The Boston Globe - 20.08.2019

B6 The Boston Globe TUESDAY, AUGUST 20, 2019

Names

By Zoë Madonna
GLOBE STAFF
LENOX — Here’s what you don’t
see on the Arcadian Tanglewood bro-
chures: Sudden storms are just a fact
of life in the Berkshires. Sometimes
Mother Nature’s giant timpani in the
sky harmonizes with the music — no
one who was around for this summer’s
concert performance of Wagner’s “Die
Walküre” will forget how crashing
thunder welcomed the Valkyries on
stage at the beginning of Act 3 — but
in other instances, it’s just a disrup-
tion. (Lest we forget: the Koussevitzky
Music Shed itself was built after a loud
storm rained out a piece in 1937.) Still
other pieces could go either way, de-
pending on the interpreter. And if a
thunderstorm is going to crash your
concerto, Kirill Gerstein is far from the
worst pianist you could have on stage.
The piece was an auspicious first
salvo for conductor François-Xavier
Roth, a regular Symphony Hall guest
who made his Tanglewood debut this
past weekend with two programs of
Brahms and Robert Schumann. No
matter the repertoire, be it Bach or Lu-
toslawski, Gerstein has a way of mak-
ing whatever he’s playing seem like the
most important music in the world. At
the keyboard Saturday night, he was a
force of nature; stage and storm
seemed to be not in conflict, but har-
mony. The green smell of rain suffused
the air.
Gerstein attacked the keys with
bright force, which was mostly well-
contained. (At his most passionate, he
sometimes bludgeoned the lower end.)
More importantly, he knew when he
wasn’t the most important person on
stage, seamlessly shifting from fore-
ground to background in the richly
textured Andante while BSO principal
cellist Blaise Déjardin spun out an elo-

quent, mellifluous solo and the last

rumbles of thunder sounded in the

distance.

The storms had passed by the end

of intermission, but Roth and the BSO

served up plenty of Sturm und Drang

in Schumann’s Symphony No. 2.

Though it’s in the key of C major, it’s

not a happy piece. Conducting the first

two movements at a bracing pace,

Roth brought out the darkness; in the

second movement, which gradually

sped up into a frenzy, the anxious stac-

cato of the winds faced off with and ul-

timately absorbed the strings’ consol-

ing statements. Even the emotional

Adagio bristled with tension. With

first and second violins seated on op-

posite sides of the conductor’s podi-

um, their extensive musical dialogues

were nicely exposed.

With the next afternoon came sun-

ny skies, a Tanglewood lawn crowded

with colorful blankets and umbrellas,

and Schumann in a holiday mood: his

romping “Concertstück” for four horns

and orchestra is an almost guaranteed

crowd-pleaser if the horn quartet has

the goods. BSO horn players Richard

Sebring, Michael Winter, Rachel

Childers, and Jason Snider almost had

it down pat, but not quite. Each took a

stumble here and there and the slow

movement sounded tenuous, but their

arpeggios in vigorous harmony and

triumphant finale were more memo-

rable. A standing ovation came in-

stantly.

Onto why the lawn was so crowd-

ed. Is it really a summer at Tangle-

wood if Yo-Yo Ma doesn’t perform a

war-horse concerto? In Ma’s hands,

Schumann’s Cello Concerto was ripe

with Romantic fervor, and he turned

in a quality performance. Like Ger-

stein the previous night, he locked in

with the orchestra, looking behind

him toward Déjardin (the weekend’s

obvious MVP) during the second

movement’s cello duet. In the upbeat

third movement, he played the show-

man, and orchestra and soloist

seemed to feed off each other’s energy.

That spark vanished after intermis-

sion with Brahms’s Serenade No. 1,

which had its lovely moments but

overall felt bloated, and many players’

weariness was audible during the final

movements. It’s been a long summer.

(One week to go, everyone!)

In the anniversary-obsessed world

of classical music, this Brahms/Schu-

mann weekend felt like a missed op-

portunity to honor the bicentennial of

Clara Wieck Schumann — composer,

pianist, mother, wife of Robert, long-

time close friend of Brahms, and still

too often reduced to a footnote. She

left no finished orchestral pieces be-

sides her Piano Concerto No. 1. Her

Piano Trio was performed by Tangle-

wood Music Center fellows earlier this

summer, but it would have been won-

derful to hear some of her music

alongside that of the two men with

whom she shared so much.

Zoë Madonna can be reached at

[email protected]. Follow her

on Twitter @knitandlisten.

Madonna’s work is supported by the

Rubin Institute for Music Criticism,

San Francisco Conservatory of Music,

and Ann and Gordon Getty

Foundation.

Thunderstorms, Yo-Yo Ma strike a dramatic note with the BSO

MUSIC REVIEW

BOSTONSYMPHONYORCHESTRA

At Tanglewood, Lenox. Aug. 17-18.

HILARY SCOTT

François-Xavier Roth led the Boston Symphony Orchestra and cellist Yo-Yo Ma on Sunday.

‘The Rock’ and

Lauren Hashian

get hitched

in Hawaii

Dwayne“TheRock”JohnsonandLaurenHashianhave finally

made it official, getting married in Hawaii over the weekend.

Johnson, 47, posted a celebratory wedding photo to Instagram,

with the longtime couple standing on a verdant hillside overlook-

ing the water.

Hashian, 34, hoisted a lush bouquet overhead and wore a long,

cream-colored gown trimmed with lace and floral appliques. John-

son, the star of “Hobbs & Shaw,” donned cream trousers, an open

shirt(withmassivechesttattoovisible,ofcourse),andfloralgar-

lands for the big day.

