Classical music
In addition to its reputation as the country's intellectual capital, Boston (and New England as a whole) is also the center of classical art in the United States. An image built up between the late 19th and early 20th centuries during the heyday of the "Boston School" (also known as the "Second New England School"). This group of American composers from New England (clustered around the city of Boston) helped lay new foundations for classical music in the United States, and made the city an important center of the genre in the country. Among them were John Knowles Paine (1839-1906), the first U.S. native to become famous for symphonic compositions, and Henry Franklin Belknap Gilbert (1868-1928), a violinist and composer who believed that the renewal of the country's scholarly music should draw on indigenous sources such as Black American, Creole and Native American music. This classical music dynasty was later perpetuated by such greats as Leonard Bernstein, the celebrated composer of West Side Story (and a native of Lawrence, Massachusetts), and Charles Ives, a Connecticut native famous for his avant-garde, folk-music-influenced work.
But if Boston resonates today in the United States and around the world as a major classical capital, it's thanks to the Boston Symphony Orchestra, which performs at Boston Symphony Hall. A leading member of the "Big Five" - a term that designates the five major symphony orchestras in the United States recognized worldwide for their excellence: Chicago, New York, Cleveland, Philadelphia and Boston - the institution has had a number of prestigious conductors since its creation (in 1900), including Seiji Ozawa (between 1973 and 2002) and the fabulous Latvian Andris Nelsons since 2014. Two Frenchmen conducted the orchestra in the early 20th century: Henri Rabaud between 1918 and 1919 and Pierre Monteux from 1919 to 1924.
One of the most popular summer events for music lovers is the Tanglewood Festival. This is where you can enjoy BSO performances on the lawns of Lenox (Massachusetts) for several weeks. 5,000 seats and acres of greenery, to listen to jazz and classical music concerts in complete tranquillity.
Folk music
With its long maritime tradition, the Massachusetts region has a rich heritage of songs, notably sea shanties, imported from England. This ancestral love of song has undoubtedly led the region to take part in the folk revival, with artists such as Joan Baez (who began her career in Cambridge), James Taylor (a Boston native), who went on to sell 100 million albums, Paul Clayton (from New Bedford), who over the course of his career became a figure in New York's Greenwich Village and a mentor to Bob Dylan, and Bonnie Raitt, a disciple of John Lee Hooker.
With such a rich and dynamic scene, towns like Newport, RI became epicenters of folk music in the country in the late 1950s. Legendary festivals such as the Newport Folk Festival are still held here, and continue to welcome legends such as Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan. Not far from here, in Lowell, Massachusetts, you'll find the Lowell Folk Festival, arguably the country's biggest (and free) folk festival.
Rock music
Another great local specialty is rock, a beloved New England discipline. These include the Boston band, The Breeders, who set the Boston underground scene alight in the late 1980s, Aerosmith, whose name needs no introduction and who were named one of the 100 greatest artists of all time by Rolling Stone magazine. There's also the alternative rock band the Pixies, formed in Boston in 1986 and responsible for a string of worldwide hits, and Dick Dale, from Quincy (Massachusetts), who helped popularize surf rock. While the region is particularly well known for its punk rock scene, one band has become emblematic of Boston: The Dropkick Murphys. Combining their city's Celtic origins with straightforward punk, the band's reputation has spread beyond the boundaries of punk, attracting prestigious fans such as Martin Scorsese.
If you're a rock fan passing through Boston, you'll want to check out the line-up at Paradise Rock Club. A resolutely rock venue, it has played host to some of the genre's biggest names since its inception in 1977, and continues to attract the cream of the local scene. Slightly more eclectic, The Sinclair in Cambridge also offers a fine rock venue.
Jazz
Boston has never had a jazz scene comparable to that of New Orleans or Chicago, but the city and region love the genre, and some of its greatest artists hail from here. Pianist Chick Corea, for example, is a native of Chelsea, Massachusetts. Less famous, the region was also the birthplace of Irene Higginbotham (1918-1988), a pianist close to Billie Holiday; multi-instrumentalist Jaki Byard (1922-1999), renowned for the breadth of his stylistic spectrum; Bill Dixon (1925-2010), a seminal trumpeter in free jazz; and Harry Carney, saxophone prodigy who was one of the first to use the "continuous breath", Paul Gonsalves and Johnny Hodges (1907-1970) saxophone comparses of Duke Ellington (1920-1974), singer Nnenna Freelon, pianist Ran Blake, famous for the darkness of his jazz, and drummer Terri Lyne, Herbie Hancock loyalist.
Every summer, the region's jazz lovers gather at the renowned Newport Jazz Festival, never short on headliners. Less prestigious, but just as enjoyable (if not more so), is Burlington's Discover Jazz Festival, offering ten days of jazz concerts on the shores of Vermont's Lake Champlain. When it comes to clubs, Boston has plenty to offer, including Wally's, a legendary jazz bar founded in 1947 with an intimate (and often crowded) room, and the Regattabar Jazz Club, one of the best places to hear jazz in Boston - and, according to some, in all of New England!
The dance
It's impossible to talk about dance in New England without mentioning the Boston Ballet. Founded in 1963 by E. Virginia Williams and Sydney Leonard, Boston Ballet's national and international reputation exploded under the direction of Violette Verdy (1980-1984), Bruce Marks (1985-1997) and Anna-Marie Holmes (1997-2000). The company's current artistic director, Finland's Mikko Nissinen, maintains the company's level of excellence and perpetuates the institution's artistic line, combining classical repertoire (such as Marius Petipa's Sleeping Beauty ) with contemporary creations (including those by the great William Forsythe). A fine balance and a state of mind regularly praised by the critics. One of the country's finest institutions and a must-see for dance lovers.
