Andris Nelsons conducts Bach, Holst, Montgomery, and Williams with Lorelei Ensemble and Awadagin Pratt, piano
Boston Symphony Orchestra
Symphony Hall, Boston, MA
Andris Nelsons opens the new BSO season with A Toast!, which John Williams originally wrote in 2014 to welcome Nelsons to the BSO. American pianist Awadagin Pratt, making his BSO debut, performs a work written for him, American composer Jessie Montgomery’s Rounds, and J.S. Bach’s Concerto in A. English composer Gustav Holst’s orchestral showpiece The Planets ranges from Venus’ sweet lyricism to Mars’ propulsive energy.
Performance Details
Sep 23, 2022, 1:30pm EDT
Program Notes & Works
A Toast!
John Williams wrote the fanfare A Toast! to celebrate Andris Nelsons' appointment as the BSO's 15th Music Director.
Keyboard Concerto in A, BWV 1055
Bach, who invented the genre of the keyboard concerto, wrote his Keyboard Concerto in A in the late 1730s, probably based on a now-missing earlier work for oboe or oboe d’amore.
Rounds, for piano and string orchestra
Jessie Montgomery's Rounds finds inspiration in the circular flying patterns of migratory birds as well as the infinite repetition found within fractals.
The Planets
Gustav Holst’s rich, characterful suite The Planets is based on the composer’s impressions of the astrological “personalities” of the celestial bodies. From the pounding aggression of Mars to the romantic lyricism of Venus, The Planets spans an astonishing range of moods.
