The Classical Beat: Tanglewood, Sevenars Offer Culminating Programs

The Classical Beat: Tanglewood, Sevenars Offer Culminating Programs

During this penultimate week of the Tanglewood Music Festival, the spotlight will focus on a wide range of standard repertoire in both the concerto and symphony genres: Mozart piano concerti, performed by the stellar Knights chamber orchestra, with the masterful soloist Emanuel Ax; Prokofiev's brilliant Violin Concerto No. 1, with the luminous Midori as soloist; and for fans of Tchaikovsky, the lushly lyrical Symphony No. 5. Later in the week, don't miss out on Prokofiev's alternatively lyrical, boisterous, majestic and thrilling Symphony No. 5; Beethoven (the joyous and heartfelt Seventh Symphony) and Schumann (the extraordinary Cello Concerto, performed by the great master Yo-Yo Ma) will certainly be high points for listeners. As always, Tanglewood presents a bouquet of musical riches presented in an incomparably bucolic setting. Many of those superlative concerts will reside in our collective memory for a long time.

Here are five special not-to-be- missed highlights, followed by the full listing and extraordinary range of programming to be found in each of Tanglewood's superb venues — the Shed and Ozawa Hall, and including the Tanglewood Learning Center's special lectures during the six-day period from Wednesday, August 14 through Monday, August 19.

Tanglewood Highlights This Week

• Chamber orchestra "The Knights" with the magnificent pianist Emanuel Ax performing two Mozart piano concertos each evening (August 14 and 15).
• The landmark CGI (computer-generated) film "Jurassic Park" in concert. Screening with the Boston Pops performing John Williams' incredibly brilliant score, conducted by Keith Lockhart (August 17).   
• Two showings of the popular TLI Silent Film project with TMC composers, conductors, and instrumentalists, in collaboration with Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival (August 18).
• BSO Assistant Conductors Samy Rachid and Earl Lee lead two programs featuring some of the most esteemed soloists of our time. Rachid makes his BSO and Tanglewood marks the debut of the phenomenal violinist Midori in Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 1 on a program of Russian masterpieces that includes Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 and Evgeny Svetlanov's "Dawn in the Field" (August 16). 
• Samy Lee conducts the incomparable Yo-Yo Ma in Schumann's Cello Concerto with BSO Composer Chair-designate Carlos Simon's "Fate Now Conquers" and Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 (August 18).

Tanglewood Full Programming Aug. 14-19

Wednesday, August 14

1:30 p.m., Studio E, Linde Center for Music and Learning. TLI Open Workshops: Roberto Díaz, viola.

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Thursday, August 15

1 p.m., Tent Club: TLI Talks and Walks Anthony Fogg, moderator, with violinist Midori

8 p.m., Seiji Ozawa Hall Recital Series: The Knights, Eric Jacobsen, conductor, Emanuel Ax, piano Gabriela ORTIZ La Calaca, for strings. MOZART Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K.466. MOZART Piano Concerto No. 25 in C, K.503.

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Friday, August 16

2:30 p.m., Studio E, Linde Center for Music and Learning. TLI Presents: "Trauma, Memory & Transcendence in Music": Part 1: "Do Not Forget Me" with Mark Ludwig. Terezín Music Foundation director and Fulbright Scholar Mark Ludwig explores loss and remembrance in classical music with a particular focus on Gideon Klein, who Holocaust survivors remember as "our young Leonard Bernstein." Klein's meteoric and inspiring story is complemented by live performances by BSO members. Presented in collaboration with the Terezín Music Foundation.

6 p.m., Seiji Ozawa Hall Prelude Concert. Victor Romanul, violin, Michael Zaretsky, viola, Jonah Ellsworth, cello, Thomas Martin, clarinet, Xak Bjerken, piano. SIBELIUS Duo for Violin and Viola. SMIT Trio for clarinet, viola, and piano. FAURÉ Piano Quartet No. 1 in C minor, Op. 15.

8 p.m., Shed. Boston Symphony Orchestra. Samy Rachid+, conductor. Midori, violin. TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 5  and PROKOFIEV Violin Concerto No. 1 with Midori. SVETLANOV "Dawn in the Field," PROKOFIEV Violin Concerto No. 1, TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 5.

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Saturday, August 17

10:30 a.m. Shed. Boston Symphony Orchestra Open Rehearsal, Sunday program.

1:30 p.m., Seiji Ozawa Hall, BU Tanglewood Institute Young Artists Orchestra.

2:30 p.m., Studio E, Linde Center for Music and Learning. TLI Presents: "Trauma, Memory & Transcendence in Music,"  Part 2: "A Search for Meaning" with Mark Ludwig and Osvaldo Golijov. Terezín Music Foundation director and Fulbright Scholar Mark Ludwig is joined by world-renowned composer Osvaldo Golijov as they discuss Golijov's recent work "Falling Out of Time." Ludwig will also examine composer Viktor Ullmann's quest for meaning within the confines of the Terezín concentration camp through his unique synthesis of classical, jazz, and cabaret music. The program will include art and historic photos, with live performances by BSO members. Presented in collaboration with the Terezín Music Foundation.

