Article updated Dec. 14, 2018 by Dave Read
Highlighting the BSO’s August 2019 Tanglewood schedule is Yo-Yo Ma’s Aug. 11 program, J.S. BACH Suites for unaccompanied cello, which is part of his two-year global initiative, “The Bach Project.” Yet to be announced is the accompanying “days of action,” wherein Ma seeks “to put culture in action by bringing people and organizations together to address pressing social issues” and “invite all of us to think differently about the role of culture in society.”
Guest conductors performing with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and other ensembles at Tanglewood during August 2019 include: Antonio Pappano, Ken-David Masur, Asher Fisch, Dima Slobodeniouk, Leonidas Kavakos, Rafael Payare, Thomas Adès, François-Xavier Roth, Giancarlo Guerrero, Huichang Yan, Yu-An Chang; guest soloists include Joshua Bell, Pinchas Zukerman, Yefim Bronfman, Emanuel Ax, Yo-Yo Ma, Nikolai Lugansky, Inon Barnatan, Kirill Gerstein, Ingrid Fliter.
The 2019 Festival of Contemporary Music runs August 8-12; The Knights perform Thursday, August 15, 8 p.m. Ozawa Hall in a program conducted by Eric Jacobsen, with violinist Gil Shaham.
Thursday, August 1, 8 p.m. Ozawa Hall
National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America
Sir Antonio Pappano, conductor^
Joyce DiDonato, mezzo-soprano^
BERLIOZ Les Nuits d’été
STRAUSS An Alpine Symphony
Friday, August 2, 6 p.m. Ozawa Hall
Prelude Concert
Members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra
Friday, August 2, 8 p.m. Shed
The Serge and Olga Koussevitzky Memorial Concert
Boston Symphony Orchestra
Ken-David Masur, conductor
Joshua Bell, violin
MARTIN? Memorial to Lidice
DVO?ÁK Violin Concerto
DVO?ÁK Symphony No. 8
UnderScore Friday Concert
Saturday, August 3, 10:30 a.m. Shed
Rehearsal, Sunday program
Saturday, August 3, 8 p.m. Shed
Boston Symphony Orchestra
Asher Fisch, conductor
Pinchas Zukerman, violin
Amanda Forsyth, cello
SCHUMANN Overture to Genoveva
Avner DORMAN Double Concerto for violin, cello,
and orchestra (American premiere; BSO co-commission)
BEETHOVEN Romance No. 1 in G for violin and orchestra
MENDELSSOHN Symphony No. 3, Scottish
Sunday, August 4, 2:30 p.m. Shed
Boston Symphony Orchestra
Dima Slobodeniouk, conductor
Yefim Bronfman, piano
RACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No. 3
SIBELIUS Symphony No. 1
Tuesday, August 6, 8 p.m. Ozawa Hall
Emanuel Ax, piano
Leonidas Kavakos, violin
Yo-Yo Ma, cello
ALL-BEETHOVEN PROGRAM
Selected trios for piano, violin, and cello
Wednesday, August 7, 8 p.m. Ozawa Hall
Yefim Bronfman, piano
ALL-BEETHOVEN PROGRAM
Sonata No. 5 in C minor, Op. 10, No. 1
Sonata No. 6 in F, Op. 10, No. 2
Sonata No. 7 in D, Op. 10, No. 3
Sonata No. 23 in F minor, Op. 57, Appassionata
Friday, August 9, 6 p.m. Ozawa Hall
Prelude Concert
Members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra
Friday, August 9, 8 p.m. Shed
Boston Symphony Orchestra
Leonidas Kavakos, conductor and violin
BEETHOVEN Violin Concerto
DVO?ÁK Symphony No. 7
UnderScore Friday Concert
Saturday, August 10, 10:30 a.m. Shed
Rehearsal, Sunday program
Saturday, August 10, 8 p.m. Shed
Boston Symphony Orchestra
Rafael Payare, conductor+
Nikolai Lugansky, piano
CARREÑO Margaritena
RACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No. 1
BRAHMS Symphony No. 1
Sunday, August 11, 2:30 p.m. Shed
Boston Symphony Orchestra
Thomas Adès, conductor
Inon Barnatan, piano+
IVES Three Places in New England
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 4
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 6, Pastoral
Sunday, August 11, 7:30 p.m. Shed
Yo-Yo Ma, cello
J.S. BACH Suites for unaccompanied cello
In this special Sunday-evening Shed concert, Yo-Yo Ma plays all six of J.S. Bach’s Suites for Solo Cello, music that has given him, in his own words, “sustenance, comfort, and joy during times of stress, celebration, and loss.”
