Boston Philharmonic to Perform Mozart & Shostakovich in Opening Weekend, 10/23

Benjamin Zander, Music Director and Conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra (BPO), is delighted to present the first program of the orchestra's 2014-2015 season, featuring Mozart's Overture to Cosi Fan Tutte and Sinfonia Concertante and Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 2 on October 23 and 26 at Sanders Theatre in Cambridge and on October 25 at Jordan Hall in Boston.

Mozart was a versatile composer who infused a heightened sense of emotion and creativity in every major genre. For this program, the BPO will play two works showcasing the composer's affinity for the operatic form. In the great comic opera Cosi Fan Tutte, the orchestra and audience will explore the vagaries of love, its ecstasies, surprises and wrenching reversals. Love's comedies and love's tragedies are inseparable, the equal sides of a balance held aloft with ironic poise by Mozart at his most masterful.

The operatic genius of Mozart makes itself felt in his non-operatic works as well, and nowhere more so than in the Sinfonia Concertante for violin and viola. Unusual in form, unusual in the way that its two solo instruments interact, daring in its overtly operatic expressiveness, it is one of the pivotal works in Mozart's evolution as a composer, and one in which we see his experimental and revolutionary side most clearly. Mozart never wrote a purely instrumental work that was more blatantly operatic than this one. Two of the supreme masters of their instruments will be featured in this work, violinist Miriam Fried and violist Kim Kashkashian.

If ever there were a symphony overflowing with love it is the Second Symphony of Rachmaninoff. Almost from its first note the emotion-drenched themes well up in an unstoppable flood, all of them clothed in Rachmaninoff's most gorgeous orchestration. The variety to be found in this symphony is astonishing, too - with its tender confessional passages, its rapt outpourings, its hearty humor, and its occasional dark moments. A performance of this work is always an "event," and you won't want to miss it!

Of special note is the Saturday concert at Jordan Hall (October 25). In maintaining a commitment to supporting the needs of the community, the Boston Philharmonic will present this concert to benefit Music for Food, a musician-led initiative to fight hunger in our home communities. Founded by acclaimed violist and featured BPO soloist Kim Kashkashian, Music for Food has built partnerships over four seasons with hunger relief and performing arts organizations in many communities. Concert attendees are encouraged to make a donation to help those in our community facing issues of hunger; the BPO will match up to $1,000 in monetary donations.

Enhance your musical knowledge and deepen your experience of the performance by joining us for the Thursday night Discovery Series concert - the perfect program for the novice concertgoer, featuring Maestro Zander's illuminating and entertaining commentary immediately before each piece on the program - or Maestro Zander's acclaimed, innovative pre-concert talks (beginning 75 minutes prior to the Saturday and Sunday performances) - where the Maestro pours his passion and energy into bringing music alive for the novice and experienced music lover alike. A specially designed children's talk will bring the music to life for our youngest audience members, beginning at 7:30 p.m. before the Saturday performance only.

This concert program takes place:

Thursday, October 23, 2014, 7:30 p.m., Sanders Theatre, 45 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA 02138

Saturday, October 25, 2014, 8:00 p.m. (with pre-concert talk beginning at 6:45 p.m. and children's talk at 7:30 p.m.), Jordan Hall, New England Conservatory of Music, 30 Gainsborough Street, Boston, MA 02115

Sunday, October 26, 2014, 3:00 p.m. (with pre-concert talk beginning at 1:45 p.m.) at Sanders Theatre, 45 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA 02138

Individual tickets are now on sale for the 36th season of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, and subscriptions are still available. Visit www.bostonphil.org or call the BPO box office at 617-236-0999, Monday-Friday 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., to purchase tickets, learn about discounts, and more.