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A CurtainUp 
Berkshires Feature
Berkshires FeatureTanglewood Music Festival Tips -- Summer 2012
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INDEX 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 and 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.
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 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. On July 8, Miguel Harth-Bedoya conducts. Pm July 16th Marcelo Leholinger conducts. O July 23rd Stefan Asbury is joins by guest pianist Emanuel Ax. Postscript: I try to keep the Monday nights of these concerts free as they always feature interesting programming and at least one thrill-- like the exquisite Stravinsky Petrushka on July 23rd!
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 Saturday afternoons at 2:30 p.m. and feature outstanding onductors. There's something about sitting in Ozawa Hall with the afternoon sun streaming in and this young musicians making music that is indescribably enchanting. 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 2012 schedule for the Young Artists Orchestra: July 14 and 28th and August 11. Tickets are available one hour prior to concert start time at the Ozawa Hall box office only. Postscript: These Saturday afternoon concerts are not only the Tanglewood season's biggest bargains but extraordinarily satisfying in terms of the young musicians' playing and the conductors. For the past several seasons an attractive and enormously talented young conductor Paul Haas has made a powerful impression. He just gets better and better and more interesting all the time-- and so far the thrill of this entire concert season was Haas's helmsmanship at the July 28th concert, especially Beethoven's Mass in C major, often considered a prelude to his more famous 9th. Fortunately Haas will return to the podium on August 11th. Wouldn't it be wonderful if the Boston Symphony could throw ticket selliing big name considerations to the wind appoint this charismatic conductor, composer to be its director?
Family Specials
Family-friendly ticket programs, concerts, and activities throughout the season include a free scavenger hunt for children and families on June 29; free lawn tickets for all children and young adults age 17 and under; a 50% discount on Friday-evening concert tickets for students 18 and older;. Here are some other programs on offer:
Watch and Play Sundays - July 8 & 29, August 12 & 26 at 1 p.m. is an educational program designed to engage children in the day's musical program with lively discussions about instruments, concert themes, and musical concepts. The interactive program is offered at 1 p.m. in the Chamber Music Hall on July 8, July 29, August 12, and August 26. Tickets to the Sunday-afternoon concert performance are required. Watch and Play is sponsored by the Boston Symphony Association of Volunteers in collaboration with the BSO Education and Community Engagement department.
Kids' Corner is offered at noon on Sundays before the afternoon concerts, and during the Open Rehearsals at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday mornings. On days with Watch and Play (July 8, July 29, August 12, and August 26), Kids' Corner will begin at 2 p.m. Children accompanied by adults may take part in musical and crafts activities supervised by BSO staff. Interested families should check in at the Tanglewood Visitors Center. (Tickets to the Sunday concert or Saturday Open Rehearsal are required.)
Family Concert, August 25 at 2:30 p.m. Classical Tangent, a lively group of musicians from the BSO, Berklee College of Music faculty, and other professional organizations explore Folk music from around the world. Activities for children, including an instrument playground will begin at 12:30 p.m. Tickets for the Family Concert are free for children aged 17 and under and $10 for each adult
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String Quartet Marathons This year's 2-day event begins Sunday, July 1st at 8pm and continues Monday, July 2nd at 11 am and 3pm Concerts run 2 hours and cost just $11 (free to Friends).
Festival of Contemporary MusicTanglewood Music Center's Annual Festival of Contemporary Music at Ozawa Hall which has its followers and detractors but even those who find new music difficult ought to investigate at least one of the programs offered during this event. festival of contemporary music Composer-conductor Oliver Knussen, directs the 2012 FCM. Highlights of this year’s Festival include a performance with live film and animation of Knussen’s Higglety Pigglety Pop!, with a story and libretto by Maurice Sendak; music by four extraordinary young composers—Luke Bedford, Marti Epstein, Helen Grime, and Sean Shepherd; and guest appearances by pianists Gloria Cheng and Peter Serkin. Aug 9 to 13th. Tickets are $11.
String Tanglewood on Parade. or one of the summer's best buys for the whole family, there's the annual wall-to-wall (or should we say tree-to-tree, hall-to-hall musical treat known as Tanglewood on Parade. It features all the musicians, hot air balloons, and in my experience, almoslt always good weather. The festivities begin at 2:30 in the afternoon and end with a two-orchestra concert and fireworks to climax the "1812 Overture." Picnics at this event are often something to behold, with some of the revelers dressed up in costumes. Summer 2012 Tanglewood on Parade date is On Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Free Guided Walks .
The tours last approximately one hour and include visits to the Koussevitzky Music Shed, Ozawa Hall, other music facilities, the Visitors Center history rooms, and more. Reservations are not required. Tours begin at the Tanglewood Visitors Center. In addition, private group tours for a minimum of 25 people may be arranged at least two weeks in advance for a fee. bsav@bso.org, or 617-638-9394 to learn about dates and times. grounds.
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