Next year’s season schedule [click HERE] already elicits my customary assembly of cheers and gripes; and as usual it has been compiled with an odd mixture of admirable imagination and dubious taste. The schedule that was hurriedly supplied (a scant two house before the embargo deadline) yesterday is apparently not complete but more graciously organized into a readable pattern than in previous years, and accordingly I will try to be more accommodating in my comments.
Abundant Russians: beginning with a Rachmaninoff week in September. A particularly noteworthy celebration is an entire month of Tchaikovsky, four programs, constituting a cycle of all six symphonies plus a concert version of Pikovaya Dama (Queen of Spades). I have been calling for several years for a performance of Symphony No. 2 (“Little Russian,” i.e. Ukrainian), yet wondering if we could do without more performances of No. 4 or the “Pathétique” for a while, or any at all of No. 5 for at least a few years. It’s good that this all takes place in frozen January, which makes it very Russian. February begins with yet more Russian: Prokofiev’s Symphonie concertante, a postwar work composed for Rostropovich, and Sibelius’s Symphony No. 2, another overplayed piece which in my ultramontane opinion ought to be mothballed for a decade (please, let’s get Symphony No. 4 sometime instead). In March there’s a full evening of Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5 (premiered by Koussevitzky in the 1940s) and Violin Concerto No. 2 (more laid-back than Violin Concerto No. 1)
There will be a two-week Stravinsky festival, of the big three early ballets, Firebird, Petrushka, and Rite of Spring, all wonderful pieces which we have several times experienced in Symphony Hall in recent years — I would have been happy to see any of these paired with Apollo, Fairy’s Kiss, or even Jeux des cartes, none of which I have ever heard live.
Among the early romantics we can find several Mendelssohn, Weber’s Oberon Overture, and Schumann’s “Spring” Symphony no. 1 (a welcome contrast to the clumsy No. 4), plus Brahms’s D minor Piano Concerto which is advertised as “youthful.” There’s a gratifying quantity of Beethoven, as there is almost every year: three overtures, two symphonies (including the most-popular-of-all Seventh, which I first learned as a teenager in a still-memorable Boston Symphony recording conducted by Munch), and the “Emperor” Concerto.
I won’t name all the late romantics, other than to identify a Richard Strauss week in April, including Don Quixote and Alpensymphonie, which I regard as two masterpieces of surpassing dullness, and to take note of some French impressionists — there’s no Debussy at all — which would include Respighi (two big items). I was surprised to note the Scherzo fantastique by Josef Suk, Antonin Dvořák’s son-in-law, which is a rarely heard but very good piece. Maybe this introduction to BSO audiences will be followed sometime by Suk’s large-scale, deeply expressive Asrael Symphony (1906).
There’s only one work by Mozart all season, his 22nd Piano Concerto, K. 482, on the September 18 opening series, but it’s a beauty. Only one by Haydn as well, Creation, paired with another work with the same title, a premiere by Osvaldo Golijov that ought to be really interesting — we haven’t heard a new work of his in quite some time.
There’s an abundance of new pieces, mostly premieres, for which the BSO should especially be congratulated: a piano concerto by Francisco Coll, a double concerto by Carlos Simon, a trumpet concerto by Unsuk Chin, something called Ein’ feste Burg by Alex Nante, a chorus-orchestra piece by Kaija Saariaho, and a technological premiere (orchestra plus electronics) by Tod Machover, in a nod to local composers (he is a professor at MIT). February will host a full evening of Philip Glass. In October there will be a premiere of a Prologue for orchestra apparently by two composers: Sofia Gubaidulina, who died last year, and Elena Firsova, a London-based Russian — we haven’t yet discovered if this was an unfinished and subsequently completed work, like Mozart-Süssmayr or Puccini-Alfano. I certainly look forward to all these new appearances, chiefly by composers completely unknown to me.
Andris Nelsons himself turned up at Distler Auditorium at Tufts yesterday to talk expressively about what Mahler’s music means to him, and so it’s not surprising that the second program of next season will begin with Mahler’s very assorted and strange Seventh Symphony, which will enable Nelsons to complete his recorded Mahler cycle. Nelsons’s last regular-season BSO concert, on an unspecified date in April, will be Mahler’s enormous and cosmic Third Symphony, 90 minutes of joy, love, and Innigkeit. I remember when the BSO first performed the whole thing, in January 1962 (which is another story), directed by Richard Burgin.
The final concert of the regular season will include Mahler’s First Symphony; I never tire of hearing that one; it’s paired with the Bruch Violin Concerto, which really ought to be left behind for a few decades, except for occasional student recitals. (Maybe sometime we could hear Bruch’s Concerto for two pianos instead.)
