Thrilling Music for Jack Lenor Larsen (and a Book)

By Linda Lee–

It was an annual event, a piano recital on the anniversary of the birth of Jack Lenor Larsen, the revered design figure who left his home called Longhouse and his carefully groomed 16-acre grounds for the enjoyment of the public. The institution was established in 1991. Larsen died in 2020, at age 93, with Peter Olsen, his life partner of 30 years, at his side.

The concert was by Llewellyn Sanchez Werner, a 28-year-old international sensation, who is called “a remarkable Rock Star concert pianist,” “a gifted virtuoso,” “extraordinary, and praised for his “poetic, electrifying” playing and also ““exquisite lyricism.” That comment about rock star may be in response to his youth, good looks, mane of hair and tendency to launch himself back from the piano bench in excitement at the end of a piece.

LLewellyn Sanchez-Werner, an international star at the piano, played a program that celebrated the American story.

People often comment on his name, which is composed of unique elements. In fact, he is named after his father, Llewellyn Werner, an international businessman. His mother is Martha Sanchez, a Yale undergrad and Stanford University Law School graduate who was born in Guadalajara, Mexico.

The confusion comes when his bio explains his heritage like this: the pianist was “born in California to a mother born in Mexico and a father of Welsh, German, Polish, and Jewish heritage.” After some investigation in census records and birth certificates I discovered that the Welsh part of his heritage comes from a woman named Bessie Ora Llewellan, born in 1886 in Indiana to a father named Lewallan. At the age of 30, she hastily married a Russian immigrant (Werner) six weeks before their son, Llewellyn Werner, was born. Then Werner disappeared, leaving Ora to support herself by … teaching piano. There is much more, which you can find here. It makes the theme of this concert at the Longhouse Reserve — celebrating 250 years of American history — somewhat ironic.

(Photo credit: Patrick McMullan/Getty)Chairs were set on the lawn for 250 guests.  The acoustics were remarkable. And the aimiable Llewelyn Sanchez-Werner took the stage. Besides being a brilliant pianist, Sanchez-Werner often reveals his deep knowledge of music, composers and history in his comments, but he doesn’t always reveal everything about the composers. He entered Juilliard at age 14, then started a masters degree program at 16.

Sharon King Hoge and Wendy Moonan (Photo credit: Patrick McMullan/Getty)

What sets Longhouse Reserve apart from other cultural institutions is its audience. You won’t find Christie Brinkley at their concerts, or JLo. Not likely to find people there looking to swipe left or right on Tinder. You will find an aging Canadian billionaire, Charles Bronfman. Lots of design writers, like Stephen Drucker, Wendy Moonan, Christopher Mason.

Christopher Mason, Llewellyn Sanchez-Werner, Peter Olsen (Photo credit: Patrick McMullan)

Designers themselves: Ralph Pucci, Sherri Donghia (a board member), Dianne Benson (both a garden writer and designer). The director and choreographer Susan Strohman and the actress Mercedes Ruehl. Artists: Philippe Cheng, Alice Hope, Bastienne Schmidt, Oscar Molina. Faith Popcorn, a futurist and marketing executive who predicts trends, like that people will seek excitement from little things, like international flavors: miso, harissa, za’atar, chamoy, tajin, mango pickle and gochujang.

Susan Stroman, the Broadway producer and choreographer of such hits as “The Producers” (Photo credit: Patrick McMullan/Getty)

In other words, the people who come to Longhouse Reserve are interesting to talk to. No dull conversations. The design writers and designers may have been to Milan. The artists always have a new project (or complaint).

So let’s talk about the concert.

Sherri Donghia and Dianne Benson (Photo credit: Patrick McMullan/Getty)

Llewellyn played the Rachmaninoff Etude first then explained, “For America’s 250th anniversary, tonight we are exploring American piano literature through composers of different backgrounds whose voices have shaped our musical heritage.” The program featured George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” Samuel Barber’s “Piano Sonata,” Duke Ellington’s “Come Sunday,” Charles Ives’ “The Alcotts,” Florence Price, Frederic Rzewski, Tanya Yajnik (the concert’s only living composer), plus the aforementioned Rachmaninoff, who fled Russia and became an American citizen, now interred in Westchester.

Barbara Tober, who sponsored the concert, and Lara Sweeney, the director of Longhouse (Photo credit: Patrick McMullan/Getty)

What Sanchez-Werner did not mention was that the living composer was both an immigrant, born in India, and his new wife. Tanya Yajnik, 36, is an academically supercharged overachiever, laden with a magna cum laude from Wellesley and a School of Medicine Dean’s Award for Contributions to Music and the Arts from Texas Tech School of Medicine, plus a couple of additional masters degrees from the Ivies in psychiatric social work: an Honors Distinction for Graduate Thesis from Yale and two full-year scholarships from Columbia. Plus she composes music. She prefers counseling women of color who are neurodivergent. Genius, meet genius.

Leslie Lennox, Nancy Seltzer and Tanya Yajnik, Llewellyn Sanchez-Werner’s wife (Photo credit: Patrick McMullan/Getty)

Christopher Mason, a Cambridge University graduate in English who plays piano and composes humorous ditties, as well as appearing on television and writing for Architectural Digest, has seen Sanchez-Werner perform a few times. He was at the Longhouse Reserve concert and observed Yajnik while he was playing her piece. “She was beaming,” he said. “So excited.”

As for the concert, Mason said, “The Rachmaninoff, spectacular. He is so intelligent with his commentary. Part of the pleasure is his introductions. ‘Rhapsody in Blue,’ he dedicated to Barbara Tober. I was at Merkin Hall recently [the Kauffman Music Center: International Keyboard Institute & Festival in July] and he blew us away with Samuel Barber’s ‘Piano Sonata.’ He did it again here.”

