TMC AV: TMC Concert Recordings, 1963-present

HISTORY OF TANGLEWOOD In the spring of 1934, American composer/conductor Henry K. Hadley determined to establish a summer concert series in the Berkshires on the Dan Hanna property in Stockbridge. Gertrude Robinson Smith, a Berkshire summer resident from New York, acted as the local organizer for the series. The first Berkshire Symphonic Festival was held August 23rd, 25th, and 26th of 1934, with Hadley conducting 65 members of the New York Philharmonic. Due to its success, the organizers incorporated the Berkshire Symphonic Festival for the following year, during which Henry Hadley returned with 85 members of the New York Philharmonic. Determined to continue with the Festival in 1936 despite Hadley’s health issues and complications with musical programming, the organizers invited the Boston Symphony Orchestra and its conductor, Serge Koussevitzky, to perform. The 1936 concerts took place at Holmwood, a former Vanderbilt estate on the boundaries of Stockbridge, Lenox, and Lee. In late 1936, Mrs. Gorham Brooks and her aunt, Miss Mary Aspinwall Tappan, offered their 210 acre estate – Tanglewood – as a gift to the BSO, thus providing a permanent home for the Festival, and ensuring the BSO’s future role in it.

THE KOUSSEVITZKY MUSIC SHED, 1938- At the Festival’s new home at Tanglewood, the 1937 concerts took place under an enormous tent; however, on August 12th, 1937, a severe thunderstorm disrupted the performance, prompting Festival President Gertrude Robinson Smith to initiate an on-the-spot fundraising drive for a permanent waterproof structure. Finnish-born architect Eliel Saarinen was selected by Koussevitzky but proposed an elaborate design that went far beyond the Festival’s immediate needs. After his second modified plan was rejected because it exceeded the $100,000 budget, Saarinen gave up on the project, and Joseph Franz, Stockbridge engineer and Festival Trustee, simplified the plans and oversaw the “Shed” to completion. The first concert in the Koussevitzky Music Shed took place on August 4, 1938.

THE TANGLEWOOD MUSIC CENTER, 1940- In light of the donation of the Tanglewood estate to the BSO in 1937, Koussevitzky decided to pursue his dream to establish a music school, convincing BSO Trustees that a summer school in connection with the Festival would fulfill a vital musical need for America and bring the orchestra new importance and prestige. In 1940, Koussevitzky began assembling a faculty in composition, operatic and choral activities, and instrumental performance, first engaging composers Aaron Copland and Paul Hindemith to form the composition department of the Tanglewood Music Center (TMC). The TMC now offers 8-week summer programs in Instrumental, Vocal Arts, Composition, Conducting, Piano Activities, and Orchestra Library education, and it is the only summer music program in the U.S. with a major symphony orchestra taking up permanent residence and assuming an active role in the instruction of emerging musicians. The TMC has continued to flourish since the 1940s, and, with the exception of three years during World War II (1943-1945), the Music Center has operated continuously since its opening. Gunther Schuller served as the Music Center’s Artistic Director from 1975 to 1984, followed by Leon Fleisher from 1985 to 1997. Ellen Highstein was appointed Director of the Music Center in 1997 and currently serves in that capacity.

The composition department gave young composers the opportunity to have their works performed by members of the Music Center, and a number of them returned over the years to serve as faculty members themselves such as Foss, Druckman, Knussen, Antoniou, Golijov, and Gandolfi. Often called the Dean of American Composers, Copland headed the composition department, serving as chairman of the Faculty for 25 years. Gunther Schuller succeeded Copland as head of composition, followed by Michael Gandolfi, who is the current Composition Program Head. The Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra (TMCO), consisting of TMC Instrumental Fellows, has been led primarily by BSO music directors, including Serge Koussevitzky, Charles Munch, Erich Leinsdorf, Seiji Ozawa, and James Levine; and TMC faculty members, including Leonard Bernstein, Richard Burgin, Gustav Meier, Leon Fleischer. Beginning with the class of 1940, Koussevitzky also allowed select Conducting Fellows, including Leonard Bernstein, Lukas Foss, Richard Bales, Thor Johnson and Gaylord Browne, the opportunity to conduct the TMCO. To this day, aspiring conductors gain practical experience by conducting the TMCO. Starting in the late 1970s, BSO guest conductors also worked with the TMCO, providing the students with a wider range of experience.

