Tanglewood 2009
Full Schedule Extended by a Week
By: Charles Giuliano - Nov 21, 2008
Baby it was cold outside as a full audience of Berkshire business and arts leaders filled the Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre on the campus of Shakespeare & Company, in Lenox. With warmth and humor, Mark Volpe, the BSO Managing Director, with running commentary, discussed highlights of the 2009 season of the nearby Tanglewood Music Festival. Think spring as we are just seven months away from the launch of a season which is as dense and wonderful as ever with an extra week, a James Taylor bash, August 17-30, after the BSO had packed up and returned to Boston, followed by a later than usual, Tanglewood Jazz Festival, September 4-6.
During the cocktail reception in the lobby following the announcement of the season, one overheard ubiquitous discussions of the dramatic erosion of wealth particularly over the past two days when the DOW plunged to its 1998 levels. Rubbing elbows last night one sensed that arts patrons are not as rich as they used to be.
As the engine that drives travel and tourism in the Berkshires, as Tanglewood goes, so go the Berkshires. With gas at $4 a gallon (now half that), a faltering economy (now viewed as the good old days) and generally lousy weather the season of 2008 was tough. Berkshire arts institutions took a hit on their bottom lines. There is clearly concern as we head into a new season.
The BSO has deep pockets but the general rule of thumb is that endowments are down by as much as 50-60%.. Because of the long range booking involved in adjusting schedules the full and ambitious schedule for the 2009 season was locked in before adjustments could be made to the eroding economic realities. That may have the ironic impact of saving a potentially bleak season as much of what is being offered at Tanglewood is simply irresistible. There are programs to die for in a season that promises to be truly spectacular.
Most significantly, James Levine, who underwent emergency surgery during the first week of the 2008 season, is back to full strength. He resumes his commitment to Tanglewood and will conduct several programs including Act III of Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Numberg and a fully staged Don Giovanni by Mozart with TMC vocal fellows and orchestra. He will be on campus for four weeks during the season with much of his time given to mentoring the fellows.
During the festivities last night Tina Packer, the artistic director of Shakespeare & Company, welcomed the BSO. The evening began with a presentation by Nancy Fitzpatrick, a BSO trustee and Co Chair of the Tanglewood Business Partners. She was upbeat in outlining the many individuals and institutions committed to supporting the coming season.
Mark Volpe was joined by Ellen Highstein, the director of the Tanglewood Music Center. But Anthony Fogg, the BSO artistic administrator, who was scheduled to appear, was excused because as Volpe explained there was an emergency in Boston. After rehearsals the conductor for last night's BSO performance had cancelled. The baton was being passed to an assistant conductor. Volpe commented that "As we speak he is probably throwing up, literally, before going on stage."
This was typical of the humorous approach of Volpe who kept the audience in stitches. He described how Tanglewood would celebrate several birthdays including Sir James Galway, (75) and Andre Previn (80). Previn will conduct, play piano, and present an evening of jazz with his trio. Volpe described attending a formal award dinner in Previn's honor. While Previn was seated at a table with Mia Farrrow and several of their adopted children, Volpe found himself at a table with Previn's former wives. "That evening it seems that wife number four discovered that there was about to be a wife number five."
In discussing the coming season Volpe and Highstein revealed some shifting around. While Mark Morris and his dance company have previously appeared just prior to Opening Night in the Shed they will be scheduled mid season this year. This change was made so that Morris will premiere new works performed by Yo Yo Ma and Emmanuel Ax. Morris will be in residence for several days mentoring fellows. He was described as a "great musician who works with his feet. His musical instincts are remarkable."
With James Taylor rotated to the end of the season, post season actually, the Fourth of July pop event, followed by fireworks, will present the singer and pianist, Diana Krall, who will perform standards from her CD "Quiet Nights." Don't be surprised if she is joined on stage by her husband, the rock star, Elvis Costello.
