World-renowned violinist Joshua Bell is CMF’s 2023 artist-in-residence. Bell opens the Festival on June 29 and 30 with Bruch’s First Violin Concerto, then returns to close the season on August 3 and 6 with a two-part preview performance of “The Elements,” a new work featuring five movements, each written by one of today’s top composers (Jake Heggie, Jennifer Higdon, Edgar Meyer, Jessie Montgomery and Kevin Puts). A project co-commissioned by five major orchestras, “The Elements” will receive formal premieres around the world beginning in September 2023. 

Colorado Music Festival 2023
Summer Concert Season
Chronological List of Concerts

Thursday, June 29, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, June 30, 6:30 p.m.
JOSHUA BELL + MUSSORGSKY’S PICTURES
Peter Oundjian, conductor
Joshua Bell, violin
Carlos Simon, “Motherboxx Connection” from “Tales: A Folklore Symphony” (2021)
Max Bruch, Violin Concerto No. 1 in G Minor
Modest Mussorgsky, “Pictures at an Exhibition” (orch. Ravel)

In his first appearances as 2023 artist-in-residence, violinist Joshua Bell performs Bruch’s First Violin Concerto. The great 19th century violinist Joseph Joachim, to whom the composer dedicated this masterpiece, considered this concerto to be “the richest, most seductive” of all German violin concertos, and it is an exquisite vehicle for Bell’s showmanship. The second half of the concert features Mussorgsky’s instantly recognizable “Pictures at an Exhibition,” a suite of musical paintings inspired by the sketches of the composer’s close friend Viktor Hartmann. The program opens with Sphinx Medal of Excellence recipient Carlos Simon’s “Motherboxx Connection,” the first movement of his “Tales: A Folklore Symphony for orchestra.” In Simon’s words the motherboxx is “an all-knowing entity that is aware of the multifaceted aspects of blackness.”

Tuesday, July 11, 7:30 p.m.
JACK QUARTET: NEW YORK STORIES
JACK Quartet
Morton Feldman, “Structures” for String Quartet (1951) 
Caleb Burhans, “Contritus” (2010) 
Philip Glass, String Quartet No. 5 (1991) 
Caroline Shaw, “Entr'acte” (2011) 
John Zorn, “The Remedy of Fortune” for String Quartet (2016)

Hailed by The New York Times as “our leading new-music foursome,” the JACK Quartet maintains an unwavering commitment to giving voice to underheard composers. The Quartet describes this program here: “Two masters of New York's downtown heyday, Philip Glass and John Zorn, bring stylistically divergent visions: a rollicking, romantic ride through a maze of patterns in Glass' epic String Quartet No. 5, and a peek into the catacombs in Manhattan's Upper West Side from John Zorn who brings medieval mystery to contemporary America. Caleb Burhans leads the listener in a healing ritual of absolution in “Contritus,” while Caroline Shaw pays homage to the father of the string quartet, Josef Haydn, in her “Entr'acte.” Morton Feldman finally reminds us of the pattern and structure all around us. New York: a city of Byzantine systems and countless ideas that defies tidy summary, but always fascinates and excites continued exploration.”

Thursday, July 13, 7:30 p.m.
JOHN CORIGLIANO: LIVING LEGEND
Peter Oundjian, conductor
Kelley O'Connor, mezzo-soprano
Timothy McAllister, saxophone
John Corigliano, composer
John Corigliano, “Gazebo Dances” (for orchestra) (1974)
John Corigliano, “One Sweet Morning” for voice and orchestra (2010)
John Corigliano, “Triathlon” for saxophone and orchestra (2020)

Music Director Peter Oundjian conducts this retrospective program of Pulitzer Prize-winning John Corigliano, 2023 composer-in-residence. The program examines three stages of Corigliano’s vast career, beginning with his pastoral “Gazebo Dances.” More than 25 years later, Corigliano wrote the song cycle “One Sweet Morning” in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the events of 9/11, borrowing text from four poems of varying intensity and ultimately ending with, as he explains, “the dream of a world without war — an impossible dream, perhaps, but certainly one worth dreaming.” The tender words of these poems are performed here by "a voice of sheer gold" (Cincinnati Business Courier), mezzo-soprano Kelley O'Connor. Corigliano’s most recent work is “Triathlon,” written for guest saxophonist Timothy McAllister, who returns to the Chautauqua stage after dazzling Festival audiences in 2022. “Triathlon” demonstrates McAllister’s musical athleticism in three dynamic movements which feature — in turn — soprano, alto, and baritone saxophone.

