Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, Max Tan and More to Play Mozart, Barber and Mahler, 3/7

The Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra will perform Mozart's OVERTURE TO THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO, Barber's VIOLIN CONCERTO featuring Max Tan on violin, and Mahler's SYMPHONY NO. 5, on Friday, March 7, 2014 at 8 p.m. in Symphony Hall.

The concert begins with one of the world's most irresistible concert-openers. The Marriage of Figaro opera knocked all of Europe on its ear when it was first produced, and the infectious and utterly irresistible overture became an instant constant staple. It has never lost its place among the greatest creations of symphonic music.

The Violin Concerto of Samuel Barber is the most popular violin concerto ever written by an American composer, and deservedly so. Its dominant note is one of nostalgic, wistful reverie, until breathtaking virtuosity is unleashed in the last movement - a veritable hoedown as idealized by a city slicker. The soloist is Max Tan, one of the amazing leaders of the Youth Orchestra's phenomenal string section.

After intermission comes the huge, kaleidoscopic Fifth Symphony of Mahler. This work has always been a special favorite of Mr. Zander's. Its five movements limn a drama of vast scope and urgency, actually a tragedy in reverse. It starts in brooding, despair, and death, moves through great anguish, outlandish satire, and the ineffable love-drenched musings of the famous Adagietto, to arrive at a solid, joy-filled, feet-on-the-ground place of optimism and hope. It ends, in fact, with the traditional ending of comedy, a marriage - in this case the marriage of Mahler himself to his beloved Alma. The range of emotion in this work is staggering, and the piece is of such technical complexity that it is always a formidable undertaking, well-suited to one of the world's greatest youth orchestras, the BPYO. We are sure that the experience of this work will be unforgettable for players and audience alike.

PURCHASE TICKETS. General admission $15-50; Students $10.