Lenox — Tanglewood Learning Institute (TLI) chamber concerts represent a wish fulfilled for year-round classical music aficionados in the Berkshires. Featuring everything from cornerstones of the standard repertoire to bold new works by contemporary composers, these concerts bring fans of the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) up close and personal with the very musicians they heard on the Shed stage all summer long. They offer audiences a chance to experience, at close range, the depth and versatility of BSO musicianship—and they help sustain the orchestra’s presence and connection to the community throughout the year.
On Sunday, October 19, at 3 p.m., that connection continues as six members of the BSO perform an intimate program at Tanglewood’s Linde Center for Music and Learning. The concert pairs “Aroma Foliado” by Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz—one of today’s most compelling contemporary voices—with Antonín Dvořák’s radiant String Sextet in A Major, Op. 48. Featuring violinists Arianna Brusubardis Grace and Bracha Malkin, violists Mary Ferrillo and Cathy Basrak, and cellists Will Chow and Owen Young, the performance offers a unique opportunity to hear these world-class musicians in a more personal and conversational musical setting.
I spoke via Zoom this week with violinist Arianna Brusubardis Grace and cellist Owen Young to get their take on the music they will be performing on the 19th. Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
DAVID NOEL EDWARDS
What drew the group to pair Gabriela Ortiz’s ‘Aroma Foliado’ with Dvořák’s String Sextet in A? How do you see these two works talking to each other in this program?
ARIANNA BRUSUBARDIS GRACE
Well, Owen, if you don’t mind me talking, since I’m actually the one performing the Ortiz… I believe it was Mary, who’s one of the violists in our group, who decided to choose ‘Aroma Foliado.’ She thought it was a really interesting programming idea, because Ortiz has Mexican heritage. She grew up in Mexico City. And the piece itself has a lot of pounding Mexican rhythms and a lot of folk-like inspired melodies, which is very similar, actually, to Dvořák.
Owen is nodding his head. Yeah. Dvořák is Czech, and his piece has a lot of folk-inspired melodies. And we’ve talked about, in our rehearsals, how the second movement is titled ‘Dumka,’ which is a melancholy-like ballad for singing. So that’s a folk theme. He also has other themes in his sextet that are inspired by folk melodies. So the reason we chose these pieces was that they kind of play with each other in a way that celebrates both of the composers’ heritage through the melodies.
EDWARDS
With someone like Ortiz, how do you strike a balance between honoring the composer’s voice and bringing your own interpretation?
GRACE
That’s a really good question, something we’ve been talking about in rehearsal. One thing we’ve been trying to experiment with is just having tons of different options in terms of articulation, and also trying to figure out exactly who has the main idea in the ensemble. Is it the cello? Is it the violin? Is it the viola? It’s densely composed music. A lot of the rhythmic passages are so dense that it’s really a challenge to figure out whose voice to bring out, who has the main idea. And that’s something we’re still working through in our rehearsal process. But we’re definitely making it our mission to honor all of the folk-like elements in the piece.
EDWARDS
How does playing a piece for only six instruments change your approach to ensemble phrasing, dynamics, and dialogue among the instrument?
OWEN YOUNG
Since it’s chamber music, we all have our own parts and are covering one part instead of 10 people covering one part. So in either scenario, I think there are subtle changes that you have to make. Obviously, when you’re one to a part, the individual responsibility, you could argue, is just a little bit more focused, a little bit more important. You’re covering one part, so your playing may change a little bit. But it’s funny, because when you play in the orchestra, you’re often asked to play as if it were a smaller group playing chamber music. There’s a little bit more priority in a smaller group, and there is a heightened focus. But they also still run into the same questions, as of the balance, and this is an important voice. What needs to come through? What doesn’t? There’s secondary voices and rhythm and melody and the whole bit. So it’s always a dance trying to figure that out based on what the composer might have wanted.
I don’t play any Ortiz, but I do know that she was at Tanglewood this summer. And it’s unbelievable: If you have the composer alive, in person, you can ask them questions that will solve, in 10 seconds, a possible mystery. Obviously, Dvořák’s no longer with us, so it’s up to us to figure out what he might have intended. And I’d like to say that in either case, there are a lot of clues. There are a lot of clues in terms of what he writes and how he scores. But composers do, I think, rely on good musicians to sort of read their minds, so to speak.
I’m sure they’re thinking, ‘Have I given them enough information so that the performance is how I wanted?’ And on top of that, there is also room for interpretation. So it doesn’t have to be only one interpretation. There’s room for slightly faster tempos, slightly slower tempos, slightly this, slightly that. In fact, I think a piece lives and breathes better and has longevity, the more ideas you can bring to it, again, with intention of playing what the composer wanted.
EDWARDS
How does your familiarity with one another influence the way you rehearse chamber music?
