{"id":2375614,"date":"2026-04-16T07:41:33","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T07:41:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2375614"},"modified":"2026-04-16T07:41:33","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T07:41:33","slug":"a-guide-to-greater-bostons-spring-classical-music-concerts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/a-guide-to-greater-bostons-spring-classical-music-concerts\/","title":{"rendered":"A guide to Greater Boston’s spring classical music concerts"},"content":{"rendered":"

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As I write this, the snow from the huge blizzard that has buried Boston is still piled in the streets. So it was comforting to think that spring was not too far away and would bring with it some great music to celebrate the season of rebirth. But the big news turned out to be about two of our most significant conductors. There had been rumors circulating for a couple of years that the Boston Symphony Orchestra was not going to renew the contract of music director Andris Nelsons<\/a>, and in a rather grim announcement, that decision has now been made and he will leave the BSO after the Tanglewood season of 2027.<\/p>\n

Then Benjamin Zander, the beloved director of the Boston Philharmonic and the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra \u2014 whose Mahler performances have been especially legendary since he led the Boston Civic Symphony in the 1970s, has announced, just after his 87th\u00a0birthday, that he will be stepping down after the 2026-27 season and his two orchestras will be retiring with him<\/a>, transformed into a new organization called the Zander Center.<\/p>\n

Still, there is good news. Here\u2019s my list of the groups and individuals who are offering particularly interesting repertoire and some performances I\u2019m especially eager to hear \u2014 and think about.<\/p>\n

But let me also remind you that I\u2019m not listing any of the excellent free programs at Boston\u2019s schools and conservatories, and that a good number of performances are also livestreamed, so it\u2019s still possible to listen to live music at home \u2014 just check the websites. And please be on the lookout for any concerts or productions I might not know about at the time of this listing or may have unfortunately overlooked.<\/p>\n

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SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAS<\/h2>\n

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Symphony Hall | March 19-May 3<\/h3>\n

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Pride of place must always go to the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the great international ensemble we are lucky to have in our midst, performing in one of the world\u2019s great concert halls. Not that every concert is thoroughly satisfactory. After more than a decade, music director Andris Nelsons has failed to consistently satisfy, either in repertoire or performance.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s crucial that we get to hear other major orchestras if only to keep our standards up. If I had to pick one program for the spring season, it would be star-studded soprano Ren\u00e9e Fleming and baritone Thomas Hampson as Pat and Dick Nixon in excerpts from John Adams\u2019 most admired opera, \u201cNixon in China.\u201d I wish Nelsons had chosen something fresher than Dvo\u0159\u00e1k\u2019s \u201cFrom the New World\u201d Symphony to share the program. Why not more Adams or some surprising American \u2014 or Chinese \u2014 music? Lisa Wong is the guest choral conductor of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus (March 26-28<\/a>). I can\u2019t omit two phenomenal young keyboard masters who will also be appearing under Nelsons: Korean pianist Yunchan Lim, playing the Schumann Piano Concerto, with Nelsons leading Tchaikovsky\u2019s \u201cManfred\u201d Overture (March 19-22<\/a>), and Japanese pianist Mao Fujita, playing Mozart\u2019s sublime C-major Concerto, No. 21, with Nelsons oddly fleshing out the program with two Finnish pieces (April 2 & 4<\/a>).<\/p>\n

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Symphony Hall | April 11<\/h3>\n

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Boston\u2019s beloved music director, Benjamin Zander, returns to Symphony Hall to conduct the composer with whom he\u2019s most closely associated, Gustav Mahler \u2014 this time the vast and sublime Symphony No. 3, with the deeply expressive British mezzo-soprano Dame Sarah Connolly. We need to hear convincing performances of these cosmic works to help us see more clearly our place in the universe. If you take the time, arrive early and listen to Zander\u2019s moving and sometimes funny but always illuminating pre-concert talk.<\/p>\n

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Benjamin Zander conducting the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra in 2024. (Courtesy Hilary Scott)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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VISITING ARTISTS<\/h2>\n

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Multiple venues | March 20-June 6<\/h3>\n

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Boston\u2019s oldest importer of guest artists, now with a new name<\/a>, is concentrating more and more on popular and jazz artists. But Vivo Performing Arts is still offering a juicy selection of visiting classical performers. My top choices would be the sensitive Icelandic pianist V\u00edkingur \u00d3lafsson, particularly celebrated for his delicate performances of Bach, in a program of Bach, a couple of late Beethoven sonatas and a Schubert sonata (Symphony Hall, March 20<\/a>); the beloved Tak\u00e1cs Quartet in Schubert\u2019s delicious single-movement Quartettsatz, with guest violist Jordan Bak in Mozart\u2019s magnificent C-major and D-minor String Quintets (Jordan Hall, April 11<\/a>); and rich-toned Georgian violinist Lisa Batiashvili\u2019s recital with pianist Giorgi Gigashvili in a program of early Beethoven, Bart\u00f3k, C\u00e9sar Franck, and a premiere by Israeli-Georgian composer Josef Bardanashvili (Jordan Hall, May 1<\/a>).<\/p>\n

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