The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO)/Gewandhaus Orchestra (GHO) Alliance is a five-year multidimensional collaboration designed to explore each ensemble’s unique world of music-making and the great traditions and historic accomplishments that have influenced their reputations as two of the world's great orchestras, bringing a fascinating new perspective to their respective audiences. The programs of the BSO/GHO Alliance will also celebrate the mutual heritage of these two orchestras, initiate a musician exchange program involving the two orchestras and their respective academies for advanced music studies, and shed light on each orchestra’s overall culture and the cities they are proud to call home, by way of lecture series, archival exhibits, co-commissions of new orchestral works, and residencies and tour stops by the BSO in Leipzig and GHO in Boston.
Monday, February 28
7:00 pm – Community Chamber Concert
Goethe-Institut, 170 Beacon Street, Boston
FREE, but capacity is limited so reservations are required
MENDELSSOHN String Quartet No. 1 in E-flat, Op. 12
Bernd FRANKE In between IV, for two violins
Clara SCHUMANN Three Romances for violin and piano, Op. 22
Robert SCHUMANN Piano Quartet in E-flat, Op. 47
Catherine French & Xin Ding, violins;
Daniel Getz, viola; Mickey Katz, cello; Hugh Hinton, piano
Tuesday, March 1
5:30-7:00 pm - "The Gewandhaus under Totalitarian Regimes, 1933-1989"
Goethe-Institut, 170 Beacon Street, Boston
FREE, but capacity is limited so reservations are required
Join Harvard Professor Emeritus Christoph Wolff and author and Juilliard musicologist Jonathan Yaeger for an exploration of the Gewandhaus Orchestra under two different music directors – Bruno Walter and Kurt Masur – who struggled under totalitarian regimes in Leipzig. The evening will begin with a performance by BSO bassists Carl Anderson and Benjamin Levy, with pianist Anna Carr, performing music by Dmitri Shostakovich, followed by short scholarly talks and a panel discussion.
Friday, March 4
5:00 PM
Goethe Institut, 170 Beacon Street, Boston
FREE, but capacity is limited so reservations are required
Film Screening: Andris Nelsons - Just the Music
Documentary by Carmen Belaschk
Germany 2019, 31 minuutes (in English)
Portrait of Andris Nelsons tracing the conductor's stellar career and offering a glimpse into his life beyond the podium. Using rare and unpublished archive material, the 30-minute portrait directed by Carmen Belaschk traces Andris Nelsons meteoric rise, from his musical beginnings in his native city of Riga and his training as a trumpeter (an instrument he continues to practice) to his first position as chief conductor at the Latvian National Opera at the age of only 24. The film travels to his hometown Riga and shows him on and off stage, at rehearsals and in concerts, in Leipzig and Boston, providing insights into his working method through interviews with friends, colleagues and orchestra musicians.
Friday, March 4
6:00-8:00 pm
Goethe-Institut, 170 Beacon Street, Boston
FREE, but capacity is limited so reservations are required
Film Screening: Die Thomaner. A Year in the Life of the St. Thomas Boys Choir Leipzig
Documentary by Paul Smaczny and Günter Atteln
Germany 2012, DVD, 113 min (German with English subtitles)
Founded in 1212 the St. Thomas Choir Leipzig is one of the most famous and prestigious boys’ choirs in the world. This documentary accompanies “Die Thomaner”, aged between 9 and 18 years old, over a period of one year. Their unique world, from motets to boarding school and the football pitch, is distinguished by success, pressure to perform, doubt, pride, homesickness, and friendship. The film charts the breadth of the boys’ experience from the classroom to traveling on tour to South America.
“Impact of Music Award” at Nashville Film Festival 2012
“Best Soundtrack” at Rhode Island International Film Festival 2012
