ANIMACTIONS UNLIMITED
THE HISTORY OF TANGLEWOOD
by Richard Erlanger
One of the great pleasures that I enjoy while conducting the BERKSHIRE EXPLORER TOUR is making a 20 minute stop at the Main Gate at Tanglewood. At this point, tour passengers have the opportunity to stretch their legs by alighting from the tour bus and entering the grounds which are open to the public when concerts are not in performance. Here, in sight of the impressive Koussevitsky Memorial Shed that stands before the spacious lawn, I have the privilege to relate the fascinating history of this great summer music festival.
EARLY HISTORY
The grounds' 500 acres are spread across two former privately owned estates. It began in 1841 when Samuel G. Ward, a banker, purchased the land which he would ultimately name "Highwood". Eight years later William Aspinwall Tappan purchased a neighboring parcel of land. Tappan's acreage extended to the shores of nearby Lake Mahkeenac (now also referred to as Stockbridge Bowl). One parcel of the property had a little red house on it and Tappan rented it out to Nathaniel Hawthorne and his family in 1850.
At first Hawthorne enjoyed living here and he was quite creative. During the spring, summer and fall of that year, he wrote "The House of the Seven Gables" and a childhood anthology of short stories entitled "TheTanglewood Tales". However, when the first snows of winter fell, he wrapped up his family and headed back to Boston, declaring he would never put up with the isolation of another Berkshire winter. Despite this, Tappan fell in love with Hawthorne's literary childhood creation and named his property "Tanglewood". From then on, the name stuck.
LESS THAN A CENTURY LATER
The pages of history flew by. The Civil War, the Reconstruction, the Industrial Revolution, the birth of technology, the Gilded Age, the First World War, the Roaring Twenties, Prohibition, the Stock Market Crash of 1929 and the beginning of the Great Depression that finally catapulted into the 1930's.
The decade began in silence. There was little reason to celebrate. Fortunes were lost, massive unemployment plagued millions , bank failures were commonplace, and the general morale was low. However, during this time, some movement began to take place.
Henry Hadley was an associate conductor of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. He had a vision. His dream was to create a summer music festival in the Berkshires. As he was very familiar with the area it would seem just right that his project would be a perfect fit within its bucolic landscape.
The idea dawned in 1934. As he had only modest means, his first move was to find influential contacts. He contacted the Berkshire Eagle, who directed him to a woman who knew many people in the area. Her name was Gertrude Robinson-Smith. She was a member of a very wealthy family from New York City. She never married and kept herself active in community events and charities. One might describe her as "married to life" in maintaining a whirlwind schedule of participations. When she finally met with Hadley, his idea ignited her enthusiasm. She was more than willing to add this project to the front stage of her priorities.
That fall, Hadley began recruited musicians. The initial idea was to organize an orchestra comprising of 65 musicians to perform popular classical music excerpts. It was an easy task as the New York Philharmonic did not perform during the summer months and its musicians welcomed the extra pay. Robinson-Smith looked for a suitable site for the concert. By the summer of 1935, everything was set and the single concert was performed "al fresco" at the Hanna Horse Farm in Stockbridge. The concert was a great success. There was an even unexpected profit of $400. after all expenses were covered.
The summer music festival was repeated in 1936 at another Berkshire location. Despite its repeated success, a disagreement arose between Hadley and Robinson-Smith. Gertrude insisted that the performance schedule be revised to include full musical works instead of excerpts of same. She also wanted a full symphony orchestra that comprises over a hundred musicians. Hadley's health began to fail which gave Gertrude the added opportunity to look for an orchestra to perform in the Berkshires. Her initiatives paid off when she was able to recruit the Boston Symphony Orchestra to perform several concerts for the summer of 1937.
TANGLEWOOD IS BORN
The Great Depression was still adding woes. However, this was a good opportunity for Gertrude to further foster her plans. The descendents of the Tappan family were in financial crisis, as they were unable to rent their Tanglewood property to summer tenants. They decided to donate their property to the Boston Symphony Orchestra in order to give them a permanent summer home. Serge Koussevitsky was in his second decade as conductor and music director of the orchestra. He graciously accepted the donation and planned to erect an enormous tent to house the orchestra and audience for concerts. He believed that this would enhance acoustics and block outside noises. Thus began the summer of 1937.
All seemed to go well. Of course, there was the extreme heat that was insulated within the tent. It may have been the first time that musicians were allowed to take off their formal jackets and perform in shirt sleeves. There was another matter that was not taken into consideration. The tent was not waterproof.
