2025-2026 Anniversary Season
We are eagerly anticipating the thrilling 10th anniversary season of the BB&B, beginning in September with our first presentation of a Brahms Symphony, (his glorious 2nd), and continuing with beloved works from our other namesake composers, Bach in November, and Beethoven in May.
We 'return' to our Classical roots with masterpieces by Mozart and Haydn in March and offer delightful balance with a Boston premiere by BB&B favorite Howard Frazin in November and the world premiere of a new concerto commissioned by BB&B for returning saxophonist Kenneth Radnofsky by Grammy Award-winning composer Herschel Garfein in May.
We are thrilled to present many incredible soloists this season, including international prize-winner Hina Khuong-Huu playing Beethoven's Violin Concerto, soprano Sonja Tengblad singing Mendelssohn, and Boston-based artists Adrian Anantawan (violin) and Sergio I. Muñoz Leiva (viola) playing Mozart's Sinfonia concertante. Our Holiday Concert in December will have you dancing in your seat as our principal players present minuets, scherzos, and waltzes by Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, Brahms ... and Johann Strauss. And friends from the Apollo Club, Heritage Chorale, and VOICES Boston Children's Choir will be on hand to share choral music of the season.
All concerts are on Sundays at 4 PM. There is no balcony seating this year.
German Glow: Mendelssohn's Psalm 42 & Brahms' Second Symphony
September 28, 2025, 4 PM
Emilie Mayer: Overture in D minor
Mendelssohn: Psalm 42
(Sonja Tengblad, soprano; New World Chorale, Holly MacEwen Krafka, director)
Brahms: Symphony No. 2 in D major
Our tenth anniversary season opens with Emilie Meyer's dramatic Overture in D minor. Though referred to by her Berlin contemporaries as 'the female Beethoven' due to her prodigious talent, this work is more in the style of Schumann or Mendelssohn. Of his many oratorios, Psalm 42 was Mendelssohn's favorite. The heartfelt, yearning text has inspired composers from medieval times to the present day, and with this performance we help the New World Chorale continue the celebration of its 25th anniversary. Brahms' Second Symphony is one of the glories of the Classical-Romantic repertoire. The master composer is at the height of his powers: expressive, structural, beautifully orchestral, emotional. BB&B offers a performance of unusual immediacy and intimacy.
Bach's Air, Barber's Adagio, & Frazin's Peace Cantata
November 16, 2025, 4 PM
J.S. Bach: Air from Orchestral Suite No. 3
Arthur Foote: Air & Gavotte
John Corigliano: Fantasia on a Bach Air
Samuel Barber: Adagio for Strings
Howard Frazin: Peace Cantata [Boston premiere]
(Carley DeFranco, soprano; Krista River, mezzo-soprano; Keith Phares, baritone)
Bach's ineffable 'Air' has been moving music-lovers for over 300 years, also inspiring other composers to use it as a model. It may be the only piece of music played at as many weddings as funerals, an illustration of the emotional power and eloquence of this miniature masterpiece. Barber's 'Adagio' shares this yearning directness with the Bach, brought to a 20th-century cri-de-coeur outpouring. Howard Frazin, a favorite of BB&B audiences, brings the Boston premiere of his recent Peace Cantata, a timely work of concern and, ultimately, hope for three vocal soloists and orchestra.
Midwinter Mozart & Wintertime Waltzes
December 14, 2025, 4 PM
Minuets, scherzos, & waltzes by Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, & Brahms
Choral music of the season from the Apollo Club, Heritage Chorale, & VOICES Boston Children's Choir
This year's Holiday Concert will make you want to dance in your seat, as BB&B 's principal players perform minuets and other dance-inspired movements from masterpiece instrumental works by Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, & Brahms, with a cameo appearance by the waltz-king, Johann Strauss Jr.
Changing Times: Mozart, Haydn, & Garfein
March 1, 2026, 4 PM
Haydn: Symphony No. 64 ('Tempora mutantur')
Herschel Garfein: New work for saxophone & string orchestra
(Kenneth Radnofsky) [BB&B commission]
Schoenberg: Overture in Old Style
Mozart: Sinfonia concertante (Adrian Anantawan, violin; Sergio I. Munoz Leiva, viola)
Haydn's Symphony No. 64 is that rare symphony whose nickname was bestowed by the composer himself, and Welsh epigrammatist John Owens' complete thought is “Times change, and we change with them. How so? With time, men always become worse.” In pride of place, we have the world premiere performance of Herschel Garfein's new work for saxophone and string orchestra, commissioned for you by BB&B. Herschel was the first composer ever commissioned by our predecessor orchestra in Faneuil Hall, and this new work for BB&B favorite Kenneth Radnofsky is sure to please our audience. Mozart's Sinfonia concertante, the Classical period's version of a double concerto, is one of the sublime glories of the repertoire. Our soloists, Adrian Anantawan and Sergio I. Munoz Leiva, in addition to being accomplished musical citizens performing in Boston and beyond, are active with Shelter Music Boston and other community organizations.
Bracingly Beethoven
May 3, 2026, 4 PM
Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel: Pastorella
Beethoven: Violin Concerto (Hina Khuong-Huu)
Beethoven: Symphony No. 4
The charming Pastorella that opens our May program displays Fanny Mendelssohn’s melodic and expressive gifts. Beethoven's Violin Concerto stands at the pinnacle of the solo repertoire for that instrument, distinguished by its combination of nobility, beauty, lyricism, and vivacity. Hina Khuong-Huu, recent winner of both the Elmar Oliveira International Competitions, makes her BB&B debut with this performance. The Violin Channel reports that Hina’s playing expresses “razor-sharp virtuosity, panache and a very sweet soul.” Beethoven's Fourth Symphony, after the mist and mystery of the first movement's slow introduction, is a creature of grace, lightness, effervescence, and sunniness.