“Most eminent classical musicians wouldn’t give a performance at 7 a.m. But French pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard happily agreed to give a barn concert inspired by birdsong at a nature sanctuary near Tanglewood,” writes Jody Feinberg in Thursday’s (7/20) Patriot Ledger (Quincy, Mass.). “The free recital is part of an ambitious four-day program, July 27-30, about the connection between birdsong and music. ‘Tanglewood Takes Flight: A Celebration of Birds and Music with Mass Audubon’ [will include] concerts, guided bird walks … a discussion and a lecture.… On July 27, Aimard will perform selections from ‘Catalogue of Birds’ by … Olivier Messiaen…. Nearly three hours of music, the composition incorporates the songs of 77 species in 13 movements titled, The Woodlark, The Eurasian Golden Oriole, The Blue Rock Thrush and other birds…. [That evening,] Aimard will perform an Ozawa Hall program called ‘Birds in Music,’ featuring additional selections from the ‘Catalogue of Birds’ [and] electronic works by French composer Bernard Fort, who incorporated bird calls that inspired Messiaen…. Sunday in Ozawa Hall … Tanglewood Music Center fellows perform Messiaen’s ‘Oiseaux Exotiques’ for piano, woodwinds, brass and percussion, inspired by the songs of 18 bird species from India, China, Malaysia, and the Americas.”
Posted July 26, 2017