The Pops evenings have been moved to the weekend and Keith Lockhart will be joined by the jazz trumpet star Chris Botti. The John Williams Film Night will feature Warner Brothers this season including his scores for "Superman" and "Harry Potter." Volpe disclosed that Williams will be joined in the film evening by a "Star at least as big as Steven Spielberg last year if that is possible. We know who we are talking to but it is too early to confirm." Williams and Lockhart as well as other conductors will return for the annual Tangelwood on Parade. Williams will conduct the orchestra during one of the several concerts by James Taylor.
There was a rush of appreciation from the audience when Volpe announced the return, after some 20 years, of Michael Tilson Thomas. He will close the BSO portion of the season conducting the traditional 9th Symphony of Beethoven. In one of the most anticipated events of the season he will bring the Thomashefsky Project to Ozawa Hall on August 19 & 20. His grandparents were pioneers of the American Yiddish Theatre in New York City. It is sure to be a sold out event.
It had been hoped that there would be more jazz and pop programming this season. The appearance by the rock band Wilco and Broadway star, Barbara Cook, were great successes with audiences. Perhaps some of the Jazz Festival artists might be configured into the off nights and down times. There has been discussion of using the available tents for a jazz cabaret series which was a smash during the Jazz Festival. Never say never as Volpe left the door open to these possibilities to be announced later.
There is the ongoing argument that Tanglewood needs to reach out and develop younger audiences. While conservatives have railed about not desecrating the hallowed ground, the future lies somewhere in between. Particularly as we endure tough times that call for fresh ideas and creative approaches. One small step in this direction is the announcement that kids 17 and younger, who are accompanied by adults, will be admitted free to the lawn.
Below, BSO/ Tanglewood press release .
In a welcome return to the Tanglewood podium and marking his fifth summer as Boston Symphony Orchestra Music Director, Maestro James Levine opens the 2009 Tanglewood season with a blockbuster all-Tchaikovsky program of the Symphony No. 6, Pathétique, and the Piano Concerto No. 1, featuring one of the leading virtuosos of our time, pianist Yefim Bronfman, Friday, July 3. Mahler's Symphony No. 6 (July 17) and Brahms's A German Requiem (July 25)—two major works that received extraordinary popular and critical acclaim when performed this fall at Symphony Hall—will be reprised by Maestro Levine and the orchestra during the 2009 Tanglewood season. Maintaining his deep commitment to presenting great opera at Tanglewood, Maestro Levine continues his intensive work with the talented young musicians of the Tanglewood Music Center leading a concert performance of Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Act III (July 11), joined by the Tanglewood Festival Chorus and a stellar professional cast headed by James Morris. Mr. Levine will also lead TMC vocalists and instrumentalists in two fully-staged performances of Mozart's Don Giovanni (July 26 & 27).
Highlights of Mr. Levine's summer schedule at Tanglewood also include a BSO program pairing the Brahms Violin Concerto, featuring Christian Tetzlaff, with Stravinsky's landmark Rite of Spring (July 5) and, in an interesting pairing of programmatic showpieces, Mussorgsky's colorful Pictures at an Exhibition and Berlioz's Harold in Italy, featuring BSO principal violist Steven Ansell (July 24). Mr. Levine will also lead the Boston Symphony in a program devoted to Mozart's brilliant last three symphonies (July 19).
Tickets for the 2009 Tanglewood season go on sale to the general public on Sunday, February 15 (see ticket information at end of press release for details). There will be no increase in ticket prices for BSO concerts that take place in the Koussevitzky Music Shed compared to last year's prices. In addition, the Boston Symphony has expanded its free lawn ticket program now to include young people age 17 and under; in the past the age cap was 12.
Bank of America is proud to return for the second season as the exclusive season sponsor of Tanglewood.
