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August 9, 2007
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Like Tanglewood, but smaller When local classical music fans think “summer,” they often think Tanglewood. Located in western Massachusetts, the Boston Symphony’s off-season home is famous as a world-class festival of great concerts, many played in the open air. As good as Tanglewood is, there are drawbacks —the long drive, incredible traffic jams, huge crowds, and so on. On summer weekends, the small-town charm of Lenox, Mass. can be hard to appreciate as you follow the slow-moving crowds to the festival. As good as it is, it’s not what you’d call an intimate experience. If you’d like to hear classical music outdoors but on a smaller scale, there’s an option to the north. “Le Festival de Lanaudiere,” billed as the biggest summer music festival in Canada, takes place each summer in Joliette, a charming town about a half-hour drive from Montreal. Lanaudiere offers a five-week program of concerts, mostly classical but with some pop. Now in its 30th year, the festival features ensembles from the Montreal area and beyond, along with world-class soloists and music guest conductors. Concerts take place in an outdoor amphitheater with a shed just like Tanglewood, but on a smaller scale, and with a much steeper lawn. Very few classical fans I know have heard of this festival, which is presumably why the Canadian government coughed up funds to invite music journalists to come and experience it in person. Given that incentive, last weekend, my wife and I made the five-hour trek to Quebec to check it out. The festival operates very much like other outdoor festivals, but has somehow maintained a small-scale charm that’s very welcoming. Thanks to the strong Canadian dollar, tickets aren’t cheap—good seats in the shed go for up to $50 a pop, but spots on the lawn are less expensive. We took in the final weekend’s concerts, which turned out to be a crackerjack program of classics by a Montreal chamber orchestra, “Violons Due Roy” and a concert performance of Tchaikovsky’s opera “Eugene Onegin” with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal led by Kent Nagano. Earlier concerts included a performance of Mahler’s massive Symphony No. 3 and many solo recitals. All things considered, it was easily as good as what you get at Tanglewood, and perhaps a better value, despite the long drive. Though this year’s festival is over, I look forward next year’s program, to be released in the spring. If you’re seeking an alternative to Tanglewood, check out www.laudinere.org.
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7/19/2007 Nashua idol
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