Composer Carlos Simon’s “Double Concerto Suite” received its local debut on Thursday evening at Symphony Hall, performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) under the direction of music director Andris Nelsons. The piece, co-commissioned by the BSO, marks Simon’s first foray into purely abstract music, without an explicit programmatic narrative, inviting listeners to interpret the work on their own.
The five-movement suite draws inspiration from Baroque models such as Johann Sebastian Bach’s partitas for solo violin and cello, a nod reflected in the choice of soloists: violinist Hilary Hahn and cellist Seth Parker Woods. Their interpretations brought clarity and poise to the performance, with Woods producing a rich, robust tone and Hahn delivering smooth, expressive violin lines. The soloists’ performances served as an anchor amid the piece’s eclectic influences, which ranged from Delta blues motifs and chromatic undercurrents in the fourth movement to passages evoking downtown minimalism and Copland-esque pastoral textures. Some moments also suggested echoes of Stravinsky’s “Petrushka.”
Despite the suite’s pleasant sound, the performance conveyed a certain restraint, lacking the intensity often associated with Simon’s work. The orchestra appeared concentrated more on technical precision than expressive nuance, possibly reflecting that this concert was part of a demanding three-week stretch featuring multiple world premieres. This context, according to observers, may have limited the piece’s impact on its opening night. However, the flute solo by Elizabeth Klein was highlighted as one of the evening’s standout elements, indicating the composition’s potential for greater depth in future renditions.
The program opened with the Polonaise from Tchaikovsky’s opera “Eugene Onegin,” which provided a luminous and opulent prelude to Simon’s contemporary work. The second half featured Act II from Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker,” shifting the evening’s mood toward the festive. Under Nelsons’s baton, the BSO’s performance emphasized lyrical woodwind textures and deft solo work, including Thomas Rolfs’s virtuosic trumpet solos. The administration of tempo and rhythm allowed the music to unfold with grace, particularly in the “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy,” where the delicate balance between forward momentum and restraint was carefully maintained.
Thursday’s concert marked Nelsons’s final Symphony Hall appearance for 2026 ahead of his concluding season as BSO music director next summer at Tanglewood. Though largely reserved on the subject of his planned departure, Nelsons addressed the audience with a brief, heartfelt message touching on music’s capacity to heal and reflecting on his childhood memories from Latvia after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Notably, some in attendance wore roses commemorating Nelsons’s pending exit, an emblem evocative of peaceful social change. Nelsons acknowledged the symbolism with measured words, as the audience responded enthusiastically with applause and rhythmic clapping, underscoring the strong connection between the conductor, the orchestra, and patrons.
The evening thus combined a contemporary orchestral commission with classic pieces in a program that simultaneously looked forward while honoring traditions, emblematic of a transitional moment for both composer and conductor.