2016 Tanglewood reviews

Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma at Tanglewood

Aug. 7, 2016 Tanglewood concert review by Dave Read

The Silk Road Ensemble, with Yo-Yo Ma, used the Koussevitsky Music Shed at Tanglewood like a high school during their Aug. 7, 2016 performance, presenting both lessons in social studies and the senior assembly. Eighteen years since being co-founded by Yo-yo Ma at Ozawa Hall, the Ensemble presented a program that displayed their global roots, with segments being introduced by various members, each of whom stressed the social while while eschewing the pedantic.

The Silk Road Ensemble, with Yo-yo Ma performed at Tanglewood Aug. 7, 2016; Hilary Scott photo.

They talked about being ready now to leave home, after 18 years of growing up; but the effect of the concert was a synthesis of disparate musical traditions, culminating in a glorious global hoedown, to wit: Kinan Azmeh’s composition Wedding, his representation of a Syrian wedding celebration, a public jam session that could last for days. His dedication, to “all the Syriancs who have managed to fall in love in the past five years,” gave the audience an opportunity to express solidarity with those beleaguered people. An extra-musical takeaway from the evening was the opportunity to look at and celebrate the wild differeces among peoples without resorting to polemics. Extra-musical? yes – not beyond, but to the max!

The audience responded to the opening minute or so with tittering and noisy whispers, because of the novelty of a strange instrument on one side of the stage communicating with an equally unfamiliar one on the other side. By the time Fanfare for Gaita and Suona concluded though, the whole house was totally into the world music thing, and the party was on. The gaita is the bagpipe of the Galician people from the northwest part of the Iberian peninsula, the suona is a Chinese horn, and the piece was developed by the players Cristina Pato and Wu Tong, who are as dissimilar to each other in appearance as are their instruments.

Like many of their colleagues, these two were featured several times tonight; Wu Tong especially notable for his singing, including both Manchurian and English verses of Going Home, which may merit a place in World Music lore for being lyrics set to the score of Czech composer Dvorak’s 1893 New World Symphony while in America, and which sounds like a Shaker hymn! When everything is improbable, nothing is, so, another highlight of this show was the Ensemble’s almost cinematic rendition of Billy Strayhorn’s Take the A Train, which took the audience on a raucous, rumbling ride under the streets of Manhattan and Harlem, with images of Ella Fitzgerald and the Duke Ellington Orchestra flashing in their minds.

Bob Dylan at Tanglewood July 2, 2016

July 2, 2016 Tanglewood concert review by Dave Read

It was a night of biblical proportions at Tanglewood, a concert by Bob Dylan that was a revelation, following a set by Mavis Staples that was a revival. The revelation is that some 55 years into his career, by remaining true and not wavering from his original vision, Bob Dylan was able to belt out a genre-skimming array of 20 songs, imbuing each one of them with just the right degree of scorn or glee, humor or haughtiness, bile, blasphemy, or belligerence.

Dylan’s constancy was demonstrated by She Belongs To Me, the second song tonight, which he also performed the first time I saw him, on the Rolling Thunder Revue tour. Tonight’s set started with Things Have Changed, his trophy-winning song from 2000, which was performed with more ardor and vehemence than an opening number usually gets, as if he’d been singing along backstage to old girlfriend Maris Staples!

Bob Dylan sings the Great American Songbook

Tonight’s setlist also demonstrated that Mr. Dylan’s perusal of the Great American Songbook is no passing fancy; besides doing five songs from the 2 new “Sinatra” albums, Fallen Angels and Shadows in the Night, he also sang How Deep is the Ocean and I Could Have Told You, brand new entries on Bob Dylan’s setlist. While it’s hard to imagine that his own lyrics have overlooked any nuance of emotion or condition of life, nontheless he seems all fired up to be singing this material, making a fresh wind blow through Tin Pan Alley.

Those seven songs were distributed evenly among his own, five of which hail from Tempest, which took the world by storm upon release in 2012, when Dylan-wags reminded us that The Tempest is the name of Shakespeare’s last play. Turns out not to mark the end of the line for the bard of Hibbing, at all! Tempest is a great album, and tonight Bob Dylan delivered five songs from it with a high degree of fidelity to the recorded versions: Pay in Blood, Duquesne Whistle, Early Roman Kings, Scarlet Town, Long and Wasted Years.

