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122-637: One of the oldest continuously operating theaters in the United States, it was built in 1852 and was the original home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra . The hall closed in 1900 and was converted into a vaudeville theater named the Orpheum Theatre . The Orpheum, which still stands today, was substantially rebuilt in 1915 by architect Thomas W. Lamb as a movie theater. The hall has no connection with Boston's "Music Hall",

244-490: A cannon barrage for two hours, but their shot could not reach the colonists' cannons at such a height. The British gave up, boarded their ships, and sailed away. This has become known as " Evacuation Day ", which Boston still celebrates each year on March 17. After this, Washington was so impressed that he made Rufus Putnam his chief engineer. After the Revolution, Boston's long seafaring tradition helped make it one of

366-771: A complete list of commercial recordings). Michael Tilson Thomas , who was the assistant conductor and associate conductor under Steinberg, also made several recordings for DG; some of these have been reissued on CD. Due to Steinberg's illness, DG recorded the BSO with Rafael Kubelík in Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 (part of his cycle of Beethoven symphonies with nine different orchestras), Ma Vlast by Bedřich Smetana and in Béla Bartók 's Concerto for Orchestra as well as with Eugen Jochum conducting Symphony No. 41 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Franz Schubert 's Symphony No. 8. As

488-409: A decline in the orchestra's playing during Ozawa's tenure. Jan Swafford wrote: Now and then he gave a standout performance, usually in the full-throated late-Romantic and 20th-century literature, but most of the time what came out was glittering surfaces with nothing substantial beneath: no discernable concept, no vision. In a 2013 survey of recordings of The Rite of Spring by Igor Stravinsky ,

610-673: A flutist. Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States . The city serves as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the Northeastern United States . It has an area of 48.4 sq mi (125 km ) and a population of 675,647 as of the 2020 census , making it the third-largest city in

732-519: A guest conductor in the 1960s, Ozawa made several recordings with the BSO for RCA Victor. He continued the BSO relationship with DG while making several other releases for New World Records. Over the course of Ozawa's tenure, the BSO diversified its relationships, making recordings under Ozawa with CBS, EMI, Philips Records , RCA, and TELARC . The BSO also recorded for Philips under Colin Davis. Leonard Bernstein made records for both Columbia and DG with

854-624: A lively port , and the then-town primarily engaged in shipping and fishing during its colonial days. Boston was a primary stop on a Caribbean trade route and imported large amounts of molasses, which led to the creation of Boston baked beans . Boston's economy stagnated in the decades prior to the Revolution. By the mid-18th century, New York City and Philadelphia had surpassed Boston in wealth. During this period, Boston encountered financial difficulties even as other cities in New England grew rapidly. The weather continuing boisterous

976-480: A musician's strike, was able to replace 30 players, thus changing the orchestra's sound; the orchestra developed a reputation for a "French" sound which persists to some degree to this day. The orchestra's reputation increased during the 1924–1949 music directorship of Serge Koussevitzky . One million radio listeners tuned in when Koussevitzky and the orchestra were the first to perform a live concert for radio broadcast, which they did on NBC in 1926. In August 1942,

1098-534: A new series of recordings on their own label, BSO Classics. Some of the recordings are available only as digital downloads. The initial recordings included live concert performances of William Bolcom 's 8th Symphony and Lyric Concerto, the latter with flutist James Galway, Mahler 's Sixth Symphony , the Brahms Ein deutsches Requiem , and Ravel 's complete Daphnis et Chloé , which won the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Orchestral Performance . In April 2015,

1220-475: A pair of bombs near the finish line of the Boston Marathon , killing three people and injuring roughly 264. The subsequent search for the bombers led to a lock-down of Boston and surrounding municipalities. The region showed solidarity during this time as symbolized by the slogan Boston Strong . In 2016, Boston briefly shouldered a bid as the U.S. applicant for the 2024 Summer Olympics . The bid

1342-526: A point Sandow rebutted in a letter to the Journal, saying "These are things I didn't say. I'd heard the charge about Japanese money while I was writing my piece, so I asked Mark Volpe, the BSO's General Manager, what he thought of it. Mark refuted it, and I quoted him approvingly." Critic Lloyd Schwarz defended Sandow in the Boston alternative paper, The Boston Phoenix Various current music critics described

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1464-565: A project to improve the historic West End neighborhood. Extensive demolition was met with strong public opposition, and thousands of families were displaced. The BRA continued implementing eminent domain projects, including the clearance of the vibrant Scollay Square area for construction of the modernist style Government Center . In 1965, the Columbia Point Health Center opened in the Dorchester neighborhood,

1586-649: A theater which is now known as the Wang Theatre . The Boston Music Hall was built in 1852, thanks to a donation of $ 100,000, made by the Harvard Musical Association , for its construction. George Snell , assisted by Alpheus C. Morse , was the architect. The Handel and Haydn Society performed at the hall's inaugural concert. The world premiere of the Piano Concerto No. 1 , by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky took place here. The hall

1708-401: A violent tornado , the city itself has experienced many tornado warnings . Damaging storms are more common to areas north, west, and northwest of the city. See or edit raw graph data . In 2020, Boston was estimated to have 691,531 residents living in 266,724 households —a 12% population increase over 2010. The city is the third-most densely populated large U.S. city of over half

1830-505: Is 2 °F (−17 °C) on December 30, 1917, while the record warm daily minimum is 83 °F (28 °C) on both August 2, 1975 and July 21, 2019. Boston averages 43.6 in (1,110 mm) of precipitation a year, with 49.2 in (125 cm) of snowfall per season. Most snowfall occurs from mid-November through early April, and snow is rare in May and October. There is also high year-to-year variability in snowfall; for instance,

