Harbison’s Symphony No. 6 premiered by the BSO under David Zinman, also Weber, Strauss, and Beethoven’ FIrst Piano Concerto with Andsnes, by Charles Warren
Boston Symphony Orchestra, January 12, 2012
David Zinman conducting
Leif Ove Andsnes, piano
Paula Murrihy, mezzo-soprano
Weber ‑ Overture to Euryanthe
Beethoven ‑ Piano Concerto No. 1
Harbison ‑ Symphony No. 6 (world premiere; BSO commission)
Strauss ‑ Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks
David Zinman led this weekend’s Boston Symphony Orchestra concerts, where the big event was the world premiere of John Harbison’s Symphony No. 6, commissioned by the BSO and capping its survey of the Harbison symphonies last season and this. Zinman is a fine conductor, and all went well. He is not a great cultivator of sound or of refined playing, but he has a remarkable sense of musical structure; makes clear, sharp phrases; and sustains a strong rhythm, complex when need be. He opened with Weber’s Euryanthe Overture, which sounded fresh and interesting in Zinman’s hands. It is basically a traditional sonata-form piece, but with unusual moves in development of material, and so made a good prelude to an evening of such music. Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in C followed, with soloist Leif Ove Andsnes giving what might be called a “nice” performance—nice tone and phrasing, all a bit polite and restrained, not fully letting go with Beethoven’s prankishness and oddity. After the first two movements, Andsnes came to life more in the rambunctious finale, bringing some bite to his enunciation of the much repeated rondo motif. Pianist and conductor worked well together, Zinman and the orchestra always pointed and flexible. In this piece again, as with the Weber, we were given some classicism with a personal inflection.