Sunday, July 16, 6:30 p.m.
JFK: THE LAST SPEECH - WORLD PREMIERE
Peter Oundjian, conductor
Janice Chandler-Eteme, soprano | Eric Owens, narrator
Adolphus Hailstork, composer
Jordan Holloway, “Flatiron Escapades” (world premiere commission)
Carter Pann, “Dreams I Must Not Speak” (world premiere commission)
Adolphus Hailstork, “JFK: The Last Speech” (world premiere)

On an idyllic fall day in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1963, President Kennedy delivered a speech to honor his friend, the poet Robert Frost (nine months after the poet’s death). The speech has been called the “most majestic” of JFK’s career, and it was also his last. Twenty-seven days later, Kennedy was assassinated. 

Hailstork says “JFK: The Last Speech” “reflects the autumn season, the solemnity of the moment, the unique oratorical gifts of Kennedy the president, and the profound literary gifts of Frost the poet.” The libretto was written by Neil Bicknell (an Amherst senior in 1963), and author of a book by the same name. Conceived as a musical conversation between the President and the Poet, the libretto alternates narrated lines from the President’s Amherst speech, with lines from Frost’s poems, which are sung. 

“JFK: The Last Speech” is a project of members of the Amherst Class of 1964 through their non-profit Reunion ’64, Inc. They had the privilege of witnessing President Kennedy deliver his last major speech, on October 26, 1963. Hailstork’s symphony joins two earlier projects: Bicknell’s book and a documentary of the same title.  For more information, visit: https://www.jfkthelastspeech.org/symphony/

This landmark program begins with two additional world premiere performances of music by rising star Jordan Holloway and Pulitzer Prize-nominated CU Boulder Professor of Composition Carter Pann, both commissioned by the Festival.

Tuesday, July 18 , 7:30 p.m.
BRENTANO STRING QUARTET
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, String Quartet No. 20 in D Major, K. 499
James MacMillan, “Memento” for string quartet (1994)
James MacMillan, “For Sonny” for string quartet (2011)
Ludwig van Beethoven, String Quartet No. 13 in B-flat Major, Op. 130

The 2023 Robert Mann Chamber Series continues with the “wonderful, selfless music-making” (The Times, London) of the Brentano String Quartet, Ensemble-in-Residence at the Yale School of Music. The program opens with Mozart’s intriguing “Hoffmeister” String Quartet, a chamber gem of character and complexity. Two touching memorial pieces by James MacMillan follow: his brief and delicate “Memento” and the miniature “For Sonny,” rife with pizzicato nursery rhymes and harmonies of shifting tones, composed to honor the memory of a friend’s grandson. It is fitting that Brentano ends their performance with one of the last and most profound pieces by Beethoven, since the Quartet takes its name from arts patron Antonie Brentano, believed to have been Beethoven’s mysterious “Immortal Beloved.”

Thursday, July 20, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, July 21, 6:30 p.m.
MICHAEL CHRISTIE CONDUCTS TCHAIKOVSKY 4
Michael Christie, conductor and Music Director Emeritus
Michelle Cann, piano
Maurice Ravel, Piano Concerto in G Major
Florence Price, Piano Concerto in One Movement
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36

Music Director Emeritus Michael Christie returns to conduct Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony, which concludes with one of the most brilliant and virtuosic finales in all of music. Pianist Michelle Cann, 2022 Sphinx Medal of Excellence recipient, performs Florence Price’s “Piano Concerto in One Movement.”  The Philadelphia Inquirer declared Cann’s recent performance of Price’s work “exquisite in both the Liszt-like technical sparkle and probing humanity of Price’s writing.” Ms. Cann also joins the orchestra for Ravel’s glittering Piano Concerto in G. 