YOUNG
Oh, it’s interesting. Well, Arianna, I want you to answer this too. This is the first time I’m playing with Arianna because she is…
GRACE
This is our first time playing together.
YOUNG
Brand new in the orchestra, which is really exciting. I think Arianna—I don’t know if you’ve played with any of the other members. Right?
GRACE
This is my first time playing in this type of intimate chamber music setting with anyone in the BSO, so it’s really special for me. I’m getting to know everyone more through the rehearsal process. It’s very special for me.
EDWARDS
Arianna, after holding orchestral posts in the Canton Symphony, Kansas City, and Boston Ballet, how has your transition to the BSO changed your musical identity?
GRACE
Oh! that’s a very good question! Well honestly, being in the Boston Symphony Orchestra is such a dream for me. I’m very, very grateful to be here, playing with such phenomenal musicians and people who are very passionate—and such wonderful people as well. I’m really having such a fun time.
You know, I’ve always loved playing professionally in an orchestra, and I feel like I’m learning so much from everyone around me. I’m trying to use my time right now to just absorb as much information as I can from everyone. That’s my identity as a musician right now, as I try to absorb as much as I can and learn from everyone around me.
That’s another reason why playing in this chamber group has been so fun for me, because it’s very collaborative. Orchestral section players don’t really have the same opportunities as chamber players to contribute ideas and talk a lot during rehearsals. So that’s why it’s been so fun for me to be in this chamber group—to just absorb as much as I can. It’s been special.
EDWARDS
Owen, you have collaborated with Kids 4 Harmony, an El Sistema-inspired program here in Massachusetts. How has that work shaped your perspective as a performer and educator?
YOUNG
I played a concert with them. And listen: I am all for any kind of organization that does this very thing. Through this organization, these kids are given an opportunity they wouldn’t have had otherwise. And you know, what a joy it is to collaborate with kids who are eager and interested in making music and playing an instrument and accomplishing something. And all of this is done within a community, which is so important.
So when they asked me to participate, I was really happy. I played a piece with their string orchestra. And the whole organization couldn’t have been nicer. But it blows my hair back. It’s something that blows my hair back to see kids who are engaged and really want to create something special. And so yeah, I get a real charge out of it, and I hope I can leave that situation having provided inspiration. But I’m also inspired by them.
EDWARDS
Is there anything you’ve learned from playing chamber music that you believe is essential for young musicians?
YOUNG
Well, for me, yes, absolutely, because chamber music isn’t just playing great music in a small group. It’s learning how to get along. It’s building a community. It’s learning how to share your voice. It’s learning how to go up front and go into the back. It’s learning how to take turns.
All these things you need to get through life: how to get along with people, how to collaborate. These are tools that you need. And so chamber music is just a huge metaphor for that. Also, you get to create something together. So the whole is much bigger than the parts when you’re playing music. I believe that. You’re creating something together, and it’s bigger than four people playing their individual parts. It becomes something else. It’s give and take, and all of these things have to sort of line up in order for it to happen.
And I think kids learn that. Even if they don’t know they’re learning it, they are, but it’s what’s required. So it really does a lot more than just, ‘Oh, we’re going to get together and play some music.’ You know?
EDWARDS
Last question and then we’re all done.
YOUNG
I’m talking too much.
GRACE
No, that was a great response!
EDWARDS
So, for either of you or both of you: What do you hope the audience will take away from this concert? In other words, what are you offering beyond just beautiful music?
YOUNG
What do you think, Arianna?
GRACE
I think this is a little bit related to Owen’s response to the last question, where I think chamber music is an outlet for a lot of connection. And when someone is listening to a beautiful chamber performance, it’s not just that they’re taking in beautiful music. They’re also connecting with the ensemble playing. They’re connecting, also, with each other in the room, shoulder to shoulder.
I think the biggest thing that people will take away from this performance is that feeling of connection. And that’s something you can’t really experience in other entertainment settings. So that’s what I think.
YOUNG
I agree with everything that Arianna just said. And with chamber music, again, one of the things that’s great about it is its intimacy, right? It’s fewer people, so you feel like you’re in the same room sharing something. There’s no stage, so it’s a much more intimate experience that we’re all having together, and that’s lovely.
Hopefully, this experience, this concert, this collaboration, will unlock something. And that’s the mystery of music. It’s not just, ‘Oh, I want to listen to pretty music.’ It could be very violent music, it could be anything. It could be really sad, it could be really happy. Whatever it is, it’s a hope. It’s making the brain think and feel in different ways than usual. If that’s happening, then our job as musicians is really complete.
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Hear members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra perform a program of Ortiz and Dvořák at Tanglewood’s Linde Center for Music and Learning at 3 p.m. on Sunday, October 19. Tickets are available here.