1952-508: Is July, with a mean temperature of 74.1 °F (23.4 °C). The coldest month is January, with a mean temperature of 29.9 °F (−1.2 °C). Periods exceeding 90 °F (32 °C) in summer and below freezing in winter are not uncommon but tend to be fairly short, with about 13 and 25 days per year seeing each, respectively. Sub- 0 °F (−18 °C) readings usually occur every 3 to 5 years. The most recent sub- 0 °F (−18 °C) reading occurred on February 4, 2023, when

2074-602: Is an American orchestra based in Boston . It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the " Big Five ". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in 1881, the BSO performs most of its concerts at Boston's Symphony Hall and in the summer performs at Tanglewood . Since its founding, the orchestra has had 17 music directors, including George Henschel , Serge Koussevitzky , Henri Rabaud , Pierre Monteux , Charles Munch , Erich Leinsdorf , William Steinberg and James Levine . Andris Nelsons

2196-547: Is an intellectual, technological, and political center. However, it has lost some important regional institutions, including the loss to mergers and acquisitions of local financial institutions such as FleetBoston Financial , which was acquired by Charlotte -based Bank of America in 2004. Boston-based department stores Jordan Marsh and Filene's have both merged into the New York City –based Macy's . The 1993 acquisition of The Boston Globe by The New York Times

2318-588: Is in Roxbury . Due north of the center we find the South End. This is not to be confused with South Boston which lies directly east from the South End. North of South Boston is East Boston and southwest of East Boston is the North End Unknown, A local colloquialism Boston has an area of 89.63 sq mi (232.1 km ). Of this area, 48.4 sq mi (125.4 km ), or 54%, of it

2440-410: Is land and 41.2 sq mi (106.7 km ), or 46%, of it is water. The city's elevation, as measured at Logan International Airport , is 19 ft (5.8 m) above sea level . The highest point in Boston is Bellevue Hill at 330 ft (100 m) above sea level, and the lowest point is at sea level. The city is adjacent to Boston Harbor , an arm of Massachusetts Bay , and by extension,

2562-413: Is the current music director of the BSO. Seiji Ozawa had held the title of BSO music director laureate. Bernard Haitink had held the title of principal guest conductor of the BSO from 1995 to 2004, then conductor emeritus until his death in 2021. The orchestra has made gramophone recordings since 1917 and has occasionally played on soundtrack recordings for films, including Schindler's List . The BSO

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2684-508: The Arbella ) and John Cotton (grandfather of Cotton Mather ) had emigrated to New England . The name of the English town ultimately derives from its patron saint, St. Botolph , in whose church John Cotton served as the rector until his emigration with Johnson. In early sources, Lincolnshire's Boston was known as "St. Botolph's town", later contracted to "Boston". Before this renaming,

2806-533: The American Federation of Musicians kicked off the two-year long musician's strike , with the goal of musicians receiving more in royalty payments from record companies. Initially, the BSO were the only major performing group in the nation unaffected; the orchestra's musicians hadn't been unionized since the orchestra's founding. By the end of 1942, however, the orchestra joined the AFM, effectively joining

2928-815: The American Revolution occurred in or near Boston. The then-town's mob presence, along with the colonists' growing lack of faith in either Britain or its Parliament , fostered a revolutionary spirit there. When the British parliament passed the Stamp Act in 1765, a Boston mob ravaged the homes of Andrew Oliver , the official tasked with enforcing the Act, and Thomas Hutchinson , then the Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts. The British sent two regiments to Boston in 1768 in an attempt to quell

3050-585: The Boston Garden opening in 1928. Logan International Airport opened on September 8, 1923. Boston went into decline by the early to mid-20th century, as factories became old and obsolete and businesses moved out of the region for cheaper labor elsewhere. Boston responded by initiating various urban renewal projects, under the direction of the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) established in 1957. In 1958, BRA initiated

3172-625: The Boston Public Library , Trinity Church, single-family homes and wooden/brick multi-family row houses. The South End Historic District is the largest surviving contiguous Victorian-era neighborhood in the US. The geography of downtown and South Boston was particularly affected by the Central Artery/Tunnel Project (which ran from 1991 to 2007, and was known unofficially as the " Big Dig "). That project removed

3294-612: The Massachusetts Bay Colony and was signed by its first governor John Winthrop . Puritan ethics and their focus on education also influenced the early history of the city. America's first public school, Boston Latin School , was founded in Boston in 1635. Boston was the largest town in the Thirteen Colonies until Philadelphia outgrew it in the mid-18th century. Boston's oceanfront location made it

3416-537: The North End , and the Seaport . Boston is sometimes called a "city of neighborhoods" because of the profusion of diverse subsections. The city government's Office of Neighborhood Services has officially designated 23 neighborhoods: More than two-thirds of inner Boston's modern land area did not exist when the city was founded. Instead, it was created via the gradual filling in of the surrounding tidal areas over

3538-652: The South End , the West End , the Financial District , and Chinatown . After the Great Boston fire of 1872 , workers used building rubble as landfill along the downtown waterfront. During the mid-to-late 19th century, workers filled almost 600 acres (240 ha) of brackish Charles River marshlands west of Boston Common with gravel brought by rail from the hills of Needham Heights. The city annexed

3660-633: The State of Georgia , without trial or appeal until the summer after the Armistice, when he and his wife agreed that be deported to neutral Denmark . Muck felt deeply insulted by the injustice of these events, vowed never to perform on American soil again, and conducted thereafter only in Europe. The BSO's next two titled conductors were French: Henri Rabaud , who took over from Muck for a season, and then Pierre Monteux from 1919 to 1924. Monteux, because of

3782-637: The 100th anniversary of Symphony Hall. Hans Werner Henze dedicated his Eighth Symphony to the orchestra. Although Koussevitsky recommended his protégé Leonard Bernstein to be his successor after he retired in 1949, the BSO awarded the position to the Alsatian maestro Charles Munch , who would lead until 1962. Munch had made his Boston conducting debut in 1946. He led orchestra on its first overseas tour, and also produced their first stereo recording in February 1954 for RCA Victor . In 1952, Munch appointed

