Tchaikovsky’s now wildly popular first piano concerto had a rough start. He had hoped it would be premiered by his friend Nikolai Rubinstein, but Rubinstein declared it “worthless and unplayable.” Hans von Bülow gave the highly successful premiere in October 1875 in Boston.
Symphony in C, D.944, The Great
Franz Schubert’s Great C major was the last symphony he completed before his early death at age 31.
