Acclaimed violinist Ray Chen made his Boston Symphony Orchestra debut on March 13, performing Tchaikovsky’s iconic “Violin Concerto in D Major” from March 13–16 alongside American conductor Teddy Abrams.
Considered one of the most significant works in the violin repertoire, Tchaikovsky’s “Violin Concerto in D Major” was created following the disastrous dissolution of his marriage, a union originally pursued by Tchaikovsky to counter suspicion about his homosexuality and from which he fled before the honeymoon even began. With the assistance of his student, friend and possible lover, violinist Yosif Kotek, he completed the concerto in under a month. The composer dedicated the piece to violinist and renowned pedagogue Leopold Auer (whose list of pupils included some of the greatest violinists in history such as Mischa Elman and Jascha Heifetz) would only go on to shake his head at the concerto, declaring it “unplayable.” While Auer would go on to clarify that his comment was aimed purely at errors in the written score, the comment wounded Tchaikovksy, and he revoked the dedication. Despite early criticism, the concerto is now acclaimed for its melodic invention, graceful musical expansion and vigor. Composed in his fog of agony over sexual identity and professional insecurity, it has joined the classical music literature as one of the composer’s most significant contributions.
Following the concerto, Chen ended his performance with “Serenade” (2024), a swooning and cinematic orchestral encore composed by Eunike Tanzil. A good friend of Chen’s, Tanzil was in attendance at Friday’s performance and was identified by the violinist who pointed out the young composer in the crowd, asking her to wave to the audience.
Despite making appearances with various acclaimed orchestras — including the London Philharmonic, the New York Philharmonic and the Berlin Radio Symphony, among others — Chen’s March 13 performance was his first appearance alongside BSO. However, he was no stranger to the musical talent housed at the orchestra, having attended the Curtis Institute of Music alongside Abrams.
Born in Taiwan and raised in Australia, Chen demonstrated virtuosic skill on the stringed instrument, performing as a soloist with the Queensland Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of 8. Chen was accepted into the Curtis Institute of Music — the most selective music conservatory in the country — at the age of 15, studying under American violinist Aaron Rosand before moving on to receive critical acclaim and international attention after achieving first place in the Yehudi Menuhin (2008) and Queen Elizabeth (2009) competitions.
Chen is notable not only for his achievements as a soloist but also for his media presence. One of the first contemporary classical musicians to embrace social media, Chen maintains an active YouTube channel, TikTok presence and Instagram account. Chen’s accounts have provided audience members with an inside look into how classical music happens. Most of the time, the public’s exposure to classical music comes in the form of pristine black suits on the concert stage. While this has created an aura of luxury and glamour, it has also had the effect of draping much of the world of classical music behind a mysterious curtain. Many of Chen’s videos depict the classical star practicing, reviewing performances by other artists and engaging in popular online trends such as ranking violin techniques or performances with a tier list.
The program concluded with a performance of bass-baritone Dashon Burton’s rendition of Michael Tilson Thomas’s “Whitman Songs” (2024), an orchestral rendition of three Whitman poems: “Who Goes There?,” “At Ship’s Helm” and “We Two Boys Together Clinging.” It was followed by a performance of the Symphonic Dances from Leonard Bernstein’s iconic “West Side Story.” An orchestral fantasia, Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances was a reworked version of the original music, combining nine different music scores into a suite lasting roughly 20 minutes and incorporating most of the iconic music from the show. An ardent admirer of Bernstein, Abrams conducted vigorously and, during the performance of Mambo, spun around to face the crowd after each syncopated theme as all the audience members cried out “Mambo!” in response to the brass section.
BSO’s next program, “Symphonies Nos. 6 & 11, The Year 1905 | Decoding Shostakovich,” will take place Thursday. Tickets are available for purchase on the BSO’s website.
