BSO (Boston Symphony Orchestra) Reflections

One main highlight of my spring semester was going to the BSO (Boston Symphony Orchestra) on Saturday nights. In fact, it was something that I looked forward to when I felt miserable in class. Some nights, I was tired and didn't feel like going, but I would tell myself to go because each show was pretty much free ($5 for the entire season as an MIT student). I am glad I made myself go, even though there were times I was on a tight schedule. 

Here were all the concerts I attended: 

1. Mozart and Bruckner, 2/19
2. Shostakovich and Stravinsky, 2/26
3. Ives, Unsuk Chin, and Berlioz, 3/5 
4. Britten (War Requiem), 4/2 
5. Tchaikovsky, Ellen Reid, and Sibelius, 4/9
6. Strauss, 4/23

I really wanted to go to the Debussy concert on 4/16 but sadly Saturday tickets sold out and as a college card holder, I do not get first priority for tickets. Technically, I could have ditched class on Friday to watch it, but I felt guilty for having such thoughts. 

I don't remember each show that well, though I did write down my impressions in my journal. One of the most memorable performances was probably the Anton Bruckner Symphony No. 4 (Romantic) because I didn't really know who Bruckner was before the performance. I remember experiencing this rare feeling of realizing that I was a small part of a big universe and that so much was out there, waiting to be explored. It is a feeling that can't be achieved when you watch the symphony on YouTube or listen to it on the radio. It requires focusing on the symphony by seeing them play in front of you. I had trouble articulating these feelings and the closest description I found was in the book Cork Dork about what a sommelier experiences when he tastes very good wine. The music filled the entire symphony hall and everything blended well together. I really liked the crescendo and felt like there was this strong force of unity. The symphony reminded me of how beautiful nature can be, as the symphony was meant to depict aspects of nature. When they played, I imagined the picturesque scenery of Germany and the sunlight. I thought about the animals waking up. I thought of the song as some motivational piece to rouse an army of knights to seize the day. 

For the 2/26 performance, I was touched when the conductor (Andris Nelsons) made a brief speech devoting the pieces to those in Ukraine, as this was around the time Russia started invading Ukraine. When I listened, I thought about the people suffering in Ukraine and the pain they were going through. I realized that even though the symphony hall consisted of audience members from different backgrounds, what all of us had in common was our interest in classical music. I found it beautiful that music was a way to unite everyone because of the universal emotions one can understand through music. This may be a stretch, but I was reassured by the fact that despite increasing political polarization and differences, there are still a couple of things that people across the political spectrum share: food & drink, music, art, dance, etc. 

The 3/5 performance was an eventful one. The first piece was The Unanswered Question by Charles Ives. The whole performance took me by surprise. I wasn't the only person in the audience who was confused about why there were only a couple of flute players on the stage. There was some music in the background and a trumpet player was in the back (I have no idea where the trumpet player was). The purpose of this physical arrangement was probably to have the piece mimic dialogue between two people. These are all my thoughts. 

Afterwards, there was an interesting contemporary piece by Unsuk Chin. The music was pretty rough and jagged. It wasn't the type of mellifluous song that I usually enjoyed listening to, but I still appreciated being exposed to different types of composers. A cool thing about going to the BSO is having a brief chat with people sitting next to you. The person next to me said that the piece made her think of current events and increasing political tensions. The interpretation made sense to me because when I listened to the piece, it reminded me of some apocalypse or nightmare and my heart tightened as the piece approached fortissimo. 

The Berlioz piece that followed the contemporary piece was a pleasant way to end the concert because the long piece told a story that went through the highest highs and lowest lows of human emotion. It was a rollercoaster ride. I am glad that going to the BSO made me know more composers that I previously didn't really know of, such as Ives, Sibelius, etc. Before, my classical music knowledge was limited to famous composers such as Chopin, Debussy, etc. 

The 4/9 performance also had another contemporary performance with an intriguing title of When the World as You've Known It Doesn't Exist by Ellen Reid. I had to read that title more than once to understand what those words exactly meant. The piece was written before COVID and had to do with the 19th amendment (women suffrage), but I think the pandemic makes the piece more significant. It reminded me of how our normal lives (the world we have known) were upended and then quarantine quickly replaced our original lives (doesn't exist). Sadly, I don't really remember my impressions of the piece, but it vaguely reminded me of Chin's symphony piece, specifically the disjointedness and cacophony. 

Overall, the 2021-2022 BSO season was awesome and I can't wait for the upcoming season. There is Yuja Wang, Seong Jin-Cho, and other great performers that I am planning to watch.