MICHAEL TILSON THOMAS RETURNS TO TANGLEWOOD
One of the most highly anticipated guests at Tanglewood this season is Michael Tilson Thomas, who returns to the festival for the first time in two decades, showcasing his remarkable versatility in three very different programs. The first features Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5 and Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3, with Yefim Bronfman (August 14). His next program—to receive two performances in Ozawa Hall—is a special evening of musical theater he developed in celebration of his grandparents, The Thomashefskys: Music and Memories of a Life in the Yiddish Theater (August 19 & 20). Conducting, narrating, and playing piano, Thomas shares the stage with four singer/actors to recount the lives of Boris and Bessie Thomashefsky, important artistic figures in the American Yiddish theater in the 1920s and '30s. This entertaining, multi-faceted exploration of his heritage, which enjoyed successful runs in New York City, Chicago, and San Francisco, is especially close to Mr. Thomas's heart. For his third program, Mr. Thomas will lead Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 for the BSO's Tanglewood season finale (August 23).
JAMES TAYLOR AND FRIENDS
Following the BSO's eight-week residency at Tanglewood, the season extends an extra week for a unique series of concerts and workshops inspired by the incomparable James Taylor (August 27-30). "James Taylor and Friends" will give audiences the opportunity to experience the popular singer/songwriter and his band in several different contexts, including performances and master classes. The weekend features an intimate and informal evening with members of Taylor's band (August 27), two concerts by Taylor and his full band with special guests (August 28 & 29), and a repeat collaboration between Taylor and the Boston Pops featuring conductor John Williams (August 30).
ADDITIONAL HIGHLIGHTS IN THE KOUSSEVITZKY MUSIC SHED
Popular Spanish conductor Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos leads three programs, including a reprise of the highly acclaimed Carmina burana (August 8) and a concert featuring soloist Vadim Repin in Beethoven's Violin Concerto with two French masterworks, Debussy's La Mer and Ravel's Daphnis et Chloé, Suite No. 2 (July 31). Herbert Blomstedt, who is in residence for an extended period at Tanglewood this summer, shows his affinity for the core Romantic repertoire in concerts anchored by Brahms's Symphony No. 4 (July 10) and Dvo?ák's Symphony No. 8 (July 12). Additional highlights of the 2009 season include a performance conducted by Julian Kuerti featuring Yo-Yo Ma in Shostakovich's Cello Concerto No. 1 (August 9), sponsored by EMC Corporation, and André Previn leading a program of Beethoven's Symphony No. 4, Ravel's La Valse and Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 2, with Jean-Yves Thibaudet (August 15). Former BSO assistant conductor Thomas Dausgaard returns for the first time since 1995 to conduct Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3 with Leif Ove Andsnes and the Rachmaninoff Symphony No. 2 (August 2).
Conductor David Robertson, with the esteemed American baritone Thomas Hampson, offers an unusual musical survey in a program of all-American works by seminal composers of the mid-20th century—Roy Harris, Virgil Thomson, Samuel Barber, and Leonard Bernstein (July 26).
THE BOSTON POPS, JULY 4, TANGLEWOOD ON PARADE, AND OTHER FAVORITES
For the ever-popular Tanglewood on Parade (July 28) featuring the BSO, the TMCO (Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra), and the Boston Pops, James Levine, Keith Lockhart, John Williams, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, and Leonard Slatkin share the podium for a rousing evening of music and fireworks. Two other traditions are always summer highlights: the live radio broadcast of Garrison Keillor's popular Prairie Home Companion (June 27) and the Boston Pops' Film Night at Tanglewood led by John Williams (July 18). In addition, Keith Lockhart leads the Boston Pops Orchestra in a special program with trumpeter extraordinaire Chris Botti (August 7). Tanglewood's Fourth of July concert will feature singer and pianist Diana Krall, who is well known for her sophisticated and swinging interpretations of jazz and American Songbook standards.
TREASURED COLLABORATORS AND RISING STARS
The 2009 Tanglewood season showcases an especially rich line-up of some of the world's most acclaimed pianists. The centerpiece is the Aug. 14-16 weekend featuring three great Romantic piano concertos: Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 with Yefim Bronfman; Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 2 with Jean-Yves Thibaudet; and Brahms's Piano Concerto No. 2 with Garrick Ohlsson. In addition, guest pianists include Emanuel Ax playing Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 (July 10); Leon Fleisher playing Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23 (July 17); Leif Ove Andsnes playing the Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 3 (August 2); Peter Serkin playing Stravinsky's Concerto for Piano and Winds (August 3); and the young French pianist David Fray making his BSO debut in Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 25 (August 21). In his first appearance at Tanglewood since 1971, the European-based American pianist Stephen Kovacevich returns for a recital of Bach, Schumann, and Beethoven (July 2). In addition to Gil Shaham performing the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto (August 22), guest violin soloists include Joshua Bell playing the Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1 (July 12) and Vadim Repin playing the Beethoven Violin Concerto (July 31).
