July 14 - 17, 2021

    We left on the early boat, Mark in the truck and Barbara in the Clarity. 

    First stop - Bridgewater to see the folks. 

   Second stop - Pittsfield to stay with Nan and Jim. We always have a great time and endless topics of conversation. They just lost their wonderful Great Pyrenees, Boo, who lived on island for several years.

    The first day, we visited the Chesterwood, the home of sculptor Daniel Chester French where Jim worked when they first moved to the area. We had a tour of French's studio, checked out the museum and walked the grounds. (The house is closed right now.) It was fascinating to see how cleverly designed the studio was in catching the light properly. He had a little rail system in the studio upon which he placed his sculptures to see how they looked in natural light.

  We spent one day going to Hudson, N.Y. to go to a Lowe's where Mark and I worked with a man about renovating our kitchen. Jim was a big help, of course. Then we went into Hudson for lunch and we walked along the river front on the river which was a place Nantucketers whalers settled, becoming a major whaling port. It is strange to think of a whaling port so far up river.

    Then, we went to lunch at the Red Lion in Lenox, eating in the back garden. The hostess shared that customers are so rude this year that every day one of them cries. (There is a shortage of wait staff and restaurant staff around the country.)

    We went to Shakespeare and Company in their outside, new Spruce Theatre to see King Lear with 84 year old Christopher Lloyd. Our seats were in the sun which was hot. (Mark moved to the shade for a bit.) But, then, just after intermission, there was a thunderstorm and we had to evacuate and wait to see what would happen. The show moved inside, but many people had already left, partly due to the wait. And, honestly, partly because the production was disappointing. Christopher Lloyd's voice was hard to hear, for one. We all agreed that it was not a great show, but were, I think, glad that we stayed.

     On the 17th, we went to a morning lecture and open rehearsal in the Shed at Tanglewood. The talk by BSO Director of Program Publications, Robert Kirzinger, was about Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn and Mozart. 

We did not know about the talent that Fanny Mendelssohn had and how she was discouraged by both her brother and her father. We heard her "Overture in C" which is her only extant orchestral work. We heard Felix Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 5 in D, Opus 107, known as "Reformation." The lecture explained the roots of the work, based on a Methodist hymn and what to listen for. Finally, we heard Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 3 in G with soloist Gil Shaham, an amazing soloist who plays all over the world. He was playing a Stradivarius. The BSO was conducted by Andris Nelson. It was interesting to have the conductor stop and start the orchestra, have them repeat portions of the pieces. It was also interesting to see the orchestra in their street clothes. It was a terrific morning.

   We went to a wonderful dairy farm for delicious ice cream. (I've forgotten the name.) But, we will visit it when we go back to Lee in early September, for sure.

    In the evening, we returned to Tanglewood, again in the Shed to hear the BSO play Prokofiev's Symphony No 1 in D, Op 25, known as "Classical" and Brahm's Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, Op. 13. Of course, everyone in the orchestra was now all dressed up for the performance. It was greatly enhanced by the jumbotron so we could see the individual players. This was the first weekend for Tanglewood because of the pandemic and they did not sell all the seats, to keep with social distancing.

    The guest artist for the Brahm's was pianist Daniil Trifonov. He was very intense with hair over his eyes and little eye contact with the conductor. The concert notes included that he and Andris have worked together on other occasions, and you could feel that. We have never seen a performance like that. Trifonov's performance was incredibly physical with him up and off his seat and sweat dripping off his head. It was riveting. He got a lengthy standing ovation and came out and played again, a piece that Nan has played, so it meant a lot to her. W were all very blown away and felt privileged to be there.