The Classical Beat: Tanglewood Taconic Music, Sevenars = Music HEaven

Taconic Music's Young Artists 2026 (provided photo)

Tanglewood enters its second week, and the highlights are noteworthy; indeed, each program will be memorable. Featured concerts this week include the celebrated Italian/German violinist Augustin Hadelich presenting a solo recital in Ozawa Hall including Brahms and Prokofiev; the Boston Symphony will perform Brahms' Second Symphony and Chopin's Second Piano Concerto featuring piano soloist Eric Lu - the Orchestra directed by conductor Fabio Luisi; Monday evening in Ozawa Hall, TMC conducting Fellows and Maestro Andris Nelsons will lead the Tanglewood Center Music Orchestra in a classic program of Haydn, Beethoven and Brahms. Read below for a full listing.

Consider the captivating Sevenars Music Festival, in South Worthington, MA. This Sunday afternoon, the Sevenars Music Festival's 58th anniversary season will begin, offering masterpieces for piano solo, piano duo, voice, and violin. Guest artists will be celebrated pianist/composer Clifton J. ("Jerry") Noble, baritone John Henry Thomas, and violinist Alexis Walls, joining Sevenars family members Rorianne Schrade, Lynelle James, and Christopher James. 

This week also marks the final slate of three concerts presented by the uniquely inspiring Taconic Music Festival, based in Manchester, VT. Co-founders Ariel Rudiakov and Joana Genova present their outstanding festival-resident mentor/performers and young artists in concerts on July 8, 11 and 13.

All three venues present wonderful and diverse music performed at vastly different and magnificent venues featuring outstanding performers.                                                                                                                                    

Tanglewood

Here is a listing of this week's Tanglewood programs – four major concerts, including repertoire, from July 9 through Tuesday, July 13:

Thursday, July 9, 8:00 p.m., Ozawa Hall: The sublimely lyrical violinist Augustin Hadelich, accompanied by pianist Seong-Jin Cho will perform a wide-ranging program of works for violin and piano by Brahms, Janacek, Amy Beach and Prokofiev.

Friday, July 11, 8:00 p.m., Shed: Conductor Andris Nelsons leads the BSO in a program of Mozart (Piano Concerto No. 25, in C Major K. 503 with Emanuel Ax, soloist) and Mahler (Symphony No. 4, with Erin Morley, soprano.)

Sunday, July 12, 2:30 p.m., Shed: BSO Guest Conductor Fabio Luisi directs the BSO in a program of Sofia Jani ( “What do flowers do at night”,) Chopin (Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor) and Brahms (Symphony No. 2.)

Monday, July 13, 8:00 p.m., Ozawa Hall: BSO Maestro Andris Nelsons and TMC conducting Fellows lead the TMC Orchestra in a program of Haydn (Symphony No. 31,) Brahms (‘Variations on a Theme of Haydn',) and Beethoven ( the ‘Egmont' Overture and 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

Sunday, July 12, 4:00 p.m., the Academy, South Worthington, MA:

The opening concert of Sevenars Music Festival's 58th anniversary season, in tribute to America's 250th anniversary, the program will include sets of “‘Yankee Doodle' Variations” by Mario Braggiotti and Dave Brubeck, and works by George Gershwin, Aaron Copland, Paul Schoenfield, Scott Joplin, Eubie Blake, and William Bolcom, plus songs by Rolande Young Schrade (co-founder of Sevenars) and a Fats Waller arrangement by composer Jerry Noble. A new young member of Sevenars fourth generation will be taking part as well, adding to the fun! Refreshments will be served. 

The historic Sevenars  Academy building is located at 15 Ireland Street, just off Route 112 at Ireland Street, South Worthington, MA. For more information call (413) 238-5854 (please leave a message for a return call) or visit online at sevenars.com.

Taconic Music Festival

Concluding their month-long summer festival season, Taconic Music Festival, celebrating its 10th year, this week presents three programs of great music. Here are the concluding concert events on Taconic's Manchester, VT.'s-based series:

• July 8: Young Artists at Indigo+Green, Danby, VT. 7:30 - 9:00.

Taconic Music's Young Artists perform works by Debussy, Shostakovich, and Mendelssohn in an intimate setting in the heart of Danby village.

• July 11: "Vibrant Masterpieces," Riley Center for the Arts at Burr and Burton Academy.

The Indianapolis Quartet plus Zachary DePue and Joana Genova, violins; Michael Strauss, viola; Egor Antonenko, cello, Heather Braun and Rose Drucker, violins; Ariel Rudiakov, viola; Tom Landschoot, cello; Young Woong Cho, piano. The program to include:

• Franz Joseph Haydn: Piano Trio No. 39 in G Major "Gypsy"
• Erwin Schulhoff: Five Pieces for String Quartet
• Felix Mendelssohn: String Octet in E Flat Major, Op. 20

General Admission: Adults $30; students/kids free.

