Boston Symphony Tickets

One of the top orchestras in the United States, Boston Symphony is all set to entertain the audiences with great performances this season. Enjoy the classical touch with your Boston Symphony tickets!

As the name suggests, Boston Symphony is located in the city of Boston in Massachusetts. It has one of the most accomplished ensembles of all times. This is why it is included among the top five orchestras of the country. New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra and Boston Symphony Orchestra have been termed the “Big Five” since the list was first displayed in TimesMagazine in the year 1983. Symphony Hall in Boston plays host to most of the performances of the orchestra. However, the Tanglewood Music Center hosts most of their summer performances. The position of their music director is vacant presently. Their most recent director was James Levine. Levine, who is the recipient of National Medal of Arts, stepped down in September 2011 because of ill-health. Bernard Hatink, OBE, is their conductor emeritus.

Boston Symphony was first established in 1881. Its founder is Henry Lee Higginson. He was a businessman and philanthropist whose aim in establishing the orchestra was to provide the orchestral concerts of the highest quality at the most affordable prices so that anyone interested in classical music could avail the opportunity of listening to the best. He wanted to draw in crowds from among the impoverished and less educated classes of society. For this he needed a conductor who would be available at any time of the day to conduct as many as required for quality music. George Henschel filled the bill and therefore was hired as the first conductor. Henschel was well known among music circles. He was friends with Johannes Brahms. He proved to be innovative in his approach towards conduction and orchestral seating.

From the very first day Boston Symphony attracted the most talented musicians from around the world. Some of the earliest conductors had obtained from Austria. They included the well-known and highly influential, Arthur Nikisch. However, the orchestra obtained a more French character from 1919 to the year 1924. It was because of the influence of its French music directors, Henri Rabaud and Pierre Monteux. The remnants of this influence are still felt today. The orchestra reached newer heights of popularity during the period of Serge Koussevitzky as their music director. The main reason behind it was that the Boston Symphony was the first one to perform live concerts to be aired on radio. Such radio broadcasts went on for over a quarter of a century, from 1926 to the 1950s. Contributing to the popularity were some of the greatest performances of that time, such as Sergei Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 4, Igor Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms, Béla Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra. With these performances, Koussevitzky began a tradition of commissioning performances to celebrate special occasions and anniversaries of the orchestra.

The Boston Symphony orchestra went on its first overseas tour in 1954 under the guidance of their new conductor Charles Munch. During this time, they also recorded their first stereo album for RCA Victor. Another influential figure in the history of the symphony orchestra’s performances is their longest serving conductor, Seiji Ozawa (1973-2002). In 1990, the orchestra was lucky to hold another distinction. They held the last orchestra to be conducted by the legend Leonard Bernstein. In 2004, James Levine became their fist director to be of the American origin. He championed contemporary composers and revitalized the repertoire and quality of music produced by the orchestra. Currently, the Boston Symphony holds the largest endowments in the US which are around US$300 million for musical projects. They have set up “Artistic Initiative Fund” to support upcoming musicians.

At present the Boston Symphony orchestra enjoys a spotless reputation for being dedicated to high quality music. Their productions are perfect and bring a sense of peace and contentment. You can listen to the music of Ravel, Stravinsky and Shostakovich as well as Beethoven with your Boston Symphony tickets. Have a great time out listening to the classics with the best orchestra in the world!