Destination: Music

This page: The Pacific performs with Bruce Springsteen at a SummerFest at the Pacific Amphitheatre in Orange County. Opposite: A performance at Colorado’s Bravo! Vail festival, with members of the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields led by Joshua Bell, the ensemble’s music director. Nick Koon

Whether it’s on a mountaintop, next to a lake or river, or in an amphitheater, experiencing music outside can make you hear music in a completely different way.

by Jonathan Williams

t’s summertime, and you’re reclining on a steamboat, listening to a classical and the grass, gazing at the towering Colo- jazz concert; or in the audience to hear a rado Rockies, with a cool breeze wafting brand-new percussion piece, performed on by, while listening to a symphony Dvořák the lush grounds of a former estate. You wrote in 1889 at Vysoká u Příbramě, a could even be right in the middle of a bus- summer resort in his native Bohemia. Or tling metropolis, where the whoosh of city you could be on a hilltop next to a giant, traffic provides an appropriate undercur- Stonehenge-like sculpture in the wilder- rent to Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. ness of Montana’s Big Sky country, headed The setting always plays a part in shap- to hear Bach and Beethoven—in a barn. ing the concert experience, but perhaps You might be on your way to hear Tchai- nowhere so dramatically as at a summer kovsky’s 1812 Overture, carrying a picnic music festival, where the backdrop can be basket and walking across the famous lawn anything from a mountain, lake, or lawn to where Leonard Bernstein first studied as an outdoor park or sculpture center—and a young twentysomething phenom con- of course the interior of a concert hall. At ductor. You could be rocking gently on the Tippet Rise festival in Fishtail, Mon-

40 symphony SPRING 2018 Nick Koon Zach Mahone

tana, the dramatic Beartooth Mountains outdoor sculpture in Montana, these mo- audience, or as Peter Halstead describes landscape combine with contemporary ments make you hear the music and expe- the experience, “We are participating to- sculpture to provide a fresh perspective rience place in new ways. gether in this extraordinary landscape.” even to ears accustomed to hearing the The musicians enjoy the ranch setting of chamber pieces on some of the concert TIPPET RISE: Sculpture, Vistas, Tippet Rise, too. Pianist Lucas Debargue, programs there. At the Tanglewood Festi- Chamber Music who placed fourth in the International val in the Berkshire Hills of western Mas- Fishtail, Montana Tchaikovsky Competition in 2015, played sachusetts, summer home to the In 2016, a new chamber music festival was at Tippet Rise in 2016 and told the Hal- Symphony Orchestra since 1940, “There’s launched in Montana’s Big Sky country. steads, “I want to play the land. I want to something about the clarity of the air, the For co-founders Peter and Cathy Halstead, have that as part of what I’m saying.” Peter sky, the peacefulness of the landscape,” the rugged landscape of the Beartooth says that musicians have a sensibility that says Anthony Fogg, the BSO’s artistic Mountains in Fishtail, Montana, pre- allows them to feel “not only the notes” but administrator and Tanglewood director. sented a “clarity and sense of space,” says the space they are playing in as well. Tip- Adding to Tanglewood’s appeal are the Peter Halstead. Inspired by Storm King, pet Rise also has a concert barn, its floor- iconic lawns and special vibe of history: the center for outdoor sculpture 60 miles plan modelled on the Haydnsaal at Aus- stories abound, like the time a fourteen- north of New York City, the couple bought tria’s Esterhazy Palace, where Franz Josef year-old Midori broke two E-strings a 10,260-acre ranch to create their own Haydn was court musician in the 1700s. while playing Bernstein’s Serenade after sculpture center, which would also include This year, the festival will feature a com- Plato’s Symposium, conducted by the com- a summer music festival. Musicians play missioned world premiere: Aaron Jay poser. At the Music Festival, near outsized outdoor contemporary art Kernis’s String Quartet No. 4, performed the architecture of and stunning sculptures like Mark di Suvero’s hulking by the Borromeo String Quartet. Other Pritzker Pavilion spark the music choices steel “Beethoven’s Quartet” and Ensamble performers include the St. Luke’s Cham- themselves. “Our programming really does Studio’s rock-like “Domo,” which looks ber Ensemble and the Calidore, Dover, reflect the energy of the city—it has that like part of the set for Stanley Kubrick’s and Escher string quartets. Chamber pro- steely edge,” says Paul Winberg, Grant 2001, or perhaps a Doctor Who episode on grams will feature music by Bach, Ger- Park’s president and CEO. Whether it’s a barren foreign planet. Having shwin, Barber, Cage, Glass, Ned Rorem, Gershwin in downtown Chicago or a next to these sculptures creates a close Gabriel Kahane, and Timo Andres, and a quartet playing next to an earth-inspired relationship between musicians and the special focus on Chopin and Robert and americanorchestras.org 41 This year will feature the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, longtime resident orchestra at the festival; the Verona, Argus, Kronos, Jasper, and Brentano quartets; per- formances of Handel’s Atalanta and Mo- zart’s The Secret Gardener; the early-music ensemble Apollo’s Fire; vocal ensemble Chanticleer; and orchestra collective The Knights. Haydon says, “There’s nothing more magical than sitting in the Spanish Courtyard on a summer evening looking up at the stars and the moon with the warm air and frogs—and hearing a quar- tet play.”