Duquesne Whistle gets your attention

Duquesne Whistle, in the 7tyh spot tonight but 1st on the album, reminds me of Like A Rolling Stone, the opening number on Highway 61 Revisted. Whereas the latter shocks the listener with the loud crack of a snare drum right up front, Duquesne Whistle lollygags for more than half a minute before slapping you awake. Bob Dylan is an artist who doesn’t put much effort into promotion, but every now and then he takes the measure of our attention.

And tonight, he even addressed the audience, after the first 9 songs, telling us the band would be leaving the stage but would return in a few minutes. For years, he spoke only to introduce the band and maybe say thank you at the end of the set and before the encore, but hadn’t even been doing that much talking lately. This encore alone was worth the price of admission: Blowin’ in the Wind, with Dylan’s vocals and piano assiduously accented by violin, and a rollicking reading given to Love Sick, off the immense 1997 album Time Out of Mind.

Mavis Staples rouses the audience

Mavis Staples had the audience in the palm of her hand by the time her opening set wound up, and on their feet, singing along and testifying! She doesn’t share Dylan’s reticence, rather is as chatty as your sister, eager to tell you what’s been happening. We couldn’t sit still during her set, which left us revived with the fervor of the Sixties. Her band is awesome and they mix up an intoxicating blend of gospel, soul, funk, blues, and rock ‘ roll.

Andris Nelsons conducts Beethoven’s Ninth at Tanglewood

August 28, 2016 Tanglewood concert review by Dave Read

Andris Nelsons conducted Beethoven’s Ninth at Tanglewood August 28, 2016, in a program that included Aaron Copland’s Quiet City, which gave the Boston Symphony Orchestra the opportunity to bid farewell to trumpeter Thomas Rolfs and English hornist Robert Sheena. Before proceeding with Beethoven’s beloved symphony, almost always programmed to close the BSO’s Tanglewood season, music director Nelsons addressed the audience, going on at unexpected length, to voice the organization’s gratitude and best wishes to the departing players, but also to speak of his excitement with the day’s program and with the setting, expressing his gratitude to the audience and inviting them this fall to Symphony Hall in Boston “another great place to make music.” He said also that he is looking forward to returning to the Berkshires next year for the the first two and last two weeks of the Tanglewood season – news that was announced today.

Andris Nelsons addresses audience before leading BSO, Tanglewood Festival chorus, and soloists in Beethoven's Ninth at Tanglewood, Aug. 28, 2016; Hilary Scott photo. — Andris Nelsons addresses audience before leading BSO, Tanglewood Festival chorus, and soloists in Beethoven’s Ninth at Tanglewood, Aug. 28, 2016; Hilary Scott photo.

It feels as if Maestro Nelsons is settling in, and perhaps we’re at the beginning of another long tenure, to close out the ferquently unsettled interregnum since the departure of Seiji Ozawa during the 1st Geo. W. Bush administration. Last month, the BSO announced the extension of Nelsons’ contract through the 2021-2022 season, with an evergreen clause for automatic renewal. Today’s concert ratified the wisdom of that bit of business, as the performance was brilliant, with the audience erupting in applause at the glorious conclusion – leading the ovation from his seat in Sec. 3 was another Tanglewood stalwart, James Taylor.

Andris Nelsons is kinetic sculpture on the podium

So soon after determining that the greatest concert we’ve attended was last week’s performance of Aida, which itself was close on the heels of 5 star shows by The Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma and the Chick Corea Trio, it’s time to recognize that such absolutes cannot obtain here, at Tanglewood, where breathtaking excellence may be acheived more than once, even a few times in a single month!

Besides the ineffably beautiful music Maestro Nelsons inspires the orchestra and vocalists to produce, he also becomes a work of kinetic sculpture on the podium – balletic, athletic, military, and architectural by turns. And I’ll wade all the way into a metaphorical morass to state that observing his baton gestures close up is like getting to watch the stitchery at the same time as you’re marveling at a beautiful tapestry.

Boston Symphony Orchestra
Andris Nelsons, conductor
Thomas Rolfs, trumpet
Robert Sheena, English horn
Rachel Willis-Sørensen, soprano
Ruxandra Donose, mezzo-soprano
Joseph Kaiser, tenor
Wilhelm Schwinghammer, bass
Tanglewood Festival Chorus
COPLAND Quiet City
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 9

Hotels near Tanglewood

Find hotels near Tanglewood with user reviews, check amenities, nearby attractions, availability and then book your room reservations at these lodging establishments through our partner, International Hotel Solutions (IHS), the leading provider of secure online hotel reservations.