5 p.m., Seiji Ozawa Hall. TLI Spotlight Series: David Pogue. Emmy-winning CBS Sunday Morning correspondent, NOVA host, and former New York Times columnist. Pogue is the go-to expert on disruptive tech and science in a fast-changing world. Pogue brings his expansive knowledge, engaging wit, and an occasional song to center stage in a talk about Artificial Intelligence and the future of music.

6 p.m., Studio E, Linde Center for Music and Learning: TMC Fellows Prelude Concert: MOZART String Quintet in G minor, K.516; PIAZZOLLA Three Tangos for Violin and Bass.

8 p.m., Shed: Boston Pops Orchestra. Keith Lockhart, conductor. "Jurassic Park" in Concert - featuring visually stunning imagery and groundbreaking CGI special effects, the action-packed adventure of Jurassic Park pits humanity against prehistoric reptiles in the ultimate battle for survival. Experience it, projected in HD with a full symphony orchestra performing John Williams' iconic score live to picture.

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Sunday, August 18

10 a.m., Seiji Ozawa Hall. TMC Chamber Music/ MOZART String Quintet in D, K.593; Paul KEREKES twain: two movements for chamber orchestra (American premiere; co-commissioned by the Tanglewood Music Center and the Mendelssohn Orchestra Academy.  SCHULHOFF Concertino for flute, viola, and double-bass; BARBER String Quartet in B minor, Op. 11; FARRENC Nonet in E-flat, Op. 38.

10:30 a.m., Studio E, Linde Center for Music and Learning. TLI for Families: Circle Round Rebecca Sheir, host. Be a part of Circle Round history as WBUR's award-winning folktales podcast returns to Tanglewood's Linde Center for Music and Learning for a live recording of three new episodes! Host Rebecca Sheir and composer Eric Shimelonis will be joined by a quintet of Boston Symphony Orchestra musicians plus an all-star cast of actors as they bring these exciting folktales to life. All four Circle Round picture books will be available for purchase; a book signing and meet-and-greet will follow the show.

2:30 p.m., Shed: Boston Symphony Orchestra. Earl Lee, conductor, Yo-Yo Ma, cello. Earl Lee conducts Simon, Schumann, and Beethoven Symphony No. 7 with Yo-Yo Ma. Carlos SIMON: "Fate Now Conquers." SCHUMANN Cello Concerto; BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 7.

6 p.m. and 9 p.m., Studio E, Linde Center for Music and Learning. TLI Presents: Silent Film project with TMC. Composers, Conductors, and Instrumentalists, in collaboration with Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival.

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Monday, August 19

8 p.m., Seiji Ozawa Hall. Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, Hannu Lintu, conductor. TMC Conducting Fellows. Gabriela ORTIZ "Kauyumari." Bernard RANDS "Adieu," SIBELIUS "En saga," Op. 9 and PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 5.

For tickets to all Tanglewood events, call (888) 266-1200, or go online at tanglewood.org.

Sevenars Music Festival                

• Sunday, August 18 at 4:00 p.m.: No Sevenars season would seem complete without the jazz wizardry of pianist Clifton J. "Jerry" Noble, Jr. (piano, guitar, vocals) and bassist Kara Noble (bass, guitar, vocals). This year on August 18 they return as part of the Sparky Quartet,  honoring the legacy of jazz master and clarinetist Bob Sparkman. Completing the quartet are the inimitable Chris Devine (violin, flute, guitar, etc.) and percussionist extraordinaire John Van Eps (drums, vibraphone, producer, etc.).  Clifton J. "Jerry" Noble, Jr.  is admired as composer and pianist throughout the United States and internationally, both as a classical artist and in jazz improvisation. He has enchanted Sevenars audiences for two decades with his jazz stylings — first with clarinet legend Bob Sparkman, and then joined in a trio with his musical dynamo wife Kara Noble on bass guitar. In 2023, to honor the late Bob Sparkman, the Noble duo joined forces with Chris Devine, who plays in a multitude of styles and instruments (and whose bio includes collaborating with Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple), and  John Van Eps, multifaceted marimbist, composer, and producer (whose credits include producing remixes of Robert Lamm of Chicago). These four musicians brought the house down in 2023, and you won't want to miss this season's final program, which includes some riffing on Bach to bridge classical and jazz.

Founded in 1968, Sevenars Concerts Inc., is celebrating its 56th season of six summer concerts, held at the Academy, a building designated "an acoustic gem in an idyllic setting," located in the historic village of South Worthington, 15 Ireland St., off MA Route 112.

Sevenars contact information: Phone: 413-238-5854 (please leave a message for a return call). Online: www.sevenars.org. Email: Sevenars@aol.com. Admission is by donation at the door (suggested $20). Refreshments will be available.

