BSO ANNOUNCES CHANGES TO 2010 TANGLEWOOD SCHEDULE
JAMES LEVINE TO WITHDRAW FROM HIS CONCERTS WITH THE BSO AND TANGLEWOOD MUSIC CENTER DUE TO FURTHER RECUPERATION TIME NEEDED AFTER
RECENT BACK SURGERY
MICHAEL TILSON THOMAS TO LEAD BSO OPENING NIGHT PERFORMANCE OF
MAHLER’S SYMPHONY NO. 2 ON JULY 9, AND STRAVINSKY’S SYMPHONY OF PSALMS
AND MOZART’S REQUIEM ON JULY 16; TILSON THOMAS ALSO TO LEAD
TANGLEWOOD MUSIC CENTER ORCHESTRA IN MAHLER’S SYMPHONY NO. 3 ON JULY 17
CHRISTOPH VON DOHNÁNYI TO LEAD STAGED TANGLEWOOD MUSIC CENTER PRODUCTION OF STRAUSS’S ARIADNE AUF NAXOS ON AUGUST 1 AND 2
JOHANNES DEBUS IN BSO DEBUT TO LEAD MOZART’S THE ABDUCTION FROM SERAGLIO
ON JULY 23
HANS GRAF TO LEAD BSO IN PROGRAM OF MARCHES, WALTZES, AND POLKAS FROM THE
GREAT VIENNESE TRADITION OF THE STRAUSS FAMILY ON JULY 25
ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT SUBSTITUTE CONDUCTOR FOR PROGRAM OF STRAUSS’S FOUR LAST SONGS AND MAHLER’S SYMPHONY NO. 4 WITH SOPRANO HEI-KYUNG HONG ON JULY 31 WILL BE FORTHCOMING
BSO Managing Director Mark Volpe today announced that BSO Music Director James Levine will withdraw from his Tanglewood concert appearances due to further recuperation time needed after major back surgery in April. Several of the world’s most prestigious conductors will fill in for the six BSO concerts and three Tanglewood Music Center programs to have been led by James Levine, including Michael Tilson Thomas (July 9, 16, and 17), Christoph von Dohnányi (August 1 and 2), and Hans Graf (July 25). In addition, Johannes Debus, music director of the Canadian Opera Company, will make his BSO debut on July 23. A program listing with complete performance details appears at the end of this press release.
“This has been a tough year for all of us associated with the BSO, but for no one more than James Levine,” said BSO Managing Director Mark Volpe. “Since there is typically a long recovery period needed after major back surgery, we understand that it is the best course of action for Jim to take the summer off, and we hope that his convalescence continues to go well. Jim’s determination to successfully complete his course of rehabilitation has been remarkable—and reminds me of the singular focus he has brought to his greatest musical achievements over the years. We have deep admiration and respect for all Jim has accomplished with the BSO, and we look forward to next season when he is in better health and returns to what he loves doing more than anything else—leading performances of the highest, uncompromised standards.”
“It is with great personal disappointment that I must withdraw from the upcoming Tanglewood season, and my work with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Tanglewood Music Center,” said James Levine, BSO Music Director. “My doctors have told me I have made great progress—even beyond their expectations—but have advised me to err on the side of caution and take the summer off to recuperate more fully from the two back surgeries of this past year. The most important thing is to not risk any delay in my recovery so I can return to good health and my conducting duties at the BSO and MET this fall without further interruptions. I am incredibly grateful for the tremendous support and understanding I’ve received from my colleagues and friends throughout the music world, all of which is helping me more than I can say in getting through this most challenging time. Though I will miss being with you all, I wish my BSO and Tanglewood colleagues a successful summer season.”
Michael Tilson Thomas, music director of the San Francisco Symphony, will lead the BSO’s Opening Night program of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, Resurrection, with vocalists Layla Claire and Stephanie Blythe, on July 9, and the BSO program of Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms and Mozart’s Requiem on July 16. Mr. Tilson Thomas will also lead the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 on July 17. In addition, Mr. Tilson Thomas, along with Stefan Asbury, will work with TMC Conducting Fellows during the rehearsal process for the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra July 12 program (Bach’s Ricercare from The Musical Offering, arranged by Webern, Schubert’s Symphony No. 5, and Strauss’s Suite from Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme).
