Tanglewood, Sevenars Offer Thrilling Music and Performances

THE CLASSICAL BEAT

By

STEPHEN DANKNER

TANGLEWOOD, SEVENARS OFFER THRILLING MUSIC AND PERFORMERS

With the second week of August, Tanglewood continues its high energy 2024 classical programming with four powerhouse concerts in the Shed. These include performances by the Boston Symphony; the outstanding visiting guest artists the National Children's Symphony of Venezuela, led by the superlative, world-renowned maestro Gustavo Dudamel; the thrillingly Romantic and virtuosic Third Piano Concerto of Rachmaninoff, composed in 1909, and on the same program the transcendent "Le Sacre du printemps," composed by Igor Stravinsky in 1912-‘13 and premiered in Paris. Gratefully, there will be more from the Russian master: the phenomenal virtuoso violinist Leila Josefowicz will perform Stravinsky's energetic, neoclassical Violin Concerto, composed in 1931 and premiered in the U.S. by Serge Koussevitsky and the Boston Symphony in January, 1932.

Read below for all the details covering these outstanding programs and performing artists - the four Shed highlights, as well as the complete offerings in each magnificent Tanglewood venue during the six-day period from Wednesday, August 7 through Monday, August 12.

• Thursday, August 8, 8:00 p.m. in the Shed: Gustavo Dudamel conducts the National Children's Symphony of Venezuela in their Tanglewood debut. The major work on their program will be the Fifth Symphony of Dmitry Shostakovich. Composed in 1937, it is a masterwork of 20^th century symphonism.

• Friday, August 9, 8:00 p.m. in the Shed: Maestro Alan Gilbert will lead the BSO with pianist Kirill Gerstein performing Rachmaninoff's rhapsodic Piano Concerto No. 3; the concert will conclude with Stravinsky's electrifying "The Rite of Spring."

• Saturday, August 10, 8:00 p.m. in the Shed: The stellar violinist Leila Josefowicz will have her much-anticipated Tanglewood debut with the BSO in the Shed with a performance of Stravinsky's Violin Concerto, under the baton of conductor Dalia Stasevska. The program also includes the innovative, three-movement Fifth Symphony of Jean Sibelius, composed in the years 1914-'15.

• Sunday, August 11, 2:30 p.m. in the Shed: Soprano Elena Villalón and conductor James Gaffigan will perform two Mozart arias from the operas "Idomeneo" and "The Marriage of Figaro." The concert concludes with Gustav Mahler's miraculously evocative Symphony No. 4, composed in 1892, which includes the song, sung by Ms. Villalón, "Das himmlische Leben" ("The Heavenly Life"), set to a text from "Des Knaben Wunderhorn." 

Tanglewood programs and related events throughout the week

Wednesday, August 7

1:30 p.m., Studio E, Linde Center for Music and Learning

TLI Open Workshops: Kirill Gerstein, piano

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Thursday, August 8

1 p.m., Tent Club

TLI Talks and Walks

Anthony Fogg, moderator, with pianist Kirill Gerstein

1:30 p.m., Studio E, Linde Center for Music and Learning

TLI Open Workshops: Jeremy Denk, piano

8pm, Shed

National Children's Symphony of Venezuela

Gustavo Dudamel, conductor

John ADAMS Short Ride in a Fast Machine

ESTÉVEZ Mediodía en el Llano

GINASTERA Dances from Estancia

SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 5

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Friday, August 9

2:30 p.m., Studio E, Linde Center for Music and Learning

TLI Presents: "Decolonizing American Music in Eight Difficult Steps" with George Lewis

4 p.m., Studio E, Linde Center for Music and Learning

TLI Presents: "This Is America," Part 1, with Johnny Gandelsman, violin

Violinist and producer Johnny Gandelsman developed This is America in 2020, out of a time of rupture and disconnection. Thinking about ways that one person could make a small difference, he brought together commissioning partners across eleven states and territories to commission 22 new works. He invited the composers, all US-based, to reflect on the time we're all living in. Since that initial burst of creativity, "This is America" has been performed throughout North America and grown to encompass 28 compositions for solo violin.

