Chamber Music In a Church, And Viola Quintets At Music Mountain

Winds in the Wilderness is the evocative name of a chamber music series dreamed up last year by flutist Sharon Powers, who recruited some of her Berkshire-area colleagues to play chamber music at the idyllic and charming Church of St. John in the Wilderness. Powers, reached by phone, says, “The little church on the hill is a landmark, designed by the renowned 19th-century architect Richard Upjohn. It is one of the most acoustically hospitable places you will ever experience! The sound is warm and embracing.â€

   During the past season the series had sold-out houses at their trio performances with Ellen Katz Willner, oboe; and Beth Craig, cello. They hope to continue and expand in the coming season with the help of contributions at the door and private support. Meanwhile a summer concert there by the Oblong Woodwind Quintet will take place Aug. 15 at 3 p.m., with works by Bach, Milhaud, D’Rivera, Haydn and Joplin. Suggested donation: $10. Route 344, Copake Falls, NY.

   The Berkshire Choral Festival’s program Aug. 7 at 8 p.m. includes the
buoyant “Gloria†by Poulenc, and the Te Deums of John Rutter and Georges Bizet, led by guest conductor Anton Armstrong, and featuring acclaimed soprano Mary Wilson. There will be a pre-concert talk at 6:45 p.m.: “Celebration in Worship: Poulenc, Rutter, Bizet,†by famed musicologist and music writer Steven Ledbetter.  Tickets: call 413- 229-1999 or go to the box office at Berkshire School, Route 41, Sheffield, MA. Food and picnicking facilities available.

   This weekend’s programs at Tanglewood seem to tilt from the tranquil to the tumultuous. Friday’s Boston Symphony Orchestra concert led by Christoph von Dohnányi, a conductor I greatly admire, opens with Mendelssohn’s “Calm Seas and a Prosperous Voyage,†followed by the great Mozart interpreter Richard Goode as soloist with the Piano Concerto No. 14, topped off with Tchaikovsky’s “Pathétique†Symphony. Saturday night opens with Copland’s “Quiet City,†music to offset the Prelude to Act III of “Lohengrin,†the “Firebird,†and the intense Sibelius Violin Concerto, Hilary Hahn soloist. Perhaps this is designed as a blazing sendoff for the group’s assistant conductor, Shi-Yeon Sung.

But on Sunday afternoon, a softer, more lyrical mood prevails, with another von Dohnányi program: Beethoven’s Violin Concerto played by young German Arabella Steinbacher, followed by Dvorák’s Symphony No. 8.

   In the evening the fabulous Yo-Yo Ma will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Silk Road Ensemble, which features virtuoso musicians from around the globe. With his colleagues he will perform a special program combining styles and genres (Persian, Asian, Azerbaijani, and more) with Western and non-Western instruments.

   This  creates a unique musical experience that defies classification and transcends cultural boundaries. Call 888-266-1200.

   My pick for the weekend is, nonetheless, the chance to hear all six Mozart viola quintets at Music Mountain, in two helpings (it’s always food analogies with me for some inexplicable reason) — Aug. 7 at 6:30 p.m. and Aug 8 at 3 p.m., with the Amernet Quartet and violist Chauncey Patterson from Miami. Tickets: Musicmountain.org or call 860-824-7126.

   Incidentally, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, one of the artists featured in “Note by Note,†the documentary about the building of a Steinway concert grand, will perform Aug. 10 at 8 p.m. in the opening concert of Tanglewood’s Contemporary Music Festival, in an unusual pairing of Bach with Carter and Ligeti. Not to be missed!

   And the film, now on DVD, is at Salisbury’s Scoville Memorial Library.

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