MUSIC

Beethoven's Missa Solemnis is one of the most significant works by one of the greatest of all composers. This monolithic late work stands with the Ninth Symphony, the late string quartets, and the late piano sonatas as the culmination of Beethoven's transformation of music. Beethoven intended the Missa Solemnis celebration of the election of his patron Archduke Rudolph as Archbishop of Olmütz in 1820, but didn't complete it until 1822. German maestro Kurt Masur conducts, with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus and a fine cast of soloists, including soprano Christine Brewer (pictured) and the New Zealand tenor Simon O'Neill in his BSO debut.