TANGLEWOOD FESTIVAL: Berkshires, Boston Symphony,

Iwan Baan Bernstein Pianist Jenny Chen performs next to the outdoor sculpture “Domo” at the Tippet Rise Festival in Lenox, Fishtail, Montana. Nestled in the Berkshire Hills in western Clara Schumann’s connections to nature. ple to come here not just for a concert Massachusetts, the Tanglewood Festival, Weather also plays a role in the Tippet Rise but a couple hours early,” says Schuman. the summer home of the Boston Sym- experience. One year, says Cathy Halstead, “It can be a much fuller experience than phony Orchestra, is one of the country’s “There was this unbelievable storm. We all just hearing a concert.” Caramoor always best-known outdoor spaces for classical ran and got in our cars. And then the air includes standard repertoire, but this year music. In 1936, Mrs. Gorham Brooks just turned purple all around us. It wasn’t the festival is adding music by 22 living and Miss Mary Aspinwall Tappan of- just like the sunset was purple. Every bit composers, including world premieres: a fered Tanglewood, the 210-acre Tappan of the air was purple. When you walked new work by Julia Adolphe, performed family estate, as a gift to conductor Serge through and breathed the air, it was purple.” by the Verona Quartet, and Vijay Iyer’s Koussevitzky and the Boston Symphony Mallet Quartet, featuring Sō Percussion. Orchestra, setting the wheels in motion CARAMOOR FESTIVAL: Schuman says she feels passionately that for the opening of the festival in 1937. Estate setting, mix of new and “music is not a museum, and we have to “Tanglewood has this incredible relation- old music be sure to present the composers who are ship between the landscape and music, Katonah, New York living.” and somehow one’s senses become all that The onetime Westchester County estate of Lucy and Walter Rosen has been home to the Caramoor Festival since 1945, providing outdoor concerts in the open- air Venetian Theater, Spanish Courtyard, and expansive gardens. “It very much feels when you enter it and drive onto the property that you are coming to a home, as opposed to a sort of purpose-built festival venue,” says Kathy Schuman, Caramoor’s vice president of artistic programming and executive producer. Caramoor CEO Jeffrey Haydon agrees: “The setting is one of the most important ingredients of Caramoor.” Haydon says that artists and audiences enjoy the mix of formal and in- formal concerts under a tent or by a tree in the garden. Visitors can see and hear what the festival terms Sound Art sculp- tures, which are placed throughout the es- At the Caramoor Festival in Westchester County, tate. This year will feature works by Wal- performances take place in the Spanish Courtyard, ter Kitundu, Paula Matthusen, and Ranjit the gardens, and open-air Venetian Theater. Bhatnagar. The artwork “encourages peo- Gabe Palacio

