THE CONCEPT OF ART (PART III)

JUNE 24, 2025 – (Cont.) Late Saturday afternoon we drove out of Lenox to the sprawling grounds of nearby Tanglewood, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. After a sumptuous dinner among friends, staff and performers of A Prairie Home Companion, enjoyed a nearly three-hour production of the famous show led by the ultimate Energizer Rabbit. How the man does it is a mystery to all but him. Among the great crowd that had assembled for Garrison’s 18^th appearance at Tanglewood, I wasn’t alone to wonder how this English major could endure as he has.

Until Saturday evening, I had never set foot on Tanglewood’s verdant grounds. Being an under-performer on the violin and lacking fame as any other kind of musician, I was never invited to grace the stage at Tanglewood, and I never found myself within range of the place to enjoy a performance of any kind. My oldest sister, however, performed there every year of boundless time. My youngest sister also took to the stage of the famous Koussevitsky Shed,[1] and earned extra credit off stage: when hitchhiking (way back in the day) with her buddies to Lenox one night after a concert, they were picked up by none other than the world famous Russian-born cellist, Mstislav Rostropovich.

Among the stars in Saturday evening’s production was my niece and namesake, Erica Rhodes, a stand-out stand-up comedian (as well as an accomplished cellist). Boston-born and reared, now based in far off L.A., Erica is no stranger to Tanglewood or the show. Her late dad Dean, a conservatory-trained clarinetist-turned-tax accountant, who himself had an enormous repertoire of jokes, would have been immensely proud of his daughter as she commanded the stage and drew robust laughter and applause from the crowd.

The musical offerings of the show—the band; musical director and pianist extraordinaire, Rich Dworsky; diatonic harmonica virtuoso Howard Levy; and the vocal trio of the amazing Heather Masse, ever impressively versatile Christine DiGiallonardo and Metropolitan Opera star, Ellie Dehn (from my hometown of Anoka, Minnesota!)—were individually and collectively a superb distraction from the latest news, which screamed at people’s news feeds during intermission. The Radio Actors and sound effects master, Fred Newman, provided additional relief from the tumult of the outside world.

The showman himself was in rare form, and perhaps his finest moment—and that of his crowd—was when he led us in a rousing rendition of the “Star Spangled Banner.” For this, I even removed my cap and placed it over my heart—the first time I’ve done such a thing in half a century . . . or maybe ever. I’m not a “red, white and blue” sort, but given the current circumstances of the country, to sing the national anthem in what was surely a mostly Democratic crowd and to observe proper etiquette while doing so felt like an act of resistance, however ironic.

Our son’s family and friends were among the “lawn crowd” beyond the protection of the Shed. I joined them for the second half. Their setup was “kid friendly,” but many of the surrounding groups, I noticed, had brought fine furnishings and accoutrements, along with wine and gourmet food. In aggregate, the scene was a high-end version of tailgating at a Vikings-Packers game.

Under the stars we dispersed, nourished by the contentment that accompanies good humor and high quality entertainment of the sort that made Lake Wobegon famous. (Cont.)

Subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

© 2025 by Eric Nilsson

[1] The principal performance venue, covered but open on three sides; inaugurated in 1938 and named after the famous Russian-born bass player, composer and conductor of the BSO.