Classical Notes
Great classical music deserves a great setting, and for discerning ears, the vibrant, poignant sounds of strings and woodwinds are the litmus test for ambience.
Symphony Hall, on Boston 's Massachusetts Avenue , considered one of the finest acoustic venues in the world, is the ideal quarters for the Boston Symphony Orchestra and its brilliant director, James Levine. “It is the gold standard,” says Joel Brown, former Boston Herald executive arts editor and webmaster at HubArts.com. The sloping walls, shallow balconies and even the spacing between the rows of seats are all constructed for optimal sound, as evident today as in 1900, when the doors first opened. Another wonderful amenity of this 2,600-seat venue is the Symphony Café, which offers live music and dinner before all evening BSO concerts through early May. In addition to the inspired BSO schedule, several “can't miss” performances include an all-Mozart concert featuring Staatskapelle Berlin with Daniel Barenboim (February 10), a pre–St. Patty's Day performance by the Chieftains (March 11) and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, featuring Sergey Khachatryan on violin (March 24).
Two venues west of Boston claim equal billing with Symphony Hall on the historic scale. Mechanics Hall in Worcester is generally considered one of the finest pre–Civil War concert halls in the country. The centerpiece of the 1857 hall is a 3,504-pipe Hook Organ. Built in 1864 and refurbished in 1982, it can be heard during performances in the venue's Brown Bags for Kids Concert series. Noteworthy shows this winter include the Black Watch with the Band of Welsh Guards (January 30), the Hungarian Symphony Orchestra (February 15) and the Jerusalem Symphony (March 1).
To the southwest, Springfield 's Symphony Hall, at 1 Columbus Center, is home to the Springfield Symphony Orchestra (SSO), the state's largest symphony orchestra outside of Boston . The hall underwent a thorough makeover in 2004, but the superb sound quality was preserved. The 2,611-seat auditorium presents shows at noon (four upcoming lunchtime concerts) and night. Headlining acts include violinist Nadja Salerno Sonnenberg (January 27) and pianist Wendy Chen (February 11) with the SSO, and Broadway offerings such as Oklahoma ! (January 26). Baby boomers might want to put the Kingston Trio (February 4) or the 5th Dimension (March 25) on their calendar.
For a cozier classical setting, visit Cambridge 's Sanders Theatre. Nestled inside Harvard University 's Memorial Hall, this 1,166-seat room boasts more good wood than most churches, and a rich, resonant sound to match. “It feels like a sacred space,” says Brown. Per formances range from string quartets to cut ting-edge artists and from the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra to the Harvard Glee Club. Fiddle virtuoso Natalie MacMaster of Nova Scotia performs her Celtic-inspired music in two shows, February 4 and 5.
Bay State Broadway
Nothing chases away the winter blahs as quickly as a rousing Broadway musical, especially when the shows are staged in a setting as magnificent as Boston 's Wang Theatre. With its immense domed ceiling, arched cathedral-style walls and ornate Grand Lobby, the Wang is arguably the city's one irreplaceable venue, and its cavernous stage is perfectly suited for Broadway spectaculars. Built as the 3,700-seat Metropolitan Theater in 1925, and renovated two decades ago, this palatial facility can be as distracting as it is attractive. Forgive first-timers if you catch them staring at the dazzling surroundings, wondering if the shows could possibly be any more captivating. They are, but not by much.
Not to be outdone, the Opera House on Washington Street, one of four outstanding downtown theaters operated by Broadway in Boston (the others being the Colonial Theatre, the Wilbur Theatre, and the Charles Playhouse), has never looked or sounded better, thanks to a recent multimillion- dollar face lift. Its reward? Securing a number of this year's blockbuster Broadway shows, including the Tony Award-winning Wicked (April 12–May 14). The musical — inspired by the two headlining witches from The Wizard of Oz — is a coup for this meticulously restored landmark, which originally opened in 1928 as the B.F. Keith Memorial Theatre, a vaudeville venue. A quick peek at the Opera House's calendar reveals an assorted mix of performances, from Little Women (January 10–22) and Les Misérables (February 15–26) to illusionist David Copperfield (February 3–5) and Clifford the Big Red Dog (March 24–25).
Student Sounds
Describing concert halls is a lot like describing college life — you really need to see for yourself. That also holds true for the best concert venues at the Bay State 's higher learning institutions, and their incredibly varied calendars.
Few institutions can boast the sheer number of remarkable musicians or number of performances — from students to faculty and guests — that the New England Conservatory can. Many of the concerts take place in the NEC's 102-year-old marbled jewel, Jordan Hall, located in the Fenway Cultural District. “It is the place to hear the best in classical music, both established names and students and other up-and-comers,” Brown says. The conservatory's winter calendar is highlighted by several shows celebrating Mozart's 250th birthday (beginning February 1) and a concert marking the 100th birthday of courageous Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich (February 12). And if you need another reason to turn your ear toward the NEC, most of the performances are free.
Since acquiring its Back Bay property in 1972, the renowned Berklee College of Music has invested heavily in the intimate 1,220-seat Berklee Performance Center . The result, not surprisingly, is a venue with exceptional sound quality. Simply put, it's intended to catch your ear, not your eye. “What you hear in the front row is what you hear in the back row,” says Berklee's director of media relations, Allen Bush. Like the NEC, Berklee also benefits from an international array of talented students, faculty and loyal alumni. Many musicians, especially in the jazz field, make return engagements, and the center hosts roughly 200 events annually. Two noteworthy upcoming events are The Great American Storybook: The Music of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, which features Berklee faculty (February 26), and La Guitara, a program exploring women's contributions to music, featuring alum Patty Larkin (March 31).