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3904-412: The 1970s, the city's economy had begun to recover after 30 years of economic downturn. A large number of high-rises were constructed in the Financial District and in Boston's Back Bay during this period. This boom continued into the mid-1980s and resumed after a few pauses. Hospitals such as Massachusetts General Hospital , Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center , and Brigham and Women's Hospital lead

4026-457: The 19th century, Boston's core neighborhoods had become enclaves of ethnically distinct immigrants with their residence yielding lasting cultural change. Italians became the largest inhabitants of the North End , Irish dominated South Boston and Charlestown , and Russian Jews lived in the West End . Irish and Italian immigrants brought with them Roman Catholicism. Currently, Catholics make up Boston's largest religious community, and

4148-406: The 2014–2015 season. His initial contract was for 5 years, with 8–10 weeks of scheduled appearances in the first year of the contract, and 12 weeks in subsequent years. Nelsons held the title of Music Director Designate for the 2013–2014 season. In August 2015, the BSO announced the extension of Nelsons' contract as music director through the 2021–2022 season, with a new contract of 8 years to replace

4270-643: The 20th century: Horticultural Hall , the Tennis and Racquet Club , Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum , Fenway Studios , Jordan Hall , and the Boston Opera House .  The Longfellow Bridge , built in 1906, was mentioned by Robert McCloskey in Make Way for Ducklings , describing its "salt and pepper shakers" feature. Fenway Park , home of the Boston Red Sox , opened in 1912, with

4392-598: The Atlantic Ocean. Boston is surrounded by the Greater Boston metropolitan region. It is bordered to the east by the town of Winthrop and the Boston Harbor Islands , to the northeast by the cities of Revere , Chelsea and Everett , to the north by the cities of Somerville and Cambridge , to the northwest by Watertown , to the west by the city of Newton and town of Brookline , to

4514-659: The BSO announced a new recording partnership with Deutsche Grammophon that focuses on the music of Dmitri Shostakovich , with Nelsons as conductor. The first recording in the series, of the Tenth Symphony recorded in concert in April 2015, was released on CD in August 2015, and subsequently won the year's Grammy award for Best Orchestral Performance. The most recent recording in the series, released in October 2023, concluded

4636-519: The BSO announced simultaneously the resignation of Samuel as its president and CEO, effective January 3, 2023, and the appointment of Jeffrey D. Dunn as its interim president and CEO, effective January 4, 2023. In May 2023, the BSO announced the appointment of Chad Smith as its next president and chief executive officer, effective in the autumn of 2023. The Boston Pops , the Boston Symphony Orchestra minus its principal players,

4758-524: The BSO cancelled its planned tour of Asia, the first American orchestra to cancel overseas travel in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. Subsequent events related to the COVID-19 pandemic included the following: In succession to Mark Volpe, Gail Samuel became the BSO's president and chief executive officer in June 2021, the first woman to be named to the posts in the history of the orchestra. In December 2022,

4880-602: The BSO had performed 18 world premieres, 12 of them conducted by Levine. To fund the more challenging and expensive of Levine's musical projects with the orchestra, the orchestra established an "Artistic Initiative Fund" of about $ 40 million. (As of March 2013, the Boston Symphony also claimed an endowment of $ 413 million, the largest of any orchestra in the world.) Levine suffered from recurring injuries and health problems during his BSO tenure, which led to his resignation as BSO music director as of September 1, 2011. In

5002-467: The BSO, including selections from his last concert ever as a conductor on August 19, 1990, at Tanglewood. The BSO has also appeared on Decca with Vladimir Ashkenazy , with Charles Dutoit and André Previn for DG, and on Phillips and Sony Classical with Bernard Haitink. The BSO has also done recordings for film scores on occasion. Films such as Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan (both composed and conducted by John Williams ) were recorded by

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5124-842: The Boston Music Hall closed. It was converted for use as a vaudeville theater in 1900 and operated under a number of different names, including the Music Hall and the Empire Theatre. In 1906, it was renamed the Orpheum Theatre . In 1915, the theater was acquired by the Loew's Theatres chain and reopened again in 1916, rebuilt with a completely new interior, designed by architect Thomas W. Lamb . 42°21′22.4″N 71°3′39″W  /  42.356222°N 71.06083°W  / 42.356222; -71.06083 Boston Symphony Orchestra The Boston Symphony Orchestra ( BSO )

5246-649: The Chorus comprises over 300 volunteer singers. Before the creation of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, and for some time after, the BSO frequently employed the New England Conservatory Chorus conducted by Lorna Cooke DeVaron, Chorus pro Musica, Harvard Glee Club and Radcliffe Choral Society . In February 2017, the BSO announced the appointment of James Burton as the new conductor of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus and as

5368-688: The House , as well as music by Joseph Haydn , Christoph Willibald Gluck , Franz Schubert and Carl Maria von Weber . The orchestra's four subsequent music directors were all trained in Austria, including the seminal and highly influential Hungarian-born conductor Arthur Nikisch , in accordance with the tastes of Higginson. Wilhelm Gericke served twice, from 1884 to 1889 and again from 1898 to 1906. According to Joseph Horowitz 's review of correspondence, Higginson considered 25 candidates to replace Gericke after receiving notice in 1905. He decided not to offer

5490-512: The Irish have played a major role in Boston politics since the early 20th century; prominent figures include the Kennedys , Tip O'Neill , and John F. Fitzgerald . Between 1631 and 1890, the city tripled its area through land reclamation by filling in marshes, mud flats, and gaps between wharves along the waterfront. Reclamation projects in the middle of the century created significant parts of

