Conductor/Composer Teddy Abrams Honors Mentors in Boston Symphony Debut

One of the unintended aspects of the Boston Symphony program for Abrams debut is that all three works are by gay composers that each reflect the different societal responses to homosexuality at the time. In late 19th century Russia, Tchaikovsky lived in fear of being exposed. Some historians even posit that his death at the age of 53 was deliberate in exchange of his not be outed. In mid 20th century America, Bernstein married actress Felicia Montealegre and they had two children, but she was aware of him being gay. Even before their marriage. She wrote "You are a homosexual and may never change. ... I am willing to accept you as you are." They had a deeply complex relationship, and throughout it Bernstein had a long series of gay relationships that culminated in his coming out at the age of 58 in 1976. Thomas, a Baby Boomer, had a far healthier relationship with his sexuality, which was pretty much an "open secret" in the largely conservative classical musical world. He has successfully navigated his career while being authentic to his own sense of self. He has had a near 50-year relationship with his husband and manager Joshua Mark Robison, whom he married in 2014. The two first met while they were fellow members of North Hollywood's Walter Reed Junior High School orchestra. Thomas played oboe and piano; Robison played cello. But the two didn't get romantically involved until the early 1970s. At the time of their wedding, Thomas referred to Robison as "my brother, my high school sweetheart."

Abrams says the gay subtext to thee programming wasn't intentional. "We didn't set out to do bring that out, but it so happened that in balancing these three wonderful works, it turned out that they had a common background in the fact that that all three composers are are gay and somehow there's a real affinity between the works. I don't know that it says like it's explicit in the Tchaikovsky, but somehow it feels like a solid piece of very familiar music like that balances so beautifully with the wonderful engagement and challenges of Whitman and Tilson Thomas and Bernstein. And by the way, you could throw Whitman in the grouping too. There is something I think that connects them – a searching quality to identity."

Conducting the "Whitman Songs" is bittersweet for Abrams because Thomas will not be attending due to his battle with an aggressive brain cancer called glioblastoma, which was diagnosed in 2021. After brain surgery, he continued to conduct on a reduced schedule; including a recent 50th year celebration of his relationship with the London Symphony Orchestra with him conducting Mahler's Second Symphony. but last month he announced in a posting on his website that the brain tumor has returned and he is cutting back on his public appearances. He plans on attending two deeply personal events, one later this month with the New World Symphony marking the end of his tenure with the orchestra he co-founded; and on April 26 with a belated 80th birthday concert with the San Francisco Symphony, with which he had a 25-year run as its Music Director (1995 - 2020). After stepping down, he became Music Director Laureate and continued to conduct with the ensemble.

"I actually just saw him a couple days ago in San Francisco, and obviously the the public letter that he released is both incredibly beautiful and also heartbreaking because we know that he's been facing a very difficult illness and one that does not have a long term solution or cure. And so I think we were already, by we, I mean the whole community of people that love music, are already so grateful that we've had years of his music making after the original diagnosis of the glioblastoma. That already has been an incredible gift. And we've had all this time to celebrate him and to and to see his music making, knowing how precious it is.

"And obviously for me, it's a very personal relationship. Michael and his husband, Joshua, have been kind of parents to me, and I've looked up to them as the most important mentors and sources of inspiration for my entire life. So like this is a challenging moment to absorb. But I'm also very grateful that I've had all this what feels is extra time to spend with them and and to celebrate by doing things exactly like this, sharing his music. I think that's one of the best ways that we can celebrate his extraordinary work. So this will be, a real act of honoring and celebrating such a such an exceptional man. And to do it in Boston adds another layer to this. I've heard so many stories about his time in Boston. I think he, I guess he took the whole city by storm and and did so much groundbreaking work there."

Teddy Abrams debut concert with the Boston Symphony Orchestra will also feature works by Tchaikovsky and Bernstein. It takes place at Symphony Hall, Boston, on Thursday, March 13 at 7:30pm; Friday, March 14 at 1pm; Saturday, March 15 at 8:00pm; and Sunday, March 16 at 2:00pm. Click here for more information.