The Classical Beat: Visit Tanglewood, Sevenars For Great Music

By Stephen DanknerGuest Column
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Ron Gorevic will perform Bach at Sevenars Music Festival Sunday, 4 PM

Tanglewood enters its second week of both pops and classical programming with thrilling concerts in the Shed, Ozawa Hall and at the Tanglewood-Linde Center, a constituent part of the new and innovative Tanglewood Learning Institute (TLI). As always, diversity in programming combined with outstanding performances is assured.

Sevenars Concerts in South Worthington, Mass., founded in 1968, offers a wonderfully intimate and musically enthralling series of seven concerts. This summer, Sevenars is celebrating its 55th anniversary season. Read below for a description of this week's uniquely exceptional recital.

Why go? Simply stated, what you'll see and hear this week in these two venues is a sampling of the very best performances within the richness and diversity of classical music programming in our region.

     Tanglewood: Boston Symphony and the Pops in the Shed

•   Friday, July 14, 8:00 p.m.: The Boston Pops and conductor Keith Lockhart present "Two Pianos: Who Could Ask for Anything More?" - a program celebrating George Gershwin and his world, with vocalist/pianist Michael Feinstein and pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet.

•   Saturday, July 15, 8:00 p.m.: Maestro Andris Nelsons leads a BSO concert performance of Mozart's opera "Così fan tutte," directed by James Darrah in his BSO debut, and featuring soprano Nicole Cabell, mezzo-soprano Kate Lindsey, tenor Amitai Pati, and baritone Elliot Madore as the capricious couples, soprano Meigui Zhang, in her Tanglewood debut, and bass-baritone Patrick Carfizzi, plus the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, James Burton, conductor. 

•   Sunday, July 16, 2:30 p.m.: Maestro Nelsons and the BSO open the program with Beethoven's "Leonore" Overture No. 3, followed without intermission by Orff's vibrant secular cantata "Carmina burana," with soprano Erin Morley, countertenor Reginald Mobley, in his Tanglewood debut, and baritone Will Liverman, as well as the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, and the Boston Children's Chorus (sung in Latin with English supertitles). 

•  Monday, July 17, 8:00 p.m.: Andris Nelsons and Conducting Fellows Agata  Zajac and Armand Singh Birk share the podium, leading the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra in music of Bacewicz, Kodály, and Mahler. 

SPECIAL EVENT: FREE TICKETS TO BERKSHIRE RESIDENTS             

Berkshire Day tickets will be available at the Main Gate Box office on Monday, July 17 at 12:00 pm.  

Free Shed tickets for the BSO concert on Sunday, July 23, at 2:30 p.m. will be offered in pairs to residents and property owners of Berkshire County. If Shed seats sell out, then lawn tickets will be offered. Please bring identification to establish Berkshire County residency or property ownership (a driver's license, rental lease, utility bill, or tax bill). Other special ticket opportunities include free lawn tickets for visitors under 18, $25 "under 40" tickets, lawn passes for Berkshire residents, and discounts for students, military personnel, and members of the Massachusetts Teachers Association.

Tanglewood: Ozawa Hall concerts

•   Thursday, July 13, 8:00 p.m.: Classical singer Julia Bullock, who made her Tanglewood debut with the BSO on July 9, is joined by pianist John Arida, in his Tanglewood debut, performing songs by Schubert, Wolf, Weill, Billie Holiday, and Nina Simone. 

•   Friday, July 14, 6:00 p.m.: Prelude Concert featuring music by Schumann and Mozart performed by members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.  

•  Tanglewood: TMC and TLI Linde Center/Studio E events

•   Wednesday, July 12, 1:30 p.m.: TLI Open Vocal Workshop with soprano Erin Morley, who is also a soloist in "Carmina burana" (7/16), and TMC Fellows (joint presentation of TLI and TMC).

•   Thursday, July 13, 1:00 p.m.: A TLI In Conversation with Will Liverman, baritone soloist in "Carmina burana" (7/16).

