A note from the Maestro: Welcome to the opening Masterworks concert of our 130th Season! We are thrilled to welcome pianist Jonathan Biss back to the BSO stage to perform Johannes Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2. Complementing the Brahms on the program will be two rarely heard masterpieces, the Donna Diana Overture by Emil von Rezniček and the Symphony in B-flat by Ernest Chausson. One reason for curating these particular works together for our season opener is their shared common key tonality (the Chausson and Brahms are both in B-flat); I also find it fascinating that all three pieces on the program were composed within less than 15 years of each other and in close geographical proximity (Rezniček, Austria – 1894, Chausson, France – 1890, Brahms, Germany – 1881) but each is wildly different in its compositional approach: the Rezniček elicits Italian opera, the Chausson embraces Wagnerian harmonies, and the Brahms seems very connected to the Austria of Schubert. That divergence of intent is, perhaps, these works’ uniting feature: each shares a sense of itchy feet, wanting to reach outside of their home and take us on a journey abroad.

Program

Emil Nikolaus von Rezniček  |  Donna Diana: Overture
Ernest Chausson  |  Symphony in B-flat, Op. 20
Johannes Brahms  |  Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 83
Jonathan Biss, piano