Locced Down

Lawrence Wolfe, 59, joined the BSO’s bass section in 1970, becoming the orchestra’s then-youngest member. He was named assistant principal bass during the 1981-82 season. A graduate of New England Conservatory, he is on the faculty there and at Boston University and the Boston Conservatory.

So this is your 38th opening night?

Right.

Do you remember your first?

Yes - Beethoven Seventh and [Holst’s] “The Planets.” We recorded “The Planets” that night. It was my first concert with the orchestra.

What was the experience like?

One word: Wow. A whole lot of things came later that I’m utterly thankful for, and it’s been a blessing that I continue to try to earn every working day. But at the time I just went, “Wow.”

Do you look forward to opening night the way the audience does?

I look forward to it. We’ve been playing in the Tanglewood Shed, but as good as the Shed is, it isn’t Symphony Hall, because nowhere is Symphony Hall. There are very few places like it in the world. So I look forward to the first sounds we make there.

How do you keep the experience fresh over so many years?

My young colleagues. One of the newer members of the orchestra is Ben Levy, in the bass section. His enthusiasm is boundless. He works incredibly hard, he asks me mentor questions. . . . It’s that kind of enthusiasm that makes me say, “Oh my goodness, I can never allow myself to take such a job for granted.”

What are you most looking forward to this season?

I’m looking forward to the Berg Violin Concerto, with Christian Tetzlaff [Nov. 8-10]. That should be a very good match. But I’m really looking forward to [Smetana’s] “Ma Vlast” [Nov. 23, 24, 27] - music that’s so resonant, so reverent, so honest I can’t help but love it. And it’s another piece we recorded very early in my career, with Rafael Kubelik.

What’s Maestro Levine like to play for?

His programming is very intelligent. . . . He puts together seasons intelligently. And he’s very demanding of us. He has a particular sound in mind, and he is persistent in pursuing that sound and reminding us of what he wants. . . . On the tour this summer he seemed very pleased with what we were doing, consistently complimentary. Of course, he would like what we were doing and still have a few points to make.

What made you fall in love with playing the bass?

It was partly my physical makeup - I’m 6-foot-4, I was always the tallest kid in the class. And whether I was socialized into it or born into it, I seem to listen to music from the bottom up. I always have. And the fit just worked.

What’s the camaraderie like in your section?

It’s quite good. I have a priceless rapport with [principal bass] Ed Barker, because we’re both just a couple of bass nerds. . . . We can get each other going and when we’re both in a good mood, it just takes one little visual or musical cue, and when we get to that place, we play together so well that the sum of our musical parts, I really believe, exceeds the whole. I just have such respect for him. He’s always a shining light in my professional career.© Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.More from Boston.comMore:Globe Living/Arts stories

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