Boston, Symphony Hall: Harbison's ‘Requiem’ and Carter's ‘Boston Concerto’

Abstract

Any Bostonian who cared about newer music, particularly newer American music, had long been resigned to the unhappy knowledge that nothing of any particular interest was ever likely to be going on at Symphony Hall. It was a shock, therefore, when it became apparent this fall that there were quite a few things happening in the current season of the Boston Symphony which one would very much want to hear. This new and happy state of things can almost certainly be directly attributed to the Music Director Designate, James Levine. Levine's commitment to newer American music was made manifest by the one program that he conducted this season, which included, along with the Brahms First Symphony, Roger Sessions's Piano Concerto and John Harbison's Third Symphony. Works have been commissioned to celebrate Levine's first season as Music Director, 2004–2005, from Milton Babbitt, Yehudi Wyner, and Harbison, among others. This re-connexion of the orchestra to one of the proudest features of its history under Serge Koussevitzky is cause for celebration. This spring's concerts by the Boston Symphony have included two new works of more than passing interest.