6 p.m., Seiji Ozawa Hall

Prelude Concert

Tatiana Dimitriades & Catherine French, violins

Edward Gazouleas & Steven Laraia, violas

Christine Lee, cello

Fanny MENDELSSOHN-HENSEL String Quartet in E-flat

Felix MENDELSSOHN String Quartet in A, Op. 18

8 p.m., Shed

Boston Symphony Orchestra

Alan Gilbert, conductor

Kirill Gerstein, piano

RACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No. 3

STRAVINSKY The Rite of Spring

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Saturday, August 10

10:30 a.m., Shed

Boston Symphony Orchestra

Open Rehearsal, Sunday program

1:30 p.m., Seiji Ozawa Hall

Boston University Tanglewood Institute Young Artists Chorus

2 p.m., Studio E, Linde Center for Music and Learning

TLI Presents: Palaver Strings§ with Nicholas Phan, tenor and Farayi Malek, jazz and contemporary

vocalist, perform "A Change Is Gonna Come" Featuring Grammy award-winning tenor Nicholas Phan and jazz & contemporary vocalist Farayi Malek this program explores our country's rich legacy of protest songs. Repertoire includes traditional songs of protest and music inspired by social movements and historical events, including Akenya Seymour's "Fear the Lamb," and a new commission by Errollyn Wallen. Spanning genres, eras, and movements, A Change Is Gonna Come provokes conversation, confronts our past and present, and celebrates the act of protest as one of our most precious rights.

5 p.m., Seiji Ozawa Hall

TLI Spotlight Series: Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Mr.

Gates, Jr. is the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and Director of the Hutchins Center for

African & African American Research at Harvard University. Emmy and Peabody Award-winning filmmaker, literary scholar, journalist, cultural critic, and institution builder, Professor Gates has published numerous books and produced and hosted an array of documentary films. Finding Your Roots, his groundbreaking genealogy and genetics series, is in its tenth season on PBS, and his most recent history series, Gospel, premiered on PBS in February 2024. His latest book is "The Black Box: Writing the Race" (Penguin Random House, 2024). Harvey Young, is the Moderator

6 p.m., Studio E, Linde Center for Music and Learning

TMC Fellows

Prelude Concert

DEBUSSY Sonata for flute, viola, and harp

Jessie MONTGOMERY Concerto Grosso (BSO co-

commission, East Coast premiere)

RAVEL Piano Trio

8 p.m., Shed

Boston Symphony Orchestra

Dalia Stasevska, conductor+

Leila Josefowicz, violin§

SIBELIUS (arr. STRAVINSKY) Canzonetta

STRAVINSKY Violin Concerto

SIBELIUS Symphony No. 5

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Sunday, August 11

10 a.m., Seiji Ozawa Hall

TMC Chamber Music

George LEWIS Le témoignage des lumières

Lingbo MA In a Maze, In a Daze

IVES Piano Trio

Nicky SOHN Time's Dialogue

BRAHMS Piano Quartet in G minor, Op. 25

2:30 p.m., Shed

Boston Symphony Orchestra, James Gaffigan, conductor

Elena Villalón, soprano

Anna CLYNE Sound and Fury

MOZART "Padre, germani, addio!" from Idomeneo

MOZART "Deh vieni, non tardar" from The Marriage

of Figaro

MAHLER Symphony No. 4

5 p.m., Studio E, Linde Center for Music and Learning

TLI Presents: "This Is America," Part 2, with Johnny

Gandelsman, violin

7 p.m., Seiji Ozawa Hall

TLI Presents: Jeremy Denk, piano, performs

The Battle of Manassas by ‘Blind Tom' WIGGINS

and Ives's Concord Sonata ‡

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Monday, August 12

8 p.m., Seiji Ozawa Hall

Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra

TMC Conducting and Vocal Fellows

Program of opera excerpts

ALL-MOZART PROGRAM with selections from

The Marriage of Figaro

Don Giovanni

Die Zauberflöte

For tickets to all Tanglewood events, call (888) 266-1200, or go online at tanglewood.org.

CHAMBER MUSIC AT SEVENARS

• Sunday, August 11 at 4:00 p.m.: Sevenars is thrilled to welcome oboist Joel Bard,  pianist Sayuri Miyamoto and violinist/violist Jun-Ching Lin in a breathtaking program of solos, duos, and trios. Award-winning pianist Sayuri Miyamoto with her husband, the brilliant oboist/conductor Joel Bard often perform as a duo. They will perform a program consisting of both familiar and less well-known solo, duo, and trio repertoire by Mozart, Clara Schumann, Robert Schumann, Ottorino Respighi, Ignacy Jan Paderewski, Charles Martin Loeffler, and Leopold Wallner.

Founded in 1968, Sevenars Concerts, Inc., is celebrating its 56^th season of six summer concerts, held at the Academy, a building designated "an acoustic gem in an idyllic setting," located in the  historic village of South Worthington,15 Ireland Street, off MA Route 112.

