I think the most performances I’ve seen in a calendar week has been about three. I was definitely toeing that line during the recent BSO performances of the Beethoven symphony cycle, but I decided not to attend the Friday evening and Saturday evening performances of 6 and 7, because they were a little more expensive than I would have liked (but still not expensive, I should note). The Tuesday and Thursday performances featured Associate Conductor Julian Kuerti, whom I liked, as he led the BSO in Symphonies 3 and 4. They started with the lighter No. 4, which I enjoyed more at Tuesday’s show than I did on Thursday, where I sensed the superficiality in its themes. While the Eroica is certainly the better-known of the two, I was not at all familiar with it on Tuesday but definitely enjoyed its magnificence at Thursday’s show, with a symphony buddy AB. I went from Tuesday, preferring 4 to Eroica, to Thursday, definitely understanding why Eroica is more well known.
One funny observation about rush tickets came up while waiting in line for these performances. While I actually ended up with college card tickets on Thursday, the guy in front of us at the box office was also getting a college card ticket. They’re usually given out in sequential order, which made me refrain from commenting on the guy’s inside-out shirt (he was BU student based on the ID). We would eventually be seated next to him, though he didn’t show up until the performance of the 3rd symphony and then proceeded to follow the first movement before falling asleep for the rest of the piece. The observation that I’d be sitting next to the person in line is well known to me from previous rush ticket experience, but this is one of the few times that it might have had awkward consequences.
I will catch 6 and 7 when they are performed again later in this season, complete with rush ticket options. Since seeing 8 and 9 performed, I’ve now had the pleasure of hearing nearly all of the Beethoven symphonies performed by the BSO in a single season, which is the first opportunity to have done so since 1934! I’m not going to lie, that’s pretty cool.