“We do. August 18th, 2019. Pomaika’i (blessed),” Johnson cap-

tioned the photo.

Hashian, of Lynnfield, is the daughter of the lateSibHashian,

drummer for the band Boston.

The couple has two children,JasmineandTiana.

Plenty of celebrity friends posted their best wishes, including

TomBrady,RyanReynolds,KevinHart, andJ.J.Watt, as did more

than 5 million other fans of The Rock.

HAYLEY KAUFMAN

WEEI commentator and columnist
AlexReimer, who sparked controversy
in January 2018 when he calledTom
Brady’s young daughter a “pissant” on
the air, is leaving the sports radio sta-
tion for a political gig.
Reimer (inset) confirmed
the move via Twitter and a
morning column on the
WEEI website.
“Today marks the end
of my run at @WEEI,” he
tweeted. “It feels surreal. I
want to thank (most of) you
for reading and listening. It’s not
too often people get to actually work
their dream job. I do feel lucky.”
Reimer added that he’s taking a job
as communications director for state
SenatorEricP.Lesser, a Longmeadow
Democrat.
“He is a big proponent of East-West
Rail,” Reimer tweeted. “My hero
@AOC would be proud of me.”
Reimer infamously stoked the ire of

Patriots Nation when he made the

“pissant” comment while discussing

the Facebook Live series “Tom vs.

Time.” His remark prompted a sus-

pension.

“You learn a lot about your-

self when you screw up with-

in earshot of tens of thou-

sands of people, such as vi-

olating a friend’s trust or

saying something incredi-

bly stupid about a beloved

quarterback’s child,” Reimer

wrote in his farewell column

Monday.

“...Amazingly,Iamleavingon

good terms, so this probably isn’t the

last you’ll hear from me in this space.

Team Reim, and my inflated ego, will

not rest. For the last 31 months, I

woke up every day and was paid to

give my opinions on the topics of the

day. That is pretty cool. I hope I appre-

ciated it enough.”

TRAVIS ANDERSEN

Commentator who made

remark about Tom Brady’s

daughter is leaving WEEI

Apple’s first major TV series is bet-
ting big on the world of TV journal-
ism.
In the first full trailer for “The
Morning Show,” set to launch on the
company’s TV Plus streaming service,
JenniferAniston,ReeseWitherspoon,
andSteveCarellstar as three journal-
ists whose lives are upended as the
landscape of morning news shifts
around them.
In aMattLauer-esque storyline,
Aniston plays a TV host whose long-
time cohost (Carell) is abruptly fired,
seemingly over sexual harassment al-
legations. As the newsroom reels from
the professional and personal ramifi-

cations of the scandal, a skilled report-

er (Witherspoon) rises above the pack

and is vetted by the network as a new-

cohost — even as Aniston’s character

begins to break down.

BillyCrudup,MarkDuplass,Gugu

Mbatha-Raw,andBelPowleyco-star

in the series, which was inspired by

CNN senior media correspondentBri-

anStelter’s 2013 book “Top of the

Morning.”

MimiLeder(“The Leftovers”) di-

rected the series, which was written by

KerryEhrin. It’s likely to debut this

fall, following the still-undated launch

of Apple’s streaming service.

ISAAC FELDBERG

TONY AVELAR/AP/FILE

Carell,

Witherspoon,

Aniston are

journalists

at war in

‘Morning

Show’ trailer

SteveCarell,Reese

Witherspoon,and

JenniferAniston

willstarinApple

TV’s“TheMorning

Show.”

CHRIS PIZZELLO/INVISION/AP/FILE/

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Lauren Hashian at the Oscars.

CarrieUnderwood,whohashosted

the Country Music Association Awards

since 2008 withBradPaisley,islosing

her partner-in-crime.

But she won’t be on her own: The

CMAs announced Monday that ‘‘spe-

cial guest hosts’’

DollyPartonand

RebaMcEntire

will join Under-

wood during the

Nov. 13 event.

The organization

says the show

will celebrate

‘‘legendary women in Country Music

throughout the ceremony.’’ The CMA

Awards will air live on ABC from the

Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

Though female acts are finding

success on the country music scene,

they’ve received little love on country

radio as male acts dominate. The last

time a woman won CMA’s top prize,

entertainer of the year, was in 2011

whenTaylorSwiftwon the honor.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Dolly Parton and

Reba McEntire

to host CMAs with

Carrie Underwood

TommyOrange’s novel ‘‘There

There’’ andJeffreyC.Stewart’s biogra-

phy of Harlem Renaissance thinker

AlainLockeare among this year’s win-

ners of American Book Awards, given

for works that highlight the diversity

of the country’s literature.

The awards were announced Mon-

day by the Before Columbus Founda-

tion, founded in 1976 by authorIsh-

maelReed.

Orange’s debut novel was among

the most acclaimed works of 2018.

Stewart’s ‘‘The New Negro: The Life of

Alain Locke’’ won the Pulitzer Prize.

Other winners Monday included

HalifuOsumare’s memoir ‘‘Dancing in

Blackness,’’ÁngelGarcía’s poetry book

‘‘Teeth Never Sleep,’’ andWilliamT.

Vollmann’s nonfiction work on climate

change, ‘‘Carbon Ideologies.’’

The educator and psychologistNa-

thanHarewas given a lifetime

achievement award. His books include

‘‘The Black Anglo-Saxons’’ and ‘‘The

Endangered Black Family.’’

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Orange among

American Book

Award winners