Classical Beat: Concerts Blossom Throughout the Region

By Stephen DankneriBerkshires Staff
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Come August, the summer high season for classical music blossoms, with a glorious profusion of "fiori musicali" throughout the region.

The mind reels with the diversity of it all: opera in concert, concerto and symphony, the ever-popular John Williams' Film Night – all at Tanglewood; a recital for cello and piano of Baroque masterpieces and more at The Clark Art Institute; an all-Beethoven orchestral concert in Manchester, and a spectacular piano recital at Tannery Pond.

Read below for the details.

Tanglewood

• Thursday, July 31, 8 p.m. in Ozawa Hall: The Boston Lyric Opera Orchestra, conducted by David Angus, brings Jack Beeson’s harrowing ‘Lizzie Borden’ to life on the stage in a concert version at Ozawa Hall. This chamber music version of the ‘Grand Guignol’ (dramatic entertainment featuring the gruesome and horrible) opera in seven scenes features singers Heather Johnson (Lizzie), Chelsea Basler (Margaret Borden), Caroline Worra (Abigail Borden), Omar Najmi (Reverend Harrington), David McFerrin (Captain Jason McFarlane) and Daniel Mobbs (Andrew Borden).

Do you recall the notorious children's singsong nursery rhyme about the murders?

Lizzie Borden took an axe
And gave her mother forty whacks.

When she saw what she had done,
She gave her father forty-one.

Why go? Let the singers themselves tell you; in a phone interview, Worra offered some illuminating reasons: "This great opera, commissioned by the New York City Opera and premiered in 1966, is a masterpiece. The music is exciting and powerful. I play the evil stepmother, and try to bring her to life as the villain she was. We all know the ending of this famous tale – a true story – set in Fall River, Massachusetts, in 1892." Mezzo-soprano Heather Johnson, who plays Lizzie, added: "Lizzie's music is crazy, since Lizzie is crazy. Each of the characters in the opera have their unique musical languages, which psychologically connects with the audience viscerally, and that's what makes this story come alive as a powerful and perceptive thriller. Really, it will be an incredible night of theater."

• Friday, Aug. 1, 8:30 p.m. in the Shed: This concert sheds a spotlight on pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, a wonderful performer known for his brilliant, effervescent playing. He’ll be the soloist in the Shostakovich Piano Concerto No. 1, which also features a solo trumpet, here performed by the BSO’s Principal Trumpet, Thomas Rolfs. Also on the program is Tchaikovsky’s graceful Serenade for Strings and Schumann’s masterful Symphony No. 4. The BSO will be led by Marcelo Lehninger. Why go? The Serenade is simply gorgeous and is masterfully written to bring out the lush sonorities of the string orchestra (all 60+ in the BSO). And the Schumann Fourth is a glorious symphony, with each movement eliding into the next, culminating in a thrilling conclusion.

• Saturday, Aug. 2, 8:30 p.m. in the Shed: Film Night, led by maestro John Williams, and featuring the Boston Pops Orchestra, the Boston University Tanglewood Institute (BUTI) Young Artists Chorus and the Boston Children’s Chorus will be the occasion for a broad selection of music composed for the movies by Mr. Williams and others. Why go? Film Night is a beloved Tanglewood tradition, and is always a highlight of the summer festival season. Expect an awe-inspiring, memorable evening.

• Sunday, Aug. 3, 2:30 p.m. in the Shed: Conductor Juanjo Meno leads the BSO in a program of Mozart (Violin Concerto No. 4 in D Major, with violinist Augustin Hadelich), Haydn (Symphony No. 6, ‘Le Matin’) and Beethoven (Symphony No. 2). Why go?  This is a concert of brilliant, classical music, with a focus on exuberant melodies and sparkling textures. Augustin Hadelich is a wonderful violinist who possesses a sweet tone and an elegant, pure sound – perfect for Mozart. This program will serve as a perfectly charming and lively musical serenade on a mid-summer afternoon.

• Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2:30 – 8:30 p.m.: Tanglewood on Parade: This is one of the ne plus ultra, not-to-be-missed events of the summer. The gala event features all the Tanglewood ensembles: the BSO, Boston Pops, TMC Orchestra and more. Featured conductors include Stephane Deneve, Keith Lockhart, Leonard Slatkin and John Williams - the music to include George Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess: A Symphonic Picture," arranged by Robert Russell Bennett, and, of course, Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture." Fireworks will follow at the conclusion of the concert. Don't miss the great mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe’s TMC audience participation event, "The Great American Songbook" sing-along, 5 p.m. in Ozawa Hall; it's part of the Tanglewood on Parade festivities. The events for the day begin at 2:30 p.m.

Tickets for all Tanglewood events can be purchased at tanglewood.org, via SymphonyCharge at 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.

'Masters of the Baroque' at The Clark

• Sunday, Aug. 3, 4  p.m. at The Clark Art Institute: This is a program designed to celebrate the rich diversity of Baroque music: the complexity of the intellectual northern Baroque and its counterpart, the more outgoing Mediterranean. Celebrated cellist Yehuda Hanani performs one of the incomparable unaccompanied Bach suites, displaying the composer's depth, boldness and innovation and virtuoso pianist Lydia Artimiw dazzles with Scarlatti miniature keyboard gems. The two join in performances of Vivaldi and Boccherini sonatas, and in a new composition in neo-Baroque style by Williamstown composer and your iberkshires.com “Classical Beat” writer Stephen Dankner, commissioned especially for this duo-recital.

