Tanglewood 2020 Online Festival Enters Final Week

The Tanglewood 2020 Online Festival is a groundbreaking digital series of audio and video streams featuring newly created content being recorded at Tanglewood's Linde Center in July alongside previously recorded material from Tanglewood being released for the first time. The Boston Symphony Orchestra's first-ever Tanglewood digital festival-designed to capture the beauty and spirit of the Tanglewood grounds-will feature artists and programs of the originally announced 2020 Tanglewood season, among other content. Click here to view a quote from BSO Artistic Administrator and Director of Tanglewood Anthony Fogg.

In addition to the Tanglewood 2020 Online Festival free-of-charge offerings, other online programs ranging in price from $5 to $12 for a single stream, to $15 to $90 for multiple stream packages, are available for purchase via www.tanglewood.org.

The Tanglewood 2020 Online Festival is being offered in response to continuing concerns over the spread of COVID-19 and official crowd restriction policies that have necessitated the cancellation of the festival's live performance series.

NEW CONTENT

RECITALS FROM THE WORLD STAGE SERIES: GARRICK OHLSSON, PIANO

Wednesday, August 19, 8 p.m. - Hosted by Karen Allen, $8 for single video stream, $42 for series
Longtime BSO collaborator Garrick Ohlsson, who performed all 32 of Beethoven's piano sonatas at Tanglewood in 2006, performs two of the series in a recital from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Beethoven dedicated his two-movement 1809 F-sharp sonata, Op. 78, to one of his students among the nobility, the Countess Therese von Brunsvik. At the other end of the spectrum from this lovely and brief two-movement sonata is composer's most muscular and ambitious sonata, the four-movement Hammerklavier. Formally innovative and including a towering fugue in its last movement, the Hammerklavier is one of the defining works of Beethoven's final decade. The recital is produced in partnership with the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

BSO MUSICIANS IN CONCERT FROM TANGLEWOOD SERIES

Friday, August 21, 8 p.m. - Hosted by Lauren Ambrose, $5 for single video stream, $28 for series
BSO violinist Julianne Lee plays a short, energetic piece written by another violinist, Daniel Bernard Roumain, his Filter for solo violin. Lee performs with BSO violist Rebecca Gitter in Mozart's Duo in G, one of two duos the composer wrote as a favor for his friend Michael Haydn-Joseph's brother-who fell ill before fulfilling a commission. The G major duo is a substantial work of grace and elegance. Franz Schubert's late string quartets rank among his greatest works. His songful Rosamunde Quartet, the only one of these to be published in his lifetime, takes its name from a melody it shares with music he wrote for the stage play by that name.

GREAT PERFORMERS IN RECITAL FROM TANGLEWOOD SERIES: Joshua Bell, VIOLIN AND Jeremy Denk, PIANO

Saturday, August 22, 8 p.m. - Hosted by Nicole Cabell, $12 for single video stream, $90 for series
The outstanding violinist Joshua Bell and acclaimed pianist Jeremy Denk, longtime collaborators, bring their insightful artistry to bear on two pieces central to the violin-and-piano repertoire: Beethoven's Spring and Kreutzer sonatas. Rooted in the Classical world of Mozart, the Spring sonata of 1801 is one of the most beloved violin sonatas of all time. The optimism and lyricism of its melodies likely suggested the sonata's nickname, which was not Beethoven's own. The Kreutzer sonata, composed three years later, is a contrastingly dramatic and intense work that stands with such larger works as the Eroica and Fifth symphonies as defining Beethoven's "heroic" voice.

TLI MASTERPASS

Wednesday, August 19, 1 p.m. - Vocal master class with members of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus and singer and TMC Vocal Arts Head Dawn Upshaw, $5 for single video stream, $32 for series
Soprano Dawn Upshaw has achieved worldwide celebrity as a singer of opera and concert repertoire ranging from the sacred works of Bach to the freshest sounds of today. Her ability to reach to the heart of music and text has earned her the devotion of an exceptionally diverse audience, and the awards and distinctions accorded only to the most distinguished of artists. From Salzburg and Paris to the Metropolitan Opera, where she began her career in 1984 and has since made nearly 300 appearances. Tanglewood Music Center Associate Director Michael Nock hosts. Please note: This TLI video stream is available August 19, 2020, at 1 p.m. through August 26, 2020.

TLI SHOPTALKS

Thursday, August 20, 1 p.m. $5 for single video stream, $32 for series
Thursday-afternoon ShopTalks feature candid, informal discussions on life, music, and the future of the field with conductors, composers, soloists, and unsung heroes. For this week, host and Tanglewood Learning Institute Director Sue Elliott interviews Boston Pops Conductor Keith Lockhart and BSO Associate Principal Horn Gus Sebring. Please note: This TLI video stream is available August 20, 2020, at 1 p.m. through August 27, 2020.

RETROSPECTIVE CONTENT

TANGLEWOOD MUSIC CENTER ORCHESTRA ENCORE PERFORMANCES

Monday, August 17, 8 p.m. - Hosted by Stefan Asbury FREE video stream
During the 2019 season, the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra scaled a musical Everest under the baton of Andris Nelsons: Richard Wagner's Die Walküre-three acts in four hours, performed in three concerts over two days-a taxing yet extraordinary experience for the Fellows. This encore performance features the dramatic final act with a blockbuster cast of American soprano Christine Goerke as Brünnhilde and British bass-baritone James Rutherford as Wotan.