Emerson College 's Cutler Majestic Theatre, an inviting 1903 opera house situated in the heart of Boston 's Theater District, is another beehive of sonorous activity, with performances almost every day. Notable upcoming events include the Flamenco Festival 2006 (Janu ary 26-29) and a doubleheader from Russia 's Tchaikovsky Ballet & Orchestra: Sleeping Beauty (March 14) and Swan Lake (March 15). The Majestic also hosts two NEC performances of Mozart's opera Così fan tutti (March 11-12).
To the west, the Fine Arts Center and the Mullins Center at the University of Massachusetts Amherst offer students and visitors a dizzying array of national and international acts, from jazz and classical to theater and dance. The Moscow-based Helikon Opera performs Johann Strauss' exuberant operetta Die Fledermaus February 15 in the Fine Arts Center 's concert hall, and the Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra, a 2005 Grammy award winner, follows on March 11. On March 9, the center's Bowker Auditorium hosts 23-year-old piano wunderkind Jonathan Biss. And Cats will be on the prowl at the 9,000-seat Mullins Center , April 28.
Rock the House
Long time staples of the Bay State 's music scene, rock and rollers have venues large and small to choose from.
The grand dame of the Boston music scene, the Orpheum, built in 1852, has undergone a fascinating transformation since opening as the Music Hall. The original home of the New England Conservatory of Music, and the site of the Boston Symphony Orchestra's debut, the Orpheum, though weathered, still attracts the best rock and roll acts yet to attain “superstar” status (as well as some slightly past their prime). Few of the 2,700 seats are ever left empty.
Avalon, Boston 's premier house and techno dance club, squeezes in a number of live rock bands throughout the year. And if you opt to watch from the dance floor you'll feel squeezed in too, along with a few hundred of your closest friends. But it's a price worth paying to be surrounded by the Hub's most beautiful people. The sound system is excellent, and the light show is unmatched.
The history of rock and roll in Boston is written all over the Paradise . At this fun Commonwealth Avenue club, you can discover up-and-coming artists just surfacing on the radar of popular radio, and occasionally catch established acts looking to play a smaller venue. The menu is as diverse as it is entertaining. “Both U2 and the Police played there before they became anybody,” says Brown. “It's a legendary place to see big names early in their careers.”
Across the state, patrons of Pearl Street Ballroom in Northampton can choose from two terrific venues. Upstairs, the 600-person ballroom hosts bigger acts, while the nightclub downstairs, at half the size, is a bit more snug. The fare at both runs the gamut, with artists from '80s avant-garde frontman Jello Biafra to Boston 's own Dropkick Murphys. The Palladium, in Worcester , is best known for head-banging punk, heavy metal and gothic. This Main Street venue, which admits all ages, can also surprise music lovers of a more genteel nature. The Palladium has hosted the ska sounds of the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, the blues of B. B. King, and rap and hip-hop artists like 50 Cent and Busta Rhymes.
A-list Arenas
There comes a time when finances overrule high fidelity. That often happens when superstar rock acts require a venue that can seat thousands, not hundreds, to satisfy their legions of fans.
The home of the Boston Bruins and Boston Celtics, the 10-year-old TD BankNorth Garden (formerly the FleetCenter) is Boston's primary venue for over-the-top rock and roll shows: the Rolling Stones play January 13 and 15, and U2 has played the arena several times. It has the seating — a capacity of 22,000 — and a great location above North Station. Better known in some circles for hockey games and monster truck and motocross contests, Worcester's DCU Center also attracts big-time entertainment, including famous names from the world of rock and roll, such as Bruce Springsteen and the Foo Fighters, and popular family fare, such as Sesame Street Live and Disney on Ice ( Monsters Inc. ), which drops February 23–26.
For updated ideas, be sure to visit the Web sites of the individual facilities (see Resource box) or massconcerts.com for the full range of musical happenings in Massachusetts.
RESOURCES
Avalon, 617.931.2000; avalonboston.com
Berklee Performance Center, 617.747.2261; berkleebpc.com
Cutler Majestic Theatre at Emerson College, 617.824.8000; maj.org
DCU Center, 508.755.6800; centrumcentre.com
Fine Arts Center/Mullins Center, 1.800.999.UMASS; umass.edu
Jordan Hall, 617.536.2412 ; newenglandconservatory.edu
Mechanics Hall, 508.752.5608 ; mechanicshall.com
The Opera House, 617.931.2787 ; broadwayinboston.com
The Orpheum, 617.679.0810
The Palladium, 508.797.9696 ; thepalladium.net
The Paradise, 617.562.8800 ; thedise.com
Pearl Street Ballroom, 413.584.7810; iheg.com
Sanders Theatre, 617.496.2222
Springfield Symphony Hall, 413.788.7033 ; springfieldsymphony.org
Symphony Hall, 617.266.1492 ; bostonsymphonyhall.org
TD BankNorth Garden, 617.624.1000 ; tdbanknorthgarden.com
Wang Theatre, 617.482.9393; wangcenter.org |
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