One discoveery for Mason: Florence Price’s “Ticklin’ Toes,” based on African American syncopated dances. “Enchanting.”

Barbara Tober and Sanchez-Werner (Photo credit: Patrick McMullan/Getty)

Mason commented on the absence of the Fly’s Eye Dome by Buckminster Fuller, which had previously been the backdrop for the piano concerts. It had succumbed to snow load last winter and was hauled away.

Lara Sweeney, who took over as director of Longhouse in the spring, about when the dome crumbled. She said, “We’re working with the insurance company to see what’s possible,” in terms of replacing the dome. But that may be too expensive. “Right now,” Sweeney said, “we’ve remediated the area. We’re giving the area a chance to breathe.” She paused. “The dome had a really good run, 30 years.”

In other words, it may not return.

“It was kind of an eye sore,” Mason allowed. “It was in really broken condition.”

Fernando Rivera and Michael Jones (Photo credit: Patrick McMullan/Getty)

Barbara Tober, who sponsors the Sanchez-Werner concerts at Longhouse Reserve, is a great fan of Sanchez-Werner’s career. She has been a  supporter for years. Next year will be the 100th anniversary of Larsen’s birth. Normally an institution would throw a wing-ding of an event. But that’s not the Longhouse way.

Photo credit Patrick McMullan/Getty

This institution is so low-key, so proper and, well, reserved that many people don’t even know it is here and open to the public for $20 a visit. (Better yet, become a member for $95 a year, which pays for itself in five visits, plus you get guest passes.) The 16-acres of manicured grounds contain more name-brand art than you find in the museums in the Hamptons: Willem de Kooning, Sol LeWitt, Yoko Ono, Jill Platner, Sean Scully and Kenny Scharf, for starters. Each year there are temporary installations. This year there are works by Renée Cox, Fitzhugh Karol, William Kentridge and Sean Scully.

AND NOW, THE BOOK: DAYDREAMS

Not all of the 44 artists who responded to James Salomon’s prompt “show me your daydreams” did exactly as he requested. He said the process of gathering responses was like “herding cats.” Many responded with artworks they had already done, which they felt reflected their inner life.

Dianne Benson with Michele Oka Doner (Photo credit: Patrick McMullan/Getty)

Some wrote about dreaams. Some showed mysterious images. But come on. These are artists. Who are we to say that Eric Fischl’s bronze statue of a hand holding a banjo doesn’t haunt his daydreams? (It was for the Steve Martin Prize in excellence in banjo and bluegrass, along with $50,000.)

Eric Fischl “Banjo Hand” from “Daydreams”

This $45 book is a testament to the creative imagination, and to Longhouse Reserve’s mission to offer its 16 acres to artists. Over the years those artists have included Ai Weiwei, Bjorn Amelan, Laurie Anderson, Monica Banks, Noah Becker, Scott Bluedorn, Liz Collins, Renée Cox, Quentin Curry, Jeremy Dennis, Eric Fischl, Buckminster Fuller, Philip Glass, Melinda Hackett, Michael Halsband, Maren Hassinger, Lori Hawkins, Candace Hill-Montgomery, Alice Hope and Judith Hudson.

James Salomon, the mastermoind behind “Daydreams,” with, left, Richard Pasquarelli, an artist who wrote about his relationship with weeds for a previous version, done for the Berkshire Botanical Garden, and Seth Sgorbati, who designed this book. (Photo credit: Patrick McMullan/Getty)

Other artist whose work has been shown at Longhouse Reserve include Fitzhugh Karol, Benjamin Keating, Laurie Lambrecht, Richard Landry, Joel Mesler, Steve Miller, Oscar Molina, Jill Moser, Jill Musnicki, Jill Platner, Cheryl R. Riley, Ugo Rondinone, Toni Ross, Julian Schnabel, Sean Scully, Kiki Smith, Ned Smyth, Agathe Snow, Toshiko Takaezu, Lawrence Weiner, Mark Wilson, Dustin Yellin, and Almond Zigmund.

On August 13, Longhouse Reserve welcomed guests to a publication party for the book, which saw many of them buying a copy and immediately sitting down to see who did what.

Photo credit Patrick McMullan/Getty

Meanwhile, some guests, like Michele Oka Doner, read from their contributions. “Do I dream? It happens most nights, and more often than ever with the accretion of years resulting in layer upon layer upon layer of hopes and fears now deposited on my interior scaffolding, the place where dreams are born.”

Hala and David Salomon. He was the instigator for “Daydreams.” The original idea, for the Berkshires, was inspired by the Lovin’ Spoonfuls song “What a Day for a Daydream.”

The book brings together original artwork, poetry and thoughts from 44 artists whose work has been in the gardens, including Ai Weiwei, Laurie Anderson, Renée Cox, Eric Fischl, Philip Glass, Julian Schnabel, Sean Scully and Dustin Yellin. There is an introduction by LongHouse Curator at Large Glenn Adamson, reflections on Larsen by Dianne Benson, and writings honoring Buckminster Fuller, Toshiko Takaezu and Lawrence Weiner.

Joel Mesler “Untitled” (2020) in the book

At least one contributor, Andrea Grover, the director of Guild Hall in the Village of East Hampton, who was newly diagnosed with ALS, chose to write a raw note in pencil about her illness.

Among the guests were April Gornik, Emily Goldstein, Phyllis Chase, Andrea Grover, Dianne Benson, Sally Sterling, Ron Kaplan, Barbara Dayton, Quincy Egginton, Yuan Yanez and Nicole Miller.