Symphony Hall, the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s home since 1900. Photo by David L. Ryan
“The Boston Symphony Orchestra has canceled its fall programming at Symphony Hall amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,” writes Zoë Madonna in Thursday’s (7/30) Boston Globe. “The cancellation covers 37 concerts of 14 programs…. Never in its 139-year history has the BSO canceled so many concerts. The fall of 1918 saw the season delayed by two weeks due to the influenza pandemic, and Tanglewood seasons were shortened for three summers and canceled for one during World War II…. In place of in-person programming, the orchestra plans to create a new series of online content for the fall, in the vein of the BSO At Home and Tanglewood Online offerings that have (to date) prompted over 13 million interactions on the orchestra’s website and social media pages. Details of the fall online season will be announced in September. A decision about the 2020 Holiday Pops season will be announced in October. The orchestra will decide by the end of this calendar year whether live performances with audiences will resume during the winter/spring portion of the season, which runs Jan. 7 to May 1, 2021…. The orchestra has not yet released estimated revenue loss due to the fall 2020 cancellations.”
