ASPEN, CO. (Top40 Charts/ Aspen
Music Festival) - From Baroque to bebop, sonatas to swing - this summer the Aspen
Music Festival and School explores the influence of jazz on the classical tradition, June 21 through August 19, 2007. The theme for the 58th season, entitled Blue Notes, examines how jazz's uniquely American musical style has left its imprint on such works as Gershwin's An American in Paris, June 27; Ellington/Tyzik's Ellington Portrait, June 30;
George Antheil's A Jazz Symphony, July 6; Ravel's Violin Sonata, July 10; Milhaud's La creation du monde, July 20 and Stephen Hartke's Clarinet Concerto, Landscapes with Blues, July 20, among many others.
David Zinman appears in his tenth summer as music director, conducting the first of his six 2007 Festival performances on June 24, when he leads pianist Peter Serkin and the Aspen Festival Orchestra in a program of Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 2 and John Corigliano's Symphony No. 3 Circus Maximus. On July 6, violinist Gil Shaham and the Aspen Chamber Symphony join Zinman in an evening of jazzy classical works as well as Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D major. Gershwin's songs and his Rhapsody in Blue are featured when the maestro conducts soprano Kathleen Battle and pianist Simon Trpceski in the annual Season Benefit on July 14; and Zinman leads violinist Julia Fischer in Nicholas Maw's titanic Violin Concerto on July 29. The season closes August 19 with Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms and Orff's dramatic choral opus Carmina burana, conducted by Zinman, who will be joined by soprano Eglise Gutierrez, tenor Eric Cutler, the Colorado Symphony Chorus and the Colorado Children's Chorale. It will be the first time Carmina burana has been performed at the festival in 22 years.
Another highlight of the 2007 season led by Zinman will be a semi-staged production of Puccini's Madama Butterfly on August 11. AMFS alumna Barbara Shirvis as Butterfly and Roy Cornelius Smith as Pinkerton are joined by members of the Aspen Opera Theater Center and the Aspen Chamber Symphony.
In addition, the season manifests Fletcher's vision of bringing Aspen's world-class cultural and intellectual organizations together for one-of-a-kind presentations. "Aspen is unique in being a small town that is home to so many world-class arts organizations," he says. "It was vital to me that we join forces with the Aspen Institute, Jazz Aspen Snowmass, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, Aspen Film, Aspen Writers' Foundation, Aspen Public Radio, Aspen Art Museum, Anderson Ranch Arts Center, and others to create presentations that enrich the arts offerings beyond what any one of us could do alone." These collaborations feature Aspen's nationally acclaimed ballet troupe dancing in the Benedict Music Tent to live chamber music (July 16, in association with Aspen Santa Fe Ballet), a first-ever joint recital between classical-bluegrass bassist Edgar Meyer and jazz bassist Christian McBride (July 19, in association with Jazz Aspen Snowmass) and a symposium on the interrelations of the life and work of Sigmund Freud and Gustav Mahler (July 22 and 23, co-presented with the Aspen Institute).
Renowned opera star Kathleen Battle makes her Aspen debut this summer at the Season Benefit entitled "Rhapsody in Blue" on July 14, led by Zinman. She will offer a program of all-Gershwin songs, most she will be performing for the first time in her career. Battle is legendary for her glamour, dramatic performances and gorgeous lyric soprano voice that she turns with equal success to opera, Baroque and sacred music, symphonic works, jazz, spirituals, movie soundtracks and contemporary music. Joining her on the program will be pianist Simon Trpceski playing Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue.
In another significant collaboration (with Jazz Aspen Snowmass), jazz icon and Pulitzer Prize winner Wynton Marsalis will conduct the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (JLCO) in Congo Square, his tribute to New Orleans, June 26. Marsalis' work was inspired by the public square in New Orleans which was, from the mid-1700s to the late-1800s, the only public space in America where Africans could gather and share their unique rhythms, songs and dances. In a recent interview, Marsalis pointed out "…there were many cultures and people coming together playing a lot of different styles of music [and what you can do is see how that music was assimilated into our culture, how the different forms of African and Caribbean music, and European music, came together to become American music .... The music came together because the people came together." For this work that blends musical styles and traditions, JLCO will be joined by Congo Square co-writer and Ghanaian drum master Yacub Addy and Addy's nine-piece ensemble of Ghanaian drummers/vocalists Odadaa.