Berkshies transportation

For how to get to the Berkshires and public transportation within Berkshire county, see this page: Amtrak and Peter Pan bus schedules.

Tanglewood tickets and box office information

Tickets for Tanglewood concerts are available through Tanglewood’s website, www.tanglewood.org, SymphonyCharge at 888-266-1200, and at the Symphony Hall Box Office at 301 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston MA. Download the 2018 Tanglewood season brochure.

Andris Nelsons conducts Acts I and II of Verdi’s Aida at Tanglewood

August 20, 2016 Tanglewood concert review by Dave Read

BSO Music director Andris Nelsons conducted Verdi’s Aida, Acts I & II at Tanglewood, in the Koussevitsky Music Shed on Aug. 20, 2016, with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, soloists Kristine Opolais, Violeta Urmana, Andrea Carè, Alfredo Nigro, Franco Vassallo, Morris Robinson, Kwangchul Youn, and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, leading a performance that was as beautiful as any we’ve ever heard.

We knew, going in, that it would be an exciting concert, given the venue, program, and the artists involved (especially the always-awesome Tanglewood Fetival Chorus), but never expected to be so thouroughly engaged and stimulated that we felt a pang of sadness as it came to a close. Of course, to an opera aficionado, the end of this performance would’ve only marked the midway point of Aida, which consists of four Acts.

Aida is about conflict bertween Egypt and Ethiopia

Music Director Andris Nelsons leads the BSO and soprano Kristine Opolais in Verdi's Aida at Tanglewood, Aug. 20, 2016; Hilary Scott photo. — Music Director Andris Nelsons leads the BSO and soprano Kristine Opolais in Verdi’s Aida at Tanglewood, Aug. 20, 2016; Hilary Scott photo.

My interest in the libretto extended only to its role distributing parts to the soloists and the TFC, so they could produce the singing that was so perfectly married to the instrumental score. I did keep up with the English supertitles – because they were there and impossible to ignore, but would’ve been happy without them. They alone wouldn’t tell you enough of the backstory for the plot to be particularly meaningful, except that there was some brouhaha between Egypt and Ethiopia. Regardless the righteousness of either side’s cause, however, the King, as portrayed by bass Morris Robinson, was so compelling in Act 1 that I went looking for where to enlist in his army during intermission.

And you may be aware that soprano Kristine Opolais, who sang Aida tonight, is married to Maestro Nelsons; banish the thought that there’s any nepotism involved with this casting, as she totally rocked the role! Since the operatic lexicon is beyond my ken, suffice it to say all of the soloists sang beautifully, and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, led tonight by guest conductor James Burton, was spectacular, not missing a beat since the retirement last season of founding conductor John Oliver.

About Tanglewood: box office, tickets, getting there, nearby hotels

Tickets for the 2016 Tanglewood season, $12-$124, go on sale January 24 starting at 10 a.m. through Tanglewood’s website, www.tanglewood.org, SymphonyCharge at 888-266-1200, and at the Symphony Hall Box Office at 301 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston MA. Tanglewood brochures with complete programs and information on how to order tickets will be available in early February by calling 617-638-9467. For further information, please call the Boston Symphony Orchestra at 617-266-1492 or visit www.tanglewood.org. 2016 Tanglewood schedule – PDF.

Follow this link for Berkshires travel information, including public transportation within Berkshire county and Amtrak and Peter Pan bus schedules.
Find hotels near Tanglewood with user reviews, check amenities, nearby attractions, availability and then book your room reservations at these lodging establishments through our partner, International Hotel Solutions (IHS), the leading provider of secure online hotel reservations.

Boston Symphony Orchestra
Andris Nelsons, conductor
Kristine Opolais, soprano (Aida)
Violeta Urmana, mezzo-soprano (Amneris)^^
Andrea Carè, tenor (Radames)^^
Alfredo Nigro, tenor (Messenger)^^
Franco Vassallo, baritone (Amonasro)^^
Morris Robinson, bass (The King)
Kwangchul Youn, bass (Ramfis)^
Tanglewood Festival Chorus
VERDI Aida, Acts I and II
Sung in Italian with English supertitles
^Tanglewood debut – ^^BSO and Tanglewood debuts

Getting around the Tanglewood campus

The Tanglewood campus, summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Tanglewood Music Center comprises several hundred acres in the towns of Lenox and Stockbridge. It is the location of the Koussevitsky Music Shed and Ozawa Hall, where hundreds of thousands attend concerts and a variety of events, including picnics. We always advise new visitors to arrive early and take their daily walking exercise wandering the beautiful Tanglewood grounds.