Why go? Cellist Yehuda Hanani is a passionate advocate of both the classics and new music. In this recital, he requested that I compose a brief piece to, in effect, “comment” on the Baroque repertoire that he and the brilliant collaborative pianist Lydia Artymiw will perform – works by Bach, Vivaldi, Scarlatti and Boccherini. It was a pleasure to do so, knowing that my music will be in the doubly exalted company of these composers and the two master musicians who will perform it.

In a telephone interview, Yehuda Hanani had these thoughts about the works on the program: “The Bach Organ Toccata in C Major, arranged for piano and cello shows the composer in his spiritual/religious mode; the music is deep and uplifting. The Vivaldi Sonata No. 5 in E Minor is a picture of Venice, with images of that great city. To me, he is the Canaletto of music. And when I think of Bach’s C Major solo cello Suite, I imagine – this is how angels dance in heaven. The Boccherini E Major Sonata is music for royalty. I imagine hearing it in an 18th century palace. It’s music that is brilliantly “architectural.” And the Dankner work “…come un’aria lontana…” (like a melody as heard from a distance) is a beautiful three-part expressive arch. It has the feeling of a sarabande (a slow Baroque-era Spanish-inspired dance in ¾ time).”

Hanani continued his thoughts regarding what he hopes the audience will take away from the listening experience:

“When I think of the Baroque era in music (c.1600-1750) I think of the directionality people had; there was order and faith that supported them. Why do we conjure up the Baroque, which is so distant from our own time? Because, I think, we like to escape; there was – and it’s reflected so well in the music – a sense of inner harmony. While the music lasts, at least, everything is holding; there are universal rules that give structure to everything, as opposed to the world we live in today.”

This will be the first concert in The Clark’s commodious auditorium since its re-opening on July 4. If you haven’t yet seen the new Clark, this concert will be a great reason to visit. My reaction to the new Clark is that it’s astoundingly beautiful. I can sum it up in one word: ‘serene.’ And the music will only add to your sense of serenity.

Manchester Music Festival

•  Thursday, July 31, 7:30 p.m.: The Manchester Music Festival presents “Master and Commander – Ludwig van Beethoven!!” The Manchester Festival Orchestra, conducted by Ariel Rudiakov, presents an all-Beethoven program, with special guest pianist Michael Brown. Why go?  The perennially popular music of Beethoven is the reason; the repertoire for this concert was not available at press time.

• Saturday, Aug. 2, 3 p.m.:  The MMF presents a special pops concert for families and children of all ages with a broad array of entertaining music and dance, including highlights from the Harry Potter films. The concert will be followed by a “meet and greet” with the musicians and their instruments in an “instrument petting zoo” in the lobby, and a tap dance lesson with Devin Johnson on the Arkell stage.

The performance venue for “Master and Commander – Ludwig van Beethoven!!” is located at the Arkell Pavilion, Southern Vermont Arts Center, Manchester VT. To purchase tickets and for complete information about the Manchester Music Festival, go online at mmfvt.org, or call 802-362-1956.

Music at Tannery Pond

• Saturday, Aug. 2, 8 p.m.: Tannery Pond presents the stellar young pianist Gleb Ivanov performing two Schubert sonatas (Sonata in A Major, Op. 120 and Sonata in A Minor, D. 784), the two Rhapsodies of Brahms, Ravel’s “Jeux d’eau” and “Pavane pour une infante defunte” and “Paraphrase on the Waltzes from ‘Die Fledermaus,’” arranged by Albert Grünfeld. Why go?  This is an absolutely stunning program, filled with lyrical and pensive music, brilliant display pieces and a concluding confection. In short, it has everything you’d want to hear in a solo piano recital. Don’t miss this one.

Tickets are $30 and $39. Reservations are recommended. Call 888-820-1696 or for more information go online at tannerypondconcerts.org. Tannery Pond is located on the grounds of Mount Lebanon Shaker Village and Darrow School, New Lebanon, New York, one and a half miles east of the town center on Route 20.


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Ghost Tour at Ventfort Hall

LENOX, Mass. — Join Robert Oakes, author of "Ghosts of the Berkshires," who will lead participants through the rooms and halls of Ventfort Hall sharing tales of its alleged hauntings.
 
The tour will take place at 8 pm on Saturday March 16.
 
Admission is $30 and minimum age to attend is age 12. Reservations are strongly recommended as tickets are limited. Walk-ins accommodated as space allows. For reservations visit https://gildedage.org/pages/calendar or call at 413-637-3206. All tickets are non-refundable and non-exchangeable. Payment is required to make a reservation for an event.
 
This is not an active investigation.
 
Robert Oakes is an author, teacher, storyteller, and singer/songwriter originally from northern New Jersey and currently residing in the Berkshires.. Since 2010 Robert has led the ghost tours at Edith Wharton's The Mount in Lenox, and has represented the museum and its ghosts on Syfy's Ghost Hunters, Jeff Belanger's New England Legends series on PBS, and The Apple Seed show on BYUradio. 
 
In 2020, Robert's debut book, "Ghosts of the Berkshires," was published by Arcadia Publishing and is on sale now in our gift shop. Robert's latest book, "Ghosts of Northwestern New Jersey," was released in September 2022.
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