Tanglewood, Lenox, MA
July 23 & 27, 2026
by Michael J. Moran
As noted in the program, this year's Tanglewood Festival of Contemporary Music, directed by Finnish composer-conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen (perhaps best known for his transformative tenure as Music Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic), "celebrate[d] some of Salonen's influences, musical friends, and younger composers whose music he has championed."
Introducing the first concert on July 23, entitled "Those We Have Lost Too Soon," Salonen shared touchingly personal memories of the three recently deceased composers honored in this program. It opened with his own brief tribute to English composer Oliver Knussen, "Arabesques for Olly," smashingly played by cellist Han Lee, with Isabel Tannenbaum on drone. Next came a dazzling account of the string quartet "Terra Memoria," by Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho ("the older sister I never had," according to Salonen).
"Four Poems of A. R. Ammons," by American composer Steven Stucky, featured stunning solos by bass-baritone Raphael Laden-Guindon and baritone Holden Turner. Saariaho's other-worldly "Lonh" ("Distant") showcased haunting vocals by soprano Lucy Fitz Gibbon and electronics by Ryan McCullough. Knussen's heartfelt "Requiem - Songs for Sue," a memorial to his wife, was distinguished by the protean singing of soprano Zoe McCormick. All performers are Tanglewood Music Center fellows or alums.
The closing concert on July 27, titled "Nordic Boomers," presented works by four contemporary Scandinavian composers. After a helpful spoken overview by Salonen, he led the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra of early career musicians in a bracing account of the colorful 2020 "Serenades" by his Finnish compatriot Magnus Lindberg, born days before Salonen in the same Helsinki hospital ("we bonded in the crib," said Salonen).
Next, in sharp contrast, came Danish composer Hans Abrahamsen's harrowing 2013 setting of Paul Griffiths' 2008 novel "let me tell you," in which Ophelia re-tells her story in the 480 words she speaks in Shakespeare's tragedy "Hamlet." Soprano Alexandra Henderson was sensational in this challenging role, and TMC conducting fellow Lauren Smith paced the TMCO with clarity through Abrahamsen's darkly shimmering score. TMC conducting fellow Julian Gilewski then led the TMCO strings in a highly charged reading of Swedish composer Anders Hillborg's 2021 "Kongsgaard Variations," cleverly based on the heartfelt "Arietta" movement of Beethoven's last piano sonata.
Ending the concert and the Festival on a high note was Salonen's own Cello Concerto, which he wrote in 2016 for Yo-Yo Ma and conducted with the deep insight of the creator. The taxing solo part was played with unflagging energy and Ma-like virtuosity by Finnish cellist Senja Rummukainen. The dense but clear orchestration of its four substantial movements feature a large percussion section, including congas and bongos, and electronically looped fragments of the solo cello broadcast through multiple speakers around Ozawa Hall, building a riot of exciting sound.