By Lindsey Davis Boston, MA - More than three years ago, the Boston Cello Quartet formed from a few of the newest additions to the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Three cellists were selected to join the Orchestra in the same round of auditions – a rare occurrence for such a selective group. Blaise Dejardin, from Strasbourg, France, joined his fellow new BSO additions, Adam Esbensen from Oregon and Alexandre Lecarme from Grasse, France, with their Romanian colleague Mihail Jojatu to create a dynamic new group who have just released their first CD, “Pictures.” Filled with the best selections of their repertoire from three years of playing together, Pictures contains 15 tracks that include everything from Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville: Overture” to “The Waltz of the Black Ants,” written specifically for the group by Japanese composer Tetsuro Hoshii.   LINDSEY: Whose idea was it to … [Read more...] about Q&A with the Boston Cello Quartet

By Lindsey Davis Boston, MA - Last Thursday the technically perfected sounds of the Boston Symphony Orchestra filled Boston Symphony Hall — the first of four performances that will consist of these two particular pieces of musical art. The first was the exciting and bouncy ballet in one act, “Pucinella” by Stravinsky, which was followed by the slower, more classical piece, Haydn’s “Mass in Time of War.” Both works called for soloist vocals but Haydn’s “Mass” required a choir as well, represented here by the Tanglewood Festival Chorus. Veteran conductor Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos led the Orchestra, and although his age restricted him to an office chair while conducting, there was no emotional inflexibility whatsoever. Stravinsky’s “Pucinella” was clearly intended as a dance, each note getting whisked up by the last, and speeding past each other until the song erupted into a grand … [Read more...] about Boston Symphony Orchestra’s 132nd Season