42 symphony SPRING 2018 of downtown Chicago,” says Paul Win- berg, Grant Park’s president and CEO. “In many ways we’re in a quintessential American city.” Led by Music Director Carlos Kalmar, the festival ranges from Tchaikovsky, Debussy, and Wagner to Broadway programs, with an emphasis on large-scale presentations. American com- posers are always included—this year will feature music by Copland, Williams, and Sousa, as well as pieces by Sean Shepherd and William Bolcom. Chicago is “home to modern architecture,” says Winberg. Ar- chitects like Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe all made their marks on the city’s skyline, as does the Pritzker Pavilion itself. Concerts in Grant Park are not the only place festival musicians appear. The Grant Hilary Scot Park Orchestra also performs in city neigh- Music Director Andris Nelsons leads the Boston Symphony Orchestra at the Tanglewood Festival. borhoods, at the South Shore Cultural Center, and at Columbus Park on Chi- more acute,” says BSO Artistic Adminis- music. Currently under construction on cago’s West Side. The orchestra works with trator Anthony Fogg, who also serves as the Tanglewood campus is a four-build- young musicians underrepresented in the the festival’s director. With Tanglewood, ing complex set to open in 2019, to house field, through its Project Inclusion Profes- the Boston Symphony Orchestra took , performances, and a new edu- sional Development Program in collabo- an already beautiful place and put it on cation and enrichment center. ration with . Winberg the map of destinations to hear music says the orchestra has a large repertoire, but and experience the environment. At the GRANT PARK MUSIC FESTIVAL: that some pieces are “too delicate” for its semi-outdoor Koussevitzky Music Shed, Iconic architecture, large-scale outdoor concert environment. “One of the audiences get to experience the setting works, heart of Chicago things about being in downtown Chicago and music simultaneously. Tanglewood Chicago, is that there’s traffic noise and sirens and isn’t the area’s only cultural attraction: re- For Chicago’s Grant Park Music Festival, fire trucks that are going by,” says Winberg. nowned theater and dance presenters like the life of the city influences the music, But that’s part of the whole experience for the Berkshire Theatre Group and Jacob’s and the music reflects the city. The Frank the audience. Every summer, the orchestra Pillow as well as the Norman Rockwell Gehry-designed Pritzker Pavilion in Mil- performs several large-scale works with and Chesterwood museums are nearby. lennium Park, completed in 2004, is the the Grant Park Chorus; this summer will There’s also a bird sanctuary and hiking festival’s home. “We play really in the heart include Orff ’s Carmina Burana, Haydn’s trails. This season, Fogg says he’s most ex- cited about the festival’s celebration of the Leonard Bernstein Centennial—Bern- stein himself was in the first Tanglewood Music Center class in 1940. The Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Bal- let will collaborate on Bernstein’s Fancy Free; also planned are Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti, On the Town, and Candide. As usual, Tanglewood will host a weeklong Festival of Contemporary Music, per- formed mostly by the student musicians of the Tanglewood Music Center. Hol- lywood composer John Williams will be

At the Caramoor Festival in Westchester County, on hand to lead the popular annual Film Grant Park Music Festival performances take place in the Spanish Courtyard, Night; there will be pops performers in- The Pavilion in Chicago’s , completed in 2004 and designed by Frank the gardens, and open-air Venetian Theater. cluding James Taylor, Roger Daltrey, and Gehry, is home to the Grant Park Music Festival and a landmark destination for modern design Peter Frampton; and plenty of chamber and music in the heart of the city. americanorchestras.org 43 Music Director Christopher Wilkins, at center, conducts the Boston Landmarks Orchestra at the Hatch Mass in B-flat (“Theresienmesse”) and Shell on the Charles River Esplanade. Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast. Winberg says, “When you have that much energy coming off the stage, in this giant outdoor space, it’s pretty remarkable.”

