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Brahms soothes like a summer breeze, July 24, 2022
By Dave Read (July 24, 2022 concert) – BSO music director Andris Nelsons led another diverse program on a sweltering, sunny afternoon in the Berkshires. The first piece, In Memoriam: The Colored Soldiers Who Died for Democracy, was composed by William Grant Still in 1944, at the request of the League of Composers.
As you’d expect, it is an evocative, sombre piece, which “…closes on a note of resoluteness but not resolution…as if to indicate that the struggle was only just beginning.” Within a few years, the armed forces of the United States was no longer segregated by race.
The second selection, Lilacs, for voice and orchestra, amounted to a star turn for soprano Latonia Moore, today making her BSO/Tanglewood debut. A commission by the BSO, George Walker composed the score as a setting for Walt Whitman’s poem, When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d, which itself mourns the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.
Whitman is more than a mere poet – he is a prime mover of American poetry, the poetry of the new world, which represents an about-face from British and old world poetry. (There, the arts are patronized by the Crown and her nobles; here, the artist patronizes the people and nature.)
Whereas a musical adaption of Whitman, even if by a composer on par with Beethoven or Mozart, is bound to be problematic, there is no problem at all with the voice and artistry of Ms. Moore. She sang such big, rich lines that – well, I am resisting the temptation to say that her voice contains multitudes!
A walk on the Lawn at intermission inspired us to remain there, for the welcome breeze blowing off Stockbridge Bowl, for the Piano Concerto No. 2 by Johannes Brahms, with soloist Seong-Jin Cho. Notwithstanding the felicity of seats in the Koussevitsky Music Shed, and intimate proximity to the orchestra and soloists, it felt as if Brahms had composed his famous and beloved concerto to be consumed with the greater proximity to nature afforded by a place on the lawn.
We sit so close to each other inside auditoria that the little incidental noises of our seatmates can disturb our reveries and detract ever so slightly from the enjoyment of a musical selection. On Tanglewood’s vast lawn, however, those little noises are soaked up by the quiet woosh of the breeze that seems to heighten the reverie induced by the soloist and orchestra. A native of Seoul, Mr. Cho came to the concert world’s attention when he won the Chopin competition in 2016, and will release his recording of today’s piece later this year.
Spring emerges in Lenox during the pandemic
It was a tepid winter in the Berkshires, then an odd spring that felt like it was reverting to winter rather than advancing toward summer. Now, it looks like Lenox may be ready to revert to its own sleepy roots, now that the fragility of the tourism business is exposed by Covid-19, the pandemic close in the wake of the American epidemic of thoughtlessness that elevated a feral pig to the presidency. But cheer up, look how pretty it is here:
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Berkshires during the pandemic
Article updated April 15, 2020 by Dave Read
With the announcement yesterday that Shakespeare and Company have postponed the plays that had been scheduled for the 2020 season until next year, one wonders why the Boston Symphony Orchestra is dragging its feet on making the inevitable call? Perhaps Mark Volpe, CEO of the BSO, is simply hoping beyond hope that he’ll have one more season running the show here in the halcyon hills before his retirement takes effect next February?
Who could blame him? Or, maybe it is political, as with all things today as the American Dream vaporizes before our eyes? We know Trump has Boston’s most popular cultural institution, Tom Brady, in his pocket, and we know that former MA governor Joseph Volpe was a died-in-the-wool Republican. And we know that Hitler liked Wagner, and that Latvia native Andris Nelsons does too…
I jest, a bit of gallows humor in a time of crisis unseen since the run-up to the Civil War. Won’t it be good to turn things around, to put America headed toward the proper direction – there’s hope yet for America, isn’t there?
Berkshires trails effected by coronavirus
Berkshire Natural Resources Council (BNRC) will leave most of its trails open to the public for the time being, with the exception of Parsons Marsh Reserve and accessible trail, where it is impossible to maintain appropriate social distance on the narrow boardwalks.
All upcoming hikes and happenings are cancelled until further notice.
Public enjoyment of the natural beauty of the Berkshires is essential to the BNRC mission that you make possible every day. We urge you to follow these common-sense guidelines for all your outdoor visits:
- Stay local and avoid high-traffic destinations.
- If you are over 70 or medically vulnerable, stay home. If you are not feeling well, stay home.
- Avoid crowds; conduct your outings solo or with other members of your household.
- Be ready to step aside or move quickly through areas where people congregate such as parking lots and trailheads. If you arrive at a location and there are more than a handful of cars in the parking lot, please come back another time.
- Please be safe: maintain at least a 6-foot distance between yourself and others. Be prepared to step aside, and let people know you are near if they can’t see you.
Please note that, for the most part, our staff and volunteers will not be out clearing fallen trees or addressing other trail needs, so you may find the trails in rougher shape than usual. Please always feel free to let us know of any maintenance or safety issues you discover on BNRC properties, by emailing FrontDesk@bnrc.org. Top BNRC trail information here.
Lewis Black says stupidity sucks
Nice to find kindred spirits, don’t you think? The depth and breadth of stupidity encountered while trying to mind your own business here in the Berkshires, or, I suppose, anywhere today. There never has been a shortage of liars, thieves, and cheats – thanks to human nature, but this stupid thing is way more frightening. Just because it is easier to sell crap to stupid people than to smart people, doesn’t mean the whole population should be dumbed that far down.
Notice how certain, in 2014, Mr. Black is about how wrong the Press Club is to amplify the madness of their most vicious enemy. The ensuing chaos has been such a bonanza for the press where ever it pops up – tv, cable, internet, print, one is tempted to surmise that this clown show is no accident!