TANGLEWOOD - TWO WONDERFUL SUMMERS - PART TWO

TANGLEWOOD –TWO WONDERFUL SUMMERS – PART TWO

Those of us attending Tanglewood who were not practicing musicians, singers or composers were expected to sing in the Tanglewood Festival Chorus (since replaced by a professional chorus using the same name). In my previous blog (Part One) I told of the first two performances I was involved in during the 1948 season. This blog tells of the third performance that summer and continues with activities during the 1949 season.

Our next concert was led by the young but already famous conductor, Leonard Bernstein. He was serving as the orchestra’s assistant conductor at the time and he had a personal goal to introduce the country to the music of Gustav Mahler. Mahler was not a familiar name to most Americans at that time, but his work was important being a sort of bridge from the romantic period of music to the newly developing twentieth century music. Lenny – as he was called by everyone at Tanglewood – had chosen Mahler’s magnificent 2nd symphony for this concert which ended with some marvelous and powerful choral music. This introduction to Mahler and his music led to Mahler becoming my favorite composer and I have several recorded versions of all of his symphonies and several other works.

The second symphony consists of five movements and the chorus takes part only in the last half of the final movement. Our entry in the performance begins with the chorus seated and singing as quietly as possible. The score is marked “ppp” and starts with the words “Aufersteh’n, ja aufersteh’n ...”) (Ye shall rise gain ....). Hugh Ross again prepared the chorus but wanting to be certain that we sang it sofly, Lenny worked with us on those opening lines at the last two rehearsals before we rehearsed with the orchestra.

The shed was sold out and many others bought tickets to sit on the surrounding grounds. The performance was a great success and not only was the audience thrilled by it but we choristers were as well. All of us participating in the performance took several bows before the audience began to leave.

One of several highlights of the 1948 season was the late afternoon and evening when we had as a guest at our tent no less a person than the famous cellist, Gregor Piatigorsky. Bob had told his teacher Jean Bedetti about our living arrangements at the lake. Bedetti being a friend of Piatigorsky told this excellent musician of our camping experiences. Piatigorsky then asked Bedetti if he could arrange with Bob for us to have as our overnight guest, his young son. He wanted the boy to have a “camping experience”.

We were delighted to accommodate this request and at about four in the afternoon Piatigorsky with his wife and young son arrived and a delightful evening ensued. Piatigorsky brought three bottles of an excellent Burgundy to add to our meal and while with us regaled us with many stories about his career and funny incidents which had occurred at some of his concerts. Piatigorsky and wife left around ten. His son, whose name I do not recall, retired almost immediately and fortunately awoke in time to have breakfast with us before his mother arrived to pick him up. I have several photographs of our gathering in my album which, quite naturally, I treasure for at that time Piatigorsky was regarded as the foremost cellist in the world.

While my reason for going to Tanglewood was primarily to observe the orchestra’s managers at work, this just never happened in 1948. I have to say that I didn’t mind since the whole experience of being part of and listening to so much music during those eight weeks was so wonderful. I wanted more and so I signed on again for the 1949 season.

In 1949 Bob did not go with us and so the young violinist, “Cappy” Ravenal and I camped out together in Bob’s big tent loaned to us for the summer. We were unable to get a campsite at the lakefront as in 1948, but we secured a wooded campsite by a stream, well behind a Texaco gas station whose owner let us use the station’s men’s room. We were just inside a wooded area. We got our water at the station not trusting to the stream’s purity. The stream water when boiled served to wash our dishes. While we were within an easy walk to the Tanglewood property we often rode the bikes we brought with us.

The 1949 season was much like 1948 except the principal music we sang was the first American performance of Benjamin Britten’s “Spring Symphony”. While it was exciting to be a part of an American premier of music by a major contemporary composer, I would have to say that I didn’t really care for this work – and still don’t. The performance was professionally taped, but apparently this performance was never sold on disk or tapes. Much as I don’t care that much for the composition, I’d love to have a copy of that tape since I was in the chorus that plays an important in it.

A highlight for me of the 1949 season was being invited by the orchestra’s assistant manager to attend a post concert reception for many of the premier musicians in residence in Lenox as well as senior Tanglewood staff. It was a heady experience for this college student about to be a senior to mix with such a group of prominent people. Everyone I met or conversed with treated me as an equal despite my young years.

In a great many ways, this second season was a repeat of 1948. I’m embarrassed to say that for the life of me I cannot recall the second and third concerts our chorus participated in. However one last and somewhat sad incident took place at the final Sunday afternoon BSO concert. It was Koussevitsky’s final performance as the BSO’s conductor. And his farewell work was what was a sort of signature piece for him, the second symphony of Jan Sibelius. My wife to be (she visited me at Tanglewood several times during both seasons) and I listened to the concert while seated on the lawn outside of the shed. As a student I had a season ticket but could not get one for her since this final concert had been sold out before the season began.

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