In 1941, an official branch dedicated specifically to chamber music studies was established at the TMC, led by Gregor Piatigorsky. The newly built Chamber Music Hall and Theatre-Concert Hall provided designated rehearsal and performance space. Chamber music thrived under the leadership of Gregor Piatigorksy, Richard Burgin, William Kroll, Gilbert Kalish, and Joel Smirnoff, along with coaches including BSO musicians, prominent contemporary composers, and other outside faculty. Tanglewood Operas

A component of Koussevitzky’s plan for the Music Center was to include festive musical plays and scenic oratorios in an open-air theatre to be built on the slope of the Tanglewood property leading down to the lake. In 1939, Koussevitzky met with Herbert Graf, stage director of the Metropolitan Opera, to collaborate in the creation of an Opera department at the TMC, which opened in 1940 with Graf as the head, assisted by Boris Goldovsky and Richard Rychtarik. Opera scenes were performed in the gardens the first year, and then inside the newly built Theatre-Concert Hall in 1941 and 1942. In 1946, Boris Goldovsky became the department head, beginning a 15 year period during which his pioneering program blossomed into an important training ground for opera in North America.

THE THEATRE-CONCERT HALL, 1941- The Theatre-Concert Hall opened on July 13, 1941. The need for a theater capable of accommodating opera productions was obvious during the Music Center’s first season, when Handel’s Acis and Galatea was performed outdoors. Present at that performance was Mrs. Louis Curtis Bok, founder of the Curtis Institute, who pledged $10,000 toward construction of a Theatre-Concert hall. The 1200 seat structure was designed by Eliel Saarinen and his son Eero. The Theatre-Concert Hall served as the center of Music Center Activities until 1994 when Seiji Ozawa Hall and the Leonard Bernstein campus were completed.

PAUL FROMM AND THE FESTIVAL OF CONTEMPORARY MUSIC Since its earliest days, the TMC has provided a forum for discussion and experimentation in contemporary music. Beginning in 1956, Chicago businessman Paul Fromm, through his Fromm Foundation, began to underwrite dedicated new music programs and sponsoring the Fromm Players, a group of student performers concentrating on new music. In 1964, Erich Leinsdorf transformed these programs into what became known as the Festival of Contemporary Music (FCM). Over the years the range of FCM programming has reflected the broad taste and curiosity of its curators, which have included Gunther Schuller, Bruno Maderna, Oliver Knussen, John Harbison, Reinbert de Leeuw, Tan Dun, Bright Sheng, Robert Spano, Stefan Asbury, Augusta Read Thomas, Charles Wuorinen, George Benjamin, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, James Levine, and Michael Gandolfi.

SEIJI OZAWA CONCERT HALL, 1994- A Gala Opening Concert on July 7, 1994 inaugurated Tanglewood’s new concert hall named in Seiji Ozawa’s honor. Designed by the architectural firm William Rawn Associates in collaboration with acoustician R. Lawrence Kirkegaard & Associates, Seiji Ozawa Hall was the first concert facility to be constructed at Tanglewood in more than fifty years. The centerpiece of the Leonard Bernstein Campus, it became the new home for the Tanglewood Music Center, as well as a venue for recitals, prelude concerts, and recordings. Located on the Highwood estate adjacent to Tanglewood, which the BSO purchased in 1986, the concert hall is situated on the gentle slope of the southeastern section of the property so that outside listeners have a perfect view of the performers on stage.

LINDE CENTER FOR MUSIC AND LEARNING, 2019- Lectures and recitals take place year-round in the Linde Center for Music and Learning.