Review: A Morning with Cellist Yo-Yo Ma and the BSO at Tanglewood

Saturday Morning Open Rehearsal – Koussevitzky Music Shed

By David Decker.

LENOX, Mass., August 9, 2025 – On a perfect late-summer morning in the Berkshires, the Boston Symphony Orchestra opened its doors to an audience eager not just to hear music, but to witness its creation. The Saturday Morning Open Rehearsal format – part performance, part peek behind the curtain – is a Tanglewood tradition, and this past Saturday’s draw was irresistible, as world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma joined the orchestra under conductor Samy Rachid for a program of Camille Pepin, Camille Saint-Saens, and Felix Mendelssohn.

The Shed buzzed in that way only a rehearsal audience can – less hushed reverence, more a blend of curiosity and shared privilege. Patrons settled in with their coffee and sunhats, some leafing through program notes, while others spread out and camped on the lawn in full picnic mode.

In the opening piece, the American premiere of Camille Pepin’s “Un Monde Nouveau (A New World),” layered strings created a soft backdrop, woodwinds darting decoratively while percussion shimmered like sunlight dancing on water. Rachid worked deliberately,  stopping now and then to adjust balance between brass and strings. In one particular telling moment, he asked the horns to “emerge, but like a memory,” illuminating the score’s delicate emotional layering. Even in an unfinished state, it felt complete in its invitation to explore.

Audience energy shifted palpably when Yo-Yo Ma took the stage. There’s an ease to his presence that dissolves the performer–listener divide. Even in rehearsal, he radiates both warmth and total focus. Saint-Saens’ “Cello Concerto No. 1” wasted no time – Ma and the orchestra launched into its brisk opening with a flourish that was both precise and exuberant. The cello sang in Ma’s hands, his phrasing unhurried even during the concerto’s rapidly unpredictable exchanges. 

What made this rehearsal fascinating was hearing the subtle negotiations between soloist and conductor … Ma leaning into the podium during rapid runs, Rachid answering with a small hand motion to shape the orchestra’s response. By the closing bars, it was hard to remember at all that we were at a rehearsal, as the performance had that spontaneous “first telling of a good story” quality.

In a very touching moment just prior to the intermission, Yo-Yo Ma led the orchestra (with vocal support from the entire audience) in a very sweet rendition of “Happy Birthday” in celebration of his grandson’s seventh birthday.

By morning’s end, the audience had heard from three distinct worlds: Pepin’s modern shimmer, Saint-Saens’ elegant wit, and Mendelssohn’s romantic landscapes. 

One of the great pleasures of Tanglewood rehearsals is the blend of artistry and process. We witnessed the conductor’s small but crucial adjustments, the way a single phrase might be played multiple times to perfect its articulation, as well as the collaborative trust between the soloist and the orchestra.

Yo-Yo Ma’s artistry seemed to equate a form of generosity – with every note feeling as if it was offered, rather than performed. 

Samy Rachid’s precision and lyricism are partners, not opposites.

For the BSO, Saturday morning was a chance to once again invite listeners into their workshop, where even “in progress” is breathtaking.

The result – an experience as rare as it was rewarding – the music was more than a performance; it was a conversation in progress, shared openly under a beautiful Berkshire sky.  

 

Remaining Saturday Morning Open Rehearsals at Tanglewood for the 2025 Season (at the Koussevitzky Music Shed):

 

Open Rehearsal: August 16th, 2025 – 10:30 AM

Program: Sibelius and Liszt Piano Concerto No. 2, featuring:

• Boston Symphony Orchestra
• Dima Slobodeniouk, Conductor
• Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Piano 
  • Program Date: Sunday August 17th, 2025 – 2:30 PM

 

Open Rehearsal: August 23rd, 2025 – 10:30 AM

Program: Beethoven Symphony No. 9, Ode to Joy, featuring: 

• Boston Symphony Orchestra

• Zubin Mehta, Conductor

• James Burton, Conductor (Simon)

• Federica Lombardi, Soprano

• Isabel Signoret, Mezzo-Soprano

• Pene Pati, Tenor

• Ryan Speedo Green, Bass-Baritone

• Tanglewood Festival Chorus

• • Program Date: Sunday August 24th, 2025 – 2:30 PM