MEMBER SIGN IN
Not a member? Become one today!
         iBerkshires     Williamstown Chamber     Williams College     Your Government     Land & Housing Debate
Search
The Classical Beat: Berkshires Classical Music Season to Begin
By Stephen Dankner, iBerkshires Columnist
03:08PM / Wednesday, June 03, 2015
Print | Email  


Tanglewood again offers a diverse menu of musical and other offerings this season from Lady Gaga to 'Ave Maria' to a wine and food festival.

The summer "high season" of classical music is about to begin. After a particularly severe and brutally cold winter, the musical offerings will be balm to both popular music and classical aficionados, who anticipate the cornucopia of music these diverse festivals and series present.

Tanglewood, Tannery Pond and Glimmerglass are three that make the region a cultural capital, drawing tens of thousands to hear great music – chamber, symphony, choral, opera, musical theater, contemporary classical, et al, to experience masterworks within the verdant hills and dales we call home. For this week, here's a capsule preview of Tanglewood, the most comprehensive of summer music festivals in the country. Next week, I'll highlight Tannery Pond for chamber music and the Glimmerglass Festival for opera and musical theater.

Tanglewood – An Unlimited Bounty of Musical Offerings

What makes Tanglewood such a great festival? In a word, it's all about diversity. Whether you enjoy the pristine lawns for BYO picnics, or prefer the proximity to the musicians in the Shed or in Ozawa Hall, Tanglewood, in all its incarnations, is an informal, yet breathtaking place to relax and enjoy music of all kinds in the most bucolic setting imaginable.

The Tanglewood season runs from June 19 through Sept. 5. Traditionally, popular events set the stage, and this year's offerings feature great performers across the popular musical spectrum, with the likes of Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga in a joint concert (6/30); Diana Krall (6/21) and Huey Lewis and the News (6/21). The Boston Pops honor the great musical theater works of Stephen Sondheim on June 20, and Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion" returns to the Shed for its annual live broadcast on June 27.

Ozawa Hall is the place to be for superlative chamber and orchestral performances. Highlights include the Mark Morris Dance Group performing a world premiere on June 25 and 26; the annual string quartet marathon June 29; the Boston Symphony Chamber players July 1; the Cleveland Baroque Orchestra, July 2. Be sure to check the Tanglewood schedule for the full listing of Ozawa performances. Really, every night in this acoustically-magnificent hall is certain to be a special event.

Highlights in the Shed include the Boston Symphony and Boston Pops orchestras, the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra (TMCO), and internationally acclaimed guest artists from the worlds of classical, jazz, Broadway, pop, dance, and film. Unique to the 2015 Tanglewood season will be the celebration of two milestones: the inaugural season of BSO Music Director Andris Nelsons and the 75th anniversary of the Tanglewood Music Center, the BSO's prestigious summer music academy.

Maestro Nelsons leads six Tanglewood performances in his first season as music director (on Aug. 1,2, 4, 8, 14 and 15). Guest artists joining Nelsons and the BSO include pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, violinist Renaud Capuçon, and cellist Gautier Capuçon for Beethoven's Triple Concerto (8/1); cellist Yo-Yo Ma and BSO principal viola Steven Ansell for Strauss' "Don Quixote" (8/2); Hakan Hardenberger in Brett Dean's "Dramatis personae" (8/2); Christian Tetzlaff performing Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto (8/14); and Kristine Opolais in the "Willow Song" and "Ave Maria" from Verdi's "Otello" and "L'altranotte in fondo al mare" from Act III of Boito's "Mefistofele" (8/15).

Nelsons on Aug. 4 conducts the combined forces of the Boston Symphony and TMC orchestras in Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture as part of the popular annual "Tanglewood on Parade." On Saturday, Aug. 8, Nelsons joins in the 75th Tanglewood Music Center festivities by leading Gustav Mahler's monumental Symphony No. 8, featuring the TMCO, Tanglewood Festival Chorus, the Boston University Tanglewood Institute Chorus, American Boy Choir, and a cast of internationally acclaimed soloists. On Sunday, Aug. 9, at 8 p.m., Yo-Yo Ma and Emanuel Ax will perform a recital: the complete Beethoven Cello Sonatas in the Koussevitzky Music Shed.

Additional stellar musical artists include Jessye Norman and Kirill Gerstein on Opening Night in the Shed (7/3); bass-baritone Bryn Terfel (7/9, 7/11); organist Cameron Carpenter (7/10); Audra McDonald (7/19); pianist Paul Lewis (7/19, 7/21); soprano Dawn Upshaw (8/2); violinist Leonidas Kavakos (8/6, 8/7); and Joshua Bell (8/9). Guest conductors include Jacques Lacombe (7/3); Stéphane Denève (7/10, 8/3); Sir Neville Marriner (7/19); Christoph von Dohnányi (7/24 and 26); Michael Tilson Thomas (7/25 and 27); Charles Dutoit (8/7 and 9); Bramwell Tovey (7/11); Ludovic Morlot (7/12 and 13); Christian Zacharias (7/17 and 18); Asher Fisch (8/16); and BSO Assistant Conductor Ken-David Masur (7/31).

Tanglewood will also host the radio show "Radio Deluxe" on Aug. 22 with John Pizzarelli and Jessica Molaskey that will be taped for future broadcast. Tanglewood will also present the Wine and Food Classic on Aug. 13-16, featuring wines from around the world and locally sourced foods, and, on Sunday, Aug. 23, the popular "One Day University," the acclaimed adult education series.

I hope this sampler will assist you in making your own choices of what you want to see and hear. It's clearly going to be a spectacular summer for great musical performances at Tanglewood.

Tickets for all Tanglewood events can be purchased at tanglewood.org, via SymphonyCharge, 888-266-1200 or 888-266-1200, and at the Tanglewood box office located at the main gate, on West Street in Lenox. For further information call 413-637-1600.

Next week, I'll preview the upcoming concerts at New York's Tannery Pond in New Lebanon and Glimmerglass Festival in Cooperstown.

Comments
More Featured Stories
Williamstown.com is owned and operated by: Boxcar Media 102 Main Sreet, North Adams, MA 01247 -- T. 413-663-3384
© 2011 Boxcar Media LLC - All rights reserved