Bess Hochstein

When the opportunity arises to see a legend perform, if you’re like most people, you jump on it. So when I learned that Paul Simon was coming to Tanglewood, I immediately secured my tickets, albeit with some trepidation. To be blunt, he’s 84 years old, and it’s a fact of life that he’s not going to sing like the Paul Simon I hold in my mind.

My mother, the writer Rolaine Hochstein, was a dyed-in-the-wool culture vulture. I can’t say which art form she preferred; she was equally thrilled by the prospects of going to an opera, the theater, a symphony orchestra, a museum opening, or a dance performance. She tried to instill this love of the arts in me, and, for the most part, succeeded, except when it came to ballet.

Tanglewood, summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, set on 500 verdant acres spanning the stately Berkshire resort towns of Stockbridge and Lenox, came alive for the season on Saturday, June 20 with a flourish: an appearance by comedian Jon Stewart.