Neil Sedaka in Bethel Woods

Most of the entries in the Favorite Concerts page are classical music concerts, but last night at the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts was a different kind of “classical” music. The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra was conducted by our own Jerry Steichen, music director of the Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra. The rendezvous of my brother and his wife and my wife and I was to be via our motorcycles, but the weather did not cooperate. With probability at 50% we go, but when it is 70% with large hail and severe winds, we opt out and go in the cage. Not that we are afraid of getting wet, as we have many times, but going to a concert and sitting there soaked to the bone is no fun. We made the right call as it did in fact rain quite a bit. After Jerry conducted a number of piceces, he lead the excellent orchestra in playing the legendary singer and songwriter, Neil Sedaka, who launched his official foray into classical music with Joie de Vivre, Sedaka’s first symphony.  He also performed his new piano concerto, “Manhattan Intermezzo”.  Sedaka composed a lot of music, some of which he performed, but much of which he composed for others. Connie Francis recorded his “Stupid Cupid.” and “Where the Boys Are”, which would be her biggest hit. Sedaka recorded chart toppers “The Diary,” “Oh! Carol,” ” Stairway to Heaven,” “Calendar Girl,” “Little Devil,” “Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen,” “Next Door To An Angel,” and “Breaking Up Is Hard To Do”. The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra is said to be comprised of some of the country’s finest musicians, but accompanying pop songs from fifty years go may have been a first for them. As for Neil Sedaka– he was amazing. A spring in his step, the enthusiasm of someone less than half his age, and a voice showing no signs of age. His diversity in genre was impressive. Having sold 40 million albums and an abundance of royalty inflow from his creative efforts, he surely is not engaging in a dozen performances per year for the money. He is inspired by the excitement of entertaining others. The Bethel Woods Center for the Arts is a first class venu. Bethel Woods is in Bethel, New York,  became famous in 1969 when nearly 500,000 people gathered at Max Yasgur’s Farm for “Three Days of Peace and Music”. If you enter the Center for the Arts address of 200 Hurd Road, Bethel, NY, in your mapping software or GPS, there is a good chance it will direct you to the hamlet of Bethel which is actually part of Pine Plains, NY. The “other” Bethel is the “town” of Bethel which is actually in the unincorporated hamlet of White Lake, NY. By the way, Woodstock, where the concert was helf is 43 miles from the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, where the Woodstock Museum is. If you dig a little deeper, you will find there is also another White Lake in upstate New York. It was a great trip and we learned a lot we didn’t know: Neil Sedaka wrote a symphony and played a concerto. We also learned there are two Bethels and two White Lakes.

Tags: bethel, bethel woods, buddy holly, chantelles, classics, doo wop, drifters, fifties, fireflies, jerry steichen, kenny vance, neil sedaka, new jersey symphony, passions, pine plains, planotones, white lake, woodstock

Tanglewood by Trike – 2011

It was a special treat to be able to enjoy a nice 400 mile motorcycle trip along with a memorable concert at Tanglewood. The ride from the lakehouse in Pennsylvania to Lenox, Massachusetts took us on interstate highways initially but then mostly on state and county backroads in the state of New York and then on numerous back roads to Massachusetts, through West Stockbridge and into Berkshire County to Lenox, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

The BSO weekend concert included one of the world’s foremost concert pianists, Emanuel Ax, performing one of my favorites, Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 22 in E-flat, K.482, written in Vienna in 1785 when the young composer was writing many new concertos for performances featuring himself as soloist. I have been listening to Emanuel Ax for decades but this is the first time I had seen him in a live performance. He was amazing. Performing the “too many notes” of Mozart seemed like a joy to him as it was to us.

Lionel Bringuier, assistant conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, who made his BSO and Tanglewood debut in this program, was also amazing. It was great to see that there are young conductors coming up through the ranks. His energy was exciting for all.

