Tanglewood's 75th anniversary season will present a spectacular lineup of musical guests and programs that spotlight the festival's rich tradition of presenting summertime concerts since 1937. Highlights include a gala celebration with appearances by John Williams, Conductor Keith Lockhart, Andris Nelsons, James Taylor, Yo-Yo Ma, Peter Serkin, and Anne-Sophie Mutter, performing with the BSO, Boston Pops, and Tanglewood Music Center Orchestras (July 14), a special John Williams 80th Birthday Celebration (August 18), an all-Beethoven (BSO opener on July 6) and an all-Wagner program (July 21), replicating two programs from Tanglewood's first season in 1937, and eight world premiere performances.
The 75th anniversary season will also present James Taylor (July 2, 3, 4), Yo-Yo Ma with his Silk Road Ensemble (June 22 and 24); Joshua Bell (July 7); Jean-Yves Thibaudet (August 5); Mark Morris Dance Group (June 28 and 29); and Chris Botti (August 5). Bernadette Peters (July 8) as well as Maureen McGovern and Brian Stokes Mitchell (August 24), make welcome returns with the Boston Pops.
Tickets for the 2012 Tanglewood season are priced from $9 to $117, and the festival offers free lawn tickets to young people age 17 and under and a 50% discount on lawn tickets to college and graduate students.
In addition to honoring some of the legendary moments from Tanglewood's rich performance history, the 75th anniversary season will look to the future with eight new works presented in world premieres and major new media initiatives including international radio broadcasts and new streaming offers provided free to a worldwide audience. New educational programs will be presented through tanglewood.org and throughout the season an extraordinary 75 Free Digital Streams featuring many memorable musical events from the BSO's rich archive of recorded Tanglewood performances since 1937. These digital streams will be available free of charge for 24 hours on the day of the release, after which they will be available as a download for purchase. In addition, a series of Tanglewood Music Center (the BSO's summer music academy for the advanced training of musicians) master classes aimed toward inspiring the next generation of aspiring musicians will be made available to a worldwide audience by way of a free digital stream at tanglewood.org.
NEW ADDITIONS SINCE SEASON ANNOUNCEMENT LAST NOVEMBER:
CHICK COREA AND GARY BURTON WITH THE HARLEM STRING QUARTET, 8/26, AND CHRISTIAN McBRIDE TRIO WITH CHRISTIAN SANDS & ULYSSES OWENS, JR., 8/19
Since the 2012 Tanglewood season announcement last November, two exciting new jazz concerts have been added to a packed summer line-up. Acclaimed jazz bassist Christian McBride will bring the Christian McBride Trio with Christian Sands and Ulysses Owens, Jr., to Ozawa Hall on August 19 for an 8 p.m. performance. The next week, following the annual matinee Boston Symphony performance of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, the legendary Chick Corea will take the stage of Ozawa Hall, joined by Gary Burton and the Harlem String Quartet on August 26 at 8 p.m. Other jazz artists featured throughout the Tanglewood Season include the five-time Grammy Award nominated trumpeter Chris Botti on Sunday, August 5, and the double platinum-selling Diana Krall on Saturday, June 23. The young and adventurous Ébène String Quartet will also juxtapose a Mozart and Tchaikovsky set with jazz selections arranged by the ensemble members and filled with improvisation in Ozawa Hall on Thursday, August 16.
TANGLEWOOD TEAMS UP WITH KRIPALU AND THE CLARK ART INSTITUTE FOR NEW TICKET DEALS
Both the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute and the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health have teamed with Tanglewood to provide new ticket perks for the 75th anniversary season. The Clark Art Institute and Tanglewood will offer two ticket deals. The first, for $50, includes two Clark admissions and two Tanglewood lawn tickets for any classical concert valid through October 21, 2012. The second deal, for $100, includes a pre-concert buffet dinner at Highwood Supper Club, followed by the Silk Road Ensemble concert with Yo-Yo Ma in Ozawa Hall on Friday, June 22, or Sunday, June 24. This ticket deal is thematically paired with the Clark's special exhibition called “Unearthed: Recent Archaeological Discoveries from Northern China," which showcases a selection of objects from sites along the Silk Road that have never been exhibited outside of China.
A ticket partnership between Tanglewood and the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health will take place from July 3-6, in conjunction with a Kripalu workshop called “All Together Singing: Creative Ways to Make and Listen to Music with Your Family," with acclaimed musicians Nerissa and Katryna Nields. In this Kripalu program, families develop their own Family Musical Canon, sing in harmony, and make instruments together, as well as embark on a July 4 outing to Tanglewood to enjoy the annual favorite James Taylor concert, followed by fireworks. For more information and/or to register for this program, visit kripalu.org/ tanglewood or call 800-741-7353.
GENERAL TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets for the 2012 Tanglewood season go on sale to the general public on Sunday, January 29, 2012. Tickets are available through Tanglewood's website, www.tanglewood.org, and through SymphonyCharge at 888-266-1200. Regular season ticket prices range from $9-$117; non benefactor tickets to the July 14 Gala Anniversary Concert are priced from $30 to $250. Tickets for Saturday Morning Rehearsals range from $10-30. All ticket prices include a $1 Tanglewood grounds maintenance fee.
Tickets are also available for purchase in person at the Tanglewood Box Office at Tanglewood's Main Gate on West Street in Lenox, MA, as of June 21. American Express, Visa, MasterCard, Diners Club, Discover, and cash are all accepted at the Tanglewood Box Office. For further information and box office hours, please call the Boston Symphony Orchestra at 617-266-1492.
Tanglewood is pleased to offer free lawn tickets for children and young people age 17 and younger and a 50% discount on Friday-evening lawn tickets to college and graduate students. Up to four free children's lawn tickets are available per parent/legal guardian per concert at the Tanglewood Box Office on the day of the concert, as all patrons, regardless of age, must have a ticket. Please note that the free lawn ticket policy does not apply to organized groups. For Popular Artists concerts, free lawn tickets are only available for children under age 2.
Tanglewood brochures with complete programs and information on how to order tickets will be available in early February by calling 617-638-9467. For further information, please call the Boston Symphony Orchestra at 617-266-1492 or visit www.tanglewood.org. For Berkshire tourist information and reservations, contact the Berkshire Visitors Bureau at 800-237-5747.
