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Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/136432
F ront Runners Leonard Bernstein and Lukas Foss look on as Serge Koussevitzky cuts a birthday cake at Tanglewood during its first summer. a slice of life THE MUSICAL WUNDERKIND LEONARD BERNSTEIN AND A DAPPER LUKAS FOSS CELEBRATE THE BIRTH OF TANGLEWOOD MUSIC CENTER AND ITS FOUNDER, SERGE KOUSSEVITZKY, IN 1940. D uring the first season at the Tanglewood Music Center, students and faculty came together to celebrate the brilliance and dedication of the Boston Symphony Orchestra's music director, Serge Koussevitzky. Tanglewood, the summer home of the BSO, was founded in 1937, and three years later the Russian-born conductor took the next step by opening the Tanglewood Music Center, originally known as the Berkshire Music Center. The center provided a place where talented musicians could come to study, practice, and compose in the peaceful setting of the Berkshires. Composers Aaron Copland and Paul Hindemith were on the faculty, and Lukas Foss and Leonard Bernstein studied with Koussevitzky during the Tanglewood Music Center's first summer. Here, the conductor is shown cutting a cake as part of the celebration for his birthday on July 26. As part of the festivities, Leonard Bernstein, a Lawrence native, wrote Also Sprach Koussevitzky (a lighthearted nod to Richard Strauss's Also Sprach Zarathustra, known to many as the theme from the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey) to honor the conductor. Nearly 75 years later, the Center still operates as the BSO's summer academy for musicians at the graduate level. Tanglewood Music Center Fellows work with orchestra members as well as guest artists to present 40 concerts each summer. Bernstein's music will come alive again at Tanglewood on July 13 when the BSO plays his West Side Story score live to the newly remastered film. Perhaps the current orchestra will have a cake to celebrate the anniversary of Bernstein's birth on August 25. Tanglewood Music Center, 297 West St., Lenox, 413-637-1600; bso.org BC 8 PHOTOGRAPHY BY HEINZ WEISSENSTEIN/WHITESTONE PHOTO BY JESSICA LANIEWSKI BOSTONCOMMON-MAGAZINE.COM 008_BC_FOB_FR_SUM13.indd 8 6/7/13 5:30 PM