Tanglewood, one of the country’s premier summer music festivals and the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 1937, is located in the Berkshire Hills of Lenox and Stockbridge, Massachusetts.
The 2022 Tanglewood season, June 17-September 4, presented a wide range of programs spotlighting favorite returning artists and repertoire, while also introducing dynamic new artists and eclectic programming, with eight world and American premieres and 28 works by living composers, as well as 21 artists in their Tanglewood or BSO debuts.
Details available at tanglewood.org. Tanglewood returned to its full-season schedule , presenting eight weekends of Boston Symphony Orchestra programs, alongside Boston Pops concerts, a robust Popular Artist series, and performances by the Fellows of the Tanglewood Music Center, the orchestra’s summer music academy and a destination for many of the most talented young musicians of our time. A highlight of the summer was the reopening of Ozawa Hall and the Linde Center for Music and Learning (both closed in summer 2020 and 2021), where smaller audiences take in recitals, chamber music, and guest ensemble performances, as well as the special events of the Tanglewood Learning Institute, focused on innovative programs and audience participation.
2022 TANGLEWOOD HIGHLIGHTS
BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA WITH BSO MUSIC DIRECTOR ANDRIS NELSONS LEADING NINE PROGRAMS
• Andris Nelsons led the BSO’s opening week of performances, July 8-10, beginning with an Opening Night program of Bernstein’s Symphony No. 2 with piano soloist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, and Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring
• A concert performance of Mozart’s Don Giovanni, with Ryan McKinny in the title role and Will Liverman as Leporello
• Brahms’ A German Requiem, with soloists Ying Fang and Shenyang; both the Mozart and Brahms programs feature the Tanglewood Festival Chorus in its first Tanglewood concerts since summer 2019
• Paul Lewis performed all five Beethoven Piano Concertos over three programs
• Six world and American premieres, including works by Julia Adolphe, Caroline Shaw, Elizabeth Ogonek, Helen Grime, and Fazil Say
BOSTON POPS, SPECIAL EVENTS, AND POPULAR ARTISTS
• A John Williams 90th Birthday Celebration with conductor Ken-David Masur leading the orchestra and guest artists Yo-Yo Ma, Branford Marsalis, and James Taylor, among others, honoring one of Tanglewood’s most beloved figures
• A Keith Lockhart-led Boston Pops Stephen Sondheim Tribute, with a stellar Broadway cast, in honor of the iconic composer/lyricist who transformed American musical theater
• A film showing of The Empire Strikes Back with live Boston Pops accompaniment led by Mr. Lockhart
• A Popular Artist lineup featuring James Taylor, who makes a highly anticipated return to Tanglewood for his traditional July 4 appearance
• Additional Popular Artists included Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band, Brandi Carlile with special guest Indigo Girls, The Mavericks and Nick Lowe with Los Straitjackets, The Black Crowes Present Shake Your Money Maker, Judy Collins and Richard Thompson, Earth, Wind & Fire, and Bonnie Raitt with special guest Lucinda Williams.
2022 TANGLEWOOD ADDITIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
• Guest conductors Karina Canellakis, JoAnn Falletta, Cristian Macelaru, Dima Slobodeniouk, and Michael Tilson Thomas, who led two concerts during the BSO’s final weekend: Copland’s Symphony No. 3 and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony
• Vocalists and Instrumentalists Joshua Bell, Seong-Jin Cho, Pamela Frank, Lucas and Arthur Jussen, Leonidas Kavakos, Branford Marsalis, Christina and Michelle Naughton, and the legendary Itzhak Perlman, who returned to Tanglewood for the first time since 2011
• Composers Thomas Adès, Unsuk Chin, Anna Clyne, Michael Gandolfi, Helen Grime, John Harbison, Roberto Sierra, Carlos Simon, and Augusta Read Thomas
• The Festival of Contemporary Music, August 4-8, culminating in the American premiere of George Benjamin’s opera Lessons in Love and Violence
• Tanglewood Learning Institute programming including Spotlight Series speakers U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner
• The re-opening of Ozawa Hall with Emanuel Ax curating and performing with special guests in three programs entitled Pathways from Prague; Garrick Ohlsson performs Brahms’ complete works for solo piano; and special appearances by Susan Graham, Silkroad Ensemble and director Rhiannon Giddens, and the Takács and Danish string quartets
• The Fellows of the Tanglewood Music Center featured in orchestral, chamber music, and recital programs throughout the summer
• The orchestra’s streaming platform—BSO NOW at bso.org/now to host seven livestreams throughout the Tanglewood season
• Free and discounted ticket programs, with details available here.