© 2024 Public Radio Tulsa
800 South Tucker Drive
Tulsa, OK 74104
(918) 631-2577

A listener-supported service of The University of Tulsa
classical 88.7 | public radio 89.5
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Yo-Yo Ma Headlines Tanglewood's 75th Anniversary Concert

PROGRAM:

  • Copland, Fanfare for the Common Man
  • Bernstein, Three Dances from On the Town
  • "Over the Rainbow," "Shall We Dance" and "Old Man River" (with James Taylor)
  • Tchaikovsky, Andante cantabile for cello and strings (with Yo-Yo Ma)
  • Sarasate, Carmen Fantasy (with Anne-Sophie Mutter)
  • Two movements from Haydn's Piano Concerto No. 11 in D Major (with Emanuel Ax)
  • Ravel, La valse
  • Beethoven, Choral Fantasy (with Peter Serkin)
  • A gentle summer evening, excellent company and great music — sounds like a recipe for perfection. That's exactly the lineup for this superstar-spangled party marking the 75th anniversary of Tanglewood, the verdant summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

    And what a celebration it was. On a gorgeous night in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, the Boston Symphony, Boston Pops and the student musicians of the festival's summer training program, the Tanglewood Music Center, gathered to play a wide-ranging program with conductors David Zinman, Andris Nelsons, John Williams and Keith Lockhart. The concert also featured four marquee-named guest stars: cellist Yo-Yo Ma, singer James Taylor and pianists Emanuel Ax and Peter Serkin.

    And this celebration could also have offered a hint about the orchestra's next move. Nelsons, a 33-year-old Latvian conductor, may well be on the short list to become the BSO music director in the wake of James Levine's resignation last year. Is it possible that this concert was a chance to glimpse the orchestra's future while casting a fond look back to its history? Only time will tell. In the meantime, this concert was one treat of a party.

    Copyright 2012 GBH

    Anastasia Tsioulcas
    Anastasia Tsioulcas is a reporter on NPR's Arts desk. She is intensely interested in the arts at the intersection of culture, politics, economics and identity, and primarily reports on music. Recently, she has extensively covered gender issues and #MeToo in the music industry, including backstage tumult and alleged secret deals in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations against megastar singer Plácido Domingo; gender inequity issues at the Grammy Awards and the myriad accusations of sexual misconduct against singer R. Kelly.