The Classical Beat: Tanglewood and Sevenars Showcase Stunning Diversity

02:46PM / Wednesday, August 12, 2026

The Sparky Quintet plays at Sevenars.

LENOX, Mass. — This week, as Tanglewood embarks upon its bold mid-August schedule of events, the diversity of programming maximizes themed exploratory expression – from solo piano remembrances of personal loss to massed strings recounting the heroism of historic aviator Amelia Earhart; from concert classics by Beethoven (the "apotheosis of the dance" Seventh Symphony) and Aaron Copland's "Appalachian Spring" choreographed by Martha Graham and performed by the BSO - the entire program danced by her eponymous Dance Company, to a career-celebration/tribute to John Williams with live orchestra (the Boston Pops conducted by Keith Lockhart) performing a broad selection of excerpted film clips/scenes composed by maestro Williams, to the Tanglewood Music Center Festival Orchestra, conducted by Marin Alsop performing Gustav Mahler's emotionally overpowering Symphony No. 5…all this and much more is in store for eager audiences this week, from August 12-18. Read below for the details of five of these concert highlights.

• Wednesday, August 12, 8:00 p.m., Studio E, Linde Center: Pianist Adam Tendler, in a themed program entitled "Inheritances" transforms personal loss into luminous art with a collection of 16 commissioned solo piano works. The pianist invited composers Laurie Anderson, Devonté Hynes, Nico Muhly and Missy Mazzoli to create pieces in dialogue with his own reflections.
• Thursday, August 13, 8:00 p.m. in Ozawa Hall: Composer/vocalist/violinist and electronics performer Laurie Anderson performs "Amelia" – a work celebrating aviator America Earhart, scored  for string orchestra, with text from the pilot's log from her final trip around the world. Strings from the Boston Symphony and guest artist Martha Mooke will be conducted by Dennis Russel Davies. 
• Friday, August 14, 8:00 p.m. in the Shed: Conductor Anna Handler leads the Boston Symphony in a program with dance, featuring the Martha Graham Dance Company, Janet Eilber, Artistic Director. Featured works include the glorious Martha Graham-commissioned Aaron Copland score "Appalachian Spring," Beethoven's Symphony No. 7, and Christopher Rountree's "For Martha – Variations on a Theme of Leonard Bernstein."
• Saturday, August 15, 8:00 p.m. in the Shed: Conductor/Music Director Keith Lockhart conducts the Boston Pops in "A Tribute to John Williams – Maestro of the Movies." The Pops celebrates maestro Williams in an ultimate aural feast of his film scoring career, with more than 50 minutes of specially-edited scenes and film clips taken from John Williams' best-loved films, projected in HD and synchronized to his spectacular music.
• Sunday, August 16, 2:30 p.m. in the Shed: Conductor Marin Alsop leads the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra in a program of composers Anna Clyne ("Masquerade,") Max Bruch (Violin Concerto No. 1,) with featured soloist Ray Chen, and Mahler (Symphony No. 5.)

For tickets for all Tanglewood/BSO concerts (lawn and Shed seating) and for special events call (617) 266-1200 or (413) 637-5180; online: tanglewood.org or customerservice@bso.org. In Lenox, visit the Tanglewood box office at the Main Gate located at 297 West Street.

Sevenars Music Festival

Founded in 1968, Sevenars Concerts, Inc., is celebrating its 58th season of six summer concerts, held at the Academy - now air-conditioned – a building designated "an acoustic gem in an idyllic setting," located in the  historic village of South Worthington,15 Ireland Street, off MA Route 112.

• Sunday, August 16, 4:00 p.m.: For a totally fun season Sevenars Music Festival season closer, head to the country – specifically South Worthington, MA., for a great time with Sevenars' longtime friends: The Sparky Quintet:, consisting of piano, voice, guitar, violin, flute and percussion.?

Now in its fourth season at Sevenars, the inimitable Sparky Quartet - now expanded to a Quintet! - formed in tribute to late master clarinetist Bob Sparkman – has deep roots at Sevenars, beginning with Bob's collaborations with treasured pianist and composer Clifton J. "Jerry" Noble, Jr. ("Bob and Jerry"), later joined by the wonderfully versatile Kara Noble for bass and vocals. In 2023, after Bob departed this world, they added the inimitable Chris Devine on violin and flute and the extraordinary Jon Van Eps on percussion and thus became officially the Sparky Quartet. This year, guitarist Bob Ferrier joins to make it the Sparky Quintet, so please come and enjoy this newly expanded ensemble! Their playing, banter, and camaraderie are amazing and are always a big hit - so come enjoy the magic!

Sevenars concerts are presented on consecutive Sundays at 4:00 p.m. until August 16. Phone: (413) 238-5854 (please leave a message for a return call). Online: www.sevenars.org. Admission is by donation at the door (suggested $20). Refreshments will be available at no charge.