Symphony Hall Exhibits
Located on the orchestra and first balcony levels of Symphony Hall, this season’s BSO archival exhibits celebrate the 90th birthdays of Sofia Gubaidulina (b.1931) and John Williams (b.1932); honor the delayed 50th anniversary of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus; highlight historical performances of Alban Berg’s Wozzeck, Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem, and Béla Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra; showcase such recent collection acquisitions as works by sculptor Mico Kaufman and memorabilia from the family of Harvey Genereux, former BSO stage manager and baton maker; and present the major tours that occurred during Charles Munch’s tenure as BSO Music Director.
On Display in Symphony Hall
Sofia Gubaidulina receives flowers after the BSO premiere of her work The Light of the End on April 17, 2003. (Michael Lutch)
John Williams seated at the piano, 1979. (Samantha Winslow)
The Tanglewood Festival Chorus performing in the Koussevitzky Music Shed with TFC founder and conductor John Oliver, undated. (Walter H. Scott)
Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra, first page.
Scene from the Tanglewood Music Center’s August 1969 performance of Alban Berg’s Wozzeck, conducted by Erich Leinsdorf. (Whitestone Photo/Heinz Weissenstein)
BSO stage manager Harvey Genereux was also a skilled baton maker. (Printed in Boston Post Magazine, February 22, 1948.)
Former BSO conductor Pierre Monteux (left) and then Music Director Charles Munch (right) pose with a train conductor before embarking on the BSO’s 1953 Transcontinental Tour. (Unknown)
Newspaper clipping featuring the Columbus Boychoir before their performance in the American premiere of Britten’s War Requiem at Tanglewood on July 27, 1963. (Printed in The Berkshire Eagle, July 25, 1963.)
BSO and Boston Pops audiences can learn more about the orchestras by searching HENRY, a database of more than 32,000 BSO, Pops, and Tanglewood performances from 1881 to the present.