BOSTON LANDMARKS ORCHESTRA: Urban setting, community connection Boston, Massachusetts Since 2001, Wednesday evenings in July and August in Boston have meant free concerts by the Boston Landmarks Or- chestra at the Hatch Shell along the Charles River Esplanade. Music Director Christopher Wilkins says the orchestra considers the city itself an inspiration for the orchestra’s programming: “The en- vironment influences your experience of the music, and the music influences your experience of the environment.” In 2016, Michael Dwyer Boston Landmarks presented a bird- themed program in collaboration with the BRAVO! VAIL: Colorado Rockies, rounding mountains, trees, and flowers as a Massachusetts Audubon Society, featuring four resident orchestras big part of attending a Bravo! performance. Ralph Vaughan Williams’s “The Wasps” Vail, Colorado “You’re going to feel the wind across your Overture, Tan Dun’s Passacaglia: Secret of When Artistic Director Anne-Marie Mc- face, you might feel the sun on the back of Wind and Birds, and Michael Gandolfi’s Dermott first came to play at the Bravo! your neck, you might hear birds chirping,” The Garden of Cosmic Speculation Part I. Vail festival, she says she had to pull off to she says. Squirrels have been known to Boston Landmarks created an interactive the side of the road when the breathtaking scamper across the stage during a perfor- video about endangered birds for audi- size and beauty of the Colorado Rockies mance. Musicians and audiences also take ences to watch on their phones as they came into view. “You have all this sky and advantage of the area to go hiking, biking, listened to the music at the bird-themed all these Aspen trees and the mountains golfing, and rafting. Teisinger says that for concert. This year, the orchestra will pre- that you’re looking at,” she says. “Hearing both musicians and audiences, “This is a miere a commissioned piece by Stella a Mahler Symphony outdoors in this envi- summer playland.” Sung, Oceana, about the sounds of the sea, ronment really makes you hear the music in focusing on animal sounds and human a whole different way.” In addition to other STRINGS MUSIC FESTIVAL: impact, in collaboration with the New presentations, the festival typically features Outdoor recreation destination, England Aquarium. three or four orchestras in residence. For pavilion performances The orchestra also partners with Camp 2018, the , Steamboat Springs, Colorado Harbor View for at-risk children in Bos- Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Or- In Steamboat Springs, Colorado, where ton neighborhoods during the summer. chestra, and the U.K.-based Academy of St skiing and outdoor recreation are king, “We hire local composers to write very Martin in the Fields will appear. This year, place is a vital part of Strings Music Fes- simple pieces that these kids can learn, the festival has commissioned Gabriella tival’s identity. “We’re a destination resort,” usually drumming pieces, and have them Smith to write a work for the Dover String says Executive Director and CEO Elissa perform with us in a fully orchestrated Quartet and vocal ensemble Roomful of Greene. The festival orchestra plays in a version of what they learned,” says Ar- Teeth, which specializes in contempo- 2008 purpose-built pavilion that seats 589 thur Rishi, Boston Landmarks’ artistic rary music and extended techniques. “The people and features glass walls that open administrator. Last summer the orches- new score is all about extinction of certain out so musicians and audiences alike can tra performed Beethoven’s Symphony animal species,” McDermott says. “It’s two hear the music while looking out at the No. 9, Sibelius’s Finlandia, and Dvořák’s years in a row now we’re getting commis- trees and mountains. Greene says that Symphony No. 8. Wilkins notes that he sioned works that are all about nature and when the pavilion was being designed, the programs concerts with the outdoors the outdoors and wildlife.” Last year, Da- festival wanted to remove the dividing bar- in mind, and often opts for large-scale vid Ludwig wrote a piece for strings and rier they feel a traditional wall represents: pieces, which work especially well when piano titled Pangea, about tectonic plates “We don’t want people to feel like they are performing outdoors. “There’s no question and the changing planet. Executive Di- going indoors on a beautiful summer day that, in some ways, bigger is better,” says rector Jennifer Teisinger says she sees the to enjoy beautiful music. They can kind of Wilkins. location of the amphitheater and the sur- seamlessly go from one to the other.” In