David Moran, I found the comment 👍🏼
Comment by Amy Kaufman — April 18, 2026 at 1:07 pm
David Moran, could you post that link again here? I am interested to read it.
Thank you.
Comment by Amy Kaufman — April 18, 2026 at 6:59 am
>> The “complete symphonies of a major composer” always sounds like a great programming idea if you don’t think about it too much.
hear
ditto Anthony’s last comment, ‘tedious’
a couple weeks ago I posted a comment from a savvy West Coaster hoping Bostonians could give the arguably clumsy Smith a chance in light of his LA record
looks like almost no one is the mood for that
Comment by David Moran — April 18, 2026 at 2:24 am
Seems to me that Smith’s comments in March were made in full awareness of the season that was soon to be announced, and he was putting lipstick on a pig. The pig in question? AN’s repertoire and program construction. His 26/27 choices are sufficient reason not to renew his contract. Quibble as you may about others’ programs or the selection of conductors, AN’s programs are the heart of the season and tedious beyond imagination.
Comment by Anthony — April 17, 2026 at 7:44 pm
Not too bad, but I agree with other commenters that it’s not too exciting either.
Picking (other than standard repertoire mainstays):
MAHLER Symphony No. 7
SAINT-SAËNS Cello Concerto No. 1
PROKOFIEV Sinfonia Concertante for cello and orchestra
And new pieces.
Comment by Eduard — April 12, 2026 at 7:19 pm
The “complete symphonies of a major composer” always sounds like a great programming idea if you don’t think about it too much. It works better as an idea for boxed sets of LP’s and CD’s. If you have been collecting records for a long long time you surely have a boxed set of Tchaikovsky’s “complete” symphonies containing numbers 4, 5 and 6. Maybe a set of Dvorak’s “complete” symphonies containing 5 through 9. Perhaps a big box with all 41 Mozart symphonies, but every time you count them you get a number that is not 41. Possibly even a box of all seven Prokofiev symphonies with eight because there are two number fours.
Tchaikovsky’s 1, 2 and 3 are not THAT inferior. If he hadn’t written 4, 5, and 6 he would still be considered a major composer because of the concertos and ballets and tone poems, and number 2 would be played as often as number 6 is now. (But not as often as number 5 is now.) But when you see all 6 in a row, you think “You know, I haven’t heard Romeo and Juliet or Francesca da Rimini in a long long time.”
I’m just as happy to see the unusual symphonies pop up on their own from time to time, like Dvorak’s Fourth many years ago, and Sibelius’ First last week, thankfully not on a bill with the Second or Finlandia. (I have a female friend who as a child was good looking but had a better-looking sister. So many times she heard someone say “You’re so pretty!” to her sister, then there would be a pause, and she’d get “You’re pretty, too.” Sibelius’ First doesn’t need THAT!)
The complete symphonies of Haydn in one season is just impossible, and while you COULD do a complete Bruckner or Mahler cycle in one month, I definitely would not advise it.
Comment by Mark Lutton — April 8, 2026 at 7:48 pm
@lee eiseman. Fully agree! I started attending classical concerts during the Solti era with the Chicago Symphony. I occasionally go back and am amazed how young and diverse the audience is even during more traditional performances (e.g. Riccardo Muti). Their marketing approach reaches out to audiences with special offers (20$ tickets for main floor seating, etc.) and generates enthusiasm. At the BSO none of this happens. Also, over the years we are being shortchanged on the singers, now predominantly drawn from the US for cost saving measures. This works only with top singers like Fleming and Hampson but where are Nylund or Jonas Kaufmann these days.
Comment by Matt Keane — April 8, 2026 at 1:33 pm
relevant comments copied from another chain
I just looked at the program schedule for the 2026-2027 season. hoping to complete 50 years as a subscriber. My reaction is a big “yawn”. Not my idea of a “bold new energy” promised by Chad Smith.
Single-composer programs include all-Beethoven, all-Rachmaninoff, all-Strauss, all-Tchaikovsky, all-Stravinsky, all-Prokofieff, (with all the expected hits). Also, there are plenty of short programs with only two compositions. (Shrinkflation has become common at the BSO: higher prices for less music.) The season is even less interesting than the current one.
At least there is no film-music night or jazz night, but where are the symphonies and other orchestral works of American composers such as Barber, Hanson, William Schuman, Ives, Harris, Rochberg, Virgil Thomson, etc.? Presumably, Mr. Nelsons is happy playing the same music over and over, but there is not much here to attract this half-century subscriber to renew.
Comment by George Hungerford — April 7, 2026 at 4:34 pm | Edit This
In the new season brochure, there is one full orchestra photo on page 14 (or 8 of 15 if viewing the pdf). Unfortunately, the image is reversed; another manifestation of the competency gap we are experiencing with the Smith regime.
