Serge Koussevitzky is remembered in this country as the longtime conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, founder of Tanglewood, the music camp
and festival in the Berkshires of Massachusetts, and a leading advocate of living composers. His promotion of modern music pre-dated his American years. In Paris, Koussevitzky made his Grands Concerts symphoniques a showcase of the new and different. Staged from 1921 to 1929, these concerts introduced an extraordinary number of works, many of which have become staples of the symphonic repertory. They also featured early music, much of it little-known at the time. In this program, we’ll revisit Koussevitzky’s Paris concerts, including their most famous premiere, Maurice Ravel’s orchestration of Modest Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition,” commissioned by Koussevitzky and first performed under his direction on Oct. 19, 1922.Jan. 25
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Scriabin: “The Poem of Ecstasy”
Chicago Symphony Orchestra/
Pierre Boulez(Deutsche Grammophon)
Germaine Tailleferre: Concertino for harp and orchestra
Nicanor Zabaleta, harp
French National
Radio Orchestra/
Jean Martinon
(Deutsche Grammophon)
Debussy:
Danse (“Tarantelle Styrienne”)(orchestration by
Maurice Ravel)
Ulster Orchestra/
Yan Pascal Tortelier
(Chandos)
Past Masters:
J.S. Bach: “Italian Concerto”
in F major, BWV 971
Wanda Landowska,
harpsichord
(recorded 1938)
(EMI Classics)Past Masters:
Stravinsky:
Octet for wind instruments
Boston Symphony
Chamber Players
(recorded 1974)
(Deutsche Grammophon)
Prokofiev:
Violin Concerto No. 1
in D major
Julia Fischer, violin
Russian National Orchestra/
Yakov Kreizberg
(Pentatone Classics)
Past Masters:
Honegger: “Pacific 231”
Suisse Romande Orchestra/
Ernest Ansermet
(recorded 1963)
(Decca)
Bloch:
Concerto grosso No. 1
Israel Chamber Orchestra/Yoav Talmi
(Chandos)
Past Masters:
Mussorgsky:
“Pictures at an Exhibition”
(orchestration by
Maurice Ravel)
Chicago Symphony Orchestra/
Fritz Reiner
(recorded 1957)
(RCA Victor)