Tuesday was “Tanglewood on Parade”, a big day for the students at the Tanglewood Music Center (TMC) and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute (BUTI). There are performances on the grounds all afternoon, and the entire bash ends with a joint performance by the BSO/TMC orchestras of the “1812 Overture”, live cannons, and fireworks over the lake.
The afternoon brought a TMC presentation of Stravinsky’s chamber music piece l’Histoire du soldat in the wonderful Ozawa Hall.
…but with a twist: The narrator/performers were three American composers: (on the images from left to right) Milton Babbitt , age 90, “the devil”; Elliott Carter, age 97, “the soldier”; and John Harbison, a mere youngster at 68, “the narrator”. The script had been “tweaked” by James Levine, Elliott Carter, John Harbison and a few others, and amounted to a hilarious leg-pull between the two nonagenarians. The musical performance, conducted by Tomasz Golka (below at right), was a joy also. The musicians were Hyunju Lee, violin; Brandon McLean, double bass; James Zimmermann, clarinet; Brad Balliett, bassoon; John Freeman, trumpet; and Kathryn Curran, trombone.
click on images to enlarge
© Irene B. Hahn, all rights reserved
There was no assigned seating, so I was able to secure a seat close up to take these truly historic photographs after the performance.
As to Elliott Carter, there are already plans for the 2008 Carter Centenary underway! Isn’t that tempting fate?
Postscript 7/27: NYT: With a Nod to Stravinsky, Three Composers Become Stars of the Stage at Tanglewood (short-lived link unless you subscribe to TimesSelect). A quote from Milton Babbitt:
Mr. Babbitt said he had first encountered the piece in 1930. “This,” he said, “is the best performance I’ve ever heard.”
