Youth Open Rehearsal: Paavo Järvi conducts Prokofiev & Sibelius

Boston Symphony Orchestra Paavo Järvi, conductor Alisa Weilerstein, cello PROKOFIEV Sinfonia Concertante for cello and orchestra SIBELIUS Symphony No. 2

BSO Artist in Residence Alisa Weilerstein performs one of the 20th century’s greatest cello concertos, Sergei Prokofiev’s Sinfonia Concertante, led by esteemed Estonian conductor Paavo Järvi in his Symphony Hall debut with the BSO. The composer wrote the piece for an up-and-coming Russian superstar, Mstislav Rostropovich. Completed in 1952, the year before the composer’s death, the piece is actually a thorough revision of a failed 1938 cello concerto; the title reflects the orchestra’s elevated role. Finnish composer Jean Sibelius’ Second Symphony has consistently been one of his most beloved works. Premiered in 1902, it followed on the outstanding success of his patriotic tone poem Finlandia and shares that work’s deeply Finnish character through episodes warmly pastoral and intensely dramatic.