Boston Mayor Michelle Wu performs with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at the BSO’s free Concert for the City on May 7. Photo by Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe.
“Mayor Michelle Wu made history on Sunday as she became the first sitting mayor of Boston to perform with the Boston Symphony Orchestra,” writes Melissa Ellin in Sunday’s (5/7) Boston.com (login may be required). “Wu deftly displayed her piano skills as the featured soloist during the second movement of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21, part of the orchestra’s free Concert for the City. The concert featured a program with performances by both the BSO and the Boston Pops, led by BSO Music Director Andris Nelsons and Boston Pops Conductor Keith Lockhart. ‘The arts are necessary,’ Wu said at a press conference after the concert, as reported by The Boston Globe. ‘They are absolutely critical infrastructure for communities and for individuals.’ The mayor, a classically trained pianist who had an upright Yamaha installed in her office, revealed she was not familiar with the Mozart concerto before rehearsing for the concert. ‘I had not spent time really practicing in many, many, years, so this was a wonderful re-invigoration for me, and a reminder that I need to stay at it,’ she said.”
