Tanglewood — 2011/07/15-17

The BSO website promises us

A Weekend of Dvořák, Schumann and Sibelius at Tanglewood! 

Friday, July 15, 8:30PM

German conductor Kurt Masur, a frequent guest of the BSO and at Tanglewood, returns to the Shed July 15 to conduct Dvořák's Cello Concerto, featuring soloist Lynn Harrell, and Schumann’s Symphony No. 1, Spring, which the BSO also performed during the Symphony Hall season in Boston as part of its complete cycle of Schumann symphonies in celebration of the 200th anniversary of the composer’s birth. Dvořák's ardent, rhapsodic concerto, which combines the composer's distinctive orchestral timbres with decidedly Slavonic melodies, has been one of his most popular and successful works since its 1896 premiere in London. Schumann's First Symphony, inspired his wife Clara and premiered by his good friend Felix Mendelssohn, was written at a torrential pace and was the composer's first significant orchestral work. 

All-Sibelius Program 
Saturday, July 16, 8:30PM

Chief conductor of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra John Storgaards makes his BSO and Tanglewood debuts July 16 as he leads the BSO and Danish violinist Nikolaj Znaider in an all-Sibelius program featuring the soaring Violin Concerto, the majestic Symphony No. 5, the beloved tone poem Finlandia, and Valse triste. Though all written over a period of just 6 years, the works catch the composer in three quite different moods. Finlandia is a perfect example of Sibelius's stirring, nationalistic side; Valse triste conjures a feverish, surreal atmosphere reminiscent of Mahler's own disjointed waltzes; and the Violin Concerto packages the composer's soaring melodies into a virtuosic and more traditional form.


Sibelius has become something of a favorite of mine, so I'm especially looking forward to the Saturday concert. I  may even ask my brother to postpone his weekly phone call from Tokyo to Sunday evening, Boston Time, so I can hear the whole thing.

And what about Sunday afternoon?

The Boston Pops Pay Tribute to Cole Porter 
Sunday, July 17, 2:30PM
On July 17, acclaimed Broadway stars Kelli O'Hara and Jason Danieley join conductor Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops Orchestra for a program of Pops orchestral favorites and a tribute to the great Cole Porter, the Indiana-born, classically trained master of musical theater, whose many hit songs include such timeless classics as "It's De-lovely," "You're the Top," "Anything Goes," "So in Love," and "In the Still of the Night." Porter's catchy melodies and urbane lyrics embody the golden age of Broadway musicals and have established him as one of the most beloved and prolific contributors to the American Songbook. Danieley, who has been hailed by the NYTimes as "the most exquisite tenor on Broadway," and the three-time Tony nominated O'Hara recently joined the Boston Pops on tour with this tribute program, garnering rave reviews.


WCRB will begin the pre-concert show 1 1/2 hours before each concert. There is a bit more info along with links to discussions of Schumann and the Sibelius symphony and to a 24 hour BSO Tanglewood channel on the WCRB website.