The Classical Beat: Tanglewood + Sevenars = Classical Music Heaven
 |
Tanglewood enters its third week, and the highlights are many; indeed, every concert will be memorable. Two beloved masterworks, "Appalachian Spring" and the "New World" Symphony by Aaron Copland and Antonín Dvo?ák, respectively, top this week's listing of stellar performances of great and amazingly diverse musical offerings.
Wait … there's more: a Handel opera in concert, a regional Americana classic by Duke Ellington, Richard Wagner's poignant "Siegfried Idyll" and a sampling of Mozart's mature symphonies and piano concerto masterworks amply demonstrate that at Tanglewood, the spectrum of musical offerings is both broad and deep.
If, for whatever inexplicable reason the bounteous musical fare at Tanglewood isn't enough to pique your interest, there's also the captivating Sevenars Chamber Music Festival, in South Worthington. This week, expect a rich musical palette showcasing stylistic diversity, with a program of classics by Brahms, Norwegian composer Trygve Madsen, Frederic Duvernoy, and the world premiere of "Triptych for Horn Trio" by Los Angeles film composer Max Mueller.
Both venues present outstanding classic and contemporary music performed at magnificent venues in pristine, bucolic settings by marvelous performers. Read below for the details.
Tanglewood: Concerts in the Shed
• Friday, July 21, 8 p.m.: Xian Zhang, in her seventh season as music director of the New Jersey Symphony, makes her BSO conducting debut leading Copland's "Appalachian Spring" — in a rare collaboration, featuring performers from Nimbus Dance (BSO debut) and local youth dancers — and Dvo?ák's perennial favorite "New World" Symphony No. 9 in E Minor.
• Saturday, July 22, 10:30 a.m.: BSO Youth and Family Concerts conductor Thomas Wilkins leads the orchestra in Tanglewood's annual Family Concert; this year's program is entitled "May I Have Your Attention Please?" The program features music by Rimsky-Korsakov, Rossini, Beethoven, Haydn, Jessie Montgomery, Bartók, and Mendelssohn.
• Saturday, July 22, 8 p.m.: Guest conductor David Afkham leads the BSO in Wagner's sensuously beautiful masterwork "Siegfried Idyll," Mozart's magisterial Symphony ("Jupiter") No. 41, and Mozart's towering masterpiece Piano Concerto No. 25 in C, with returning soloist Martin Helmchen.
• Sunday, July 23, 2:30 p.m.: Thomas Wilkins, who also leads the Family Concert (7/22), conducts Coleridge-Taylor's Ballade in A minor, Jeff Midkiff's Mandolin Concerto, ("From the Blue Ridge") — with the composer (in his BSO debut) as soloist — and the suite from Duke Ellington's ballet score "The River." This concert is designated as "Berkshire Day."
Tanglewood: Opera, Discussion and Music in Ozawa Hall
• Thursday, July 20, 6 p.m.: The Philharmonia Baroque, under the direction of conductor/harpsichordist Richard Egarr, in his Tanglewood debut, presents their production of Handel's opera "Acis and Galatea."
• Saturday, July 22, 5 p.m.: Pulitzer Prize-winner Isabel Wilkerson discusses her bestselling non-fiction book "Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents" in a TLI Spotlight Series talk, followed by a book signing.
• Sunday, July 23, 8 p.m.: Xian Zhang and TMC Conducting Fellows lead the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra in music of Strauss, Gabriela Lena Frank (co-curator of the 2023 Festival of Contemporary Music), and Prokofiev.
Tanglewood Learning Institute/Linde Center: Studio E
• Wednesday, July 19, 1:30 p.m.: Open percussion workshop with percussionist Daniel Bauch.
• Thursday, July 20, 1:00 p.m.: A conversation with German guest conductor David Afkham.
For tickets for all Tanglewood/BSO concerts (lawn and Shed seating) and for special events call 617- 266-1200 (TDD/TTY: 617-638-9289) or to go tanglewood.org.
'Tanglewood in the City' Celebrates Music and Community at Pittsfield Common
Designed to appeal to audiences of all ages, the 5th annual "Tanglewood in the City" on July 29 offers family-friendly activities including live performances by local artists, food trucks, and vendors and culminates in a screening of a Boston Symphony Orchestra performance on a large video wall. Mill Town Foundation, Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the city of Pittsfield have partnered on this free, community event since 2019. Pre-concert activities begin at 5 p.m. and the Tanglewood concert screening begins at 7:30.
Live pre-concert activities include performances by Wandering Dance Society, Kids 4 Harmony, Barrington Stage Company's Celebration of Black Voices, and the Eagles Trombone Ensemble. Berkshire Health Systems will provide a complimentary session of "Yoga on the Lawn." Additional vendors, local organizations, and makers will also be on site including food trucks BB's Hot Spot and La Chalupa y La Enchilada, and ice cream from Cravin's.
The screened concert will feature BSO Music Director Andris Nelsons conducting the orchestra in Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4 and Wynton Marsalis' "Herald, Holler, and Hallelujah," with guest soloist the phenomenal Daniil Trifonov performing Prokofiev's exuberant and powerful Piano Concerto No. 3.
Sevenars Music Festival
• Sunday, July 23, 4 p.m.: Sevenars presents the superb MOSSO — Springfield Chamber Players' Horn Trio. Performing artists include violinist Beth Welty, hornist Sarah Sutherland and pianist Elizabeth Skavish. The program will include as the centerpiece Johannes Brahms' masterful Horn Trio, Op. 40, plus the colorful trios of Frederic Duvernoy (1765-1838) and Norwegian composer Trygve Madsen (b. 1940). The Trio will also showcase a commissioned new work for this concert — the premiere of "Triptych for Horn Trio," composed by Max Mueller.
These musicians will bring new, unique, and classic treasures to the magnificent Sevenars venue — this is a program not to be missed!
The Sevenars Academy is located at 15 Ireland St., just off Route 112 in South Worthington. Admission is by donation (suggested $20). Phone: 413-238-5854 (Leave return call phone number). Web: www.sevenars.com. Free refreshments will be available.
Tags: The Classical Beat,
