Summary: Conductor David Zinman — who presides over the three-week The Modern Beethoven: A Philharmonic Festival — reveals his approach to this composer’s works, which sheds centuries of accrued practices to get to their original revolutionary spirit. Podcast host Mark Travis guides the listener through the points of interest in Beethoven’s Symphonies Nos. 4 and 8, which are on the March 8, 10, and 13 concerts, as is Barber’s Cello Concerto. Cellist Alisa Weilerstein, the soloist in these performances, discusses the emotional power, lyricism, and sheer fun of the mid-century American concerto she is performing, and Mr. Travis discusses the work’s history.