Comment by Gerry — April 7, 2026 at 6:02 pm | Edit This
In regards to George Hungerford’s comments, I agree. The 2026-2027 looks like a big yawn. That said, I’m looking forward to a number of programs of Nelsons, and I’m THRILLED that Joana Mallwitz is returning. I’m also really looking forward to hearing Haydn’s Creation. I’m not so thrilled however that Susanna Malkki is returning – her program looks dull to me, and I’ve found her music-making to be cold and aloof (and I’m terrified that anyone thinks she should even be a candidate to be the BSO’s next music director – she’s a C-grade conductor at best). Glad to see Jakub Hrusa is coming back too, although I was hoping we would see Hannu Lintu, Manfred Honeck, and perhaps even an appearance from JoAnn Falletta, who I’ve heard really good things about from a friend who’s heard her in Buffalo multiple times. What’s missing on the program? No Bruckner, Schubert, Herbert Blomstedt, worthwhile Schumann (Symphony #1 is fine enough, but a slight work), etc. On the whole, the programming would get a C+/B- from me.
I hope Chad Smith saves well, because when the ax eventually falls on him (as it will when this whole thing plays out especially disastrously in the years to come), he’s not going to be particularly employable beyond the BSO. Clearly this disaster of what’s happening at the BSO is being driven from the very top, from Barbara Hostetter and unnamed co-conspirators, but Chad Smith’s handling of it can only charitably be graded an F. Who’s going to touch him after this disaster at the BSO?
And by the way, we’re only at the end of Act I. There’s at least Act II and Act III coming, and I suspect at the end of this, it will end like any good Shakespearean tragedy with lots of bodies dropping, and the BSO end up greatly diminished. We’re absolutely on track for that outcome, and there’s not even the slightest hint that those at the top are LISTENING or even considering a change in course.
Comment by Mogulmeister — April 7, 2026 at 6:43 pm | Edit This
As a potential datapoint, the Higginson Society has its annual cocktail party next week. We shall see if any information is passed on through that group of patrons.
Comment by Concordia — April 7, 2026 at 7:14 pm | Edit This
I’m not thrilled by many of the programs either. The two Mahlers probably appeal the most. I love Haydn’s Creation, but H&H do it better, and I don’t think Philippe Jordan is much of a conductor. Nelsons is conducting lots of Beethoven, the Strauss Alpine Symphony once again (a noisy, bloviated piece), and tons of Russian music as usual, including Tchaikovsky (the promised complete symphonies of one composer every year, a stupid idea that will quickly cycle through all the composers who could fit into one season and who created consistently excellent work), Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, Stravinsky. Throw in the Berlioz and the Mahlers, and Nelsons is conducting the largest and loudest pieces possible, something I wish he’d do less of.
Comment by Rob — April 8, 2026 at 10:54 am | Edit This
To be sure, the any deficits of programming should be directed toward Chad Smith rather than Andris Nelsons based on the March 26, 2026 Boston Globe Article “BSO chief Smith admits trust must be rebuilt after Nelsons’ ouster sparks backlash”
He specifically stated:
1. “Going forward, he said, the BSO plans to present a symphonic cycle each year of the complete works of a great composer.” [Explains the Tchaikovsky cycle]
2. “Smith added the BSO also plans to partner with the MIT Media Lab next year for a thematic program that looks at music and technology. [Explains the “AI programming,” which I would describe as a gimmick]
Source: https://archive.ph/FAvfh#selection-1719.0-1719.133
Comment by Publius — April 8, 2026 at 12:12 pm | Edit This
I will attend the Nelsons concerts only. He creates the magic of the selected musical pieces and is the main draw. The other concerts conducted by minor conductors are not worth my trouble. What Chad Smith doesn’t seem to understand is that concerts are not promoted by composers/compositions but by known top performers/conductors. Also, the MIT lighting installations will not draw an audience, unless Nelsons conducts (e.g. Scriabin). It seems to me that Chad Smith has no clue about marketing.
Comment by matt keane — April 8, 2026 at 12:59 pm | Edit This
@ Matt Keane — the informational sign at the Green Line Symphony Station has not been updated since 1999 despite Andris Nelsons and the BSO winning 6 Grammy awards in the past 10 years which tells me everything I need to know about the BSO’s complete failure of a marketing team not just now but for many years.
Comment by Publius — April 8, 2026 at 1:08 pm | Edit This
Comment by Lee Eiseman — April 8, 2026 at 1:23 pm
Hindemith other than Mathis would be welcome.
Comment by William Keller — April 8, 2026 at 1:20 pm
Bruckner takes another year off.
Comment by William Keller — April 8, 2026 at 1:16 pm