The Classical Beat Tanglewood and Sevenars Celebrate Great Music

By Stephen DanknerSpecial to iBerkshires
03:39PM / Wednesday, August 02, 2023Print Story | Email Story

Master pianist Emanuel Ax performs Brahms Aug. 4 at Tanglewood.

Tanglewood this week shifts into high gear with spectacular musical riches showcasing audience favorite works by time-honored composers.

Tanglewood continues its classical programming in high style with the Danish String Quartet performing Schubert on Aug. 3. The great pianist Emanuel Ax surveys the magisterial Brahms First Piano Concerto on Aug. 4; Berlioz’s out-of-this world "Symphonie Fantastique" will enthrall you on Sunday afternoon, Aug. 6, and to top it all off, Ravel’s insistent "Bolero" and the grandiloquent Symphony No. 2 of Sibelius will take center stage Monday evening, Aug. 8. The certifiably unforgettable performances by the brilliant Fellow/members of the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra (TMCO) will assuredly raise the roof in Ozawa Hall.

Adding to the excitement will be two of the not-to-be missed grand and popular celebratory events of the summer music festival season: John Williams’ Film Night on Aug. 5 and Tanglewood on Parade on Aug. 8. Read below for the details.

Tanglewood: in Ozawa Hall, the Shed and the Linde Center, Studio E

• Wednesday, Aug. 2, 1:30 p.m. in the Linde Center, Studio E: TLI Open Oboe and English Horn Workshop with Robert Sheena, BSO English Hornist, and TMC Fellows (joint presentation of TLI and TMC).

• Wednesday, Aug. 2. 8 p.m. in Ozawa Hall: The Danish String Quartet will perform music of Schubert and Anna Thorvaldsdottir ("Rituals").

• Thursday, Aug. 3, 1 p.m. in the Linde Center, Studio E: A TLI In Conversation with the distinguished pianist Andreas Haefliger.

• Friday, Aug. 4, 1:30 p.m. in the Linde Center, Studio E: For the TMC Composers’ Concert, Composition Fellows present works they composed at Tanglewood (free).

• Friday, Aug. 4, 8 p.m. in the Shed: John Adams’s "Shaker Loops" and Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 1 with the stellar frequent Tanglewood guest artist Emanuel Ax the luminous soloist.

• Saturday, Aug. 5, 2:30 p.m. in the Linde Center, Studio E: TLI Presents cellist Astrid Schween and pianist Shai Wosner in recital, performing masterpiece cello sonatas of Debussy, Britten, and Brahms.

• Saturday, Aug. 5, 5 p.m. in Ozawa Hall: The TLI Spotlight Series presents scholar Dr. Saidiya Hartman, who discusses racial justice and equality - central topics from her award-winning book, now newly revised and expanded: "Scenes of Subjection."

• Saturday, Aug. 5, 6 p.m., in the Linde Center, Studio E: Members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra offer a Prelude Concert, featuring music by Sibelius, Schumann, and Friedrich Cerha, as well as "these intervals matter," a composition by Katherine Balch for soprano solo, crystal glasses, and gravel.

• Saturday, Aug. 5, 8 p.m. in the Shed: John Williams makes the first of his two 2023 Tanglewood appearances, sharing the podium with David Newman to lead the Boston Pops in John Williams’ Film Night, a cherished tradition and highly anticipated event of every summer. The Boston University Tanglewood Institute Chorus also appears in selections from maestro Williams’ unforgettable scores, while clips from blockbusters "Jurassic Park," "Superman," and "Star Wars" are shown on the big screen.

• Sunday, Aug. 6, 10 a.m. in Ozawa Hall: A Tanglewood Music Center chamber music concert, featuring works by Imogen Holst, John Harbison, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, and the world premiere of a new work by Annie Nikunen.

• Sunday, Aug. 6, 2:30 p.m. in the Shed: Japanese conductor Kazuki Yamada leads the BSO in Mendelssohn’s youthful Concerto in E Major for two pianos and orchestra, featuring the Dutch piano duo Lucas and Arthur Jussen, and concluding with Berlioz’s masterpiece "Symphonie Fantastique."

• Sunday, Aug. 6, 8 p.m. in Ozawa Hall: The Aaron Diehl Trio: pianist Aaron Diehl, drummer Aaron Kimmel, and bassist David Wong—present a jazz program, which will include "24 Preludes" by American composer/pianist Sir Roland Hanna.

TANGLEWOOD ON PARADE

Family-friendly activities begin at 2:00 p.m. and include face painting, lawn games, a hot air balloon, musical fanfares, Bonaparte the Magician, and a collaborative performance with WBUR podcast Circle Round and BSO musicians.

