REVIEW: Tanglewood, “A Tanglewood Weekend”

Tanglewood, Lenox MA

www.bso.org/tanglewood

July 18-21, 2025

by Shera Cohen

Three different orchestras in one weekend! Where? Where else but Tanglewood.

Boston University Music Center Orchestra

Andris Nelson

World-renowned conductor, and Tanglewood’s resident music director, Andris Nelsons led this full orchestra of 20-somethings; all exceptional students about to take their Tanglewood diplomas and resumes to orchestras throughout the world. This is what they have trained for. At first, I hadn’t realized that the musicians looked younger than I had expected. Actually, this was the first rehearsal that I’ve attended when the BSO was not onstage. How encouraging to see so many young musicians!

A constant at Tanglewood at 10:30am are rehearsals of the following Sunday’s afternoon concert. On this Saturday were works by two composers, who in my opinion, are not the easiest to perform: Hector Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique,” and Sergei Prokofiev’s “Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor”. The latter piece featured pianist Yuja Wang.

For the most part, Nelsons directed the orchestra straight through; later going back to improve on selected sections, in particular the rousing ending. As for me, I never heard a single note that needed fixing yet can appreciate what the young musicians must learn from the prominent man at center stage with the baton.

Boston Symphony Orchestra

Of the three performances, it was the BSO that hosted the concert dedicated to kids and their families. This annual event in July fills the Tanglewood Shed with countless little boys and girls. I mean little – not the teens who hopefully have already had a taste of Classical music – but toddlers standing approximately 30” or are carried. 

Conductor Thomas Wilkins runs the show. The man is charming, speaking directly to the kids, leaving out highbrow language and musical jargon. This is a participatory program; one which the adults in the audience can enjoy especially when watching their kid’s enjoyment. Wilkins throws in anecdotes about composers, music, BSO, and himself. Everyone laughs.

The program was eclectic, featuring music by Gould, Dvorak, Faure, Britten, and Beethoven; just the right length to hold a child’s attention; and varied. Some pieces, while familiar to many adults, are likely unfamiliar to anyone under age 12 and/or under 30”. Isn’t it amazing to watch children (some seated, some walking or running around) listen to professional artists, particularly those of the BSO, in a huge tent-like building as birds fly and chirp?

I had been introduced to Tanglewood at a young age; although not as young as these little ones. Yet, no one is ever too young or too old to experience symphonic music in a group setting.

Boston University Tanglewood Institute (BUTI)

BUTI photo by bu.edu

This unbelievably talented group are high school age whose homes are as near as MA and NY, and as far as Mexico and Taiwan. They are the proverbial “cream of the crop” of young Classical music talent, sincere in their future careers as musicians. At the concert’s start, the introduction from BUTI’s Executive Director Nicole Wendl, were words to hold onto; the relationship between the selection of talent onstage, coupled with the audience seated in Ozawa Hall make the music extraordinary, providing an energy to be acknowledged and appreciated. 

For me, Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” was the selling point to attend. A jazz version of RIB highlighting  the Marcus Roberts Trio, backed by the young artists, was a nice change to an old standard. Conductor Alexander Jimenez was very engaging throughout. It was obvious that the orchestra’s presentation of the melodic “Negro Folk Symphony” in three parts was as enjoyable to those onstage as in the audience. It was when the musicians brought out the fully equipped percussion section for Zhou Long’s “The Rhyme of Taigu” that the audience couldn’t stop their collective bodies from swaying and stopping their feet. The heavy use of drums and brass, almost sounding like stampeding elephants, was electrifying!

There’s still over a month left of a Tanglewood Summer!