5612-579: The John Hancock Tower is the old John Hancock Building with its prominent illuminated beacon , the color of which forecasts the weather. Downtown and its immediate surroundings (including the Financial District, Government Center, and South Boston ) consist largely of low-rise masonry buildings – often federal style and Greek revival – interspersed with modern high-rises. Back Bay includes many prominent landmarks, such as

5734-437: The Journal that he was "frustrated and upset to see my name attached to the article since your reporter did not contact me and chose to quote a letter published nearly four years ago in an internal orchestra publication." Boston Symphony Board of Trustees president Nicholas T. Zervas described Sandow as expressing an "`insulting, reductive, and racist view of [Ozawa] as a samurai kept in place in order to raise Japanese money" –

5856-594: The Koussevitzky Music Foundation at the instigation of Fritz Reiner and Joseph Szigeti . Koussevitzky started a tradition of commissions that the orchestra continued, including new works by Heitor Villa-Lobos ( Symphony No. 11 ) and Henri Dutilleux for its 75th anniversary, Roger Sessions , and Andrzej Panufnik , for the 100th, and lately for the 125th works by Leon Kirchner , Elliott Carter , and Peter Lieberson . Other BSO commissions have included John Corigliano 's Symphony No. 2 for

5978-799: The Methuen Organ Company in the Serlo Organ Hall in Methuen, Massachusetts , which was built to house the organ. The organ was later rebuilt again and augmented by the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company. Today Serlo Organ Hall is known as the Methuen Memorial Music Hall and concerts are regularly presented on the organ, still considered one of the leading instruments in the US. When the Boston Symphony moved to Symphony Hall in 1900,

6100-563: The Native people, as many had died of European diseases brought by early settlers and traders. Archaeological excavations unearthed one of the oldest fishweirs in New England on Boylston Street , which Native people constructed as early as 7,000 years before European arrival in the Western Hemisphere. The first European to live in what would become Boston was a Cambridge -educated Anglican cleric named William Blaxton . He

6222-547: The Northeast after New York City and Philadelphia . The larger Greater Boston metropolitan statistical area has a population of 4.9 million as of 2023, making it the largest in New England and the eleventh-largest in the country . Boston was founded on the Shawmut Peninsula in 1630 by Puritan settlers. The city was named after Boston, Lincolnshire , England. During the American Revolution , Boston

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6344-735: The Renew Boston Whole Building Incentive which reduces the cost of living in buildings that are deemed energy efficient. Under the Köppen climate classification , Boston has either a hot-summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa ) under the 0 °C (32.0 °F) isotherm or a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa ) under the −3 °C (26.6 °F) isotherm. Summers are warm to hot and humid, while winters are cold and stormy, with occasional periods of heavy snow. Spring and fall are usually cool and mild, with varying conditions dependent on wind direction and

6466-714: The Twenty-Eighth Congregational Society, worshiped here from 1852 to 1863. Methodist minister Henry Morgan lectured in the hall c.  1859 . On December 31, 1862, the eve of the day the Emancipation Proclamation took effect, Northern abolitionists gathered at the Music Hall to celebrate as the clock struck midnight. Frederick Douglass , Wendell Phillips , Harriet Beecher Stowe , William Lloyd Garrison , and Harriet Tubman attended. Oscar Wilde lectured here in 1882. The Boston Music Hall Organ , installed in 1862,

6588-681: The act as an attempt to force them to accept the taxes established by the Townshend Acts . The act prompted the Boston Tea Party , where a group of angered Bostonians threw an entire shipment of tea sent by the East India Company into Boston Harbor . The Boston Tea Party was a key event leading up to the revolution, as the British government responded furiously with the Coercive Acts , demanding compensation for

6710-535: The adjacent towns of South Boston (1804), East Boston (1836), Roxbury (1868), Dorchester (including present-day Mattapan and a portion of South Boston ) (1870), Brighton (including present-day Allston ) (1874), West Roxbury (including present-day Jamaica Plain and Roslindale ) (1874), Charlestown (1874), and Hyde Park (1912). Other proposals were unsuccessful for the annexation of Brookline , Cambridge, and Chelsea . Many architecturally significant buildings were built during these early years of

6832-399: The angry colonists. This did not sit well with the colonists, however. In 1770, during the Boston Massacre , British troops shot into a crowd that had started to violently harass them. The colonists compelled the British to withdraw their troops. The event was widely publicized and fueled a revolutionary movement in America. In 1773, Parliament passed the Tea Act . Many of the colonists saw

6954-426: The area. Nevertheless, the city experienced conflict starting in 1974 over desegregation busing , which resulted in unrest and violence around public schools throughout the mid-1970s. Boston has also experienced gentrification in the latter half of the 20th century, with housing prices increasing sharply since the 1990s when the city's rent control regime was struck down by statewide ballot proposition . Boston

7076-415: The centuries. This was accomplished using earth from the leveling or lowering of Boston's three original hills (the "Trimountain", after which Tremont Street is named), as well as with gravel brought by train from Needham to fill the Back Bay . Christian Science Center , Copley Square , Newbury Street , and New England's two tallest buildings: the John Hancock Tower and the Prudential Center . Near

7198-538: The character of each piece the BSO plays." The BSO's managing director, Mark Volpe, responded that some board members considered Sandow's article a "hatchet job," and some unnamed BSO "observers" were said in The Boston Globe to believe that Sandow "might be sharpening blades for BSO members with axes to grind". Sandow called the suggestion "nonsense," saying, "I found them [players criticizing Ozawa in his article], they didn't find me". André Previn wrote to The Wall Street Journal defending Ozawa, and Lowe wrote to

7320-460: The city government. A climate action plan from 2019 anticipates 2 ft (1 m) to more than 7 ft (2 m) of sea-level rise in Boston by the end of the 21st century. Many older buildings in certain areas of Boston are supported by wooden piles driven into the area's fill; these piles remain sound if submerged in water, but are subject to dry rot if exposed to air for long periods. Groundwater levels have been dropping in many areas of

