Tanglewood to Unveil Leonard Bernstein Sculpture
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LENOX, Mass. — New England-based artist Penelope Jencks’s new sculpture of Leonard Bernstein will be unveiled at a ceremony at Highwood manor house on the Tanglewood grounds on Monday, July 28, at 3 p.m.
The new sculpture honors the legendary Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) — composer, conductor, author, lecturer, and pianist — who led the Boston Symphony and Tanglewood Music Center orchestras in some of the most memorable performances in the history of the festival. Bernstein also played a highly influential pedagogical role at the Tanglewood Music Center, the BSO’s prestigious summer music academy, where he worked with Tanglewood founder Serge Koussevitzky (BSO music director 1925-1949) as a Conducting Fellow in the first TMC class in 1940.
The Leonard Bernstein sculpture is the second in a series of sculptures planned for permanent display throughout the Tanglewood grounds and depicting the festival’s most iconic music figures. In summer 2011, Ms. Jencks’s bust of composer Aaron Copland — located in the formal gardens behind the Tappan Manor House — was the first of its kind to be given a permanent spot on the grounds in the 75-year history of the festival. This series of sculptures has been made possible through a generous gift by Boston Pops Laureate Conductor and Tanglewood Artist in Residence John Williams.
"Tanglewood has always been, and will continue to be, the spiritual home of Leonard Bernstein,” said John Williams. “It therefore seems fitting, and is a particular joy to me, to welcome a brilliant bronze portrait of Mr. Bernstein by sculptress Penelope Jencks to the Tanglewood campus. Ms. Jencks also recently contributed a portrait of Aaron Copland to the Tanglewood grounds, which is enjoyed by countless visitors. And I believe that her new work will immeasurably add to the experience of visiting Tanglewood, and will constitute a lasting tribute to one of our country's greatest musicians."
The Leonard Bernstein sculpture will be placed in the entry way of the Highwood manor house, located between the Koussevitzky Music Shed and Ozawa Hall, where there is a courtyard named after Bernstein in honor of his close relationship with the Tanglewood Music Center — first as a Fellow in 1940, then as a teacher and conductor leading the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra in many powerfully memorable performances.
The unveiling festivities on July 28 will begin with a short musical program by special guest artists and members of the BSO in the Ozawa Hall at 3 p.m., followed by the unveiling and reception at Highwood. The all-Bernstein musical program will feature mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe, with pianist Alan Smith, in “My New Friends” from The Madwoman of Central Park, “Dream with Me” from Peter Pan, and “In Our Time”; BSO Associate Principal Clarinetist Thomas Martin and pianist Vytas Baksys performing the second movement of Bernstein’s Clarinet Sonata; and BSO Acting Assistant Concertmaster Julianne Lee and Mr. Baksys in a special instrumental arrangement by Eric Stern of “Glitter and Be Gay” from Candide.