In addition to his originally scheduled BSO concerts of August 6 and 8, Christoph von Dohnányi, former music director of the Cleveland Orchestra, will lead the Tanglewood Music Center production of Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos on August 1 and 2. Mr. Dohnányi will be in residency at Tanglewood for the month leading up to these performances, working closely, in individual sessions with the singers, orchestra, and stage director Ira Siff, as well as TMC Conducting Fellow Keitaro Harada, who will lead the August 4 performance of the opera.
Also substituting for Mr. Levine, Hans Graf, music director of the Houston Symphony, will lead the BSO in a program of marches, waltzes, and polkas from the great Viennese tradition of the Strauss family, also featuring cellist Lynn Harrell and BSO principal violist Steven Ansell in Richard Strauss’s Don Quixote, on July 25. Johannes Debus, music director of the Canadian Opera Company, will lead the BSO’s concert performance of Mozart’s The Abduction from Seraglio, with soloists Lisette Oropesa, Ashley Emerson, Eric Cutler, Anthony Stevenson, and Morris Robinson, on July 23.
Details about a substitute conductor for the July 31 program of Berg’s Three Pieces for Orchestra, Strauss’s Four Last Songs, and Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, which Mr. Levine was to have led, will be forthcoming.
Details about a substitute conductor for the July 24 all-Brahms concert, which Seiji Ozawa was to have led (he withdrew in April due to recuperative time needed after recent surgery), will be forthcoming.
ADDITIONAL CHANGES TO THE ORIGINALLY ANNOUNCED 2010 TANGLEWOOD SCHEDULE
Soprano Hei-Kyung Hong will join the Boston Symphony on July 31 to perform Strauss’s Four Last Songs and Mahler’s Symphony No. 4. Other recently announced additions to the Tanglewood 2010 schedule include Broadway star Idina Menzel and trumpet legend Doc Severinsen performing with the Boston Pops on July 2; Alec Baldwin as narrator for the July 18 Boston Pops performance of The Dream Lives On: A Portrait of the Kennedy Brothers; Simon and Garfunkel on July 27; Herbie Hancock on August 9; and Crosby, Stills, and Nash on September 1. Making their Boston Symphony Orchestra debuts, violinist Arabella Steinbacher will perform Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with the BSO, August 8, and soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian will join the BSO for Poulenc’s Gloria, August 27. The 2010 Tanglewood Jazz Festival will feature Radio Deluxe with John Pizzarelli and Jessica Molaskey, the Laurence Hobgood Trio, Kurt Elling, the Eddie Daniels-Bob James Quartet, the Legendary Count Basie Orchestra, the Julian Lage Group, and the Donal Fox Quartet.
Tanglewood is the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra located in the Berkshire Hills between Lenox and Stockbridge, MA. The Boston Symphony Orchestra performs its first concert of the Tanglewood season on July 9 and closes its portion of the season August 29, presenting 22 programs, Friday- and Saturday-evenings and Sunday afternoons, throughout the summer. Prior to the BSO’s opening night performance, Tanglewood opens on June 26 with a Prairie Home Companion and closes with the annual Tanglewood Labor Day Weekend Jazz Festival, September 4 and 5. For more information, visit www.tanglewood.org.
ADDITIONAL HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 2010 TANGLEWOOD SEASON
The Boston Symphony Orchestra performs its first concert of the Tanglewood season on July 9, with a performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, Resurrection, with soprano Layla Claire and mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe, and closes its portion of the season on August 29, with Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony under the direction of Kurt Masur, presenting a total of 22 programs on Friday and Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoons throughout the summer. Prior to the BSO’s opening night performance, Tanglewood opens on June 26 with A Prairie Home Companion and closes with the annual Tanglewood Labor Day Weekend Jazz Festival, September 4 and 5. In addition to these programs, the 2010 Tanglewood schedule also features a series of chamber music and recital programs in Ozawa Hall, highlighted this year by a special appearance by Audra McDonald on July 18 and a program featuring Bach’s Complete Suites for solo cello with Pieter Wispelwey. The Boston Pops makes three special appearances, including Film Night with John Williams on August 14; a celebration of the Boston Pops 125th anniversary season, with special guests Idina Menzel and Doc Severinsen, led by Keith Lockhart on July 2; and the Tanglewood premiere of The Dream Lives: A Tribute to the Kennedy Brothers with narrator Alec Baldwin on a program with folk icon Arlo Guthrie on July 18. The Boston Pops, along with the Boston Symphony and Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, also makes a special appearance in Tanglewood on Parade (August 3), one of the festival’s favorite annual events featuring afternoon and evening performances by the BSO’s prestigious music academy, the Tanglewood Music Center, and culminating in a concert in the Shed, led by Keith Lockhart, John Williams, and Stefan Asbury, celebrating John Williams’s 30th anniversary season at Tanglewood.