7442-464: The city often receives sea breezes , especially in the late spring, when water temperatures are still quite cold and temperatures at the coast can be more than 20 °F (11 °C) colder than a few miles inland, sometimes dropping by that amount near midday. Thunderstorms typically occur from May to September; occasionally, they can become severe, with large hail , damaging winds, and heavy downpours. Although downtown Boston has never been struck by

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7564-443: The city's economy, and the city's industrial manufacturing overtook international trade in economic importance by the mid-19th century. The small rivers bordering the city and connecting it to the surrounding region facilitated shipment of goods and led to a proliferation of mills and factories. Later, a dense network of railroads furthered the region's industry and commerce. During this period, Boston flourished culturally as well. It

7686-414: The city, due in part to an increase in the amount of rainwater discharged directly into sewers rather than absorbed by the ground. The Boston Groundwater Trust coordinates monitoring groundwater levels throughout the city via a network of public and private monitoring wells. The city developed a climate action plan covering carbon reduction in buildings, transportation, and energy use. The first such plan

7808-411: The commander-in-chief of the British forces in North America, led the British army in the siege. On June 17, the British captured Charlestown (now part of Boston) during the Battle of Bunker Hill . The British army outnumbered the militia stationed there, but it was a pyrrhic victory for the British because their army suffered irreplaceable casualties. It was also a testament to the skill and training of

7930-424: The company during his seven years in Boston. These included a critically acclaimed performance of Brahms' German Requiem (see Erich Leinsdorf for a complete list). Then, the orchestra switched to Deutsche Grammophon (DG) under William Steinberg. RCA Victor recorded several LPs with Steinberg and Berlioz 's Symphonie Fantastique with Georges Prêtre during the transition to DG (see William Steinberg for

8052-431: The composer Russell Platt wrote in The New Yorker : Seiji Ozawa's downright depressing account, recorded in 1979: the Boston Symphony Orchestra's sonic shine, developed by Ozawa's predecessors Monteux and Charles Munch, is audibly dripping away, its dispirited musicians losing their sense of individual responsibility to the score. It is a record of a professional relationship that went on far too long. On June 22, 1999,

8174-446: The cycle of Shostakovich symphonies, featuring performances of the 2nd, 3rd, 12th, and 13th symphonies. In the 1974–1975 American television situation comedy Paul Sand in Friends and Lovers , several cast members played fictional personnel of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The show ' s star, Paul Sand , portrayed Robert Dreyfuss, who played double bass, while Steve Landesberg played violinist Fred Meyerbach. Craig Richard Nelson

8296-412: The destroyed tea from the Bostonians. This angered the colonists further and led to the American Revolutionary War . The war began in the area surrounding Boston with the Battles of Lexington and Concord . Boston itself was besieged for almost a year during the siege of Boston , which began on April 19, 1775. The New England militia impeded the movement of the British Army . Sir William Howe , then

8418-405: The elevated Central Artery and incorporated new green spaces and open areas. Boston is located within the Boston Basin ecoregion , which is characterized by low and rolling hills with a number of ponds, lakes, and reservoirs. Forests are mainly transition hardwoods such as oak - hickory mixed with white pine . As a coastal city built largely on fill , sea-level rise is of major concern to

8540-446: The first Community Health Center in the United States. It mostly served the massive Columbia Point public housing complex adjoining it, which was built in 1953. The health center is still in operation and was rededicated in 1990 as the Geiger-Gibson Community Health Center. The Columbia Point complex itself was redeveloped and revitalized from 1984 to 1990 into a mixed-income residential development called Harbor Point Apartments. By

8662-401: The first wave of European immigrants . Irish immigrants dominated the first wave of newcomers during this period, especially following the Great Famine ; by 1850, about 35,000 Irish lived in Boston . In the latter half of the 19th century, the city saw increasing numbers of Irish, Germans , Lebanese , Syrians, French Canadians , and Russian and Polish Jews settling there. By the end of

8784-410: The first woman to hold a principal chair in a major U.S. orchestra, flutist Doriot Anthony Dwyer , who remained as BSO principal for 38 years. Erich Leinsdorf became music director in 1962 and held the post until 1969. William Steinberg was then music director from 1969 to 1972. Steinberg was "ill and ailing" according to composer/author Jan Swafford , and "for four years he was indisposed much of

8906-461: The fortifications and dozens of cannons on Dorchester Heights that Henry Knox had laboriously brought through the snow from Fort Ticonderoga . The astonished British awoke the next morning to see a large array of cannons bearing down on them. General Howe is believed to have said that the Americans had done more in one night than his army could have done in six months. The British Army attempted

9028-558: The highest average rate of philanthropy in the nation, and the city's businesses and institutions rank among the top in the nation for environmental sustainability and new investment. Isaac Johnson , in one of his last official acts as the leader of the Charlestown community before he died on September 30, 1630, named the then-new settlement across the river "Boston". The settlement's name came from Johnson's hometown of Boston, Lincolnshire , from which he, his wife (namesake of

9150-408: The initial 5-year contract, and which also contains an evergreen clause for automatic renewal. In October 2020, the BSO announced a further extension of Nelsons' contract as music director through August 2025, with an evergreen clause for automatic renewal. In January 2024, the BSO announced the conversion of Nelsons' contract as its music director to a rolling evergreen contract. In September 2015,

9272-477: The invitation." By contrast, Boston Globe music critic Richard Dyer wrote that: ...not every change was for the better...But there can be no question that Tanglewood is a busier, more adventurous, and more exciting place than it was before Ozawa became music director. A more basic concern involved perceived shortcomings in Ozawa's musical leadership; as Sandow wrote in the 1998 article, "what mattered far more

