Boston Symphony Orchestra Announces Tanglewood 2020 Seasons

The 2020 Tanglewood season, June 19 through August 30, will present major musical events, including an Andris Nelsons-led Act III of Tannhäuser, Paul Lewis performing all five Beethoven piano concertos, a weekend-long celebration of Isaac Stern on the 100th anniversary of his birth, a Boston Pops presentation of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back under the direction of Keith Lockhart, Film Night hosted by John Williams, Thomas Adès directing the 2020 Festival of Contemporary Music, and a Popular Artist series with Ringo Starr, Trey Anastasio, and Judy Collins and Arlo Guthrie. Alongside these programs taking place in the Koussevitzky Music Shed will be intimate chamber music and recital concerts in Ozawa Hall and engaging and thought-provoking activities in the Linde Center, which opened to great popular and critical acclaim in 2019 (see separate press release for 2020 Tanglewood Learning Institute programs here).

Giants of the classical music field and beloved Tanglewood guest artists Emanuel Ax, Joshua Bell, Pamela Frank, Susan Graham, Leonidas Kavakos, Midori, Yo-Yo Ma, and Gil Shaham perform alongside 22 artists making their Tanglewood debuts, as well as the talented musicians of the Tanglewood Music Center, the BSO's famed summer music academy, which presents free and discounted concerts all summer long. Tickets for the 2020 Tanglewood season, June 19-August 30, go on sale to the public on February 9 at www.tanglewood.org and 888-266-1200. An overview of highlights of the 2020 Tanglewood season appears below; details are also available at www.tanglewood.org.

One of the festival's most beloved traditions, offering audiences a full day of musical activities for music lovers of every age, Tanglewood on Parade takes place on July 28 and culminates in an 8 p.m. concert in the Shed featuring the Boston Symphony, Boston Pops, and Tanglewood Music Center orchestras, under the direction of Andris Nelsons, John Williams, and Thomas Wilkins.

Tanglewood's many educational and family-friendly programs include the Tanglewood Family Fun Fest on July 31, offering visitors an afternoon of free live performances and family-friendly activities presented by local Berkshire artists and cultural organizations; it is part of the Highland Street Foundation's Free Fun Fridays.

This season's Tanglewood Family Concert, Music of the Spheres, with conductor and narrator Thomas Wilkins, will take place on August 1 in partnership with Circle Round creators Rebecca Sheir and Eric Shimelonis. Berkshire Night will again take place this summer with free Shed tickets for Berkshire residents with valid identification. The BSO will present the second annual Tanglewood in the City: Pittsfield, a live video transmission of a concert from Tanglewood; the concert will be shown on a 15x27-foot screen on the Pittsfield Common and is designed to share one of the festival's major Shed performances with a wider community of Berkshire residents. The dates for Berkshire Night and Tanglewood in the City: Pittsfield will be announced in the coming months.

Tanglewood continues to offer free lawn tickets to young people age 17 and under-one of the festival's most popular ticket offerings-as well as a variety of special programs for families and children attending the BSO's weekend activities.

Summer Sundays offers musical and participatory activities for visitors of all ages at various locations throughout the grounds from noon to 2 p.m. prior to every Sunday-afternoon Boston Symphony performance. Sunday afternoon programs designed for young children, taking place in advance of BSO concerts, include Watch and Play, a series of lively discussions about instruments, concert themes, and musical concepts and What's That Sound?, an up-close look at various instruments of the orchestra, demonstrated by members of the BSO. Kids' Corner, taking place on Saturday mornings and Sunday afternoons is designed to provide child-friendly craft activities relating to concert music. In addition, a series of free TLI Open Houses will take place at the Linde Center, with details to be announced at a later date. Further details about these programs and the entire Tanglewood season are available at www.tanglewood.org and www.tli.org.

Tickets for the 2020 Tanglewood season range from $12-$132 (regular season tickets) and go on sale to the public on Sunday, February 9, at www.tanglewood.org and 888-266-1200.