By Bruce Blair
Read the history. Walk the grounds on a fall day when the ghosts of the great maestros are in the air. Imagine the famous alums in their youth as their dreams begin to grow. Hear the music of the birds, the breeze through the trees, contemplate the hills. Imagine early Tanglewood student Leonard Bernstein, perhaps already dreaming about rescuing nature-loving composer Gustav Mahler from relative obscurity with a concert series. Among his many accomplishments, “Lenny” directed the first televised episodes of the Young People’s Concert Series with the NY Philharmonic, reaching millions of people. Fifty-four episodes, performing and answering questions like “What is Classical Music?” Youthful audiences were initiated.
The people running the Boston Symphony Orchestra are stewards of classical music, first and foremost. But are they also thinking about developing the grounds, adding more pop concerts, reducing classical ones? How about a trendy sushi bar to go with the new bar inside the Shed? But they are stewards passing through. The Koussevitsky legacy serves to remind them of the treasure – and responsibility – with which they have been entrusted. The BSO is bound by the conditions of its non-profit status. How far should it go in promoting pop music? Adding profitable amenities? Property development? What would Koussevitsky, Bernstein, Copeland say?
The BSO has created wonderful opportunities for young kids to experience classical music. But whether that makes enough difference in stemming the general decline in classical attendance is open to question. Classical music competes with rapid fire video of all iterations, AI compositions/recordings, a bland diet of derivative repetitive pop songwriters and performers all at the fingertips of any kid with a cellphone. What is the answer? John Williams is not Beethoven, despite the comment by one of his fans in the video that opened Film Night.
I once helped paint the beams in the ceiling of the Shed. It was the loftiest height I ever attained while working there. But I always knew what Tanglewood was ultimately about. The tumultuous, tone-deaf manner in which Music Director Andris Nelsons was dismissed undermined community trust. The new mission statement and the vague, corporate damage control jargon about “vision” need backup. Attendance is down for classical music, the mission now ought to be to save it. The Board must know real solutions are broader than adding more pop stars or a bar. Bernstein was a champion, now, we need another.
Editor’s Note: 1. The first concert of the Berkshire Symphonic Festival took place on August 23, 1934. For 92 years, in Stockbridge, we have had “music Under the Moon and Stars.” Today we call it Tanglewood: founded in Stockbridge, located entirely in Stockbridge, the Shed built in Stockbridge; it is quintessential-Stockbridge. Bruce will follow with more about Tanglewood 2026.
