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A CurtainUp 
Berkshires Feature
Berkshires FeatureTanglewood Music Festival Tips -- Summer 2011
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INDEX $75 will buy year-round Berkshire Residents a season lawn pass-- it's a photo ID pass and thus not transferable. Long-term summer visitors can buy a $200 Grass Pass that covers all the season's classical concerts, including the Pops Concerts, Tanglewood on Parade -- not included are the big Popular Artist Events like the annual James Taylor love fest.. The Index: Berkshire Night. . . Family Specials. . . Festival of Contemporary Music . . . . . . Friday Nights are Inside-Outside Nights . . . Free Guided Tours . . . Saturday Morning Rehearsals . . . Sunday Morning Chamber Music . . . String Quartet Marathons . . . Student Orchestra Concerts (TMC). . . Student Orchestra Concerts (BUTI) . . . Tanglewood On Parade . . Check CurtainUp's Berkshire News Page for breaking news of special events and tips for other Berkshire area attractions. Check CurtainUp's Main Page for links to reports and reviews. Check Berkshire Archives for past stories. . . . feedback to esommer@curtainup.com |
This season's FREE Berkshire Night is Friday, August 19, 2011. It will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the incorporation of Pittsfield, Great Barrington and Berkshire County in 1761. Sir Francis Bernard, British Royal Governor of Massachusetts named the town Pittsfield, in honor of William Pitt, the Elder, Leader of Parliament, and driving force behind the British victory in the French and Indian War in North America. Great Barrington was named for Lord Barrington, who was Secretary at War in 1761. Berkshire County was named in recognition of Berkshire County, England. Tickets are distributed at the Main Gate Box Office. Once the allotment of Shed tickets are gone we will distribute Lawn tickets. Residents of Berkshire County must show us a drivers license, a utility bill, library card, or some other form of proof that they have a residence in Berkshire county and adjoining towns in New York state. The program TBA
Berkshire residents attending the concert may also attend the 6 p.m. prelude concert in Ozawa Hall with a variety of artists and programs. If the weather looks threatening, you can still be protected from the elements with a lawn ticket if you arrive in time to nab a spot on the green benches along the rear of the shed. An alternative for the budget minded is to buy the least expensive Shed ticket. These are very popular so buying them at the beginning of the season is advisable.
Saturday Morning Rehearsals. If you can't make the Friday prelude-plus-concert, go over to the Tanglewood Shed at 10:30 on a Saturday morning. Earlier is even better since there's often a lecture before the rehearsals. The musicians will be wearing t-shirts and loafers, the conductor interrupts the playing periodically, and people tend to wander in and out at will. If you like your concerts in a very informal atmosphere, these open rehearsals may be just your musical brew. Best of all, there are no reserved seats and admission is the same as for a lawn ticket. Single tickets are $17.50-- packages of 4 or 8 are also available.
Sunday Morning Chamber Music. For those who prefer tennis, golf, swimming or going to tag sales on Saturday mornings, the student chamber music concerts at Ozawa Hall offer an intimate alternative. Besides the regularly scheduled Sunday morning recitals, there are numerous others each week.
Student Orchestra Concerts(TMC) These Monday night concerts are no longer quite the bargain they used to be but still less expensive than the Tanglewood Shed concerts, and feature the talented students of the Tanglewood Music Center or the younger BUTI Young Artists are no longer quite the well-kept secret they used to be. In fact, the evening TMC concerts have metamorphosed into the worst kept secret, with tickets snapped up so that those with advance reservations should keep their fingers crossed for good weather so that they can sit on the lawn. On a nice night, this is quite wonderful, especially since the Ozawa Hall lawn, unlike that surrounding the big Shed, is sloped so that you can have a good view of the musicians. The popularity of these concerts is well-deserved with the student musicians playing magnificently, even early in the season when they've had little time to play together.
This year's schedule lists just one TMC full orchestra concert:
Monday July 25. Jaap van Zweden conductor. Beethoven's Leonore Overture No. 3, Debussy's "Nuages" and "Fêtes" from Nocturnes and Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4.
Tickets in Ozawa Hall: $51 to $11.
Student Orchestra Concerts (BUTI) The BUTI concerts by the high school aged student musicians are among this reporter's own favorites. Full orchestra performances are on three Saturday afternoons at 2:30 p.m. and feature an outstanding conductor. There's something about sitting in Ozawa Hall with the afternoon sun streaming in and this young musicians making music that is indescribably enchanting. Unlike the evening concerts featuring the TMC orchestra which have become a bit too much of a hustle and bustle, must-see event, these concerts, at least for now, retain their sense of "summer time and the living is easy".. Some of these concerts are repeated during the wall-to-wall music events that make up the daytime festivities at Tanglewood on Parade.
The summer 2011 schedule for the Young Artists Orchestra Saturday afternoon con cers is as follows:
July 16, Paul Haas, conductor
Shostakovich Festive Overture. . .Revueltas Sensemaya./ . .Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6
July 30, Mei Ann Chen, conductor
Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances. . .Franck Symphony in D minor Saturday, August 13, David Hoose, conductor
Walton Funeral March from Hamlet
Free Guided Walks .
The Tanglewood Association of the Boston Symphony Association of Volunteers offers free walking tours of the Tanglewood campus from July 7 to August 23. The tours last one hour and include visits to the Koussevitzky Music Shed, Ozawa Hall, other music facilities, the Visitors Center history rooms, and more. Experienced volunteer guides explain the historical background of Tanglewood, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the Tanglewood Music Center. Reservations are not required.
Tours begin at the Visitors Center at Tappan Manor House. In the event of inclement weather, tours will meet informally under cover. Private group tours for a minimum of 20 people also may be arranged at least two weeks in advance for a fee by calling the Volunteer Office. grounds.
For Theater Reviews, see our Berkshire Main Page
For previouss summer season reviews, go to our Berkshire Archives .
For periodic new items, check our Berkshire News Page
For all CurtainUp reviews from New York, London, and elsewhere,
see our A-Z Index of All Reviews
For CurtainUp's Main Page Go Here
