Back Together And Blown Away: The Boston Symphony Orchestra Returns To Tanglewood

https://www.npr.org/sections/deceptivecadence/2021/07/19/ [login to see] /back-together-and-blown-away-the-boston-symphony-orchestra-returns-to-tanglewood
The pandemic shut down most summer music festivals last year and Tanglewood, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in the Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts, was no exception. But on July 10 the BSO returned, with an all-Beethoven program featuring pianist Emanuel Ax.

In many respects it seemed as though nothing had changed. The lawn outside the Shed, where the Boston Symphony plays, was filled with concertgoers spread out on blankets and eating picnics. Victoria Cersosimo came all the way from Maine to gather with her family for the concert. Despite the eight hour drive, she says she comes every year, "except last year. It was really sad."

Tanglewood was something of a ghost town last summer because of the canceled festival. Visitors were allowed to walk on the grounds, with beautiful views of the surrounding mountains. But the center, typically abuzz with concerts, classes and rehearsals, was unusually quiet.

"No live performances, no audiences, no nothing," says assistant principal bass Lawrence Wolfe, a 51-year vet of the BSO. "It was heartbreaking."