Tanglewood on Parade Schedule - Tuesday, Aug. 8

• 2:00 PM - GATES OPEN – BU Tanglewood Institute Fanfares (Main Gate)

• 2:00 PM – Face painting by Bria (Visitor Center Porch: occurs throughout the afternoon)

• 2:30 PM – BU Tanglewood Institute Chamber Music (Chamber Music Hall)

• 2:30 PM – Circle Round performance of three never-before-heard stories featuring Rebecca Sheir, Eric Shimelonis, and a quartet of BSO musicians (Ozawa Hall)

• 3:15 PM – The Strolling Magic of Bonaparte (Roaming the Lawn)

• 3:30 PM – TMC Chamber Music (Tappan House Porch)

• 3:30 PM – Steinway Spirio Player Piano Recital (Studio E & Linde Center Lawn)?

• 4:00 PM – The Magic of Bonaparte (Visitor Center Lawn)

• 4:00 PM – BU Tanglewood Institute TOP Young Artists Orchestra and Chorus Concert

• 5:00 PM– Tanglewood Music Center Vocal Music (Ozawa Hall)

• 5:15 PM – The Strolling Magic of Bonaparte (Roaming the Lawn)

• 7:30 PM– Tanglewood Music Center Brass Fanfares (Shed)

• 8:00 PM– Tanglewood on Parade Concert (Shed)

• 10:00 PM– Fireworks Display (Lawn)

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 Music Festival

Sevenars welcomes back two Festival favorites - cellist Sara Sant'Ambrogio and pianist Judith Lynn Stillman. The duo will perform Rachmaninoff's soul-stirring Sonata in G Minor for Cello and Piano Op. 19, Beethoven's Sonata in A Major Op. 69, Debussy’s Sonata for Cello and Piano and shorter works by Astor Piazzolla and Gaspar Cassadó.

For Sevenars tickets, and general contact information, call: (413) 238-5854 (please leave a message for return call). On the Web: www.sevenars.org. Email: Sevenars@aol.com. Admission is by donation at the door (suggested $20). Refreshments are included. Sevenars Concerts is located at the Academy in South Worthington, MA, located at 15 Ireland Street, just off Route 112.

Tags: The Classical Beat,

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A Boutique Hotel is Bringing Guests a Luxury Stay in Lenox

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
04:19AM / Tuesday, June 02, 2026

LENOX, Mass. — A new Inn is bringing a boutique-style stay for visitors and locals to enjoy.

Owners, Sullivan Capital LLC, purchased the property, located on 135 Main Street, in 2024. After a year or renovations, Garden Gables Inn is open for business.

"Garden Gables started off as one of the many Berkshire cottages, 1790 was the date on that, and it's always operated as an inn," said Hospitality Manager Yvonne Walton. "It's just a great gathering place and relaxation spot for people to come and get the feel of Lenox, and just slow down and enjoy the nature and the surrounding area...get culture and art and see some great concerts. I think it'll be a wonderful place, definitely does more of the upper-scale hospitality."

Owners Niko Giallouis and Eric Sullivan bought the property from the former owner. Sullivan had his eye on Lenox since attending a wedding almost 10 years ago.

"I came to a wedding in Lenox, probably six or seven years ago. Personally, just kind of fell in love with the area, and I guess that's kind of how it got on my radar. So you know from that perspective, as we got into the hotel business out towards an area, it was a place I was kind of monitoring and waiting for the right property to show up."

After purchasing the two underwent a full renovation, a project that cost around $1.5 million. The building, first built in 1780, required some TLC. Sullivan's wife, Jessica, who owns Jessica Sullivan Design, designed the inn.

Sullivan said they installed a new roof, repainted everything, renovated the bathrooms, installed new floors, a new HVAC system, and new plumbing.

"We really touched everything from the outside...I mean, all the aesthetics and layouts changed a bit," he said. "As I said, put about a million and a half into it. All new furniture, fixtures, everything. The design's completely different. It wasn't a full gut, but it was a heavy, heavy renovation."

The two like to collaborate with local businesses, and they make a point to direct visitors to local restaurants, businesses, and attractions.

"If guests are asking for recommendations, our customer service team, our guest services team, will relay that kind of information. Even if we can call and make a reservation for somebody, happy to do it," he said. "We aren't doing breakfast, but what we do is we have partnerships with a lot of the breakfast places downtown. We actually purchase a gift certificates for each person each day, so that they can use that to go downtown."

Sullivan hopes that guests don't see their inn as just a place to sleep and dump their bags, but make it an experience for anyone who stays.

"We really focus on kind of the experience side of things, so again, we want to give you the best experience you can have here...and we want that not just to be the place you put your bag and go do things. It's important to think of everything," he said.

Sullivan said partnerships are important to their business and are a way to connect with locals.

"The local partnerships, I can't stress that enough, because no matter how much and how great the room is, people are still going to want to go do other things," he said. "So, I think it just benefits everybody if we're all working together and so forth, and supporting the community, being neighborly too, because we are surrounded by residential homes...But we really try to put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, a lot of love into the building, all the details, really care about the senses," Sullivan said.

The Inn's check-in and reservations are completely online. When guests arrive, all they have to do is check in online and receive their code that they will use to enter their room. Sullivan hopes this helps create less stress for guests and gets them to their room as fast as possible, especially after a long trip.

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