A Strauss Wonder

Some pieces are a slow burn. The first time I heard Strauss's Eine Alpensinfonie it evaded me. It was the famous Karajan recording, the...

Nelsons Bids Goodbye to Birmingham

When it was announced that Andris Nelsons was taking on the Boston Symphony Orchestra job, it seemed unlikely that he would be able to maint...

Accepting the End of Empire

I was standing in the wings of Symphony Hall earlier this week, waiting to go on stage and speak about Tchaikovsky's 'Manfred' S...