9394-488: The late 1920s. These electrical recordings included Ravel 's Boléro . Recording sessions took place in Symphony Hall. Koussevitzky's final recording with the Boston Symphony was a high fidelity version of Sibelius ' Symphony No. 2, recorded in 1950 and released on LP. In February 1954, RCA Victor began recording the orchestra in stereo, under the direction of Charles Munch. RCA Victor continued to record Munch and

9516-536: The militia, as their stubborn defense made it difficult for the British to capture Charlestown without suffering further irreplaceable casualties. Several weeks later, George Washington took over the militia after the Continental Congress established the Continental Army to unify the revolutionary effort. Both sides faced difficulties and supply shortages in the siege, and the fighting

9638-634: The nation in medical innovation and patient care. Schools such as the Boston Architectural College , Boston College , Boston University , the Harvard Medical School , Tufts University School of Medicine , Northeastern University , Massachusetts College of Art and Design , Wentworth Institute of Technology , Berklee College of Music , the Boston Conservatory , and many others attract students to

9760-572: The nation's busiest ports for both domestic and international trade. Boston's harbor activity was significantly curtailed by the Embargo Act of 1807 (adopted during the Napoleonic Wars ) and the War of 1812 . Foreign trade returned after these hostilities, but Boston's merchants had found alternatives for their capital investments in the meantime. Manufacturing became an important component of

9882-681: The newly created BSO Choral Director, both with immediate effect. Burton founded the Boston Symphony Children's Choir in 2018. The Boston Symphony made its first acoustical recordings in 1917 in Camden, New Jersey , for the Victor Talking Machine Company conducted by Karl Muck . Among the first discs recorded was the finale to Tchaikovsky 's fourth symphony. Under Serge Koussevitzky, the orchestra made its first electrical recordings, also for Victor, in

10004-453: The next day and night, giving the enemy time to improve their works, to bring up their cannon, and to put themselves in such a state of defence, that I could promise myself little success in attacking them under all the disadvantages I had to encounter. William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe , in a letter to William Legge, 2nd Earl of Dartmouth , about the British army's decision to leave Boston, dated March 21, 1776. Many crucial events of

10126-419: The official name from the "Town of Boston" to the "City of Boston", and on March 19, 1822, the people of Boston accepted the charter incorporating the city. At the time Boston was chartered as a city, the population was about 46,226, while the area of the city was only 4.8 sq mi (12 km ). In the 1820s, Boston's population grew rapidly, and the city's ethnic composition changed dramatically with

10248-539: The only chamber ensemble composed of principal players from an American symphony orchestra. In addition to regular performances in Boston and Tanglewood, they have performed throughout the United States and Europe. They have also recorded for RCA Victor, Deutsche Grammophon, Philips, and Nonesuch. Performing with the BSO and Boston Pops for major choral works is the Tanglewood Festival Chorus . Organized in 1970 by its founding director, John Oliver ,

10370-545: The orchestra announced a new artistic collaboration with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra , of which Nelsons was appointed as its next Gewandhauskapellmeister, effective with the 2017–2018 season. On July 2, 2018, BSO principal flautist Elizabeth Rowe filed a lawsuit in the Superior Court of Suffolk County, Massachusetts , claiming pay discrimination on the basis of gender. Rowe said she

10492-598: The orchestra at Symphony Hall. In the James Levine era, the BSO had no standing recording contract with a major label; the Grammy Award-winning recording of Levine conducting the BSO with Lorraine Hunt Lieberson in Peter Lieberson 's Neruda Songs , released on Nonesuch Records , was the only major label recording during Levine's tenure. On February 19, 2009, the BSO announced the launch of

10614-578: The orchestra through 1962, his final year as music director in Boston (see the Charles Munch discography for a complete list of commercial recordings with the BSO under Charles Munch). During Munch's tenure, Pierre Monteux made a series of records with the BSO for RCA Victor (see Pierre Monteux for a complete list of commercial recordings with the BSO). Erich Leinsdorf, who had already made numerous recordings for RCA Victor, continued his association with

10736-400: The original peninsula by filling in land and annexing neighboring towns. Boston's many firsts include the United States' first public park ( Boston Common , 1634), the first public school ( Boston Latin School , 1635), and the first subway system ( Tremont Street subway , 1897). Boston has emerged as a global leader in higher education and research and the largest biotechnology hub in

10858-461: The position of the jet stream . Prevailing wind patterns that blow offshore minimize the influence of the Atlantic Ocean. However, in winter, areas near the immediate coast often see more rain than snow, as warm air is sometimes drawn off the Atlantic. The city lies at the border between USDA plant hardiness zones 6b (away from the coastline) and 7a (close to the coastline). The hottest month

10980-499: The position to Gustav Mahler , Fritz Steinbach , and Willem Mengelberg but did not rule out the young Bruno Walter if nobody more senior were to accept. He offered the position to Hans Richter in February 1905, who declined, to Felix Mottl in November, who was previously engaged, and then to previous director Nikisch, who declined; the post was finally offered to Karl Muck , who accepted and began his duties in October 1906. He

11102-785: The post until 2002, the longest tenure of any Boston Symphony conductor. In 1979, he led the Boston Symphony Orchestra's visit to the People's Republic of China to celebrate the normalization of US-China diplomatic relations , making it the second American orchestra to ever visit the country. Ozawa's tenure involved significant dissension and controversy. One concern was his handling of the Tanglewood Music Center . Greg Sandow wrote in The Wall Street Journal in December 1998 that Ozawa "had taken control of

11224-559: The present day. The Boston Symphony has been closely involved with Boston's WGBH Radio as an outlet for its concerts. Koussevitzky also commissioned many new pieces from prominent composers, including the Symphony No. 4 of Sergei Prokofiev , George Gershwin 's Second Rhapsody and the Symphony of Psalms by Igor Stravinsky . They also gave the premiere of Béla Bartók 's Concerto for Orchestra , which had been commissioned by