2019 Festival of Contemporary Music, August 8-12
BSO Artistic Partner Thomas Adès, Director
Thursday, August 8, 8 p.m. Ozawa Hall
Opera
TMC Vocal Fellows
Richard AYRES The Cricket Recovers (American Premiere)
Friday, August 9, 2:30 p.m. Center for Music and Learning
Chamber Music
Erika FOX Hungarian Rhapsody (American premiere)
Andrew HAMILTON New work
(world premiere; TMC commission)
Hilda PAREDES Altazor (American premiere)
Saturday, August 10, 6:15 p.m. Center for Music and Learning
Prelude Concert
Poul RUDERS String Quartet No. 3 (American premiere)
SEEGER String Quartet
Chaya CZERNOWIN Anea Crystal
Sunday, August 11, 10 a.m. Ozawa Hall
Chamber Music
Andrew HAMILTON music for people who like art (American premiere)
Nathan SHIELDS New work (American premiere; TMC commission)
Steve REICH Radio Rewrite
Thea MUSGRAVE Space Play
Monday, August 12, 6 p.m. Ozawa Hall
Prelude Concert
Piano works of Oliver Knussen
Monday, August 12, 8 p.m. Ozawa Hall
Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra
Thomas Ades, conductor
TMC Conducting Fellows
TMC Vocal Fellows
Gerald BARRY Canada (American premiere)
Poul RUDERS Symphony No. 5 (American premiere)
KNUSSEN Whitman Settings
György KURTÁG …concertante…, Op. 42 (American premiere)
Tuesday, August 13, 8 p.m. Ozawa Hall
Leonidas Kavakos, violin
Emanuel Ax, piano
ALL-BEETHOVEN PROGRAM
Violin Sonata No. 4 in A minor, Op. 23
Violin Sonata No. 6 in A, Op. 30, No. 1
Violin Sonata No. 10 in G, Op. 96
Thursday, August 15, 8 p.m. Ozawa Hall
The Knights
Eric Jacobsen, conductor
Gil Shaham, violin
LIGETI Concert Românesc
BRAHMS Violin Concerto
György KURTÁG Signs, Games, and Messages
KODÁLY Dances of Galánta
BRAHMS (arr. Paul Brantley) Four Hungarian Dances
Friday, August 16, 6 p.m. Ozawa Hall
Prelude Concert
Members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra
Friday, August 16, 8 p.m. Shed
Boston Pops Orchestra
Keith Lockhart, conductor
Star Wars: A New Hope (film with live orchestra)
Join Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops as they present this classic film with live orchestral accompaniment. Set 30 years after Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Star Wars: A New Hope, the fourth episode of the saga, returns to the desert planet of Tatooine. A young Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) begins to discover his destiny when, searching for a lost droid, he is saved by reclusive Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness). A civil war rages in the galaxy, and Rebel forces struggle against the evil Galactic Empire, Luke and Obi- Wan enlist the aid of hotshot pilot, Han Solo (Harrison Ford). Joined by the quirky droid duo R2-D2 and C-3PO, the unlikely team sets out to rescue Rebel leader Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) and make use of the stolen plans to destroy the Empire’s ultimate weapon. In a legendary confrontation, the rogue group mounts an attack against the Death Star for a climactic battle with the evil Sith Lord Darth Vader.
Saturday, August 17, 10:30 a.m. Shed
Rehearsal, Sunday program
Saturday, August 17, 8 p.m. Shed
Boston Symphony Orchestra
François-Xavier Roth, conductor^
Kirill Gerstein, piano
BRAHMS Piano Concerto No. 2
SCHUMANN Symphony No. 2
Sunday, August 18, 2:30 p.m. Shed
Boston Symphony Orchestra
François-Xavier Roth, conductor
Yo-Yo Ma, cello
Members of the BSO horn section
SCHUMANN Concert Piece for four horns and orchestra
SCHUMANN Cello Concerto
BRAHMS Serenade No. 1
Sunday, August 18, 8 p.m. Ozawa Hall
Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra
Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor
TMC Conducting Fellows
Program to include
MAHLER Symphony No. 4
Wednesday, August 21, 8 p.m. Ozawa Hall
Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra^
Huichang Yan, conductor^
With its roots in the musical heritage of its homeland, the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra is a cultural phenomenon: an ensemble of more than 80 players, performing on traditional Chinese instruments placed in a Western orchestral configuration. The orchestra has built a repertoire that includes not only time-honored Chinese music but also contemporary works, many composed especially for the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra by some of the leading composers of our time. This is one of only two U.S. engagements on the ensemble’s 2019 international tour.
Friday, August 23, 6 p.m. Ozawa Hall
Prelude Concert
Tanglewood Festival Chorus, James Burton, conductor
Friday, August 23, 8 p.m. Shed
Boston Symphony Orchestra
Yu-An Chang, conductor^^
Ingrid Fliter, piano
MENDELSSOHN Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream
RAVEL Piano Concerto in G
SCHUBERT Symphony No. 2
Saturday, August 24, 10:30 a.m. Shed
Rehearsal, Sunday program
Saturday, August 24, 8 p.m. Shed
John Williams’ Film Night
Boston Pops
David Newman, conductor
John Williams, host
John Williams’ Film Night has long been established as one of the Tanglewood calendar’s most anticipated and beloved evenings. Join Mr. Williams as he introduces this year’s celebration of the music of Hollywood and beyond, featuring the Boston Pops and conductor David Newman.
Sunday, August 25, 2:30 p.m. Shed
Boston Symphony Orchestra
Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor
Nicole Cabell, soprano
J’Nai Bridges, mezzo-soprano+
Nicholas Phan, tenor
Morris Robinson, bass
Tanglewood Festival Chorus, James Burton, conductor
SCHOENBERG Friede auf Erden (Peace on Earth), for unaccompanied chorus
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 9