Another Farewell at Tanglewood

The New York Philharmonic performed at Tanglewood on Saturday evening, July 20 and Sunday afternoon, July 21. The program for these concerts noted that they "mark the culmination of Maestro Masur's tenure as Music Director of the New York Philharmonic. Thank you, Kurt Masur."

I did not attend the July 20 concert featuring the Brahms Concerto for Violin and Cello, Glenn Dicterow and Carter Brey, soloists, and Mahler's Symphony No. 1. I did attend the July 21 concert, and the photographs accompanying this submission were taken with the permission of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic.

At the Sunday concert, the Philharmonic performed Beethoven's Fifth Piano Concerto, Yefim Bronfam soloist, and Beethoven's Third Symphony, the "Eroica." The program notes on the symphony, written by James M. Keller, pointed out that Beethoven had planned to dedicate this work to Napoleon, but then became disillusioned on learning that Napoleon had proclaimed himself emperor of France. "Beethoven," explained Mr. Keller, "was a partisan of noble humanitarian principles" tracing back to "the democratic ideals of ancient Greece."

Perhaps it is not happenstance that the "Eroica" marked the end of Maestro's Masur's eleven years as music director of the New York Philharmonic. Prior to directing the Philharmonic, Maestro Masur led the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, a position he held from 1970 to 1996. That is to say, for some two decades Maestro Masur conducted a major orchestra in East Germany while the Iron Curtain divided Europe, including Germany. And while Germany was divided, Maestro Masur, in East Germany, was a major force for the "noble humanitarian principles" that eventually brought down the barriers erected by totalitarianism.

The ovations given Maestro Masur and the New York Philharmonic that I heard on July 21 were a fitting tribute to a man who has dedicated his life to music—and liberty. These ovations followed by just one week the ovations given at Tanglewood to Maestro Seiji Ozawa as he concluded 29 years leading the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The sound of the ovations paying tribute to these two great conductors—and humanitarians—will, I think, forever resonate at Tanglewood.

Thank you, Kurt Masur and Seiji Ozawa, for reminding us, this Tanglewood summer, that the uplifting quality of great music touches the human spirit's capacity to appreciate noble ideals.