The Classical Beat: Late July is High Season for Tanglewood, Sevenars
By late July, the peak of the summer classical music festival high season has arrived, anchored by concerts at Tanglewood in Lenox and at Sevenars Concerts in South Worthington; both festivals offer sure-fire and enticing, yet diverse and innovative contemporary programming. Offerings this week include revelatory chamber and orchestral works, with the focus on the 5-day Tanglewood Festival of Contemporary Music in Ozawa Hall and at the Linde Center Studio E (read below for the details). Boston Symphony performances include classical works by Bach, Mahler. Mendelssohn and Saint-Saens, as well as a major Festival highlight: the not-to-be-missed premiere in the Shed on Saturday, July 26 of a Piano Concerto composed by John Williams for Emanuel Ax and the Boston Symphony, conducted by maestro Andris Nelsons.
TANGLEWOOD FESTIVAL OF CONTEMPORARY MUSIC
Grammy Award-winning composer Gabriela Ortiz curates the Tanglewood's annual five-day Festival of Contemporary Music, from Thursday, July 24-Monday, July28. "She is one of the most vibrant and visionary voices in music today. Her music bridges both tradition and innovation, drawing inspiration from both Mexican folk music and political and social themes." Her works form the core of this summer's Festival, which also includes compositions by other major figures in contemporary Mexican music: Chavez, Ortiz, Lavista, Roldan, and Marquez.
Read on for concert details covering July 25-27:
• Friday, July 25, Shed, at 8:00 p.m.: Maestro Andris Nelsons leads the BSO in a program of Bach (the 'Air' from the Orchestral Suite No. 3,) Mahler (the tragic 'Adagio' from the composer's unfinished Symphony No. 10,) and two works of Mendelssohn – the beloved Violin Concerto, with soloist Maria Duenas, and the concluding overture "Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage."
• Saturday, July 26, Shed, at 8:00 p.m.: In an auspicious premiere, John Williams' Piano Concerto, with soloist Emanuel Ax will receive its performance with the BSO under the baton of Maestro Nelsons. Fittingly, Gustav Mahler's jubilant Symphony No. 1 concludes the program.
• Sunday, July 27, Shed, at 2:30 p.m.: The immensely popular pianist Lang Lang is the soloist in Saint-Saens' Piano Concerto No. 2. The program opens with Gabriela Ortiz' "La Calaca" for string orchestra and concludes with Beethoven's arcadian Symphony No. 6 ('Pastoral.') Andris Nelsons directs the Boston Symphony.
For tickets to all Tanglewood events, call (888) 266-1200, or go online at tanglewood.org.
SEVENARS MUSIC FESTIVAL
• Sunday, July 28, at 4:00 p.m. Sevenars Concerts presents its third program, featuring the Springfield Chamber Players clarinet quintet. Described as "a feast of music," the program includes works by Ralph Vaughan Williams, Alexander Borodin, Paul Chihara, and Bernard Herrmann. The quintet members are Springfield, MA Symphony Orchestra musicians.
Sevenars' performances take place in The Academy, located at 15 Ireland Street just off Rte. 112 at Ireland Street, South Worthington, MA. For information, call 413-238-5854 (please leave a message for return call.) Online: sevenars.org. Admission is by donation at the door (suggested $20.) Refreshments are included.
As always, the place to be for great classical and stimulating new music is right here in our own intimate corner of the world - the Berkshires - a designated "cultural capital," where artistic boundaries are nonexistent.
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