Fairy Tales both Magical and Fearsome, with the Boston Symphony and Mark Elder

Published March 16, 2024 at 8:00 PM EDT

Sir Mark Elder stands against a dark gray background. He wears a navy pinstripe suit, a white shirt, and a black & white tie with flecks of color. He faces the camera but with his head turned to the side. He looks at the camera out of the corners of his eyes. There is an air of mystery about him. — Conductor Sir Mark Elder

Saturday, March 16, 2024
8:00pm

Encore broadcast on Monday, March 25

Eminent English conductor Sir Mark Elder returns to Symphony Hall for the first time since 2011 to lead a program exploring whimsy, fantasy, and folklore. He leads the American premiere of Elena Langer’s The Dong with the Luminous Nose, a setting of Edward Lear’s delightful “nonsense poem,” written for the BSO and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. The performance features BSO Principal Cellist Blaise Déjardin as soloist along with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus. Maurice Ravel’s Mother Goose began as a suite of children’s piano pieces, each illustrating an iconic fairytale, while Antonín Dvořák’s The Noonday Witch is based on a much darker Czech folktale. Czech composer Leoš Janáček’s energetically masterful Sinfonietta closes the program.

Mark Elder, conductor
Blaise Déjardin, cello
Tanglewood Festival Chorus

Maurice RAVEL Mother Goose
Elena LANGER The Dong with a Luminous Nose, for cello, chorus, and orchestra (American premiere; BSO co-commission)
Antonín DVOŘÁK The Noonday Witch
Leoš JANÁČEK Sinfonietta