The season also features a wealth of talented vocalists, from seasoned veterans like bass-baritone James Morris and tenor Johan Botha (July 11) to rising stars making their BSO debuts: soprano Laura Claycomb; tenor Lawrence Brownlee; baritone Markus Werba; soprano Erin Wall; and mezzo-soprano Kendall Gladen. Baritone Thomas Hampson, a soloist for the BSO's all-American program (July 26), also contributes a recital focusing on American songs by Ives, Griffes, Carpenter, and Barber (July 22).
PROGRAMS DEDICATED TO THE WORKS OF A SINGLE COMPOSER
The Tanglewood 2009 season offers a rare opportunity to delve deeply into the works of a range of seminal composers. Including the opening night all-Tchaikovsky program (July 3), sponsored by the Arbella Insurance Group Charitable Foundation, eight single-composer concerts provide the chance to experience the creative evolution not just of familiar titans like Beethoven (July 5, 7, & 9), Haydn (June 28), and Mozart (July 19), but also composers such as Sibelius and Stravinsky. Herbert Blomstedt's all-Sibelius program with the Tanglewood Music Center Conducting Fellows and the TMC Orchestra taps the conductor's own Scandinavian roots with Sibelius's Symphony No. 2, Tapiola, and The Swan of Tuonela (June 29). Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos brings his great authority for the works of Stravinsky to a TMCO program anchored by the complete Pulcinella and the Suite from The Firebird (August 3). In honor of the Mendelssohn bicentennial, one of the composer's ardent proponents, Kurt Masur, conducts the Hebrides Overture, the Symphony No. 4, Italian, and the Violin Concerto, with Gil Shaham (August 22). Masur's great affinity for the works of Brahms is displayed in a TMCO concert featuring the Symphony No. 2 and the Piano Concerto No. 2, with Garrick Ohlsson (August 16).
SPECIAL BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS – GALWAY, DE BURGOS & PREVIN
Two of Tanglewood's favorite maestros celebrate significant birthdays at the festival this summer. Andre Previn, who celebrates his 80th birthday in April, returns to the festival with three programs that showcase his remarkable versatility as a conductor, composer, and performer. In addition to leading a program with the BSO (August 15), Mr. Previn will also be featured in two Ozawa Hall programs, including an evening of jazz favorites with pianist David Finck (August 16). A Boston Symphony Chamber Players concert features Mr. Previn in the Brahms Quintet in F minor for piano and strings and reprises his new chamber work premiered in March 2009 (August 12). One of the BSO's most popular guest conductors, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos marks his 75th birthday with three separate programs at Tanglewood, including a reprise of the acclaimed Symphony Hall performances of Carmina burana (August 8).
Sir James Galway celebrates his 70th birthday with a special musical birthday bash, anchored by a performance of Mozart's Flute Concerto No. 2 (August 1). The program also includes music by Debussy and Copland, and promises some special musical surprises for the occasion. Galway precedes the BSO celebration with an Ozawa Hall recital featuring his wife, flutist Lady Jeanne Galway, and longtime collaborator, American pianist Phillip Moll (July 30).
OZAWA HALL HIGHLIGHTS
Christian Tetzlaff, with pianist Alexander Lonquich, presents Beethoven's complete Sonatas for Violin and Piano over the course of three evenings (July 5, 7, & 9). In the realm of chamber music, the Juilliard Quartet presents an all-Haydn program (June 28) of the composer's Sun Quartets in a concert marking the farewell performance of first violinist Joel Smirnoff.
