Summer Guide 2025: Tanglewood season to feature classical masterpieces, contemporary artists

A world premiere by the legendary John Williams, popular contemporary artists including Jon Baptiste and John Legend, a special celebration honoring Boston Pops conductor Keith Lockhart, and the classical masterpieces of Ravel, Beethoven and other brilliant composers highlight the 2025 Tanglewood season.

Tanglewood, the famed music and learning campus and summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and one of the country’s top summer music festivals, is located in the Berkshire Hills of Lenox and Stockbridge.

The reasons are many for the enormous popularity of Tanglewood as a summer destination for enthusiasts of both classical and popular contemporary music. Tanglewood Music Center was founded in 1940 by Serge Koussevitzky, the BSO’s music director from 1929 to 1949. His vision of a summer festival — which has withstood the test of time — was one which could incorporate the teachings of many who have gone on to become some of the world’s most talented musicians and conductors, alongside joyous performances for music lovers to come and enjoy.

Today Tanglewood continues as a meeting place for people of all walks of life and generations to appreciate “some of the best music making on the planet,” as staff members are fond of saying, amongst the scenic beauty of its natural surroundings.

The music festival will this year feature more than 100 performances, including concerts and other events by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops, and Fellows of the Tanglewood Music Center (TMC) in the Koussevitzky Music Shed, as well as recitals, chamber music, and Tanglewood Learning Institute (TLI) events in Ozawa Hall and at the Linde Center for Music and Learning. The Popular Artist Series offers returns to the Shed in late June and is highlighted again on the Fourth of July by James Taylor and his All-Star Band.

This summer Tanglewood, more than ever, is all about the Boston Pops orchestra and its beloved maestro Keith Lockhart. Lockhart, the orchestra’s 20th conductor who brought his artistic vision to the Boston Pops in 1995 succeeding John Williams, will conduct “One Night Only: An Evening with Sutton Foster and Kelli O’Hara” on July 18. The special concert is inspired by the 1962 CBS television special “Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall” — a tribute to The Great White Way and beyond. Together with Lockhart and the Boston Pops, Sutton and Kelli will pay homage to icons of stage and screen — Julie Andrews and Carol Burnett who teamed up for that memorable concert. Audiences will also hear favorites from Sutton and Kelli’s Tony Award-winning and nominated shows and more.

He will also conduct the immensely popular John Williams’ Film Night on Aug. 9, culminating with the Keith Lockhart 30th Anniversary Celebration on Aug. 22, described by Tanglewood as “celebrating the joy, connection, and unforgettable moments Keith has brought to our orchestra and our community.” The memorable event — filled with video tributes and archival film interspersed during the concert — will feature special guests including Lynn Ahrens, Jason Danieley, Ben Folds, Mandy Gonzalez, Bernadette Peters, Guster’s Ryan Miller, John Pizzarelli, Brian Stokes Mitchell, and Time for Three.

The Boston Pops at Tanglewood will also include orchestral scores from two powerhouse films including “Top Gun: Maverick in Concert” June 20 with conductor Constantine Kitsopoulos, and “Star Wars – Return of the Jedi in Concert” on Aug. 1 featuring conductor Damon Gupton. The Boston Pops will also support Nas, one of hip-hop’s leading voices, as part of the Popular Artist Series on June 27.

On the classical side, excitement is brewing among the Tanglewood staff for this year’s many offerings.

One of Tanglewood’s most frequent and favorite guest artists Emanuel Ax will perform the world premiere of John Williams’ Piano Concerto, composed especially for him in a BSO program that also offers Mahler’s Symphony No. 1, on July 26. Williams’ new piano concerto follows a string of other important concert works by the film composer and Boston Pops laureate conductor.

Ax is among the world’s greatest pianists on this year’s schedule that also includes Daniil Trifonov, Yefim Bronfman, Lang Lang, and the BSO’s most recent recording partners Yuja Wang and Seong-Jin Cho.

This year’s classical performance schedule includes more music by the French composer Maurice Ravel than other years in honor of the 150th anniversary of his birth. In one of the most highly anticipated recitals of the season, Korean pianist Seong-Jin Chowill will perform the complete solo piano music of Ravel on July 16. A performance of Ravel’s “L’Enfant et les sortilèges” opera in Ozawa Hall follows on Aug. 4.

Andris Nelsons, Tanglewood music director and head conductor, will continue his commitment to a concert-opera presentation each season at the Shed. This year’s performance will be Puccini’s “Tosca” on July 19.

If classical music isn’t your thing, the Tanglewood Popular Artist Series may be more to your liking. Introduced in 1968 as a way to “present performances by popular groups representing important trends in contemporary music outside the sphere of Western classical music,” performers over the years have included such artists as Ravi Shankar, B.B. King, Chicago, The Who, Jefferson Airplane, Joni Mitchell, Sly and the Family Stone, and James Taylor who performed for the first time at Tanglewood in 1974.

This year’s lineup includes: A Prairie Home Companion, June 21; Nas with the Boston Pops, June 27; Jon Batiste, June 28; John Mulaney: Mister Whatever, June 29; James Taylor, with few tickets remaining, July 3 and 4; Barenaked Ladies – Last Summer on Earth, July 8; Emmylou Harris and Graham Nash, July 29; Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! – a live event of NPR’s “oddly” informative news quiz program; Aug. 28; Lynyrd Skynyrd, Aug. 30; Bonnie Raitt, Aug. 31; and John Legend on Sept. 5.

Other Tanglewood season highlights this summer will include:

• Acclaimed conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen leading performances of the BSO and the TMC Orchestra (TMCO) in his first appearance at Tanglewood since 1985 (July 13 & 14);
• The Tanglewood Music Center’s 61st annual Festival of Contemporary Music, directed this year by groundbreaking composer Gabriela Ortiz, with five days of programs featuring her music and works by other contemporary composers performed by TMC Fellows (July 24–28);
• Three concerts featuring the incomparable Yo-Yo Ma: a special Shed event with pianist Emanuel Ax, violinist Leonidas Kavakos, and violist Antoine Tamestit joining Ma for an all-Beethoven program (Aug. 3); Ma performing the Saint-Saëns Cello Concerto No. 1 with the BSO led by assistant conductor Samy Rachid (Aug. 10); and Ma’s guest appearance with the innovative string quartet Brooklyn Rider in their Ozawa Hall recital debut (Aug. 13).

For younger music lovers in the family, as well as the adults, the BSO Youth and Family Concerts Conductor Thomas Wilkins will lead the annual morning matinee Family Concert in the Shed on July 20, titled this year “Family Matters.” And, on Aug. 5, Tanglewood on Parade offers a full day of music and activities, culminating in an evening concert with the BSO, Pops, and TMCO led by Keith Lockhart and Elim Chan, and capped by Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture” and a fireworks display.

Whether considering a sit-down meal at one of Tanglewood’s restaurants, a drink before a concert, or simply a snack, there are many dining options to choose from across the Tanglewood campus, including opting for a picnic al fresco on the lush Tanglewood lawn which requires a concert ticket and an umbrella in case of rain. For years concertgoers have been known for packing a delectable gourmet picnic basket complete with linens, fine china, candelabras and other accountments spread out on the lawn, while others are happy with simply a blanket, sandwiches and a cool drink.

Tanglewood is located at 297 West St. in Lenox. For more information about the complete Tanglewood summer season schedule or to order tickets, visit bso.org/tanglewood/ or call 888-266-1200.

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