LET THERE BE MUSIC
If visiting in the summertime, the centerpiece of our trip is
almost always a concert at Tanglewood. The nation’s premier
summer music festival, Tanglewood is practically synonymous with blankets spread on rolling lawns, gourmet picnic
baskets, moonlit nights and the biggest names in classical
music (along with a few pop stars like Tanglewood regular
James Taylor).
Tanglewood has been going strong since the 1930s, when
the Boston Symphony Orchestra decided its urban home was
too muggy for concerts in July and August. Midsummer evenings in the Berkshires, by contrast, are pleasantly cool—you
may end up snuggling underneath that blanket after you’ve
polished off the last of your artisanal cheeses.
Personally, we love the romance of picnicking on the lawn
and sipping a bottle of wine during the show. But if you prefer a ticket for the 5,000-seat Koussevitzky Music Shed, you’ll
want to plan ahead. Designed in 1938 by famed architect
Eliel Saarinen, the Shed offers excellent sightlines and provides shelter from inclement weather.
New this year, a bus at the Wassaic, N. Y., Amtrak station
will meet the 10 a.m. Sunday train, and shuttle folks to Tanglewood for the Sunday afternoon concert. The bus will return to
the train after the performance. For more information about
the bus, call 617-638-9395.
Clockwise from top left: Mark Morris in Ted Shawn’s 1929 work, Mevlevi Dervish,
presented in 1982 to honor the 50th anniversary of Jacob’s Pillow; a rehearsal
on the Inside/Out stage for participants of the Contemporary Program; Aurélia
Thierrée in Aurélia’s Oratorio; and the Ted Shawn Theatre during a performance.
DANCE THE SUMMER AWAY
The Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2007. Dance pioneer Ted Shawn staged the first
performances at his private farm here, determined to debunk
the stereotype of male dancers as “sissies.” The inaugural
season was an immediate sensation, with audiences climbing
the steep hill to Shawn’s barn on foot or horseback.
