PBS to Broadcast Tanglewood 75th Gala
All Star Concer to Air on August 10
By: PBS - Apr 26, 2012
PBS announced today that the Tanglewood 75th anniversary gala concert, featuring many of the iconic artists identified with the fete, has been added to the line-up of the PBS Arts Summer Festival and will air nationally on Friday, August 10 at 9 p.m. ET as part of GREAT PERFORMANCES (check local listings).
Located in the beautiful Berkshire Mountains of western Massachusetts, Tanglewood is one of the world's most beloved music festivals and serves as the summer home for the famed Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO).
“Tanglewood 75th AnniversaryCelebration” will feature the BSO, the Boston Pops Orchestra and the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, under the direction of conductors John Williams, Keith Lockhart and Andris Nelsons.
Performers will include pianists Emanuel Ax and Peter Serkin, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter and vocalist James Taylor, as well as the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, John Oliver, conductor. The wide-ranging program, which will be taped on July 14, will include Aaron Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man”; Leonard Bernstein’s Three Dance Episodes from On the Town; selections from the Great American Songbook; Franz Joseph Haydn’s Piano Concerto in D, 2nd and 3rd movements; Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Andante cantabile for cello and strings; Pablo de Sarasate’s Carmen Fantasy, for violin and orchestra; Maurice Ravel’s “La Valse”; and Ludwig van Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy.
“The BSO is one of the many great regional arts institutions to be featured on GREAT PERFORMANCES over its four decade history,” said David Horn, executive producer, GREAT PERFORMANCES. “GP has enjoyed a long association with the BSO and its summertime home at the Tanglewood festival, dating back to our extensive broadcast collaborations with Leonard Bernstein. We are delighted to return to Tanglewood for this 75th anniversary concert, which also represents a wonderful homecoming celebration for us.”
The Tanglewood concert is the seventh program in the PBS Arts Summer Festival, which includes documentaries from independent filmmakers that explore a wide spectrum of international art forms and offer an in-depth look at music, theater, art, architecture and cultural history from some of the world’s unique locations. Award-winning television, film and stage star Anna Deavere Smith will serve as weekly host for the Summer Festival, which begins Friday, June 29, 2012 at 9 p.m. ET (check local listings).
“Continuing on our commitment to bring the arts home for all Americans, we’re especially excited about the diverse and vibrant array of content this season viewers won’t find anywhere else,” said PBS Vice President of Programming, Donald Thoms. “From independent films featuring the art and architecture of the Middle East to the melodic sounds of South Texas mariachi musicians, the PBS Arts Summer Festival hostedby Anna Deavere Smith takes people beyond the spotlight of traditional arts programs, showcasing the scope of artistic mettle our world offers.”
Other PBS 2012 Summer Arts Festival programs were announced earlier this year, but the final broadcast dates are being released today. Details on the programs appear below and are available at PBS Press Room: pbs.org/pressroom
Broadcast date: Friday, June 29, 2012, 9:00 p.m. ET
MARIACHI HIGH spends a year in the life of the champion mariachi ensemble at Zapata High School as they compete and perform with astonishing musical virtuosity.
ISLAMIC ART: MIRROR OF THE INVISIBLE WORLD
Broadcast date: Friday, July 6, 2012, 9:00 p.m. ET
Narrated by award-winning actress Susan Sarandon, ISLAMIC ART takes viewers to nine countries and across 1,400 years of cultural history to explore the astonishing artistic and architectural riches of this ancient religion.
JOHN LEGUIZAMO'S TALES FROM A GHETTO KLOWN
Broadcast date: Friday, July 13, 2012, 9:00 p.m. ET
This profile of actor/playwright John Leguizamo looks at his unorthodox rise to success, while capturing his struggles to mount his latest one-man Broadway show and giving viewers a behind-the-scenes glimpse at one of the industry’s most versatile actors.
HOMECOMING: THE KANSAS CITY SYMPHONY PRESENTS JOYCE DIDONATO
Broadcast date: Friday, July 20, 2012, 9:00 p.m. ET
Architect Moshe Safdie’s extraordinary new Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City provides the stunning backdrop for this performance-documentary profiling Grammy Award-winning mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, the young musicians of the Kansas City Symphony and their vibrant artistic director and conductor Michael Stern.
HAVANA, HAVANA!
Broadcast date: Friday, July 27, 2012, 9:00 p.m. ET
This music-documentary vibrates with the soul and energy of African-Cuban drummers, guajira guitarists, and the pulsing melodies of celebrated Cuban musician Raul Paz as he brings together fellow musical stars Descemer Bueno, Kelvis Ochoa and David Torrens for their first concert together for the Cuban people.
THE BARNES COLLECTION
Broadcast date: Friday, August 3, 2012, 9:00 p.m. ET
For the first time, public viewers will get an exclusive look at Dr. Albert Barnes’ collection – thousands of magnificent works of art by some of the most famous names in art history, such as Picasso, Cezanne, Renoir and Matisse – and the new museum that now houses it.
TANGLEWOOD 75TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
Broadcast date: Friday, August 10, 2012, 9:00 p.m. ET
The GREAT PERFORMANCES telecast of the “Tanglewood 75th Anniversary Celebration” is made possible by the Irene Diamond Fund, The Lillian Goldman Programming Endowment, the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Arts Fund, the LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust, Victor and Sono Elmaleh, The Starr Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts and The Philip and Janice Levin Foundation.
ABOUT ANNA DEAVERE SMITH
Anna Deavere Smith is well-known to television audiences for playing Gloria Akalitus on Showtime’s hit series “Nurse Jackie” and Nancy McNally on NBC’s “The West Wing.” But she made her name first in theater, where her acclaimed solo works explore American character and its multifaceted national identity. She has won numerous accolades, among them two Obies, two Tony nominations and a MacArthur fellowship. In her theater work, Smith is known for looking at controversial events from multiple points of view. She is author of the acclaimed plays Twilight: Los Angeles 1992, Fires in the Mirror and House Arrest. Her most recent, Let Me Down Easy – broadcast by GREAT PERFORMANCES on PBS this past January – tells the human side of the American health care story.