The hard-working duo Transient Canvas: Matt Sharrock and Amy Advocat. Robert Torres photograph
Be patient, because live performances aren’t coming back anytime soon.
Singers can’t sing. Orchestras can’t assemble. Conductors can’t conduct.
Venues are shut. CEOs can’t promise great things, box offices can’t sell tickets, and publicists can’t pursue pitches. Critics are unnecessary.
Onstage has been replaced by online: live-streaming, archive mining, and parlor performances. The classical music season this fall isn’t really happening, not the way anyone wants.
But everyone keeps trying.
These fall programs, almost entirely live-streamed or archival, have been culled from online sources. Things are changing fast, so follow your favorite groups closely—many events are still being planned.
Symphony Hall remains closed, but the Boston Symphony Orchestra still holds out hope for the Holiday Pops season in December. Till then, or later, the BSO has invested great energy in its online presentations.
The BSO’s Tanglewood offerings this summer featured chamber works recorded on the Lenox campus, as well as vintage performances. The chamber concerts were thoughtfully conceived, the archival works sometimes overwhelmingly nostalgic, and everything got beautifully broadcast.
Now Encore BSO Recitals—released every Thursday at noon—repeats many of those summer programs (bso.org). It’s free for past subscribers, and cheap ($25 for the set) otherwise.
BSO HomeSchool has new presentations, and archived material for educators and parents. WCRB broadcasts past BSO performances each Saturday evening.
Artistic administrator Anthony Fogg curates a fascinating weekly tour of the deep BSO archives: Go back to Week 2, and hear soloists like Van Cliburn (1966, Rachmaninov D minor), Doriot Anthony Dwyer, and Leon Fleisher.
Boston Landmarks Orchestra (landmarksorchestra.org) has made summer virtual as well. Digital offerings can’t replace the picnics, but remain online for free. The Boston Philharmonic (bostonphil.org) suspended its fall season, but releases performances on its YouTube channel. Steven Lipsett’s Bach, Beethoven, & Brahms Society (bbbsociety.org) remains on hold.
Boston Musica Viva (bmv.org) and the New England Philharmonic (nephilharmonic.org), both led by Richard Pittman, are on standby as Pittman recovers from a stroke. A February program with multiple works inspired by Pittman remains listed as a live performance—here’s hoping.
The Celebrity Series (celebrityseries.org) had to postpone or cancel multiple high-profile events (Daniil Trifonov, Silkroad Ensemble, the Berlin Philharmonic). But there’s plenty left to enjoy virtually—that began last weekend, with a recital by pianist Jeremy Denk.
Lina Gonzalez-Granados conducts Unitas Ensemble Oct. 1, a Celebrity Series presentation. Christine Bush photograph
While familiar names like Rob Kapilow and Takács Quartet dot the online calendar, the Celebrity Series has reached outside its institutional boundaries for ideas. Performances by Unitas Ensemble (Oct. 1) and Abilities Dance (Oct. 29) stand out. A December recital by pianist Conrad Tao remains tantalizingly on the live schedule.
Early Music
Will the 2021 Boston Early Music Festival (bemf.org) be our return to normal? Hard to imagine the morning-noon-and-night calendar getting fulfilled right now, but that would be most welcome. BEMF stays active with free virtual events this fall, including Tallis Scholars, and holds out hope for live touring programs in the spring.
Count Handel & Haydn Society (handelandhaydn.org) among those who assume Symphony Hall will be open in January. The H&H season looks familiar: Bach, Vivaldi and Handel dot the live-streams this fall. Larger works—Mozart’s “Great Mass,” Handel’s “Israel in Egypt,” Haydn’s “Creation”—fill the potentially live spring events.
Boston Baroque has built multiple subscription packages, with robust offerings that include pop-ups, virtual events—many hosted by music director Martin Pearlman—and a deep dive into the group’s archives. Pop-ups happen when they happen; subscriptions get you to the rest, at your convenience. Access through bostonbaroque.org, on Amazon Prime or on Boston Baroque radio.
Musicians of the Old Post Road zoom four performances for subscribers, along with three additional concerts, free to those subscribers, beginning Oct. 3 (oldpostroad.org). The three value-added concerts are solo affairs, featuring Suzanne Stumpf (Baroque flute), Daniel Ryan (cello), and Sarah Darling (violin).
The Henry Purcell Society (bostonpurcell.org) streamed events this summer, and plans more. Sarasa Ensemble (sarasamusic.org) lists its subscription concerts, beginning Nov. 20, with concerts in Cambridge, Lexington and Brattleboro, Vt., as live performances.
