The Classical Beat: Tanglewood Kicks Off Summer Music Festival Season
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Met Opera superstar soprano Renee Fleming performs with the Boston Symphony Orchestra this Saturday, July 5, at Tanglewood. |
This is the long-awaited week that Tanglewood opens its gates to concerts in the Koussevitsky Music Shed, with the iconic James Taylor headlining on July 3 and 4 at 8 pm. Fireworks will follow the concert on July 4.
The rest of the week offers a wide selection of great music. Here are my picks for your listening pleasure:
• Saturday July 5, 8:30 p.m. in the Shed: Met Opera superstar soprano Renee Fleming performs with the Boston Symphony Orchestra – the program to include audience favorites from the concert hall as well as opera and musical theatre selections. Why go? The opportunity to hear Ms. Fleming live in concert is reason enough. Don’t miss this one.
• Sunday July 6, 2:30 p.m. in the Shed: The BSO, led by conductor Asher Fisch, performers Liszt’s “Les Preludes” and excerpts from Wagner’s “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.” The featured work is Brahms’ magisterial Piano Concerto No. 2, with pianist Garrick Ohlsson the soloist. Why go? This is a program of Romantic masterpieces, each in its own way thrilling and profound. And Ohlsson, a titanic force at the keyboard, will perform the Brahms stunningly.
• Sunday, July 6, 8 p.m. in Ozawa Hall: This is the first Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra concert, led by maestro Stefan Asbury in a program of Hindemith (“Symphonic Metamorphosis on Themes of C.M. von Weber”) and Bruckner (Symphony No. 4 ‘Romantic’.) Why go? The Hindemith is a wonderful and luminous piece, full of both depth and ironic wit, and the Bruckner is among the greatest of the Austrian master’s symphonies. The TMC Orchestra, comprised of Tanglewood’s instrumental Fellows, is always a phenomenal ensemble – the youthful, virtuoso performers always perform brilliantly.
Other upcoming Tanglewood events:
• Tanglewood’s annual Family Concert, Saturday, Aug. 23, at 2:30 p.m.: Tanglewood will host this annual event featuring the Boston Cello Quartet, founded at Tanglewood in 2010 by four BSO cellists: Blaise Déjardin, Adam Esbensen, Mihail Jojatu and Alexandre Lecarme. Activities for children, including an instrument playground, will begin at 12:30 pm. Tickets for the Family Concert are free for children aged 17 and under and are $10 for each adult.
• Berkshire Night, Saturday, July 19, 8:30 pm. in the Shed: Free Berkshire Night tickets will be distributed starting on Monday July 14, at 10 a.m. Tickets are distributed at the Tanglewood Main Gate box office on a first come, first served basis. Once the allotment of Shed tickets is gone Tanglewood will distribute lawn tickets. Residents of Berkshire County must show a current driver’s license, utility bill, library card, or other proof of residence in Berkshire County, or in adjoining towns in New York State.
Tickets for all Tanglewood events can be purchased online at tanglewood.org, via SymphonyCharge, 888-266-1200 or 888-266-1200, and at the Tanglewood box office located at the main gate, on West Street in Lenox. For further information call 413-637-1600.
Next week, look for a preview of the five upcoming Concerts at Tannery Pond in New Lebanon and more “Classical Beat” Tanglewook picks. Happy listening!
Stephen Dankner lives in Williamstown. Send your comments to him at sdankner@earthlink.net, or visit his website stephendankner.com.