Tanglewood’s popular artists include James Taylor and Carole King, on July 3, 4, and 5; Simon & Garfunkel on July 27; Herbie Hancock on August 9, and Crosby, Stills and Nash on September 1. Mark Morris Dance Group on June 27 and 28; Yo-Yo Ma and his Silk Road Ensemble on August 8; and the Festival of Contemporary Music, this year celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Tanglewood Music Center, August 12-16, are also among the 2010 Tanglewood season highlights.
A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE TANGLEWOOD MUSIC FESTIVAL AND THE TANGLEWOOD MUSIC CENTER
Now in its 74th season, Tanglewood, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, is located between Lenox and Stockbridge, MA, and attracts more than 300,000 music lovers from around the world for 10 weeks of concerts and recitals by the BSO, visiting orchestras, preeminent guest musicians, and popular artists. The 2010 season begins June 26 and continues through Labor Day weekend, concluding with the annual Jazz Festival. Tanglewood also houses the Tanglewood Music Center, an intensive summer training program for emerging professional musicians of exceptional ability and a vital component of the BSO’s ongoing educational mission.
Founded in 1940 by legendary BSO music director Serge Koussevitzky, the Tanglewood Music Center (originally called the Berkshire Music Center) was created to provide young musicians with a premier academy for advanced study using the vast resources of the orchestra and visiting guest artists. As part of the 70th anniversary celebration of the TMC, Tanglewood will feature TMC alumni throughout the summer's concerts, including performers Stefan Asbury, Stephanie Blythe, Layla Claire, Christoph von Dohnányi, Charles Dutoit, Marcus Haddock, Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Oliver Knussen, Ludovic Morlot, Seiji Ozawa, Dawn Upshaw, David Zinman, and BSO musicians Elizabeth Rowe and Thomas Martin, as well as music by composers Michael Gandolfi, Osvaldo Golijov, John Harbison, and Oliver Knussen, as well as the late Leonard Bernstein.
TANGLEWOOD TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets are available through Tanglewood’s website, www.tanglewood.org, through SymphonyCharge at 888-266-1200, or by visiting the Symphony Hall Box Office at 301 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, MA. In general, Shed tickets are priced from $9-$115, with Open Rehearsals priced at $17. Ozawa Hall tickets are priced from $11 to $97.
Tickets for Herbie Hancock (August 9) range from $21-$71; tickets for Crosby, Stills, and Nash (September 1) range from $24-$96; and tickets for Simon and Garfunkel: Old Friends Live on Stage, priced from $40 to $225, go on sale Friday, June 11. All three James Taylor and Carole King concerts are sold out, with no remaining tickets available for sale.
Tickets are also available for purchase in person at the Tanglewood Box Office at Tanglewood’s Main Gate on West Street in Lenox, MA, beginning June 18. American Express, Visa, MasterCard, Diners Club, Discover, and cash are all accepted at the Tanglewood Box Office. The Tanglewood Box Office is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday, open through intermission on event days and open from 10 a.m. through intermission on Sundays. Beginning on July 10, the Box Office will be open for extended Saturday hours, 9 a.m. through intermission. There is a service charge for each ticket purchased online or by phone and all ticket prices include a $1 Tanglewood grounds maintenance fee. For further information, call the Boston Symphony Orchestra at 617-266-1492 or visit www.bso.org.
