Sunday, August 16, 2026
7:00 PM
Tanglewood Music Center alum Marin Alsop leads the TMCO in Bruch’s First Violin Concerto, with soloist Ray Chen making his Tanglewood debut, as well as Anna Clyne’s Masquerade and Mahler’s Symphony No. 5.
Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra
Marin Alsop, conductor
Ray Chen, violin
Anna CLYNE Masquerade
Max BRUCH Violin Concerto No. 1
Gustav MAHLER Symphony No. 5
Also on this broadcast, from the Tanglewood Music Center:
Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra
Andris Nelsons, conductor
Richard STRAUSS Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks, Op. 28
Recorded on July 20th, 2026
For more information on Tanglewood concerts, visit the BSO box office.
In an interview with CRB's Brian McCreath, Marin Alsop reflects on her time as a student at the Tanglewood Music Center, studying with Leonard Bernstein, and what Mahler's Fifth Symphony means for young musicians today.
TRANSCRIPT (lightly edited for clarity):
Brian McCreath You'll be returning to Tanglewood this summer for a concert with the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, and in so many ways, something of a homecoming for you. As a student there, I even saw you being coached by Leonard Bernstein in 1989, a memory that's vivid for me. And you're going to be conducting the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra. You were a Fellow yourself. Tell me about your thoughts going back into that setting.
Marin Alsop Oh, I'm really excited to return to Tanglewood. I haven't been there in years now, so it does feel like some kind of homecoming or reunion for me. Another aspect of it is that I met my partner, my life partner, at Tanglewood. We were both students there, so we're going to go back and sort of relive some of those fun memories that we have. But Tanglewood was a formative place for me, very, very special, not only getting to meet and work with Bernstein and becoming, you know, one of his students, but also there were many, many other artists that I worked with. Maurice Abravanel, who was the Music Director in Utah for many, many years, but it's a small world, he gave my father, who grew up in Salt Lake City, his first job playing in the Utah Symphony. My dad played violin and, check this out, he doubled on bass clarinet. So whenever there's a big bass clarinet solo, he'd have to play the bass clarinet. But Maurice was the one that told my father, you know, you have too much talent to stay here, you need to go to New York and study. And my father took his advice. And so having this reunion with Maurice, who was at that time almost 90, and my dad was incredibly moving and very, very special. So, you know, Tanglewood has all of these... And of course I met my wonderful conducting teacher Gustav Meier, and we became very, very close friends for the rest of his life as well, and I eventually took over his position at Peabody as head of the conducting department. So there are all these incredible connections. And you know, to perform Mahler's Fifth Symphony with the TMC is a dream come true. Mahler and Bernstein... I mean, that's a recipe for success no matter what. And to be able to follow in his footsteps is a true honor.
Brian McCreath But tell me about Mahler's Fifth for this particular set of musicians. You've worked with young musicians, I'm sure, in many settings. What does Mahler and Mahler's Fifth in particular give a young professional the chance to do with your guidance in a setting like that? What is it that that piece will mean for them as they then chart the course of their careers?
Marin Alsop Well, Mahler, you know, especially the Fifth Symphony, is— it's a work that they're going to encounter throughout their professional lives. It's a piece that they study, you know, they work on the excerpts. If you're a trumpet player, everybody's working on that one. If you're a horn player, everybody's working on that one, you know, the string parts are challenging, everything's challenging. And I think the idea of trying to share Mahler's philosophy with young people, especially in this day and age where we're really separated from, I think, those bigger existential questions that we need to all be considering. You know, we get sidetracked with these short social media experiences, or the world today, with money driving everything. There has to be some higher purpose for us to be here, and I think Mahler can really connect young people especially to that concept.
Brian McCreath As a trumpet player, I endorse everything you just said.
Marin Alsop You practiced that a lot, right?
Brian McCreath I did practice that an awful lot, and I loved practicing it. I loved playing it. Have you performed before with Ray Chen?
Marin Alsop I haven't worked personally with Ray, but I know his playing, and I'm really looking forward to collaborating.
Brian McCreath Wonderful. Marin Alsop, thank you so much for your time today.
Marin Alsop Thank you. My pleasure.