Music in the Berkshires: Tanglewood

In 1937, when the Depression and taxation caused the gild to come off the Gilded Age, the great mansions and estates of Lenox were largely abandoned.   Many became institutional:   schools, asylums or monasteries, and some spent more than half a century empty.   But luckily, one was donated to the Boston Symphony…and the rest, as they say, is history.

Over the decades, as the audiences who attended concerts at Tanglewood grew, more and more of these great estates and historic "cottages" were able to be put back into service:   Cranwell, Wheatleigh, Blantyre…and even Hampton Terrace, one of the original "Berkshire Cottages."   In fact, most of the Lenox inns are the former second homes of the turn-of-the-century's rich and famous.   Tanglewood itself, one mile down the hill from Lenox town center, consists of multiple performance venues inhabiting a most embracing rural setting.   Lenonard Bernstein, a alum of the affiliated Tanglewood Institute always proclaimed that the Tanglewood property, and the Berkshires in general, had captured his soul.

Tanglewood has become somewhat a creature of habit, with certain shows at certain times becoming "expected."   The Mark Morris Dance Group opens the schedule each year with new works choreographed to classical music.   For the ninth year, Garrison Keillor is broadcasting "Prairie Home Companion" from the Tanglewood Shed.   July 4th always showcases a popular music artist with fireworks.   This year, it is Lenox resident James Taylor.   He does at least one show every summer and occasionally it coincides with the holiday.   The BSO itself appears the weekend after July 4th and it performs every Friday and Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoons.   Although new Tanglewood performers appear every year, you can expect at some point each summer to see Yo-Yo Ma (who has a home in the Berkshires), Renee Fleming, Andre Previn, Peter Serkin, Midori, Garrick Olhsson, Joshua Bell, Emanuel Ax, Pinchas Zukerman, and Itzhak Perlman, as well as several internationally famous conductors who come in each summer to relieve James Levine, now in his 4th year.  John Williams used to conduct multiple concerts each summer but these days, at the least, he conducts one of the most well-attended shows of each summer:  John Williams Movie Night.   Also, Tanglewood on Parade annually showcases the TMC Orchestra, the Boston Pops and the BSO.   This annual must-see always ends in the 1812 Overture with real Civil War cannons and fireworks.   The Boston Pops, with Keith Lockhard does at least two shows each summer as well, usually mid-week.   The final BSO show of each summer is usually Beethoven's 9th Symphony.   And then Labor Day Weekend is the annual Tanglewood Jazz Festival.  

Many people assume Tanglewood is only worth visiting on the weekends…but in fact, there is something going on virtually every night of the week.    If you want to combine a romantic getaway in a Lenox bed and breakfast, consider a mid-week show at Tanglewood and a stay at Hampton Terrace, one of the best reviewed b&bs in the Berkshires.   Save 30% per night mid-week.   Avoid the lines in the shops and restaurants.   A no lose proposition in a history Berkshires bed and breakfast.