• July 13: Young Artists Concert II: Schumann, Debussy, Shostakovich and Mendelssohn, Riley Center for the Arts at Burr and Burton Academy, 143 Seminary Avenue, Manchester, VT. 7:00-8:30 p.m. The program to include:
  • Robert Schumann: Piano Quartet in E-flat Major, op. 47  
  • Claude Debussy: String Quartet in G Minor, op. 10
  • Dmitri Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 3 in F Major, op. 73 
  • Felix Mendelssohn: String Quintet No. 2 in B-flat Major, op. 87

For information, including tickets, and Taconic Music's year-round programs, call (802) 362-7162 or visit online at taconicmusic.org. Reservations are recommended.

The Classical Beat: Spectacular Music and Celebrations at Tanglewood, Sevenars

By Stephen DanknerSpecial to iBerkshires
01:00PM / Thursday, July 30, 2026

With the arrival of August, we are at the midpoint – the emerging height of the classical music festival season. Programs at Tanglewood this week offer an enthralling and diverse mix of orchestral works by Beethoven, Schumann, Wagner, Sibelius, Debussy, Ravel, Bartok and Stravinsky performed by the Boston Symphony, the Tanglewood Music Festival Orchestra and, for the delight of chamber music lovers, the Danish String Quartet playing late Beethoven. The week's other prominent highlights includes Maestro Nelsons leading the BSO in a concert version of  Mozart's iconic comic opera "The Marriage of Figaro." Also scheduled: Yo-Yo Ma's curated concerts, conversations and events under the rubric "We The People," and the activities that comprise the all-day 'Tanglewood on Parade' celebration, always a Tanglewood patron favorite. Read below for more detailed information about these and other performances and related celebratory activities, covering the week of July 30-Aug. 4.

Tanglewood

• Thursday, July 30, 8:00 p.m., Ozawa Hall: The polished Danish String Quartet performs Stravinsky's "Suite italienne," Beethoven's String Quartet No. 16 in F, Op. 135 and a medley of arrangements of Danish folksongs.

• Friday, July 31. 8:00 p.m., in the Shed: Maestro Esa-Pekka Salonen leads the BSO in a compelling program of Wagner (the 'Prelude and Liebestod' from "Tristan und Isolde"); Sibelius (Symphony No. 7) and Beethoven (the magisterial Piano Concerto No. 5) with Yefim Bronfman the stupendous soloist.

• Saturday, Aug. 1, 8:00 p.m. in the Shed: Mozart's uproarious comic operatic masterpiece, "The Marriage of Figaro" is performed in concert with English supertitles by a stellar cast of TMC Vocal Fellows - the Boston Symphony led by Andris Nelsons. The production is directed by James Darrah Black.

Tanglewood on Parade Events - Tuesday Aug. 4

The gates open with a fanfare, followed by events during the afternoon and into the evening; each celebrate Tanglewood's ensembles and performers, including Yo-Yo Ma, Keith Lockhart, Samy Rachid and The Boston Pops, the Tanglewood Festival Orchestra and the Boston Symphony. "Making Music In Community" is the over-arching theme. Visit Tanglewood's website for full program and personnel information, specific events, repertoire and locations. Events throughout the day will occur in Ozawa Hall, the Shed and in the Linde Center. The festivities conclude with the traditional performance of Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture" by The Pops, accompanied by spectacular fireworks lighting up the Berkshire skies.

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

Pianist Paul-Andre? Bempe?chat in All-Beethoven Program at Sevenars

Founded in 1968, Sevenars Concerts, Inc. is presenting its 58th anniversary season of six summer concerts, held at the Academy in the historic village of South Worthington, MA, located at 15 Ireland Street, just off MA Route 112.

• Sunday, Aug. 2, 4:00 p.m.: Pianist Paul-André Bempechat will present a solo recital. Renowned for his interpretations of the First Viennese School, Brahms, Schumann, and Chopin - Bempechat - a French-Canadian - is a disciple of the artistic legacies of the Manhattan School of Music and the Juilliard School. Decorated as Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture, he has toured widely throughout Europe.

He will perform four of Beethoven's Sonatas - Op. 22, Op. 27 No 2 ('Moonlight'), Op. 90 and Op. 57 ('Appassionata'.} Currently recording all 32 Beethoven sonatas, Mr. Bempéchat offers the Sevenars audience the thrill of hearing these four stunning masterworks.   

The Sevenars Academy is located at 15 Ireland Street, just off Rt. 112 in South Worthington, Ma. Concerts are presented on six consecutive Sundays at 4:00 p.m., through August 16. Phone: (413) 238-5854 (please leave a message for a return call). Visit online at: www.sevenars.org. Admission is by donation at the door (suggested $20). Refreshments will be available at no cost.