07/05/2002

Music Mountain

Question: Have readers heard about Music Mountain? I had not, until Barbara Cantwell told me about it. Sounds like a wonderful place to spend a lazy, hazy but cool evening in the Northeast.

The Magic of Music Mountain

By Barbara Cantwell

Lovers of fine music, rejoice. Music Mountain, the oldest continuing summer chamber music festival in the United States, opened on June 9 and will present musical entertainment through September 7. The concerts presented on the lush 132-acre Falls Village site in the foothills of the Berkshires appeal not only to those who enjoy classical music, but also to jazz enthusiasts.

According to President Nicholas Gordon, son of the late founder Jacques Gordon, nothing has changed at Music Mountain since its launching in 1930.

"It’s a neat place - every aspect of it," said Gordon. "My father, who was a well-known violinist, started Music Mountain because he wanted a base where a string quartet could perform. He ordered the buildings from Sears Roebuck, which was in the home building business at the time. The site and the 335-seat hall have remained unchanged over the years. We’ve done nothing to the hall because, structurally, it’s acoustically perfect. In fact, without question, it’s one of the best four or five chamber music halls in the country."

The tall, gray-haired man with the slim physique is referring to Gordon Hall. The building, specifically designed for string quartets, resembles the long, narrow lines of a violin. The owner claims Music Mountain patrons are spoiled by the acoustical perfection of the hall.

"People tell me something is missing when they attend concerts elsewhere," he said with a twinkle in his eye. "What’s missing is the sound you get at Gordon Hall. It’s superb."

Music Mountain, listed in the National Register of Historic Places, was the home of the Gordon String Quartet until Jacques died in 1948. The group, renamed the Berkshire Quartet, continued to entertain audiences for the next 25 years. But when Nicholas Gordon assumed the role of president of the Board of Governors in 1975, he opted for quartet diversification.

"We started to bring in other groups because we felt we were much too narrow in our focus," said Gordon. "By having a series of quartets rather than just one our audience is able to hear different performance styles. About eighteen years ago we added a Saturday night jazz series. We tried folk concerts for awhile, but we found they were not satisfactory. Jazz, which has a very large following among string quartet lovers, made more sense for us."

Gordon said Music Mountain operates on two basic premises: that the program is built around a string quartet, adding or subtracting musicians according to the literature; and that the quartet is a full time professional string quartet composed of musicians who are accustomed to playing together.

"We really are the only string quartet in the country," said Gordon. "Other places offer chamber music, but there’s a difference. And that difference is that they will play a quartet, a sonata, a quintet, etc., but we won’t. Our entire programming, our core, is built around a string quartet."

"I grew up listening to quartets," he continued, "and I have been privileged to have had a life time exposure to the literature and to the performers. Perhaps part of the reason we are successful is that we do new music, but we also do classic stuff - pieces that are favorites of everyone. But that’s the tradition of Music Mountain."

Gordon then pointed out an interesting transition in the string quartet world. He said that in the 1930’s and 1940’s, every quartet, with maybe one exception, was composed of male musicians - many from countries such as Asia, Eastern Europe, Hungary and Russia.

"But today, we see more and more quartets composed of all women," he said. "Many of the women are from Korea, Taiwan or Japan. So as an equal opportunity industry, string quartets are right in the forefront because talent knows neither sex, creed, nor color."

One of the attractions of Music Mountain, aside from its superb music and secluded location, is its informality. Patrons usually dress in comfortable jeans or shorts rather than the formal attire often associated with such festivals. Many arrive early with picnic baskets and sit around on the lawn or at one of the tables enjoying the tranquil beauty that abounds. Although the Mountain attracts a loyal local audience, many patrons drive for an hour, sometimes two, in order to attend a concert. The 335-seat hall sells out quickly when well known performers appear.

Concerts are presented at 3:00 p.m. every Sunday and 8:00 p.m. on Saturdays. A Baroque concert and other special performances are also scheduled. A detailed outline of events is listed on the Music Mountain web site at www.musicmountain.org.

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A resident of Sharon, CT, Barbara Cantwell's freelance nonfiction writing includes profiles of well-known Connecticut personalities, historic sites, buildings and town histories.

Please send questions or comments to bbruno@snet.net.