11346-572: The request and the BSO always ended future concerts with the American national anthem , Muck was subjected by Rathom to a trial by media anyway and was arrested by Federal agents shortly before a performance of Johann Sebastian Bach 's St Matthew Passion in March 1918. Along with 29 of the BSO best musicians, Muck was imprisoned in Fort Oglethorpe , a German-American internment camp in

11468-574: The school with what many people thought was surprising and abrupt brutality. Members of the faculty, themselves world-famous, had angrily resigned." The first departure was in the fall of 1996, when Ozawa fired Richard Ortner, the Festival's administrator. After a tumultuous season, at the end of summer 1997, pianist Gilbert Kalish resigned from the faculty by sending Ozawa what the pianist/conductor Leon Fleisher later described as "a blistering letter of resignation, and he made it public"; Fleisher, who

11590-419: The search continued, Leonard Bernstein met with four board members and recommended Michael Tilson Thomas , who had been Assistant Conductor and Associate Conductor under Steinberg, for the directorship, but the young conductor "did not have sufficient support among the BSO players," according to journalist Jeremy Eichler . The committee eventually chose Seiji Ozawa , who became Music Director in 1973 and held

11712-528: The settlement on the peninsula had been known as "Shawmut" by William Blaxton and "Tremontaine" by the Puritan settlers he had invited. Prior to European colonization , the region surrounding present-day Boston was inhabited by the Massachusett people who had small, seasonal communities. When a group of settlers led by John Winthrop arrived in 1630, the Shawmut Peninsula was nearly empty of

11834-606: The southwest by the town of Dedham and small portions of Needham and Canton , and to the southeast by the town of Milton , and the city of Quincy . The Charles River separates Boston's Allston-Brighton , Fenway-Kenmore and Back Bay neighborhoods from Watertown and Cambridge, and most of Boston from its own Charlestown neighborhood. The Neponset River forms the boundary between Boston's southern neighborhoods and Quincy and Milton . The Mystic River separates Charlestown from Chelsea and Everett, and Chelsea Creek and Boston Harbor separate East Boston from Downtown ,

11956-555: The strike, and also kicking off a long series of live radio concerts on CBS with Koussevitzky conducting. Under Koussevitzky, the orchestra gave regular radio broadcasts and established its summer home at Tanglewood , where Koussevitzky founded the Berkshire Music Center , which is now the Tanglewood Music Center . Those network radio broadcasts ran from 1926 through 1951, and again from 1954 through 1956. The orchestra continues to make regular live radio broadcasts to

12078-578: The symphony announced Ozawa's departure as music director, as of 2002, following the sudden announcement of Ozawa's appointment as music director of the Vienna State Opera – a decision the board had heard about only a day earlier, where Volpe said he was "a little surprised at the timing". He gave his last concert with the orchestra in July 2002. During Ozawa's tenure, Bernard Haitink served as principal guest conductor from 1995 to 2004. Haitink

12200-509: The temperature dipped down to −10 °F (−23 °C); this was the lowest temperature reading in the city since 1957. In addition, several decades may pass between 100 °F (38 °C) readings; the last such reading occurred on July 24, 2022. The city's average window for freezing temperatures is November 9 through April 5. Official temperature records have ranged from −18 °F (−28 °C) on February 9, 1934, up to 104 °F (40 °C) on July 4, 1911. The record cold daily maximum

12322-404: The time." After Steinberg's retirement, according to BSO trustee John Thorndike (who was on the search committee) the symphony's board spoke to Colin Davis and "investigated very thoroughly" his appointment, but Davis's commitments to his young family did not allow his moving to Boston from England; instead he accepted the post of BSO principal guest conductor, which he held from 1972 to 1984. As

12444-539: The wake of Levine's resignation, Andris Nelsons made his first guest-conducting appearance with the BSO in March 2011, as an emergency substitute for Levine at Carnegie Hall in Mahler's Symphony No. 9 . He subsequently guest-conducted the BSO at Tanglewood in July 2012, and made his first appearance with the BSO at Symphony Hall in January 2013. In May 2013, the BSO named Nelsons as its 15th music director, effective with

12566-467: The winter of 2011–12 saw only 9.3 in (23.6 cm) of accumulating snow, but the previous winter, the corresponding figure was 81.0 in (2.06 m). The city's coastal location on the North Atlantic makes the city very prone to nor'easters , which can produce large amounts of snow and rain. Fog is fairly common, particularly in spring and early summer. Due to its coastal location,

12688-440: The world. The city is also a national leader in scientific research, law, medicine, engineering, and business. With nearly 5,000 startup companies, the city is considered a global pioneer in innovation and entrepreneurship , and more recently in artificial intelligence . Boston's economy also includes finance , professional and business services, information technology , and government activities. Boston households provide

12810-736: Was admired for its rarefied literary life and generous artistic patronage . Members of old Boston families—eventually dubbed the Boston Brahmins —came to be regarded as the nation's social and cultural elites. They are often associated with the American upper class , Harvard University , and the Episcopal Church . Boston was a prominent port of the Atlantic slave trade in the New England Colonies , but

12932-529: Was also a long-term member of the Tanglewood faculty, wrote, "Most of the faculty felt he was speaking for them." Ozawa reduced Fleisher's role at the Center, offering him instead a "ceremonial puppet role," and Fleisher resigned, writing to Ozawa that the proposed role was "somewhat akin to having my legs chopped off at the knees, you then gently taking me by the arm and inviting me for a stroll. I must decline

13054-549: Was commissioned in 2007, with updates released in 2011, 2014, and 2019. This plan includes the Building Energy Reporting and Disclosure Ordinance, which requires the city's larger buildings to disclose their yearly energy and water use statistics and to partake in an energy assessment every five years. A separate initiative, Resilient Boston Harbor, lays out neighborhood-specific recommendations for coastal resilience . In 2013, Mayor Thomas Menino introduced