THE BEST OF TANGLEWOOD ON PARADE

Tuesday, August 18, 8 p.m. - Hosted by James Taylor FREE video stream
Hosted by perennial Tanglewood favorite James Taylor, The Best of Tanglewood on Parade-a video stream of highlights from past Tanglewood on Parade concerts-features the Boston Symphony, Boston Pops, and Tanglewood Music Center orchestras, as well as the Tanglewood Festival Chorus and Boston Symphony Children's Choir, in selections led by conductors Andris Nelsons, Keith Lockhart, John Williams, James Burton, and Seiji Ozawa. Along with hosting the program, Taylor will introduce archival performances of two songs he wrote, "Lonesome Road" and "Mean Old Man" performed with James' band, members of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, and John Williams and the Boston Pops, from an August 2009 Tanglewood concert. Among the other highlights of The Best of Tanglewood on Parade program is James Burton's The Lost Words, a reprise of the piece's premiere at the 2019 Tanglewood on Parade concert by the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Symphony Children's Choir, Mr. Burton conducting. In keeping with a cherished tradition, the night will close with a performance of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture-in this case, a recording from the 2015 Tanglewood on Parade concert in which musicians from the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra join forces under the direction of BSO Music Director Andris Nelsons. Please click here for the complete press release.

BSO ENCORE PERFORMANCES FROM TANGLEWOOD SERIES

Sunday, August 23, 2:30 p.m. - Hosted by Jamie Bernstein FREE video stream
For decades, the Boston Symphony Orchestra's Tanglewood season has concluded with a joyous performance of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9. This concert features the orchestra's most recent performance of that iconic work, led by frequent BSO guest conductor Giancarlo Guerrero (left) and featuring four outstanding American soloists-soprano Nicole Cabell, mezzo-soprano J'Nai Bridges, tenor Nicholas Phan, bass Morris Robinson-along with, as always, the Tanglewood Festival Chorus. Best known for its glorious theme-and-variations finale setting Friedrich Schiller's "Ode to Joy," the Ninth Symphony was Beethoven's final completed orchestral score, a work whose extraordinary emotional power and innovative artistry are still compelling in 2020 as we celebrate Beethoven's 250th anniversary year.

Board Members and Friends to Match Contributions Made to the BSO, May 15-August 31, in Support of Tanglewood 2020 Online Festival
Several generous BSO Board members and friends have joined together in these unprecedented times to match contributions made to the Boston Symphony Orchestra from May 15 through August 31, 2020. The matched funds apply to new annual contributions and ticket donations, both of which are tax-deductible. The matched funds enable the BSO-the non-profit organization that owns and operates Tanglewood-to share the joy of music online through the Tanglewood 2020 Online Festival and other virtual programming, and to ensure that the BSO and Tanglewood are ready and able to welcome concertgoers in person when the time is right. Donors of $100 or more will receive complimentary access to all programs in the Tanglewood 2020 Online Festival. Those who want to make a gift and have it matched can visit tanglewood.org/givetoday. Gifts of all sizes are vital and appreciated. For more information, please email customerservice@bso.org or call 888-266-1200.

Brief Background on Tanglewood and the Boston Symphony Orchestra
Tanglewood, located in the Berkshire Hills of Lenox and Stockbridge, MA, has been the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 1937 when the festival was founded by Serge Koussevitzky (BSO Music Director 1924-1949). In addition to performances by the BSO and the annual Popular Artists series, Tanglewood also presents concerts by the Boston Pops, a chamber music and recital series in Ozawa Hall, and performances by the Fellows of the Tanglewood Music Center, the BSO's acclaimed summer music academy, established in 1940 by Koussevitzky. The Tanglewood Learning Institute-introduced in summer 2019 and offering a wide spectrum of performances and multidisciplinary activities designed to engage curious minds seeking to become more involved with music and the arts-is Tanglewood's first new programmatic offering since the introduction of its Popular Artists series in the 1960s. TLI activities take place in the Linde Center for Music and Learning, a four-building complex that opened to critical and popular acclaim in summer 2019.

Tanglewood typically draws an attendance of approximately 340,000 people and brings more than $100 million in economic activity annually to the Berkshires region. Except for several years during World War II, when the performance schedule was curtailed or, in 1945, canceled in its entirety, Tanglewood has been a fixture in the Berkshires and has strengthened its position as this country's premier summer music festival. This year, the unprecedented health crisis resulting from the spread of COVID-19 has necessitated the cancellation of live performances with audiences at Tanglewood for summer 2020. In response to this understandable disappointment, the BSO has put all its creative energy into offering thoughtful and innovative online performance streams, Tanglewood 2020 Online Festival, designed to connect performers-both BSO musicians and guest artists-with audiences. In addition, the BSO is pleased to open the magnificent Tanglewood grounds to the public on a limited, scheduled basis. Further information about Tanglewood can be found at www.tanglewood.org; further details about the Tanglewood Learning Institute can be found at www.tli.org.

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