Jordi Savall's period-instrument ensemble Le Concert de Nations presents two wide-ranging concerts (July 14 & 15), including Stage Music in the Plays of William Shakespeare, featuring actor F. Murray Abraham. The incomparable Mark Morris Dance Group enlivens the heart of the summer with two world premieres choreographed to music of Ives and Beethoven, performed by Yo-Yo Ma and Emanuel Ax
(August 5 & 6).
WEEK 1 (JULY 3-9) - LEVINE CONCERTS AND TETZLAFF CYCLE
BSO Music Director James Levine makes a welcome return to the podium July 3 to open the Tanglewood season with a gala all-Tchaikovsky program: the Symphony No. 6, Pathétique, and the Piano Concerto No. 1, featuring pianist Yefim Bronfman. On July 5, Maestro Levine is joined by virtuoso violinist Christian Tetzlaff for the Brahms Violin Concerto, on a program with Stravinsky's landmark The Rite of Spring.
The evening of July 5, Tetzlaff begins the first of three concerts in Ozawa Hall offering the exceptional opportunity to hear back-to-back performances of Beethoven's complete Sonatas for Violin and Piano: Program 1 (Sonatas 1-4, July 5); Program 2 (Sonatas 5-7, July 7); and Program 3 (Sonatas 8-10, July 9).
Tanglewood's Fourth of July concert will feature singer and pianist Diana Krall, who is well known for her sophisticated and swinging interpretations of jazz and American Songbook standards since her 1993 debut album Stepping Out. The two-time Grammy winner transcends genre barriers, winning raves and ovations in both the popular and jazz worlds.
WEEK 2 (JULY 10-15) - LEVINE /DIE MEISTERSINGER, BLOMSTEDT, AX, BELL
The heart of the weekend is a concert performance of Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Act III, with James Levine and the Tanglewood Music Center Vocal Fellows and Orchestra (July 11). Following upon performances of Die Walküre (Act I) and Götterdämmerung (Act III) in his first Tanglewood season in 2005, James Levine continues his exploration of Wagner's operatic masterpieces with the Tanglewood Music Center Vocal Fellows and Orchestra in a concert performance of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Act III (July 11). The performance also features the Tanglewood Festival Chorus and a stellar professional cast, including James Morris, Johan Botha, Hei-Kyung Hong, Matthew Polenzani, Maria Zifchak, Hans-Joachim Ketelson, and Julien Robbins. It will be sung in German with English supertitles.
The great American-born conductor Herbert Blomstedt, who returns to Tanglewood with an extended residency this summer, conducts two programs anchored by masterpieces of the Romantic repertoire. On July 10, he leads Brahms's Symphony No. 4 on a program with Nielsen's Helios Overture and Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4, featuring pianist Emanuel Ax. On July 12, Dvo?ák's rousing Symphony No. 8 is featured in a program with Beethoven's Egmont Overture and the Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1, with Joshua Bell as soloist.
World-renowned gambist Jordi Savall brings the international period-instrument ensemble Le Concert des Nations to Ozawa Hall for two intriguing programs. Les Goûts Réunis features music by Lully, Biber, Corelli, Handel, Scarlatti/Avison, and Boccherini (July 14). Stage Music in the Plays of William Shakespeare includes music by Johnson, Locke, and Purcell, with noted actor F. Murray Abraham reading relevant Shakespearean texts.
WEEK 3 (JULY 17-22) – LEVINE'S MAHLER 6, MOZART, FILM NIGHT, HAMPSON
James Levine and the BSO reprise their powerful Symphony Hall performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 6, marking the first time the piece has been performed at Tanglewood by the BSO since Levine himself introduced it to Tanglewood in 1972 (July 17). The program also features Leon Fleisher performing Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23. Levine returns on Sunday for an all-Mozart program featuring the composer's last three symphonies, Nos. 39, 40 and 41, Jupiter (July 19).
Boston Pops Laureate Conductor John Williams leads the Boston Pops and special guests in the ever-popular Film Night at Tanglewood, celebrating the legacy of Hollywood's Warner Brothers dynasty with thematic montages and film excerpts from some of the studio's classic movies (July 18).
