Being spoilt for choice for concerts in Boston, I have been taking advantage of the great fortune of having two concert halls right next to the El Sistema office - NEC's Jordan Hall and Boston Symphony Hall. Our first visit to Symphony Hall included the Boston Symphony Orchestra performing Mahler's 2nd Symphony 'Resurrection' with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus. Mahler's strong belief in the resurrection led him to write the lyrics to the finale of the symphony: "O believe, my heart, but believe: Nothing will be lost to you!". Interestingly, the last time the BSO and Tanglewood performed the piece, they created a trailer to promote the performance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPRzC5mHKDQ
Some of my fellow Fellows and I queued to get $9 rush tickets to hear Yo-Yo Ma play Shostakovich's Cello Concerto at Symphony Hall with the BSO. I first became familiar with this Concerto after watching Guy Johnson break a string whilst playing it in the BBC Young Musician of the Year final. Yo-Yo Ma managed to convey the feelings of frustration and aggression of the piece without damaging his instrument! Having read a bit on Shostakovich at school (including the story of him sleeping with a packed suitcase at the doorstep of his apartment so as not to disturb his family if he was arrested), it was shocking to again experience his music which conveys a sense of the oppression that he suffered whilst surviving as an artist under Stalin. Ma also struck us as being a very humble performer and having a different persona on stage to that of most professional soloists we have seen. He took his time to welcome and thank those on stage and the audience, and would only bow with the conductor at the end of the performance. He is heavily involved with a couple of amazing music community projects: http://www.silkroadproject.org/, http://cso.org/Institute/CitizenMusician.aspx. Other highlights of the concert included the conductor's flamboyant hair and amazing ability to use different gestures to cue different instruments. $9 well spent.
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