The first concert at Tanglewood was in 1936 and since then a substantial organization and support structure has grown up around the beautiful facility. The capacity is 24,000. Not sure how many were there on Sunday but thousands for sure. Although the main gate was closed to cars when we arrived the police happily motioned us in. Most big events are very courteous to motorcyclists. They save some choice parking areas that are not big enough for cars but are perfect for bikes (or trikes). There were thousands of cars, but just two trikes!

Most people bring wagons with their folded chairs and tables and dinner. Some make quite an elaborate evening out of the free seats on the lawn and embellish their wines and dinners with candles and even candelabras. Nothing that fancy, but we had a great dinner at the Dakota Steak House in Pittsfield.

On the way back we headed across the Hudson River via the Rip Van Winkle Bridge and then up route 385 to Coxackie where we met with our daughter and grandchildren at the Blue Water Bistro. After a delightful lunch, we headed down route 209 along the historic Delaware and Hudson Canal and then back to the Lake. We dodged a few thunderstorms but did not get too wet. We look forward now to another trike trip to Bethel Woods. Stay tuned.

Tags: boston pops, boston symphony orchestra, bso, dakota, delaware and hudson, hudson, hudson river, james taylor, john williams, keith lockhart, kingston, lenox, motorcycle, mozart, pittsfield, route 209, smetana, stockbridge, tanglewood, tchaikovsky, trike, woodstock, yo-yo ma

Tanglewood by Trike

It was a special treat to be able to enjoy a nice 375 mile motorcycle trip along with a memorable concert at Tanglewood. The ride from the lakehouse in Pennsylvania to Lenox, Massachusetts took us on mostly state and county roads in the state of New York. We took Route 6 through Milford, PA to Port Jervis, NY and then up route 209 along the historic Delaware and Hudson Canal to Kingston, across the Hudson and then on numerous back roads to Massachusetts, through West Stockbridge and into Berkshire County to Lenox, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. After checking in at the Inn we headed for Tanglewood.

The first concert at Tanglewood was in 1936 and since then a substantial organization and support structure has grown up around the beautiful facility. The capacity is 24,000. Not sure how many were there last night but probably close to the limit. Although the main gate was closed to cars when we arrived the police happily motioned us in. Most big events are very courteous to motorcyclists. They save some choice parking areas that are not big enough for cars but perfect for bikes (or trikes). Most people bring wagons with their folded chairs and tables and dinner. Some make quite an elaborate evening out of the free seats on the lawn and embellish their wines and dinners with candles and even candelabras.

The theme of the concert was to honor the 30th anniversary at Tanglewood of composer John Williams. Williams is more famous than most of us probably realize. He has composed many of the most recognizable film scores in history, including Jaws, the Star Wars films, Superman, the Indiana Jones films, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Hook, Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List, Home Alone, and three Harry Potter films.

The star studded evening included the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Pops Orchestra, and the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra. Keith Lockhart, Stefan Asbury, and John Williams all conducted (see stories about my own conducting experiences). The program included selections from Superman, JFK, Seven for Luck, and Harry Potter. As a bonus there was music from the film score of Memoirs of a Geisha conducted by Williams and with an incredible solo performance by Yo-Yo Ma. Ma never ceases to delight and amaze audiences. His first performance was at age five and at age seven he performed for Presidents John F. Kennedy and Dwight D. Eisenhower. As if the program was not already over the top, nearby resident James Taylor appeared to sing and honor Williams. The evening concluded with Williams conducting Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture. There was a fireworks display while the thousands of attendees filed out. For us it was a short three mile ride on the trike back to the Inn.

Today’s ride was mostly backtracking from yesterday but with a few detours to take a slow ride through the main streets of Stockbridge and Woodstock.

Tags: boston pops, boston symphony orchestra, bso, delaware and hudson, hudson, hudson river, james taylor, john williams, keith lockhart, kingston, lenox, motorcycle, route 209, stockbridge, tanglewood, trike, woodstock, yo-yo ma