Renowned baritone Thomas Hampson, who is currently devoting part of his career to an exploration of American music, offers a special Ozawa Hall recital featuring songs of Ives, Griffes, Carpenter, and Barber, with pianist Craig Rutenberg (July 22).
WEEK 4 (JULY 24-30) – GERMAN REQUIEM, DON GIOVANNI, GALWAY, AND TANGLEWOOD ON PARADE
In his final week at Tanglewood this season, James Levine conducts three major programs. On July 24, he leads Berlioz's Le Corsaire Overture and Harold in Italy, with BSO principal violist Steven Ansell, on a program with the Prelude to Mussorgsky's Khovanshchina and the dramatic Pictures at an Exhibition (orchestrated by Ravel). On July 25, Levine and the orchestra reprise last fall's moving performance of Brahms's A German Requiem, here to feature the distinguished Finnish soprano Soile Isokoski and German baritone Matthias Goerne, along with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus. On July 26 and 27, Levine conducts the Tanglewood Music Center Vocal Fellows and Orchestra, with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, in a fully-staged production of Mozart's dramatic Don Giovanni, sung in Italian with English supertitles. (A third performance on July 29 will be led by a Tanglewood Music Center Conducting Fellow.) These performances, like the 2007 production of Così fan tutte and last summer's The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, reflect Maestro Levine's commitment to preparing and performing full-length operatic productions with the talented young musicians of the TMC.
Conductor David Robertson and the BSO are joined by baritone Thomas Hampson and pianist Orli Shaham for an all-American program—Harris's Symphony No. 3, Thomson's Five Songs from William Blake, Barber Songs with Orchestra, and Bernstein's Symphony No. 2, The Age of Anxiety (July 26)
.
Tanglewood on Parade is one of the festival's most beloved traditions (July 28). James Levine, Keith Lockhart, John Williams, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, and Leonard Slatkin share the podium for this lively evening of music by the BSO, the TMCO, and the Boston Pops. One of the highlights of the evening will be a TMCO performance of the Symphonic Dances from West Side Story, programmed in honor of Leonard Bernstein's 90th birthday year. The evening culminates in a performance of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture followed by a dazzling fireworks display.
As part of his 70th birthday celebration, Sir James Galway gives an intimate Ozawa Hall recital joined by his wife, flutist Lady Jeanne Galway, and longtime collaborator, pianist Phillip Moll (July 30).
WEEK 5 (JULY 31-AUG. 5) – DE BURGOS, MARK MORRIS, GALWAY FÊTE
Spanish conductor Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, celebrating his landmark 75th birthday, returns for two programs. He leads the BSO in two French masterpieces, Debussy's La Mer and Ravel's Daphnis et Chloé, Suite No. 2, on a program with the Beethoven Violin Concerto performed by Vadim Repin (July 31). An ardent proponent of the music of Stravinsky, he conducts the Tanglewood Music Center Vocal and Conducting Fellows and Orchestra in a program of the composer's complete Pulcinella, and the suite from the 1919 version of The Firebird (Aug. 3). The program will also feature Peter Serkin performing Stravinsky's Concerto for Piano and Winds, under the direction of a Tanglewood Music Center Conducting Fellow.
Sir James Galway celebrates his 70th birthday with a musical bash led by Leonard Slatkin, featuring the BSO and special surprise guests. Repertoire includes Debussy's Prelude to The Afternoon of a Faun, Copland's Appalachian Spring, the overture to Mozart's The Magic Flute, and the Flute Concerto No. 2 (Aug.1).
Former BSO assistant conductor Thomas Dausgaard returns August 2 for the first time since 1995 to conduct The Serge and Olga Koussevitsky Memorial Concert, featuring Rachmaninoff's sweeping Symphony No. 2 and Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3, with the dynamic young Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes.
