唐格尔伍德音乐中心庆祝建成75周年

Tanglewood Music Center Celebrates 75th Anniversary 唐格尔伍德音乐中心庆祝建成75周年

The world famous Boston Symphony¹ Orchestra² normally performs at Symphony Hall in Boston, Massachusetts. But its summer home is the Tanglewood Music Center in western Massachusetts.

The Boston Symphony Orchestra also has a summer program at Tanglewood. It is designed for young singers, musicians and those who create musical works. Composers like Aaron Copland, Leonard Bernstein and John Adams have worked there.

This summer, the Tanglewood Music Center has been celebrating its 75th anniversary.

Serge Koussevitzky led the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1940. At the time, Europe was at war. The United States did not enter World War II until the end of 1941. Mr. Koussevitzky persuaded people in the music industry to open a music school at Tanglewood, the BSO’s summer home. He wanted young, gifted musicians to attend the school for free.

But within two years, the program almost came to an end. Jeremy Eichler is a music critic for The Boston Globe newspaper.

“The BSO trustees wanted to close the school because of the war and Koussevitzky was outraged³, and wrote a letter calling it an “act of artistic⁴ vandalism.” And said, “precisely now is the time when the world needs to be hearing this music.” 

“This music” was not just works by Beethoven or Brahms. It was the sounds of the time.

Mr. Koussevitzky chose composer Aaron Copland to head the school. Ellen Highstein is the current director of the Tanglewood Music Center.

“In establishing Aaron Copland as the head of the school – not as the head of composition, but the head of the school, he was making a very specific statement… And I think he felt very strongly that paying attention to the music of one’s own time is the way to ensure that there will be a future.”

Paul Hindemith was a refugee⁵ from the war in Europe. He was chosen as the first head of Tanglewood’s music composition department. He and Copeland decided⁶ that the school would be a place where composers write new musical works.

Their first performance was “Alleluia,” a piece written by American composer Randall Thompson.

“Alleluia” has opened the school’s program every summer since it was first performed.

Since it opened, Tanglewood’s young musicians, singers and conductors have performed many new compositions. They include the first American performance of Benjamin Britten’s opera “Peter Grimes.” This year, for its 75th anniversary, the center asked composers to write 34 new pieces of music.

Words in This Story

composer – n. a person who writes music

vandalism – n. the act of deliberately⁷ destroying or damaging property

conductor – n. a person who stands in front of people while they sing or play musical instruments and directs their performance

composition – n. a written piece of music, especially one that is very long or complex

1 symphony   

n.交响乐（曲），（色彩等的）和谐

参考例句：

• The Ninth Symphony of Beethoven is a famous one.贝多芬的第九交响乐非常有名。
• They play over the whole symphony.他们把整个交响乐重新演奏了一遍。

2 orchestra   

n.管弦乐队；vt.命令，定购

参考例句：

• He plays the violin in an orchestra.他在管弦乐队中演奏小提琴。
• I was tempted to stay and hear this superb orchestra rehearse.我真想留下来听这支高超的管弦乐队排练。

3 outraged   

a.震惊的，义愤填膺的

参考例句：

• Members of Parliament were outraged by the news of the assassination. 议会议员们被这暗杀的消息激怒了。
• He was outraged by their behavior. 他们的行为使他感到愤慨。

4 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

5 refugee   

n.难民，流亡者

参考例句：

• The refugee was condemned to a life of wandering.这个难民注定要过流浪的生活。
• The refugee is suffering for want of food and medical supplies.难民苦于缺少食物和医药用品。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。