Lenox — Every summer, intrepid musical adventurers from around the globe converge on Lenox, Massachusetts, to attend the Tanglewood Music Center’s annual Festival of Contemporary Music. It’s a five-day series of performances given mainly by fellows of the Tanglewood Music Center. Many of the works they perform are world or U.S. premieres, and some are TMC commissions. Considered as a whole, FCM works are always as fascinating as music (or sound design) gets—challenging, too. This year’s Festival of Contemporary Music runs from Thursday, Aug. 8, through Monday, Aug. 12. Thomas Adès is the festival’s director. (One of his pieces will close the festival.)
Here are some highlights of this year’s festival:
- Richard Ayres – “The Cricket Recovers” (American premiere)
- Erika Fox – “Hungarian Rhapsody” (American premiere)
- Andrew Hamilton – New work (world premiere; TMC commission)
- Hilda Paredes – “Revelación” (American premiere)
- Poul Ruders – String Quartet No. 4 (American premiere)
- Seeger – String Quartet
- Chaya Czernowin – “Anea Crystal”
- Andrew Hamilton – “music for people who like art” (American premiere)
- Nathan Shields – New work (American premiere; TMC commission)
- Steve Reich – “Radio Rewrite”
- Thea Musgrave – “Space Play”
- Oliver Knussen – Piano works
- Gerald Barry – “Canada” (American premiere)
- Poul Ruders – Symphony No. 5 (American premiere)
- Oliver Knussen – “Whitman Settings”
- Thomas Adès – “Asyla”
In past years, some of the most thrilling moments of the Tanglewood season have come in FCM concerts. Each performance is kind of like a road trip with Mad Max: dangerous, but exhilarating, and just an awful lot of fun.