The Mark Morris Dance Group brings two world premieres to Tanglewood August 5 and 6, featuring live music by cellist Yo-Yo Ma, pianist Emanuel Ax, and violinist Colin Jacobsen. One dance is set to Ives's Trio for piano, violin and cello, the other is to Beethoven's late Sonata No. 4 for cello and piano, Op. 104. The program also includes Morris's A Lake, choreographed to the Haydn Horn Concerto No. 2 and performed by Tanglewood Music Center Fellows.
WEEK 6 (Aug. 7-12) BOSTON POPS, CARMINA BURANA, YO-YO MA, PREVIN 80TH
The Boston Pops Orchestra under Keith Lockhart welcomes the extraordinary pop/jazz trumpeter Chris Botti, making his Tanglewood debut (Aug. 7). Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos ends his summer at Tanglewood with a provocative pair of early 20th-century classics—Prokofiev's charming Symphony No. 1, Classical, and Orff's rousing Carmina burana, featuring soprano Laura Claycomb, tenor Lawrence Brownlee, and baritone Markus Werba, all making their BSO debuts (Aug. 8). The Tanglewood Festival Chorus, John Oliver, conductor, will be featured as well.
Following his performances with the Mark Morris Dance Group, the always popular Yo-Yo Ma performs the Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 1 and the Fauré Elegie with BSO Assistant Conductor Julian Kuerti, on a program also featuring Bizet's Symphony in C and George Perle's Sinfonietta No. 2, the latter as part of the Festival of Contemporary Music (Aug. 9).
The remarkable versatility of André Previn is showcased in an Ozawa Hall program by the Boston Symphony Chamber Players (Aug. 12). The ensemble reprises a new work by Previn, premiered in Boston at Jordan Hall in March, and Previn plays piano in the Brahms Quintet in F minor for piano and strings. Villa-Lobos' Quintette en forme de chôros, for wind quintet, rounds out the program.
WEEK 7 (Aug. 14-20) MICHAEL TILSON THOMAS, THIBAUDET, PREVIN, MAZUR
Michael Tilson Thomas, whose history with Tanglewood dates back to his days as a protégé of Leonard Bernstein some four decades ago, makes a welcome return to the festival for the first time since 1988. His first program initiates a weekend highlighted by three great Romantic piano concertos, as he conducts Rachmaninoff's tempestuous Piano Concerto No. 3, performed by Yefim Bronfman, on a program with Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5. Tilson Thomas's second program is a project especially dear to his heart. The Thomashefskys: Music and Memories of a Life in the Yiddish Theatre is a musical homage to his grandparents, who were leading performers in Yiddish theater in the '20s and '30s (Aug. 19 and 20). This lively Ozawa Hall program is scripted and narrated by Tilson Thomas, who also plays piano and conducts. It features the original performers who helped with the show's creation in 2005: Judy Blazer, Neal Benari, Ronit Widmann-Levy, and Eugene Brancoveanu, all making their Tanglewood debuts. Pat Birch directs.
André Previn collaborates with one of his favorite soloists, pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, in Liszt's poetic Piano Concerto No. 2, on a program with Beethoven's Symphony No. 4 and Ravel's La Valse (Aug. 15). Previn goes back to his early jazz piano roots with a special evening of standards in an Ozawa Hall concert with longtime collaborator bassist David Finck (Aug. 16).
Kurt Masur takes the podium Sunday afternoon to lead the TMCO in an all-Brahms program focusing on music that is at the very heart of his repertoire: the composer's Symphony No. 2 and the Piano Concerto No. 2, with Garrick Ohlsson as soloist (Aug. 16).
WEEK 8 (Aug. 21-23) BEETHOVEN'S FIRST & LAST SYMPHONIES, MENDELSSOHN
Kurt Masur opens the BSO's final Tanglewood weekend leading Beethoven's Symphony No. 1 on a program with Haydn's Symphony No. 88 and the Mozart Piano Concerto No. 25 in C, with one of his favorite collaborators, the outstanding young French pianist David Fray, making his BSO debut (Aug. 21). The following night, Masur dedicates a program to one of his most admired composers, Mendelssohn. The program features the composer's Symphony No. 4, Italian, The Hebrides (Fingal's Cave) Overture, and the Violin Concerto, with Gil Shaham (Aug. 22).
