As Tanglewood enters its third week, the concerts will be awesome. If you're a pianophile and love concertos for your favorite instrument, masterworks by Ravel and Shostakovich are scheduled. In the third Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra  program of the season, BSO Maestro Andris Nelsons conducts two brilliant and virtuosic tone poems by Richard Strauss, "Don Juan" and "Tyll Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks." TMC Conducting Fellows Julian Gilewski and Lauren Smith lead Beethoven's 'Leonore' Overture No. 3 and Hindemith's "Konzertmusik" for strings and brass. Samuel Barber's masterful Violin Concerto will also be a welcome addition. Such diverse repertoire amply demonstrates that at Tanglewood, the stylistic diversity of musical offerings is both wide and deep.

Added to these delights, there's also the inviting Sevenars Music Festival in South Worthington, MA. This week, Sevenars welcomes the prizewinning Mada-Hugh piano duo in a tribute to America's 250th birthday, showcasing works by Samuel Barber, Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, George Gershwin, Jennifer Higdon, Vincent Persichetti, Florence Price and others - including the pianists' own arrangements. 

Both venues present outstanding classic and contemporary music performed at magnificent venues in pristine, bucolic settings by marvelous performers. "Who Could Ask for Anything More?" Read below for the details.

Tanglewood

Friday, July 17, 8:00 p.m. in the Shed: BSO Music Director Andris Nelsons leads the Orchestra in a fascinating program of instrumental and vocal virtuosity. A recent work by Composer-in-Residence Carlos Simon, "Meditations on Grace," will open the program. Violinist Keila Wakao is the soloist in Samuel Barber's lovely and highly virtuosic Violin Concerto, with its thrilling "perpetual motion" finale. Stellar operatic soloists Renée Fleming and Thomas Hampson will sing selections from composer John Adams' 1987 landmark opera "Nixon in China."

Saturday, July 18, 8:00 p.m. in the Shed: Japanese composer/conductor  Mamoru Fujisawa, known professionally as Joe Hisaishi leads the Boston Symphony in three of his works, and also the scintillating Piano Concerto in G by Maurice Ravel, with Jean-Yves Thibaudet the spectacular soloist.

Sunday, July 19, 2:30 p.m. in the Shed: Maestro Nelsons returns to the Shed's podium to direct the BSO in a program of Haydn (Symphony No. 22 'The Philosopher',) Shostakovich (Piano Concerto No. 1) with the stunning virtuoso pianist Danill Trifonov and accompanied by BSO Principal Trumpet Thomas Rolfe. Beethoven's Symphony No. 2 concludes the program.

Monday, July 20, 2:30 p.m. in Ozawa Hall: The Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, led by TMC Conducting Fellows, and Maestro Nelsons, is featured in Richard Strauss' virtuosic symphonic poems "Don Juan" and "Tyll Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks." Beethoven's "Overture to 'Leonore' No. 3" and Paul Hindemith's "Konzertmusik" for strings and brass complete the program.

Sevenars Music Festival

Sunday, July 19, 4:00 p.m.: The Mada & Hugh Piano Duo, comprised of Romanian-born pianist M?d?lina-Claudia D?nil? and Korean-American pianist Hugh Sung, stands at the forefront of innovative 4-hand piano performances.

Together, M?d?lina Claudia D?nil?  and Hugh Sung offer a unique command of classical mastery, which they joyously bring to their performances. Their repertoire spans the ages, from timeless classics to their own dazzling arrangements of popular tunes, all the while thrilling audiences with their exceptional artistry and creativity.

The Sevenars Academy is located at 15 Ireland Street, just off Route 112 in the historic village of South Worthington, MA. Admission is by donation (suggested $20.) Phone: (413) 238-5854). Online: www.sevenars.com. Refreshments will be available at no charge.