Concerts are presented on consecutive Sundays at 4:00 p.m. until August 18. Phone: (413) 238-5854 (please leave a message for a return call). Online: www.sevenars.org. Email: Sevenars@aol.com. Admission is by donation at the door (suggested $20). Refreshments will be available.

Rain Slows Growth of Butternut Fire

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:35PM / Thursday, November 21, 2024

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass.— Rain has slowed the Butternut Fire's growth but it's estimated at about 1,200 acres at this point. 

It's the largest wildfire in the Berkshires since nearly a 1,000 acres burned in Clarksburg State Forest back in 2021. 

"We want to start with some good news. Ground patrols are finding minimal new fire activity since this morning's rains began," the Great Barrington Fire Department posted on its Facebook page at 12:45 p.m..

"We want to reiterate that the rain will not extinguish the fire but it is helping to stop the spread. The weather has also delayed some of the drone operations — as a result we do not have an official size. What we do know — the growth has been minimal."

Fire Lt. Brian Mead earlier Thursday morning said the fire had seen some growth overnight but not to extent of Wednesday's surge. Fire was reported within a quarter mile of homes and was "stopped in its tracks." There are now more than 100 personnel on the ground and there has been one injury related to the fire, which he did not elaborate on.

 

"The rain will help to some extent but it will not extinguish the fire," said Mead. "We will remain on scene for the days and weeks to come but we still need your help. Please, please follow the local and state bans on outdoor fire. The last thing we need is another preventable fire."

At 4 p.m., the department reported that it will continue to operate under unified command with support from local, state, and federal agencies. Friday's operations will be scaled back with smaller crews and focused on monitoring and reporting.

At the last live update of the day, Mead said the fire would continue to be monitored and fire crews dispatched as needed. 

 

"There is a lot of misinformation on out social media and we ask that you please, please rely on local official sites," he said. "Please avoid the areas and allow us to do our work."

 

The rain and smoke has made drone monitoring difficult so the exact size of the fire is not known; he estimated it grew about 100 acres over the past 24 hours. 

Two rumors he dispelled were that the fire did not start at Camp Eisner. Mead said the initial location of the burn has not been identified but it did not start at the camp, which is occupied. Ski Butternut is also not in danger and that fire crews have kept the blaze to a safe distance. 

A section of the Appalachian Trail has been affected and that area shut down. 

Thursday's rain slowed growth and allowed crews to establish strong fire boundaries meaning that swaths have been cut and cleared to create fire breaks — which are holding.

At this time, no homes or structures are in immediate danger.

The fire near Brush Hill Road off East Mountain was first reported Monday evening. On Tuesday, it spread over 100 acres, and on Wednesday, it covered over 1,100 acres, expanding into Sheffield.

The town remains in a state of emergency, as declared by the Select Board on Tuesday, but first responders assure that Great Barrington is not in danger.

Firefighters were dispatched to three locations for concerns of fire extension into homes and in one instance, the fire was allowed to continue in a controlled state to a driveway and self-extinguished.  They are aware of one injury from the fire and urge community members to avoid the area and leave firefighting to the professionals.

"More than 120 personnel are on the ground today fighting this fire," Mead reported on Thursday morning.

He said the day’s rain will help to some extent but will not extinguish the fire, explaining "We will remain on scene for the days and weeks to come."  

At this time, the primary focus remains the protection of life and property, as patrols and alert residents identified some encroaching fire and stopped it in its tracks.

"We have strategically placed structural task forces, prepared to protect homes and property. Although they are staged and at the ready — there is NO immediate threat to residents," the department wrote in the 12:45 update.

"At the same time, crews have been working through the rain cutting fire breaks in the forest to further stop any expansion. Those control lines are holding."

Area residents can expect smoke to linger for the next several days. The Southern Berkshire Public Health Collaborative released guidance for the poor air quality, as it can worsen allergies and cause respiratory infections, especially for those with heart disease asthma, or other lung diseases.

Residents are urged to monitor air quality and symptoms, move outdoor activities inside, wear a KN-95 mask when outdoors, close windows and vents in homes, and use HEPA filters.

Even with recent rains — there is a burn ban in Great Barrington until further notice. Additionally, state officials are evaluating week by week for statewide bans.

"With an immense amount of appreciation, we are not accepting donations at this time. In true New England fashion — neighbors have truly helped neighbors," the department wrote. "We are grateful to the community for once again showing your support."

Mead urged the community to "please please follow the local and state bans on fire, the last thing we need is another preventable fire."