Tanglewood Cancelled
Special Programming This Summer
By: BSO - May 15, 2020
Statement from Andris Nelsons, BSO Ray and Maria Stata Music Director
“There is no doubt that we are all disheartened over the loss of being together for live music performances this summer, as well as the loss of so many other cultural offerings throughout the Berkshire region.“My colleagues at the Boston Symphony Orchestra have dedicated all their focus and energies to creating an innovative online offering for the thousands of music lovers who support Tanglewood. Though nothing can substitute for the community around the live concert experience, these online offerings will be a beautiful bridge of inspiration that will help get us through this difficult period and back to live performances at Tanglewood in 2021. “I will dearly miss my wonderful orchestra, staff colleagues, and the greater Tanglewood and Berkshire community. It is the amazing spirit of our Tanglewood family that inspires me and all the musicians of the orchestra to put our hearts and souls into every performance we give to our amazing audiences. I hope everyone who watches or listens to our video and audio streams will take away a treasure of inspiration that will help them persevere until better times.
Statement from Mark Volpe,BSO Eunice and Julian CohenPresident and Chief Executive Office
“All of us at the Boston Symphony Orchestra deeply wish we could have found a way to present performances at Tanglewood this summer. We explored every possible scenario to try to save all or part of our concert schedule, but with the health of the greater Tanglewood community as our highest priority, performances with audiences are not possible. Since the only time the festival was canceled outright was in 1945 due to World War II, you can only imagine what a difficult decision it was.
“I hope everyone who loves Tanglewood will take advantage of the diverse offerings of Tanglewood 2020 Online Festival,as every effort has been made to bring the spirit of Tanglewood into the numerous video and audio streams featured throughout the summer. With multi-layered content that also focuses on the Tanglewood Music Center and the Tanglewood Learning Institute, we believe these online programs have the potential to break new ground. Most importantly, we hope they will maintain connections with our Tanglewood communityand provide the inspiration needed during this challenging period.“Though we understandthat nothing takes the place of a live performance, during this hiatus summerI hope Tanglewood’s loyal supporters will sit in their yards or homes on a Sunday afternoon watching a video stream of a recent BSO performance from the Shed, or spend a Friday or Saturday evening enjoying newly-recorded performance streams. This content will highlight our wonderful BSO musicians and treasured guest artists who were to be featured on the stages of the Shed and Ozawa Hall this summer.
“I promise to keep my dear Tanglewood family in my heart and look forward to an extraordinary reunion when we will celebrate in a whole new way our deep appreciation for the music and physical beauty that the Tanglewood experience brings to all our lives. My prayers continue to be with those who are suffering, those who are caring for them, and the workers holding our communities together.”