Michael Tilson Thomas will lead the BSO's final program of the 2009 Tanglewood season, the annual season-ending performance of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, soprano Erin Wall and mezzo-soprano Kendall Gladen in their BSO debuts, tenor Stuart Skelton in his Tanglewood debut, and bass-baritone Raymond Aceto (Aug. 23). The program begins with a movement from Ives's Thanksgiving and Forefathers' Day, for chorus and orchestra (from his Holiday Symphony).
TANGLEWOOD MUSIC CENTER'S FESTIVAL OF CONTEMPORARY MUSIC
The Tanglewood Music Center's annual Festival of Contemporary Music, this year under the directorship of Augusta Read Thomas, will focus on works by young composers—including three world premieres—and will also include works by composers not frequently heard at Tanglewood, as well as some masterworks of the 20th and 21st centuries by distinguished senior composers. Ms. Thomas has programmed only works by living composers. Another theme will be the contemporary piano, and the Fromm Concert at Tanglewood will be performed by the exceptional English pianist Nicolas Hodges. The Festival will take place August 7-11. The Boston Symphony Orchestra's contribution to the 2009 Festival of Contemporary Music will be a performance of George Perle's Sinfonietta No. 2, under the direction of BSO Assistant Conductor Julian Kuerti on August 9. Further details about the Festival of Contemporary Music will be announced at a later date.
TANGLEWOOD'S ANNUAL LABOR DAY JAZZ FESTIVAL
Details of the 2009 Tanglewood Jazz Festival, to take place September 5-7, will be announced at a later date.
FREE TICKETS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE AGE 17 AND UNDER
New this year, Tanglewood has expanded its Children's Lawn Ticket Program to provide free lawn seating to children and young adults age 17 and under. Children admitted without charge must sit with their parent or legal guardian on the lawn, and those under 5 years old must sit on the rear half of the lawn. Children under 5 years are not permitted in the Koussevitzky Music Shed or Seiji Ozawa Hall during concerts. All patrons, regardless of age, must have a ticket. The free lawn-ticket policy does not apply to organized groups of children and young adults, nor does it apply to Popular Artist, July 4, or Prairie Home Companion concerts.
HOW TO PURCHASE TICKETS
Tickets for the 2009 Tanglewood season go on sale to the general public on Sunday, February 15. Tickets are available through Tanglewood's website, www.tanglewood.org, and through SymphonyCharge at 888-266-1200. Regular season ticket prices range from $9-$115. Tickets for Open Rehearsals are $17. All ticket prices include a $1 Tanglewood grounds maintenance fee. There will be no increase in ticket prices for BSO concerts that take place in the Koussevitzky Music Shed compared to last year's prices.
Tickets are also available for purchase in person at the Tanglewood Box Office at Tanglewood's Main Gate on West Street in Lenox, MA, as of June 19. American Express, Visa, MasterCard, Diners Club, Discover, personal checks, and cash are all accepted at the Tanglewood Box Office. For further information and box office hours, please call the Boston Symphony Orchestra at 617-266-1492 or visit www.bso.org.
PODCASTS, "CLASSICAL COMPANION," AND BSO RADIO BROADCASTS
The Boston Symphony Orchestra's extensive website, www.bso.org, is the largest and most-visited orchestral website in the country, receiving more than 5.8 million visitors annually and generating almost $40 million in revenue since its launch in 1996. The BSO's website offers fans information and music beyond the concert hall, providing interactive new media that include "Classical Companion," an interactive supplement to special BSO concerts, as well as specially produced podcasts about each week's program.
Tanglewood concerts are broadcast live on Friday and Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoons in Boston on WCRB 99.5 FM, in Albany on WAMC 90.3 FM, and in Connecticut on WMNR 88.1 FM. Sunday-afternoon concerts are broadcast in Boston on WGBH 89.7 FM. Streaming audio of the broadcasts is available on www.wcrb.com, www.wgbh.org, www.wqxr.com, and www.wamc.org.