PRESS CONTACTS:
Bernadette Horgan ([email protected]) and Kathleen Drohan ([email protected]) at 617-638-9280 (September – late June) or 413-637-5280 (late June –Labor Day Weekend)
2010 Tanglewood Season Listing: Conductor updates for originally scheduled James Levine programs
Friday, July 9, 8:30 p.m. Shed
Opening Night at Tanglewood
Boston Symphony Orchestra
Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
Layla Claire, soprano
Stephanie Blythe, mezzo-soprano
Tanglewood Festival Chorus,
John Oliver, conductor
MAHLER Symphony No. 2, Resurrection
Fireworks to follow the concert
Monday, July 12, 8 p.m. Ozawa Hall
Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra
*Tanglewood Music Center Conducting Fellows:
Christian Macelaru (Bach)
Keitaro Harada (Schubert)
Alexander Prior (Strauss)
J.S. BACH (arr. WEBERN) Ricercare from The
Musical Offering
SCHUBERT Symphony No. 5
STRAUSS Suite from Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme
*Please note: TMC conducting fellows will receive coaching from Michael Tilson Thomas and Stefan Asbury
Also, the American premiere of Elliott Carter’s What are the Years (originally to have been conducted by James Levine as part of the July 12 program) will be performed by the TMCO on August 16, under the direction of Oliver Knussen, as part of the Festival of Contemporary Music, Augsut 12-16.
Friday, July 16, 8:30 p.m. Shed
Boston Symphony Orchestra
Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
Soile Isokoski, soprano
Kristine Jepson, mezzo-soprano
Russell Thomas, tenor
Jordan Bisch, bass
Tanglewood Festival Chorus,
John Oliver, conductor
STRAVINSKY Symphony of Psalms
MOZART Requiem
Saturday, July 17, 8:30 p.m. Shed
The Leonard Bernstein Memorial Concert
Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra
Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
Karen Cargill, mezzo-soprano
Women of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus,
John Oliver, conductor
American Boychoir,
Fernando Malvar-Ruiz, music director
MAHLER Symphony No. 3
Friday, July 23 8:30 p.m. Shed
Boston Symphony Orchestra
Johannes Debus, conductor
Lisette Oropesa, soprano (Konstanze)
Ashley Emerson, soprano (Blonde)
Eric Cutler, tenor (Belmonte)
Anthony Stevenson, tenor (Pedrillo)
Morris Robinson, bass (Osmin)
Tanglewood Music Center Vocal Fellows
MOZART The Abduction from the Seraglio
Sung in German with English supertitles
Sunday, July 25, 2:30 p.m. Shed
Boston Symphony Orchestra
Hans Graf, conductor
Lynn Harrell, cello
Steven Ansell, viola
R. STRAUSS Don Quixote
Joh. STRAUSS II Overture to Die Fledermaus
Joh. STRAUSS II Amid Thunder and Lightning
Joh. STRAUSS II Roses from the South
Joh. STRAUSS II Annen Polka
Jos. STRAUSS II At the Hunt, Polka
Jos. STRAUSS II Emperor Waltzes
Joh. STRAUSS I Radetzky March
Saturday, July 31, 8:30 p.m. Shed
Boston Symphony Orchestra
TBA, conductor
Hei-Kyung Hong, soprano
BERG Three Pieces for Orchestra
STRAUSS Four Last Songs
MAHLER Symphony No. 4
Sunday, August 1, 7:30 p.m. Theatre
Monday, August 2, 7:30 p.m. Theatre
Wednesday, August 4, 7:30 p.m. Theatre
Tanglewood Music Center Vocal Fellows and Orchestra
Christoph von Dohnányi, conductor (August 1 and 2)
Keitaro Harada, TMC Conducting Fellow (August 4)
Ira Siff, director
Eduardo Sicango, set and costume designer
Matthew McCarthy, lighting designer
STRAUSS Ariadne auf Naxos
Sung in German with English supertitles
Tuesday, August 3, 8:30 p.m. Shed
Tanglewood on Parade
Boston Symphony Orchestra
Boston Pops Orchestra
Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra
Keith Lockhart, John Williams, and Stefan Asbury, conductors
Always a highlight of the season, Tanglewood on Parade this year salutes John Williams on the occasion of his 30th Tanglewood summer. The program will include some of Mr. Williams’ most popular concert and film scores, as well as the traditional TOP finale, Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture.
Fireworks to follow the concert
Time for the BSO Trustees to take action. If Mr. Levine is forced to make a decision between the Met and the BSO, the Met wins every time. The subscribers of the BSO, including me, deserve better. Only a limited number of young conducting talent is available to take the BSO into a new era of programming and performance. Please do not wait. Take action now and part amicably with Mr. Levine. He will have plenty of time to recuperate at his residence in NYC.
Posted by: Rnh1 | June 21, 2010 at 09:29 PM