The Classical Beat: Tanglewood, Sevenars Proffer Classical Glories

Mada-Hugh Piano Duo At Sevenars

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.

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.