On the afternoon of August 12, a concert featuring the music of Richard Wagner took place. What was not scheduled was the arrival of a violent thunderstorm and cloudburst that infiltrated the tent's interior. Everything and everyone were soaked from the sudden penetrating deluge. The performance was drowned into an unexpected "intermission". The rain ultimately ceased and the performance resumed to a moist finale.
One might picture this event as like an old Marx Brothers farcical movie. But to Gertrude Robinson-Smith, this was a serious situation. Also consider Koussevitsky, the great musical perfectionist, totally outraged by what had happened. Indeed, something had to be done to prevent a repetition of the above. The Boston Symphony Orchestra had to have a waterproof roof to house its future performances. Koussevitsky thought of a "music pavilion" to grace the Tanglewood landscape. He consulted Elia Saarnen, the famous Finnish Architect to design such a pavilion, while Robinson-Smith canvassed for funding for the project. Within weeks, she was able to raise $100,000. But the pavilion construction costs would far exceed that amount. Finally, a helpful suggestion from a resident engineer named Joseph Franz came up with a solution. "Why not build a simple, but functional "shed" without walls, where the audience can enjoy seeing the trees and lovely landscaping while listening to the music? " It would cost much less and meet the funding collected. Both Koussevitsky and Robinson-Smith agreed and the shed was built and completed in time for the 1938 summer season.
The "Shed", later renamed the "Koussevitsky Memorial Shed" is a masterpiece of acoustical design. From the air, it resembles a large piano and seats an audience of 5,200. The surrounding lawn has been known to accommodate up to 10,000 more music lovers, where they can picnic and listen to music under the stars.
TANGLEWOOD - THE YEARS FORWARD
The music festival became a phenomenal success during the ensuing years. In 1940, Koussevitsky realized one of his most fervent dreams. Prior to his arrival in America, he taught music in his native Russia and later in Paris. This was the year he established the Tanglewood Music Center, a teaching facility for advanced music students. The Second World War closed down the festival between 1942 and 1945. In 1946, the festival and music center reopened.
LADIES - NO SHORTS PLEASE COVER YOUR LEGS
Times were a'changing. During the thirties and the war years, proper dress was required. Women wearing shorts in public were a "no - no". They were not allowed to be seated in the Shed if they were parading themselves as "indecent", or in other words wearing shorts. To allow them entry, skirts were rented for women to cover their "bare essentials". By the time of the 1950's, these rules were relaxed and the skirt rental service went out of business.
CHASING OUT THE PAST
As the post World War 2 decades streamed by, Tanglewood was growing and diversifying. In addition to the Boston Symphony Orchestra's presence, the Boston Pops Orchestra also joined in to perform occasionally. Memories of the light-hearted Arthur Fiedler, who was the original conductor are indelible to many. John Williams, the celebrated film composer replaced Fiedler and added his touch including "film night", which celebrates music from the cinema, taking place annually. On "film night" the orchestra actually performs "live" to coordinate movies shown on giant live screens. Keith Lockhart, the present conductor of the Pops, leads the orchestra with special theme concerts twice during the summer. Breaking with early tradition, Tanglewood features "Popular Artist" concerts which have included performances by Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Lisa Minnelli, Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, James Taylor, Garrison Keilor hosting the "Prairie Home Companion" radio broadcast, and countless other celebrities.
By 1990, more changes were occurring. Seiji Ozawa had become a Tanglewood institution as the long time respected music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. "Tanglewood On Parade" had become a highlight of the season in which a grand combination of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Pops present an impressive spectacle of music old and new, followed by fireworks accompanying a finale performance of Tchaikovsky's "1812" Overture. The former adjacent Highwood property was purchased and added to Tanglewood's acreage. By 1994, the construction of Ozawa Hall, a smaller and more intimate concert "shed" was completed. It is designed for chamber music performances. In 2004, James Levine, the music director of New York's Metropolitan Opera, replaced Ozawa as music director and added opera to the Tanglewood repertory.
A PERSONALLY POIGNANT REMEMBRANCE
As a volunteer usher for 14 years, I have fond recollections of my personal involvement of Tanglewood. In conclusion, I poignantly recall the final appearance of Leonard Bernstein conducting a program in August, 1990. The sold out audience looked to the podium where the great maestro would lead the orchestra. He was very frail and ill as he mounted the stage and many in the audience passionately cried out "Lennie...Lennie!". During the first half of the program, the orchestra paused as Bernstein became overwhelmed by his condition and could not continue conducting. The audience gasped. The first half continued as led by the assistant conductor . The second half featured the robust Beethoven's Seventh Symphony. Bernstein, apparently rested, reappeared to conduct this massive work. From beginning to end, he led the musicians to a brilliant finale.
Leonard Bernstein died in October and is buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.