Earlier in April, the Boston Pops were forced to suspend all concerts for their spring 2020 season. But it’s not the first time in their 135-year history that they’ve had to cancel an entire season’s worth of shows. The first, as Pops conductor Keith Lockhart tells it, was “absolutely charming, and so much more innocent a reason than we have right now.”
"It’s always been kind of an inside joke for years,” he explained. “Management forgot to pull a liquor license in time.”
On Tuesday, the famed conductor joined Boston Public Radio to explain what fans can expect from his orchestra this summer, and give an update on how he’s holding up during the coronavirus pandemic.
To the question of summer concerts, Lockhart said the BSO is expecting to make their final decision by mid-May, but stressed that his “crystal ball doesn’t work better than anybody’s."
"Who knows? I would love to see an all-clear that allows the Fourth of July and the Tanglewood Summer Season to go forth in a somewhat uninterrupted way,” he said, but stressed that "to a large extent, those things are not our decisions to make."
For those looking to enjoy the orchestra while also social distancing, there is currently a bevy of online content through the "BSO at Home" collection. Lockhart said fans can expect similar videos from this season’s Pops.
"The idea is that we will transition to the 'Pops at Home' starting around the time we would’ve opened, somewhere around the fourth of May, with a mix of things,” he said. "I’m going to try to talk to some of the guests artists whom I was so looking forward to working with this year. … I’ve been communicating and sending a lot of 'so sorry' emails over the last couple of weeks.”