Here is a dynamic map of the Tanglewood grounds, with photos and information for such points of interest as Aaron Copland Library, Highwood Manor House, The Glass House, and The Lion’s Gate.

2016 Tanglewood on Parade

August 2, 2016 Tanglewood concert review by Dave Read

2016 Tanglewood on Parade gala concert included four guest conductors, Stefan Asbury, Stephane Denave, Ken-David Masur, and Giancarlo Guerrero besides Boston Pops Conductor Laureate John Williams, who also is a composer of movie scores, including Star Wars, an excerpt of which was on tonight’s program. Even though March of the Resistance, from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, was just a small part of the program, it is noteworthy because George Shultz was in the audience. He was secretary of state during the Reagan administration, who’s Strategic Defense Initiative was nicknamed Star Wars, following the runaway success of the original movie in 1977.

The format for this program differs from every other BSO concert on the Tanglewood schedule. There are always more orchestras and more conductors leading the musicians in more musical selections. What remains static year after year is the presence of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops Orchestra, and the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, each presenting a segemnt of the program and then all massing for the grand finale performance of the 1812 Overture, Tchaikovsky’s celebration of the defeat of Napolean’s army, which always blows the roof off the joint! Maestro Giancarlo Guerrero, music director of the Nashville Symphony Orchestra and native of armed-forces-free Costa Rica, was the aptly named choice to conduct the 1812 Overture, and he succeeded brilliantly in unifying the 140 or so musicians into one triumphant orchestra.

Returning to lead the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra was Stephane Deneve, chief conductor of the Stutgart Radio Symphony and Brussels Philoharmonic, who can be heard here talking about working with the Tanglewood Music Center fellows – “…each year it is a different orchestra, but every year they seem to get better…” – and about La Valse, Ravel’s choreographic poem which he conducted tonight. The performance was spell-binding; hard to believe the orchestra was convened little more than a month ago, and wistful to know that it will disband later this month!

Opening the concert was Stefan Asbury, head of the TMC conducting program, with the BSO performing Night Train to Perugia, by Michael Gandolphi, who was called to the podium afterwards to share in the audience’s warm reception to the orchestra’s performance of his work. Next, Ken-David Masur, BSO assistant conductor, led a reduced orchestra and soloists Elizabeth Rowe on flute and Jessica Zhou on harp in a sublime performance of Mozart’s Concerto in C for Flute and Harp.

And in addition to the Star Wars piece, John Williams led the Boston Pops in the world premiere of Of Grace and Majesty, Suite from The BFG, before yielding the podium to Maestro Guerrero.

About Tanglewood: box office, tickets, getting there, nearby hotels

Getting around the Tanglewood campus

Chick Corea Trio at Tanglewood

July 31, 2016 Tanglewood concert review by Dave Read

Lenox, MA – The Chick Corea Trio, with Christian McBride on bass and Brian Blade on drums, performed a thrilling set of hyphen-free jazz before a capacity audience in Ozawa Hall at Tanglewood, bringing to a close one segment of a year-long 75th birthday celebration by the NEA Jazz Master, who was born June 12, 1941 in Chelsea, MA. Mr. Corea will conclude the celebration with an unprecedented eight week stint at New York’s Blue Note Jazz Club between October 19 and December 12, when he’ll perform with more than a dozen bands, including versions of Return to Forever: an acoustic combo with Hubert Laws on flute and Ravi Coltrane on tenor saxophone, and a fusion powerhouse with John McLaughlin on guitar, Victor Wooten on bass and Lenny White on drums.

The Chick Corea Trio, with Christian McBride and Brian Blade at Tanglewood July 31, 2016; Hilary Scott photo.

Tonight’s setlist was drawn from Trilogy, the widely acclaimed 2014 album of popular Chick Corea compositions, previously unreleased material, plus an array of jazz standards. Besides Thelonius Monk and Bud Powell, Corea also paid tribute to Miles Davis, in whose employ he burst upon the scene in the late ’60s, a musician whose stagecraft was diametrically opposed to Corea’s, a most relaxed and affable artist who opened and closed tonight’s show engaged in dialogue with an impromptu Tanglewood chorus that he drew into the performance.

Miles Davis, Bill Evans, Bud Powell, Thelonius Monk

Davis’ On Green Dolphin Street and All Blues, were highlights of the concert, along with Alice in Wonderland, which he dedicated to pianist Bill Evans, because “when he played it he owned it, even though he didn’t write it.”