Four Centuries of Great Music August 26, 2023 Music Heard at Tanglewood Music Center this July Episode 2

Today on Four Centuries of Great Music is the second episode in a series of episodes - highlighting music I heard at Tanglewood this July.  At Tanglewood this year, I heard performances by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Pops, Boston Symphony Chamber Players, the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, New Fromm Players, Pamela Z, Nicolas Pham, tenor, Jacob Greenberg piano, Pacifica Quartet, Karen Slack soprano, Tanglewood  Music Center Fellows and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute Young Artists Wind Ensemble.  This series of episodes of Four Centuries of Great Music of course is not a complete assemblage of the music heard but a sampling from those concerts.  And since you cannot record music at Tanglewood, what you will be hearing in this series is the music I heard except from recordings.

Lets open today episode with Zoltan Kodaly - Hary Janos Suite which I heard in a performance by the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra on Monday, July 17th.  It is in 6 movements

Zoltan Kodaly: Hary Janos Suite  I.  The Fairy Tale Begins
Zoltan Kodaly: Hary Janos Suite  II. Viennese Musical Clock
Zoltan Kodaly: Hary Janos Suite  III. Song
Zoltan Kodaly: Hary Janos Suite  IV. The Battle and Defeat of Napoleon
Zoltan Kodaly: Hary Janos Suite  V.  Intermezzo
Zoltan Kodaly: Hary Janos Suite  VI. Entrance of the Emperor and His Court


Next is Richard Danielpour’s Toward the Splendid City (Arr. P.S. Martin for Wind Ensemble) which I heard performed by the Boston University Tanglewood Institute Young Artists Wind Ensemble in their performance on the afternoon of Sunday, July 16th in Seiji Ozawa Hall


Next on today’s Four Centuries of Great Music dedicated to music I heard at Tanglewood this July with Maurice Ravel’s “Mother Goose Suite” at a concert of the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra on the evening of Monday July 17th at the Koussevitzky Music Shed.  This work is in five movements: Pavane of the Sleeping Beauty; Little Tom Thumb - Hop o' My Thumb; Little Ugly Girl, Empress of the Pagodas; Conversations of Beauty and the Beast and The Fairy Garden 

Lets open this second hour of Four Centuries of Great Music dedicated to music I heard at Tanglewood this July with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Wind Serenade No. 11 in E-flat K 375.  This was part of the July 9th chamber concert featuring the Tanglewood Music Center Fellows in Seiji Ozawa Hall   This work is in 5 movements Allegro Maestoso; Minuetto/Trio; Adagio; Minuetto/Trio; and Allegro

Next Today on Four Centuries of Great music celebrating the music I heard at Tanglewood music center this July is  Igor Stravinsky’s Jeu de cartes, Ballet in Three Deals.  This was performed by Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra at their Monday July 10th concert in the Koussevitzky Music Shed.  It is in Three Sections (Deals)

Igor Stravinsky: Jeu de cartes, Ballet in Three Deals: I. Introduction – Pas d'action – Entry and Dance of the Joker – Waltz-Coda
Igor Stravinsky: Jeu de cartes, Ballet in Three Deals: II. Introduction – March of the Hearts and Spades – Variations I-IV – Pas de quatre for the four queens – Coda
Igor Stravinsky: Jeu de cartes, Ballet in Three Deals: III. Introduction – Waltz – Battle of the Spades and Hearts – Final Dance and Coda


We are going to close today’s Four Centuries of Great Music dedicated to some of the music I heard at Tanglewood Music Center in Lenox MA with Samuel Coleridge-Taylor - Ballade in A minor.  

I experienced Samuel Coleridge-Taylor - Ballade in A minor as part of the Sunday July 23rd - Boston Symphony Orchestra in the Koussevitzky Music Shed.


Thank you for listening to this episode of Four Centuries of Great Music.  Join us again next week as we continue this series of music I listened to at Tanglewood Music Center in Lenox MA.  Remember the first of each episodes are on Sunday from 3-5 pm and the encore presentations are on Saturday from 3-5 pm