13176-540: Was conductor until 1908 and again from 1912 to 1918. The music director 1908–12 was Max Fiedler . He conducted the premiere of Ignacy Jan Paderewski 's Symphony in B minor "Polonia" in 1909. Following American entry into World War I , Muck (born in Germany but a Swiss citizen since childhood), was falsely accused by unscrupulous newspaper editor John R. Rathom of knowingly refusing a request to play The Star Spangled Banner . Although Higginson had not told Muck of

13298-511: Was founded in 1881 by Henry Lee Higginson . Its first conductor was George Henschel , who was a noted baritone as well as conductor, and a close friend of Johannes Brahms . For the orchestra, Henschel devised innovative orchestral seating charts and sent them to Brahms, who replied approvingly and commented on the issues raised by horn and viola sections in a letter of mid-November 1881. The BSO's first concert took place on October 22, 1881. The program consisted of Beethoven's The Consecration of

13420-554: Was founded in 1885, and plays lighter, more popular classics, and show tunes . Arthur Fiedler was the conductor who did the most to increase the fame of the Boston Pops over his tenure from 1930 to 1979. Film composer John Williams succeeded Fiedler as the conductor of the Pops from 1980 to 1993. Since 1995, conductor Keith Lockhart has led the Boston Pops. The Boston Symphony Chamber Players were launched in 1964. Today they are

13542-664: Was home to several events that proved central to the revolution and subsequent Revolutionary War , including the Boston Massacre (1770), the Boston Tea Party (1773), Paul Revere's Midnight Ride (1775), the Battle of Bunker Hill (1775), and the Siege of Boston (1775–1776). Following American independence from Great Britain , the city continued to play an important role as a port, manufacturing hub, and center for education and culture. The city also expanded significantly beyond

13664-429: Was how badly the BSO plays." He noted that a group of Boston Symphony musicians had privately published a newsletter, Counterpoint , expressing their concerns; in the summer of 1995 concertmaster Malcolm Lowe and principal cellist Jules Eskin wrote that in rehearsal Ozawa gave no "specific leadership in matters of tempo and rhythm," no "expression of care about sound quality," and no "distinctly-conveyed conception of

13786-433: Was limited to small-scale raids and skirmishes. The narrow Boston Neck, which at that time was only about a hundred feet wide, impeded Washington's ability to invade Boston, and a long stalemate ensued. A young officer, Rufus Putnam , came up with a plan to make portable fortifications out of wood that could be erected on the frozen ground under cover of darkness. Putnam supervised this effort, which successfully installed both

13908-415: Was named conductor emeritus in 2004, and actively served in the post as a returning guest conductor through his retirement in 2019. In 2004, James Levine became the first American-born music director of the BSO. Levine received critical praise for revitalizing the quality and repertoire since the beginning of his tenure, including championing contemporary composers. During Levine's tenure, by February 2009

14030-472: Was paid much less than principal oboist John Ferrillo since 2004 and was seeking more than $ 200,000 in unpaid compensation from the orchestra. The BSO tried to discredit Rowe's claim that she was being discriminated against because of the unequal pay compared to Ferrillo by saying in a court filing that the two wind instruments were not comparable. After mediation, the case was settled out of court in February 2019 for an undisclosed amount. In January 2020,

14152-614: Was reversed in 2013 when it was resold to Boston businessman John W. Henry . In 2016, it was announced General Electric would be moving its corporate headquarters from Connecticut to the Seaport District in Boston, joining many other companies in this rapidly developing neighborhood. The city also saw the completion of the Central Artery/Tunnel Project, known as the Big Dig , in 2007 after many delays and cost overruns. On April 15, 2013, two Chechen Islamist brothers detonated

14274-535: Was soon overtaken by Salem, Massachusetts and Newport, Rhode Island . Boston eventually became a center of the American abolitionist movement . The city reacted largely negatively to the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 , contributing to President Franklin Pierce 's attempt to make an example of Boston after Anthony Burns 's attempt to escape to freedom. In 1822, the citizens of Boston voted to change

14396-487: Was supported by the mayor and a coalition of business leaders and local philanthropists, but was eventually dropped due to public opposition. The USOC then selected Los Angeles to be the American candidate with Los Angeles ultimately securing the right to host the 2028 Summer Olympics . Nevertheless, Boston is one of eleven U.S. cities which will host matches during the 2026 FIFA World Cup , with games taking place at Gillette Stadium . The geographical center of Boston

14518-420: Was the first concert pipe organ installed in the United States. It was commissioned in 1857 and built in Germany by E.F. Walcker and Company of Ludwigsburg. It was the largest in the US at the time, containing 5,474 pipes and 84 registers. The organ was removed from the Music Hall in 1884 to provide more performing space for the Boston Symphony. Initially put into storage, the organ was rebuilt and installed by

14640-509: Was the first home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra , founded in 1881 and was also the birthplace of the New England Conservatory of Music . After being threatened by road building and subway construction, the Music Hall was replaced as the home of the Boston Symphony in 1900, by Symphony Hall . In addition to concerts, the hall presented important speakers of the time. Theodore Parker preached here, and his congregation,

14762-419: Was the orchestra ' s conductor, Mason Woodruff, and Dick Wesson was its manager, Jack Riordan. In one episode, Robert ' s father Ben, played by Jack Gilford , had a job in the orchestra ' s ticket office. Guest stars who appeared as musicians playing in or with the orchestra during the show ' s 15-episode run included Henry Winkler as a cellist, Leon Askin as a violinist, and Susan Neher as

14884-504: Was the person most directly responsible for the foundation of Boston by Puritan colonists in 1630. This occurred after Blaxton invited one of their leaders, Isaac Johnson , to cross Back Bay from the failing colony of Charlestown and share the peninsula. The Puritans made the crossing in September 1630. Puritan influence on Boston began even before the settlement was founded with the 1629 Cambridge Agreement . This document created

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