Vocal Ensembles
No need to depict some musician’s suffering as greater than others; suffice to say, singers have it bad. Lorelei Ensemble’s tour of Julia Wolfe’s “Her Story,” planned to premiere with a consortium of major orchestras, has been postponed.
The work, commemorating the centenary of the 19th amendment, was to have premiered in Nashville, then travel to San Francisco, Chicago, Washington, and Boston. Spring dates are listed hopefully; such a major project will certainly find the stage when possible (loreleiensemble.com).
Skylark Vocal Ensemble (skylarkensemble.org) nimbly created Skylark+ for subscribers in the spring, and continues online activities. Cantata Singers, without its Jordan Hall home, will not sing until fall 2021, but promises virtual events (cantatasingers.org). Chorus pro Musica stays active with CpM@Home (choruspromusica.org). Boston Cecilia (bostoncecilia.org) welcomes Michael Barrett as music director—hardly fortuitous timing, but ultimately a happy pairing. Boston Gay Men’s Chorus (bgmc.org) has been around four decades, and vows to continue.
Chamber Ensembles
The intrepid musicians of A Far Cry (afarcry.org) have a four-concert virtual season, typically enthralling. “Amazonita,” a December concert featuring composers from the other America, looks particularly inviting. Access comes in various ways, including Frequent Crier subscriptions.
Boston Chamber Music Society saw its primary venue close, but will still present its three Sanders Theatre programs virtually, beginning Oct. 11 (bostonchambermusic.org). Castle of Our Skins (castleskins.org) offers a breath-taking series of collaborations for its virtual fall season; optimistically, spring presentations are listed as live, including a three-day residency at Longy dedicated to the music of Jessie Montgomery.
The Boston New Music Festival (bostonnewmusicfestival.org) goes virtual Oct. 29–Nov. 15, incorporating many familiar groups like New Gallery Concert Series, Juventas New Music, Semiosis Quartet, Radius Ensemble and Transient Canvas. Some events are ticketed, and some are even live.
The hard-working Transient Canvas duo (bass clarinetist Amy Advocat, marimbist Matt Sharrock) have almost a dozen live-streams planned for the fall (transientcanvas.com).
Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra (proarte.org) virtually hosts six salon concerts, alternate Thursdays that began Sept. 24. Programs look thoughtful and timely.
Many groups have not listed programs for the fall, but eventually will. Chameleon Arts Ensemble (chameleonarts.org) did a stellar job staying active this summer with Chameleon@Home. Boston Modern Orchestra Project (bmop.org) has provided welcome recordings with its continuing BMOPsound releases (Harold Shapero, Eric Nathan, Gunther Schuller). The Gardner Museum (gardnermuseum.org) is open, but not for musical performances. Its extensive (and free) archives remain available.
The Boston New Music Initiative (bostonnewmusic.org) has postponed its Fresh Sounds program until 2022. Old friends of new music Dinosaur Annex (dinosaurannex.org) still list a concert from last March 6 on its site—a sad reminder of the end of concert days.
Regional Concerts
The Longwood Symphony Orchestra (longwoodsymphony.org), the orchestra of Boston’s medical community, has special relevance this year. Live-stream events begin Oct. 3; support the virtual gala Nov. 14, celebrating healthcare workers, if possible.
Rockport Music (rockportmusic.org) has closed the Shalin Liu Performance Center through Feb. 2021. Its virtual Concert View series reflects a commitment to all musics, with upcoming streams from Richard and Mika Stoltzman, Celtic duo Hanneke Cassel and Mike Block, and a return appearance by jazz pianist Kenny Barron.
Beverly’s Cabot Theatre (thecabot.org) has no classical listings now, and is closed, but hosts the Porch Sessions at various locations. The Cape Ann Symphony (capeannsymphony.org) has cancelled events through the end of the year.
West of Boston, Milford’s Claflin Hill Symphony (claflinhill.com) has yet to announce any season plans. Likewise Natick’s Metrowest Symphony Orchestra (metrowestsymphony.org). The Quincy Symphony (quincysymphonyorchestra.org) has cancelled its season. Newton’s New Philharmonia (newphil.org), now directed by Jorge Soto, has archived events available. Littleton’s Indian Hill (indianhillmusic.org) has no live concerts, but a host of virtual ones.
Keith Powers covers music and the arts for Gannett New England, Opera News and Leonore Overture. Follow @PowersKeith; email to keithmichaelpowers@gmail.com.