Laurie Anderson brings four days of music, art and conversation to Tanglewood

Musician, composer, performing artist and multimedia pioneer Laurie Anderson is one of the most influential and controversial figures in American contemporary and avant-garde arts. Her ambitious multimedia projects, encompassing music, film, visual projections, dance, and the spoken and written word, have enjoyed great public visibility, and Anderson has been recognized with many honors, including a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as the Gold Medal for Music from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and this year’s Kyoto Prize for Arts and Philosophy in the field of music.

Anderson will make her Tanglewood debut in a series of special events and performances Aug. 13-16, along with longtime collaborators and special guests, giving audiences an opportunity to experience her groundbreaking and challenging work, which has been received with both acclaim and confusion for its wit, innovation and interdisciplinary scope.

A concert on Thursday, Aug. 13 at 8 p.m., part of Tanglewood’s recital series that spotlights chamber music and solo performances curated specifically for the acoustics and atmosphere of Ozawa Hall, features Anderson, guests and members of the BSO in a selection of Anderson’s compositions for string orchestra led by conductor Dennis Russell Davies, principal conductor of the MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra and artistic director and chief conductor of the Filharmonie Brno.

A program highlight is “Amelia,”a piece inspired by the pioneering pilot Amelia Earhart, who disappeared over the Pacific Ocean in 1937 while attempting to fly around the world. The piece draws upon text from Earhart’s pilot’s log from her final international trip. In its blending of historical fact with atmospheric electronic music, minimal instrumentation and evocative soundscapes, the piece can be seen as emblematic of Anderson’s focus on transforming a historical event into a meditation on universal human experiences.

On Saturday, Aug. 15, at 2 p.m. in Studio E in Tanglewood’s Linde Center, the renowned opera and theater director and educator Peter Sellars will speak with Anderson as part of the Tanglewood Learning Institute’s Spotlight Series. Sellars is active at Tanglewood as a director and curator of contemporary works, and will guide Anderson in an exploration of her groundbreaking career and creative process. Their discussion will shine a light on their long history of artistic collaboration and their common interest in expanding the boundaries of music, language, technology and storytelling.

On Sunday, Aug. 16, from noon to 6 p.m., Studio E will present the Lou Reed Drone, a drone-based sonic installation curated by Anderson using guitars from her late husband Lou Reed’s collection. The event features performances by Reed’s former guitar tech Stewart Hurwood and a roster of guest artists rotating throughout the afternoon.

Finally, on Sunday, Aug. 16 at 7:30 p.m. in Ozawa Hall, Anderson will present “The Republic of Love,” an evening of music and storytelling reflecting on America’s past and present, featuring the genre-defying jazz ensemble Sexmob in its Tanglewood debut, along with special guests Mazz Swift and vocalist Christina Courtin.

As the title suggests, the piece plays on the classical idea of a republic — a political community governed by shared principles — to imagine what such a community would look like if its organizing principle were love rather than power. According to Anderson, the work isn’t sentimental. Instead, it examines love as a political and ethical force that shapes how people relate to one another and to institutions.

Collectively, these events will celebrate Anderson’s continued explorations of the power of words and language, visual imagery, and cutting-edge technology to challenge perceptions and to help audiences make sense of some of the most compelling questions of our day.

For information and tickets, go to tanglewood.org or call (888) 266-1200.