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Andris Nelsons leads the BSO in a program that includes three works inspired by Shakespeare and honors the 400th anniversary of the Bard's death on Sunday, Aug. 21, at Tanglewood.

As Tanglewood Season Wanes, Music Still Fills the Mountains

By Stephen DanknerSpecial to iBerkshires.com
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During this penultimate week of the Tanglewood Festival, the spotlight will focus on a wide range of both standard and unusual fare in varied genres: from Stravinsky, Mozart and Verdi, to Berlioz, Saint-Saëns, Prokofiev and contemporary composer George Tsontakis (b. 1951).

Come late August, classical aficionados are saddened to acknowledge the waning Tanglewood season – a cornucopia of musical riches presented in an incomparably bucolic setting. Many of those superlative concerts will reside in our collective memory for a long time.

There's no cause, though, for dismay. Looking ahead, these last two months of magnificent music making are but a prelude to the fall array of area classical offerings on the horizon – mostly chamber music - at Tannery Pond, in New Lebanon, N.Y., into September, and at South Mountain Concerts, in Pittsfield, in September and continuing into October. I'll highlight these in advance in my column next week.

For now, here are the particulars for the next several days, including at the Manchester Music Festival in Vt. and upcoming programs at Music Mountain in Connecticut.

 

Tanglewood

• Wednesday, Aug. 17, 8 p.m. in Ozawa Hall: The superlative violinist Gil Shaham will perform Bach's complete Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin in this recital. The six works were completed by Bach in 1720 and are considered among the most challenging and transcendent works for solo violin in the repertoire, showcasing Bach's unparalleled combination of technical intricacy and expressive depth. After more than 30 years of exploring these six canonical works as a professional violinist, Mr. Shaham recently released a CD recording of them on Canary Classics in March 2015.

• Thursday, Aug. 18, 8 p.m. in Ozawa Hall: Charles Dutoit, in collaboration with violinist Chantal Juillet, presents "Charles Dutoit and Friends." The all-Stravinsky program features a staged production of "The Soldier's Tale," directed and narrated by Bill Barclay, with music, text and dancing that presents a story, based on a Russian folktale, of a hapless soldier who strikes a deal with the devil. "The Soldier's Tale" also features Carson Elrod as the Soldier, Nate Dendy as the Devil, and dancer Janelle Barry as the Princess, as well as sets by Cristina Todesco and costumes by Kathleen Doyle. The program opens with Stravinsky's charming faux-Classical parody, the "Octet for Wind Instruments," featuring members of the BSO.

• Friday, August 19, 8 p.m. in the Shed: The venerable Menaham Pressler, longtime pianist of the legendary Beaux Arts Trio—joins maestro Charles Dutoit and the Boston Symphony for Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major, K.488 - a work notable for its intimate, chamber music character and heightened lyricism. Mr. Dutoit—Tanglewood's 2016 season Koussevitzky Artist—opens the program with Mozart's overture to "The Marriage of Figaro." The second half of the program features Rossini's Stabat Mater, the most significant of the composer's post-operatic late works. This performance of the 1841 choral masterpiece features soprano Simona Saturova, mezzo-soprano Marianna Pizzolato, tenor Matthew Polenzani, bass Riccardo Zanellato and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus.

• Saturday, Aug. 20, 8 p.m. in the Shed: BSO Music Director and conductor Andris Nelsons leads the BSO in an opera-in-concert version of the first two acts of Verdi's tale of star-crossed lovers in ancient Egypt, "Aida." Maestro Nelsons and the orchestra are joined by the Tanglewood Festival Chorus and a cast of vocal soloists, including soprano Kristine Opolais in the demanding title role, mezzo-soprano Violeta Urmana as Amneris, tenor Andrea Carè as the male lead, and love interest Radamès, baritone Franco Vassallo as Amonasro, and bass Kwangchul Youn as Ramfis.