•   Saturday, July 15, 6:00 p.m.: Tanglewood Music Center Chamber Music, Prelude Concert, featuring music of Respighi, Michelle Ross, and G. Williams.

•  Sunday, July 16, 8:00 p.m.: Tanglewood Music Center Vocal Music, featuring works by Rachmaninoff, Durey, Butterworth, and Guy Ropartz.  

For tickets for all Tanglewood/BSO concerts (lawn and Shed seating) and for special events call (617) 266-1200. TDD/TTY: (617) 638-9289. Online: tanglewood.org. 

Sevenars Concerts

• Sunday, July 16, 4:00 p.m.: Sevenars Concerts will present the outstanding violist Ronald Gorevic in a performance of the Bach Cello Suites I-IV played on the viola. Mr. Gorevic has recently recorded all six of the Bach Suites for Centaur Records, and this is an exceptional opportunity to experience these profound masterpieces live in a hall that has been likened acoustically to the inside of a Stradivarius stringed instrument.

Mr. Gorevic has been called "a musician first and foremost" by N. Y. Times critic Allen Hughes, and his performance of these Bach masterpieces promises to be a uniquely memorable musical event. 

The Sevenars Academy is located at 15 Ireland Street, just off Rt. 112 in South Worthington, Ma. Admission is by donation (suggested $20) and is held at the Academy in the historic village of South Worthington, MA, located at 15 Ireland Street, just off MA Route 112. Phone: (413) 238-5854 (Leave return call phone number). Web: www.sevenars.com. Admission by donation (suggested $20.) Free refreshments will be available.

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Ventfort Hall: Making New England Movies

LENOX, Mass. — Jay Craven, American film director, screenwriter, and former film professor at Marlboro College, will present his talk "New England Movies: How and Why" on Sunday, March 1 at Ventfort Hall at 3:30 pm. 
 
Craven will tell the story of his adventures and experiences, developing a sustained filmmaking career in the unlikely settings of Vermont and Massachusetts. A tea will follow his presentation.
 
He will describe working with a wide range of actors, including Rip Torn, Tantoo Cardinal, Kris Kristofferson, Martin Sheen, Ernie Hudson, and Michael J. Fox.  He'll share the satisfactions and challenges that come from immersion into place-based narrative filmmaking. 
 
According to a press release:
 
Craven's work grew out of years of working as a teacher and arts activist whose mission has been the advancement of community and culture in the region.  For four decades he has written, produced, and directed character-driven films deeply rooted in Vermont and New England, including five "Vermont Westerns" based on the works of award-winning Northeast Kingdom writer, Howard Frank Mosher. His latest film, Lost Nation, digs into the parallel Revolutionary War era stories of Ethan Allen and the pioneering Black Guilford poet, Lucy Terry Prince.  His other films have adapted stories by Jack London, Guy du Maupassant, George Bernard Shaw, Craig Nova and, currently, Henrik Ibsen and Dashiell Hammett. Craven also made the regional Emmy-winning comedy series, Windy Acres, for public television and seven documentaries.
 
Craven's films have played festivals and special screenings including Sundance, South by Southwest, The American Film Institute, Lincoln Center, Cinematheque Francaise, the Constitutional Court of Johannesburg, and Cinemateca Nacional de Venezuela. Awards include the Vermont Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts, the Producer's Guild of America's NOVA Award, and the National Endowment for the Arts American Masterpieces program. His film Where the Rivers Flow North was a named finalist for Critics Week at the Cannes Film Festival.
 
Tickets are $45. Members receive $5 off with their discount code. Ticket pricing includes access to the mansion throughout the day of this event from 10 am to 4 pm. Reservations are strongly encouraged as seats are limited. Walk-ins accommodated as space allows. For reservations visit https://gildedage.org/pages/calendar or call (413) 637-3206. All tickets are nonrefundable and non-exchangeable. The historical mansion is located at 104 Walker St. in Lenox.
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