At 98 (you read that right), Herbert Bloemstedt is a maestro of seasoned grace. “Noble, charming, sober, modest,” his unusual bio on the Boston Symphony Orchestra Web site begins. “Such qualities may play a major role in human coexistence and are certainly appreciated. However, they are rather atypical for extraordinary personalities such as conductors. Whatever the general public’s notion of a conductor may be, Herbert Blomstedt is an exception, precisely because he possesses those very qualities which seemingly have so little to do with a conductor’s claim to power.” Audiences experiencing the musicianship of his golden years are blessed indeed (cancellations are not unheard of). The first half of his all-Brahms program juxtaposes two marmoreal choral pieces: the elegiac Nänie (Lament) and gloomy yet thrillingly dramatic Schicksalslied (Song of Fate). Then, it’s on to Symphony No. 4, the crowning achievement in a genre Brahms long avoided for fear of comparisons with Beethoven. Ever keen to manage expectations, Brahms called the Fourth “a bunch of polkas and waltzes”—a summation that is accurate as far as it goes but omits the work’s contrasting pages of sublime lyricism and tragic introspection. Count on Maestro to right the balance. —Matthew Gurewitsch