It’s a rare moment when the conductors of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops appear together. But at Tanglewood — the BSO’s summer home in western Massachusetts — the pair joined Margery Eagan and Jim Braude to talk about how the expansive venue, set in the Berkshire hills, transforms the musical experience.
“The sound of sirens is replaced by the sound of birds,” said Keith Lockhart, who has led the Pops for more than 20 years. “There’s a reason that Mahler escaped to the countryside every summer. He didn’t escape to the middle of the city.”
Although the two conductors rarely spend time together, they have been friends for years. Andris Nelsons, who has conducted the BSO since 2014, described the first time he saw Lockhart at work, via video when Andris was in his home country, Latvia.
“I first saw him here as a young, young — very, very young — conductor. … There was a selection from Boston Pops and it was, I think, your first year,” he said. “He’s wonderful.”
Lockhart quickly jumped in.
“That’s a nice way of saying I’m a lot older than him,” he joked, before adding that the admiration is mutual.
“The orchestra really wants to play for him,” Lockhart said of Nelsons. “And the number one, number two and number three things a conductor has to have is people who want to make music with you. If you make people want to make great music, you’ll make great music.”
