The Classical Beat: Tanglewood Concludes, South Mountain Up Next

Tanglewood brings to a close its magnificently curated, presented and performed 2025 classical music summer festival season on Sunday, Aug. 24 with the Boston Symphony performing Beethoven's immortal Symphony No. 9 ('Choral')  in the Shed. Prior to that, there will be a celebration of the Boston Pops' maestro Keith Lockhart, who has attained a remarkable 30 years with the beloved orchestra; Francis Poulenc's incandescent choral masterwork "Gloria," performed by the BSO and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, will be paired with Gustav Holst's resplendent multi-movement tone poem, "The Planets." Following these spectacular performances, and with the culminating "Ninth," the classical season ends. Read on for the details, including the following, end-of-season Popular Artists appearances in the Shed.

• Friday, Aug. 22, 8:00 p.m.: in the Shed: The Keith Lockhart 30th Anniversary Concert, which brings special guests Lynn Ahrens, Jason Danieley, Ben Folds, Mandy Gonzalez, Bernadette Peters, Ryan Miller, John Pizzarelli, Brian Stokes Mitchell, and Time for Three, to celebrate the unforgettable moments Keith has brought to the orchestra and the community since 1995. Video tributes and archival film, interspersed during the concert, promise a memorable night of music making with Keith and his guests.
• Saturday, Aug. 23, 8:00 p.m. in the Shed: Maestro Kazuki Yamada, Music Director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, leads a program of Gustav Holst's iconic suite, "The Planets." The program opens with Poulenc's emotionally moving "Gloria," with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus and soprano soloist Raquel Gonza?lez in her BSO debut.
• Sunday, Aug. 24, 2:30 in the Shed: For the BSO's final performance of the season, esteemed conductor and 1958 TMC alumnus Zubin Mehta makes his BSO debut and returns to the Shed for the first time since 2001 to conduct Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with soloists Federica Lombardi, Isabel Signoret, Pene Pati, and Ryan Speedo Green and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus. The Symphony is paired with the world premiere of "Words and Prayers of My Fathers," a BSO commission for choir composed by Composer Chair Carlos Simon, conducted by James Burton.

Popular Artists in the Shed

• Thursday, Aug. 28, 8:00 in the Shed: "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!," NPR's popular news quiz program, returns live with host Peter Sagal, judge-scorekeeper Bill Kurtis, and award-winning actor Paul Giamatti as celebrity guest. Nominated for an Academy Award in 2023 for his lead role in "The Holdovers," Giamatti can currently be seen in Season 7 of Netflix's "Black Mirror" and will star opposite Julianne Moore in the forthcoming feature film "No One Cares."
• Saturday, Aug. 30, 7:00 p.m. in the Shed: Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band behind "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Free Bird," makes its Tanglewood debut. With a catalog of over 60 albums, billions of streams, tens of millions of records sold, and the introduction of Hell House whiskey, Lynyrd Skynyrd remains a cultural icon that appeals to all generations.
• Sunday, Aug. 31, 7:00 p.m. in the Shed: Thirteen-time GRAMMY winner Bonnie Raitt returns to close the summer season. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000, Raitt was also named one of Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and "100 Greatest Singers of All Time."

(Please note that John Legend's concert on Sept. 5 has been canceled due to unforeseen circumstances. Refunds have been issued for tickets purchased through bso.org, tanglewood.org and the Box Office.)

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

Summer's end doesn't imply classical music will be absent in the Berkshires; far from it. A long-lived, major "player" in the area, South Mountain Concerts starts up soon after Labor Day with top-drawer chamber music in Pittsfield.

South Mountain Concerts presents five chamber music programs

Founded in 1918, South Mountain Concerts presents some of the world's leading chamber music ensembles and soloists during the fall in its beautiful, classically designed and purpose-built concert hall, located at 730 South Street, Pittsfield.

