TANGLEWOOD, 2001
During a recent trip to
Tanglewood, walking on to the grounds brought a flood of memories going back to
my first visits in the late 1940s. Upon
entering, the views have changed very little over time.
The great Shed on the left, the mansion that houses the Tanglewood
offices straight ahead, the gift and records shops on the right. Strolling across the expansive lawns and around the gardens,
the sounds of past concerts began to resound in my head. Performances by Koussevitzky, Munch, Monteux, Leinsdorf,
Bernstein and Tennstedt are vividly recalled from the ever-present spirits that
inhabit this hallowed ground.
Before going to the concert we
made a pilgrimage to the Koussevitzky grave site.
It’s located in the cemetery of the Church on the Hill in Lenox. There you can see Koussy’s gravestone flanked on each side
by his wives, Olga and Natalie. A
large stone contributed by the “Israel Symphony Orchestra” also occupies the
plot. A few little stones had been
carefully placed on top of the conductor’s grave.
Having paid homage to Tanglewood’s founder, we were ready for the
day’s musical fare.
This Sunday afternoon it wasn’t to be the Boston Symphony.
A visit from the Pittsburgh Symphony and Mariss Jansons provided the
entertainment. This was preceded by
a picnic lunch of salad, cheese, bread and wine near the great birch trees, and
we were serenaded by a short rehearsal by the orchestra in the Shed. I expect it was mostly to have the musicians get a sense of
the acoustics and to listen to each other in that environment.
It was a great teaser for what was to come.
The concert was magnificent. Mozart’s Haffner Symphony, the Rosenkavalier Suite, and
Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony showed the Orchestra to be the equal of any in
the world and Jansons a master conductor of this repertoire.
They certainly had the measure of the Shed.
The audience gave them a standing ovation both before intermission, and
what seemed like endless applause at the conclusion of the Tchaikovsky.
It was all well deserved.
After the concert, there was
more sauntering around the grounds, especially the areas opened up in the past
ten or so years. Here is the Ozawa Concert Hall and the Leonard Bernstein
Pavillion. The newer areas are
consistent in their beauty with the long-established land we know.
I have yet to hear any music in the new hall, but it was designed by the
same people who did Jacoby Hall in Jacksonville, one of the most acoustically
magnificent concert halls in America. I
think that Ozawa Hall is aesthetically more beautiful, and I expect has at least
as good acoustics.
I can’t be at Tanglewood
without recalling some of the fabulous concerts attended over the years:
Munch conducting Berlioz; Leinsdorf’s Beethoven 7th;
so many great performances under Bernstein’s direction, with the Missa
Solemnis and the Resurrection Symphony standing out above the rest; Beethoven,
Mahler, and Bruckner led by Klaus Tennstedt.
There are many more that I will never forget; Tanglewood, for over a
half-century has been the home of my most wonderful concert-going experiences.
If you’ve never been to
Tanglewood, try to go. The concerts
are performed from late June through late August.
I think the best way to experience it is to take in a Saturday morning
open rehearsal. Seats are cheap and
unreserved, and you usually get to hear Sunday’s program rehearsed with very
few interruptions. A picnic lunch
on the grounds, and then the short journey to the Berkshire Record Outlet to
scoff up some of the classical bargains of the century are a great way to finish
up the day.
May Tanglewood live forever!
Captain Classics, ©2001
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about this article to captain@firstcoastopera.com
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