LENOX —The Boston Symphony Orchestra and Tanglewood Learning Institute have announced their 2022–23 fall/winter/spring programming for the Linde Center at Tanglewood, October 2022 through May 2023. Five Sunday-afternoon chamber music programs performed by Boston Symphony Orchestra musicians and guests are now on the calendar starting with tomorrow’s program at 3 p.m. Here is a summary of fall/winter/spring programming at Tanglewood’s Linde Center:
1. Sunday, October 16, at 3 p.m.: BSO violinists Bonnie Bewick and Takumi Taguchi, BSO violist Steven Laraia, and BSO cellist Mickey Katz perform selections from “La Lyre Armenienne” (arr. Aslamazyan), Fazil Say’s String Quartet, Op. 29 (“Divorce”), and Dvořák’s popular “American” quartet. (More about this program below.)
2. Sunday, December 11, at 3 p.m.: BSO Assistant Principal Second Violin Julianne Lee, BSO violinist Lisa Ji Eun Kim, BSO cellist Alexandre Lecarme, and BSO bassist Carl Anderson present Ginastera’s String Quartet No. 1, Freya Waley-Cohen’s “Conjure” for string trio, and Dvořák’s String Quintet in G, Op. 77.3.
3. Sunday, March 12, at 3 p.m.: BSO violinists Lucia Lin and Bracha Malkin; BSO violist Rebecca Gitter; BSO cellist Owen Young; harpist Charles Overton; and pianist Vytas Baksys play Michael-Thomas Foumai’s “Printing Kapa” and “Defending Kalo” for harp and violin; Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 10 in E-flat, Op. 74, and William Grant Still’s “Ennaga” for harp, piano, and string quartet.
4. Sunday, April 16, at 3 p.m.: BSO violinists Sheila Fiekowsky and Lisa Ji Eun Kim; BSO violists Mary Ferrillo and Daniel Getz; and BSO cellists Adam Esbensen and Oliver Aldort present Caroline Shaw’s “Limestone and Felt” for violin and cello; Prokofiev’s Sonata for Two Violins; and Brahms’s String Sextet in G, Op. 36.
5. Sunday, May 14,at 3 p.m.: BSO flutist Cynthia Meyers, clarinetist Michael Wayne, BSO oboist Robert Sheena, BSO Associate Principal bassoonist Richard Ranti, and BSO horn player Rachel Childers perform Barber’s “Summer Music,” Carter’s Woodwind Quintet, Lalo Schifrin’s “La Nouvelle Orleans,” Valerie Coleman’s “Red Clay & Mississippi Delta,” the final movement from John Harbison’s Quintet for Winds, and selections from Paquito D’Rivera’s “Aires Tropicales.”
Most of the players at these events should be familiar to you if you attend BSO summer performances or follow chamber music in the Berkshires. (Some are regularly seen at recitals of the West Stockbridge Chamber players.)
The program for Sunday, October 16, is noteworthy for both its repertoire and for its line-up of musicians, violinist Bonnie Bewick, recent Curtis graduate Takumi Taguchi (a new face in the BSO violin section), BSO violist Steven Laraia, and BSO cellist Mickey Katz.
As Ms. Bewick has a special interest in folk fiddling, it’s no surprise that “La Lyre Armenienne” would appeal to her. It’s a perfect match, because it has a Middle Eastern feel to it and is reminiscent of some of the folk transcriptions she is known for.
Then there is Fazil Say, the Turkish composer of a string quartet titled “Divorce.” Here’s what I wrote in July about the premiere of Say’s “Anka KuÅŸu” at Tanglewood: “In a perfect world, all BSO commissions would result in music that is as fresh, thrilling, and accessible to first-time listeners as ‘Anka KuÅŸu.'” The BSO had performed his music only once before 2022, but it would now appear Mr. Say is starting to catch on.
“Divorce” is prickly and challenging—also riveting and absolutely convincing. Here is what Mr. Say wrote about the piece: “In the composition of this string quartet, I have permitted myself to be led by my personality and experiences and have attempted to relate experiences such as divorce, separation and the failure of a relationship in the language of music with the aid of notes and rhythms. As is the case with my other compositions, this quartet is more a work originating from intuition than the description of a historical event, a journey or a place.”
Listen to “Divorce” for yourself and see if you think Mr. Say could possibly be the Bartok of Turkey.
In addition to regular BSO programming, there are two additional upcoming programs at the Linde Center:
On October 30 at 2 p.m., the Stockbridge Library Association will present pianist Emanuel Ax in a recital to benefit the library.
On Sunday, November 30, the Boston-based group Castle of our Skins, a Black arts institution dedicated to fostering cultural curiosity and celebrating Black artistry through music, will present a program of works by well-known and lesser-known composers including Tania León, Andre Myers, Zenobia Powell Perry, Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, Undine Smith Moore, and Daniel Bernard Roumain.
With all of these Linde Center programs, the BSO hopes to appeal to Berkshire audiences looking for additional cultural experiences beyond Tanglewood’s summer season.
Tickets for chamber music concerts at the Linde Center are $25 for general admission. For more information, go to TLI.ORG or call 617-266-1200 or email customerservice@bso.org.