• Sunday, Aug. 21, 2:30 p.m. in the Shed: Andris Nelsons leads the BSO in a program that includes three works inspired by Shakespeare and honors the 400th anniversary of the Bard's death. The overture to Berlioz's "Béatrice et Bénédict" (based on Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing") opens the program, followed by American composer George Tsontakis' "Sonnets," a Shakespeare-inspired concerto for English horn and orchestra commissioned by the BSO and featuring BSO English hornist Robert Sheena. Croatian pianist Dejan Lazić joins Mr. Nelsons and the orchestra as soloist in Saint-Saëns' Piano Concerto No. 5 ('Egyptian'). The program concludes with the Suite from Prokofiev's ballet "Romeo and Juliet."

Tickets for all Tanglewood events can be purchased online, 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.

 

Music Mountain

Located in picturesque Falls Village, Conn., on a back country road, about 30 minutes' drive south of Great Barrington, Music Mountain, America's oldest continuing summer chamber music festival, continues its blockbuster 87th Anniversary Season.


• Saturday, Aug. 27, 6:30 p.m.: Gordon Hall welcomes back the young ensemble Cantata Profana with guest artist Jonathan Yates, piano, offering a special program of Ravel, Schubert, and Schoenberg.

• Sunday, Aug. 28, 3 p.m.: The Arianna String Quartet performs, with guest artists Francine Kay, piano and Raman Ramakrishnan, cello. The ensemble will perform works by Beethoven and a premiere by contemporary composer Kevin Puts.

• Upcoming: The brilliant Shanghai String Quartet will present two weekend programs: Saturday, Sept., 3 at 6:30 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 4, at 3 p.m.

Guest artist pianist Gilbert Kalish joins the Quartet for the "Labor Day Benefit Concert and Reception" on Sept. 4. The program will include Beethoven's String Quartet in C Minor, Opus 18, No. 4 and Brahms' Piano Quartet in A Major, Opus 26, with guest artist pianist Gilbert Kalish.

Music Mountain is located in Falls Village, Connecticut on Music Mountain Road, where a short scenic drive will bring you to Gordon Hall atop Music Mountain. Free parking and picnic facilities are available. Food, locally baked cookies and brownies, coffee, tea, lemonade and spring water are available for purchase. The address is 225 Music Mountain Road, Falls Village, Conn.

Chamber Music Concerts are $35 at the door and $30 in advance. Twilight Series Concerts are $30 at the door and $27 in advance. Pre-concert dinners are $70 and include admission to Saturday evening concerts. Children ages 5-18 are admitted free for all concerts when accompanied by a ticket holder. Group rates and pre-season ticket plans are available. Discounts apply through participating organizations. For the concert schedule, special ticket prices, and to download a ticket order form go online or call 860-824-7126.

 

Manchester Music Festival

The always-distinctive Manchester Music Festival will present the two final concerts of their summer festival season.

• Thursday, Aug. 18, 7:30 p.m. at the Southern Vermont Arts Center: Rising stars from the Metropolitan Opera will perform arias, duets and ensemble pieces in MMF's season finale. Featured singers include sopranos Rachelle Durkin, mezzo-soprano Renee Tatum, tenor Kang Wang, and baritone Brandon Cedel. The program will be announced from the stage. The Manchester Community Chorus will also make a special appearance. The concert will be held at Southern Vermont Arts Center, 930 Southern Vermont Arts Center Drive, Manchester Center, Vt.

• Sunday, Aug. 21, 3 p.m. at Stratton Mountain: Join the MMF as participants from their vocal workshop program present a variety of selections. Singers include sopranos Johanna Fincher, Linda Hines and Rachael Marino, and mezzo-soprano Robyn Rocklein. Please note: Ticket prices are $35 for adults and $10 for students. There will be a reception following these performances.

For tickets and complete information, visit the Manchester Music Festival’s website or contact the MMF by phone 802-362-1956.


Tags: classical music,   Tanglewood,   

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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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