Three years ago, the Festival introduced mini-festivals to more deeply explore an artistic idea and help audience members gain a deeper appreciation of classical music by attaining a greater understanding about a musical topic and/or composer. This summer's mini-festivals are:
Beethoven's Power of Music (July 21-28), which invites audiences to spend a week examining the master's passionate sonatas, trios and orchestral repertoire, as well as his life and times. Some of the works performed this week include his Symphony No. 5 and the late string quartets played by the Brentano and Ying string quartets. Made in America: Jazz (July 30-August 5), where the AMFS takes a closer look at the jazz influence on classical repertoire, including an Aspen Late performance with the Turtle Island and Ying string quartets, and performances of Bernstein's Symphony No. 2, The Age of Anxiety, and works by Antheil, Ellington and Chris Brubeck. Stravinsky Rex (August 6-12), which examines the life and music of the composer Igor Stravinsky, one of the pre-eminent classical voices of the 20th century whose music defies categorization and remains new and fresh at each hearing. The mini-festival features performances of Petrushka and Scherzo fantastique, op. 3.
Three staged operas will be presented at the Wheeler Opera House featuring the talented students of the Aspen Opera Theater Center (AOTC), directed by Edward Berkeley, director of the AOTC, director of undergraduate opera studies at The Juilliard School and co-founder and artistic director of the Willow Cabin Theater Company. Mozart's Cosi fan tutte (July 10, 12 and 15), one of genre's best-loved works, is a risque tale of fiancee-swapping paired with Mozart's sardonic humor and sublime music. It will be conducted by George Manahan. In Bizet's Carmen (July 26, 28, 29 and 30), a spirited heroine comes to life - and death - with some of opera's best-loved arias. It will be conducted by Julius Rudel and the July 26 performance includes a benefit dinner. Cavalli's Eliogabalo (August 14, 16 and 18) is a revival of a work that was shelved before it was ever performed - deemed too racy even for the excesses of Baroque Venice. The AMFS brings this opera back to life for its North American premiere, featuring all the excesses and perversions (Vestal Virgins included) of this extreme and eccentric Roman emperor. True to the composer's style, Cavalli's score will be performed with a period-instrument ensemble.
This summer the AMFS introduces a new series: Aspen Late, musical explorations into jazz, crossover and more. The three concerts feature violinist Hilary Hahn with singer-songwriter Josh Ritter (July 27), the Turtle Island Quartet along with the Ying Quartet (August 3), and a jazz artist to be announced (July 20, presented in association with Jazz Aspen Snowmass). All 90-minute presentations are at 9 p.m. at Harris Concert Hall.
More than 750 music students from more than 40 countries come each summer to play in five orchestras, sing, conduct, compose, and study with more than 150 top artist-faculty. Students represent the field's best talent; many have already begun their professional careers, others are just about to.
In addition to the 150 members of the AMFS's highly accomplished artist-faculty, 2007 guest artists and conductors include Adele Anthony, Joshua Bell, Sarah Chang, James Conlon, Julia Fischer, Hilary Hahn, Nicholas McGegan, David Robertson, Julius Rudel, Gil Shaham, Orli Shaham, Lan Shui, Leonard Slatkin, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, the Emerson String Quartet and the Takacs Quartet.
Aspen offers the ultimate in flexibility for patrons with passes, the most self-directed and convenient way to attend concerts. The Kickoff Pass ($175) is good for all regular events through July 3. The Full Season Pass ($975) offers unlimited access to the Festival's 350-plus regular events throughout the summer. Children 17 and under are eligible for the $50 Youth Season Picture Pass. Passes are good for all regularly scheduled events except operas, special events, benefits, house musics and films. Tickets and passes may be purchased by Internet: www.aspenmusicfestival.com; by phone: 970-925-9042; by fax: 970-925-8077 and by mail: AMFS Box Office, 2 Music School Road, Aspen, CO 81611.
The Aspen Music Festival and School is the United States' premier classical music festival, presenting more than 350 musical events during its nine-week summer season in Aspen. The institution draws top classical musicians from around the world to this charming Colorado mountain retreat for an unparalleled combination of performances and music education. More than 25 percent of events are free and seating on the David Karetsky Music Lawn and in the Music Garden is always free.
The AMFS's orchestras are composed of top professionals and music students, many on the cusp of, or already beginning, their professional careers. Hailing from approximately 40 states and 40 countries, the 750 students begin vying for a spot with the AMFS as early as October of the previous year.