Programs for 2025 South Mountain Chamber Music Concerts  

• Sunday, Sept. 7: Wu Han, piano; David Finckel, cello; Stella Chen, Bella Hristova, violins; Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, viola. Mozart – Duo for violin and viola; Mendelssohn – String Quartet in F Minor, Op. 2; Dvorak – Piano Quintet in A Major, Op. 81.         
• Sunday, Sept. 14: Calidore String Quartet with Matthew Lipman, viola: Haydn – String Quartet, in D Major Op. 76, No. 5; Mozart – String Quintet in C Major, K. 515; Mendelssohn – String Quintet in B-flat Major, Op. 87.          
• Sunday, Sept. 21: Dover String Quartet: Haydn – String Quartet in D Major, Op. 20, No. 4; Dvorak – String Quartet in F Major, Op. 96; Mendelssohn – String Quartet No. 6 in F Minor, Op. 80.
• Sunday, Sept. 28: Escher String Quartet: Mozart – String Quartet in E-flat Major, K. 428; Alexander Zemlinsky – String Quartet No. 4, Op. 25; Dvorak – String Quartet in G Major, Op. 106.
• Sunday, Oct. 5: String Sextet – Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center: Strauss – Sextet for Strings, "Capriccio," Op. 85; Brahms – Sextet in C Major, Op. 36: Dvorak – Sextet in A Major, Op. 48.

To my readers I bid a fond farewell until June, 2026, when I hope to return to preview the musical offerings at Tanglewood, Taconic Music, Sevenars and other venues in the Berkshires and southern Vermont. Keep on listening, and even more important, attend performances. Music only lives when it is performed.

The Classical Beat: Tanglewood, Sevenars Offer Thrilling Music and Performers

By Stephen DanknerSpecial to iBerkshires
11:16AM / Wednesday, August 05, 2026

With the second week of August, Tanglewood continues its high energy and innovative classical programming with three powerhouse concerts in the Shed – with highlights being especially illuminating, spiritual programs curated by Yo-Yo Ma in the Shed and in Ozawa Hall. Read below for all the details and performing artists appearing in these outstanding programs:

• Friday, August 7, 8:00 p.m. in the Shed: The Boston Symphony, led by Samy Rachlid, with Renaud Capucon, violin, Yo-Yo Ma, cello, and the Berkshire Lyric Chorus directed by Jack Brown present a program entitled "Gratitude and Friendship." Featured works by composers Gabriel Fauré ('Cantique de Jean Racine',) Brahms (String Sextet No. 2 in G, Op. 36,) and concluding with Brahms' rarely-performed Double Concerto for violin, cello and orchestra, Op. 102.  
• Saturday, August 8, 8:00 p.m. in the Shed:  This very special concert presents a journey in words and music we all share in our co-mingled American present: the land, both our individual and collective stories, and the ideals that motivate us. Together with the BSO and special guest musicians and artists, this program reflects the triumphs, tragedies and possibilities of our country. Featured performers include conductors Teddy Abrams and Ken-David Masur, vocalists Aofie O'Donovan and Jennifer Kreisberg, and members of  "An American Journey," with Yo-Yo Ma and Friends.
• Sunday, August 9, 2:30 p.m. in the Shed: A program entitled "Our Future Together" presents music by John Tavener, Kayhan Kalhor and Osvaldo Golijov. Featured performers include conductors Samy Rachlid and Anna Handler, cellists Yo-Yo Ma, Karen Ouzounian, and Christine Lee, vocalist Arooj Aftab, Kayhan Kalhor, karmancheh (an ancient traditional bowed Persian stringed instrument,) and the Boston University Tanglewood Chorus.
• Monday, August 10, 8:00 p.m. in Ozawa Hall: The Tanglewood Music Festival Orchestra, featuring TMC Conducting Fellows and TMC Vocalists, presents a program of American Opera, with works composed by Copland ('The Tender Land,') Tania Leon ('Scourge of the Hyacinths,') John Adams ('El Nino,') John Harbison ('The Great Gatsby,') Osvaldo Golijov ('Ainadamar,') Missy Mazzoli ('Proving Up') and Stravinsky ('The Rake's Progress'.)

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

Sevenars presents an electrifying piano virtuoso

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.

Sevenars is delighted to welcome back prizewinning virtuoso Junwen Liang, performing a stunningly varied American program entitled  "Echoes Across Horizons: American Voices in Classical Piano." 

Junwen graduated with a Graduate Performance Diploma from the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, under the tutelage of Richard Goode. See Junwenliangpianist.com for more about this wonderful artist.

He'll bring Sevenars a stunningly varied program, including music of Amy Beach, Florence Price, Tan Dun, Stephen Dankner, and the rare and masterful Sonata by Paul Aurandt, (sometimes described as a musical successor to Rachmaninoff) - along with other surprises! 

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.