44 symphony SPRING 2018 At the Lake George Music Festival in upstate New York, audiences can attend late-night classical and jazz concerts on the 1906 “Minne-Ha-Ha” steamboat. addition to pavilion performances, the or- chestra performs at the Steamboat Ski Re- sort on Mount Werner and at the Yampa River Botanic Park in Steamboat Springs. The festival also holds events combining yoga and outdoors. Led by Music Director Michael Sachs, principal trumpet of the Orchestra, fes- tival presentations range in 2018 from a Fourth of July “Celebrate America” show to a “Water Colors”-themed concert of Takemitsu and Ravel, with harpist Yolanda Rogers Divertrek Kondonassis, and American dance music from the ragtime era. Kristine Kilbourne, the festival’s advertising and marketing di- ferent Lake George venues where concerts the musicians and audience are what keep rector, emphasizes Strings Music Festival’s are performed, including a steamboat, an them coming back. What defines a Lake informality, with musicians and audiences amphitheater, bars, restaurants, and a yacht George concert experience? “Being up mingling: “I think part of the fun is that club. Each summer, the festival programs close and personal with the musicians,” concertgoers are running into musicians at a Sounds of Our Time concert, focusing says Lombard. lunch or at their favorite restaurant down- on new music, which typically attracts a town. They’re crossing paths on the moun- younger crowd. This year the Brooklyn- PACIFIC SYMPHONY: Classical, tain biking trail.” based PROJECT Trio—bassist Peter Sey- film, and pops music in an amphi- mour, flutist Greg Pattillo, and cellist Eric theater LAKE GEORGE MUSIC FESTIVAL: Stephenson—will be featured. The festival Orange County, California Many venues, classic encompasses thirteen chamber concerts, Since last summer, the Pacific Amphithe- Adirondacks setting children’s concerts, a concert by the full atre at the Orange County Fair has been Lake George, New York festival orchestra, and a late-night con- the summer home of the Pacific Symphony, At Lake George in upstate New York, the cert on the 1906 “Minne-Ha-Ha” steam- following the 2016 closing of the Irvine beauty of the lake and towering Adiron- boat with contemporary classical and jazz Meadows amphitheater. The orchestra’s dack Mountains transform the concert music. Musicians in the festival are young SummerFest three-concert series this year experience. Now in its eighth season, the professionals who enjoy playing chamber will include a Fourth of July tribute to the festival performs a mix of new and ex- music, says Alexander Lombard, the fes- band Chicago, John Williams’s film score perimental chamber music and traditional tival’s president and CEO. Concertgoers to E.T., with the film shown during the orchestral works. But what makes the fes- tell him that the intimate atmosphere of concert, and a Tchaikovsky concert. Pacific tival really stand out are the fourteen dif- the concerts and the relationships between Symphony President John Forsyte says the summer concerts typically attract a wide The Strings Music demographic and lots of kids. “It’s a much Festival’s purpose- longer experience with a highly socially as- built Pavilion pect,” he says, because audiences can arrive in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, at 6 p.m., enjoy a picnic, and mingle before features glass the concert starts. Forsyte says the orches- walls that allow tra has identified a group of attendees that the audience and they have dubbed “Social Serenity Seekers,” musicians to look who come to the outdoor concerts mainly at the surrounding scenery. “to relax and socialize.” The Orange County Amphitheater seats 8,000 people, which gives events an arena-concert feel. “It al- most feels like a rock show,” Forsyte says. “The kind of cheering and intensity of en- thusiasm really excites the musicians.”

JONATHAN WILLIAMS is an arts journalism graduate student at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. A violist, Williams has written about arts and culture for the Syracuse Post-Standard, Oregon

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