Francois Lopez Ferrer and Grace Park

Sunday, July 23, 6:30 p.m.
ALL MOZART: “LINZ” & VIOLIN CONCERTO NO. 3
François López-Ferrer, conductor
Grace Park, violin
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, “The Impresario” Overture, K. 486 
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Violin Concerto No. 3 in G Major, K. 216
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Adagio and Fugue in C Minor, K. 546
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Symphony No. 36 in C Major, K. 425, “Linz”

Spanish-American conductor François López-Ferrer, currently serving as Resident Conductor of the Académie of the Opéra de Paris, leads the orchestra in an all-Mozart program. He begins with the delightful overture to Mozart’s tongue-in-cheek opera “Impresario,” followed by his ornate and impressive Third Violin Concerto, performed here by the “fresh, different and exhilarating” (San Francisco Chronicle) violinist Grace Park. The orchestral arrangement of Mozart’s solemn Adagio and Fugue follows intermission, and the concert culminates with Mozart’s inventive Symphony No. 36, the “Linz.” 

Tuesday, July 25, 7:30 p.m.
BRAHMS, BRITTEN & POULENC
Members of the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra 
Benjamin Britten, Phantasy Quartet for Oboe and Strings, Op. 2
     Olav van Hezewijk, oboe; Jonathan Carney, violin; DJ Cheek, viola; Julia Yang, cello
Francis Poulenc, Sextet in C Major for Piano and Winds, FP 100
     Viviana Cumplido Wilson, flute; Joshua Lauretig, oboe; Louis DeMartino, clarinet;
     Josh Baker, bassoon; Roy Femenella, horn; Vivienne Spy, piano
Johannes Brahms, String Sextet No. 2 in G Major, Op. 36
     Jonathan Carney and Erica Miller, violin; DJ Cheek, and Linda Numagami, viola;
     Julia Yang and Britton Riley, cello

The Robert Mann Chamber Music Series continues with musicians from the Festival Orchestra for a Britten Quartet and two sextets, by Poulenc and Brahms. 

Thursday, July 27, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, July 28, 6:30 p.m.
BRAHMS 2 + SHOSTAKOVICH
Eun Sun Kim, conductor
Johannes Moser, cello
Mason Bates, “The Rhapsody of Steve Jobs” (2021)
Dmitri Shostakovich, Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major, Op. 107
Johannes Brahms, Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73

Korean conductor Eun Sun Kim is known for her “assured technical command, subtlety and imagination” (New York Times); she began her tenure as the Caroline H. Hume Music Director of San Francisco Opera in 2021. She leads this program, which opens with the “electroacoustic soundworld” of Mason Bates’ “Rhapsody of Steve Jobs.” German-Canadian cellist Johannes Moser, whom Gramophone called “one of the finest among the astonishing gallery of young virtuoso cellists,” performs Shostakovich’s boisterous and demanding First Cello Concerto, an apt showcase for the cellist’s musical prowess.

Tony Siqi Yun and Hannu Lintu

Sunday, July 30, 6:30 p.m.
SCHUMANN’S PIANO CONCERTO 
Hannu Lintu, conductor
Tony Siqi Yun, piano
Einojuhani Rautavaara, “Cantus Arcticus,” Op. 61 (1974)
Robert Schumann, Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 54
Franz Joseph Haydn, Symphony No. 96 in D Major, “The Miracle”

Internationally renowned Finnish conductor Hannu Lintu joins the Festival for a program beginning with “Cantus Arcticus,” the “concerto for birds and orchestra,” by Lintu’s countryman, Finland’s Einojuhani Rautavaara. One of Schumann’s most enduring works, his Piano Concerto, is performed by guest pianist Tony Siqi Yun. "After bringing a soft touch to [Schumann's] opening statement, Yun displayed a robust, muscular sound in the cadenza that complemented the tug-of-war that occurs between soloist and orchestra in this work," says Bachtrack. Rounding out the program is Haydn’s Symphony No. 96, “The Miracle.” 

Tuesday, August 1, 7:30 p.m.
BEETHOVEN, DEBUSSY & DVOŘÁK
Members of the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra 

Ludwig van Beethoven, String Trio in C Minor, Op. 9, No. 3
     Kevin Lin, violin; DJ Cheek, viola; Austin Huntington, cello

Claude Debussy, “Danses sacrée et profane” (“Sacred and Profane Dances”)
     Andrea Mumm, harp; Marian String Quartet; Emma Richman, Sahana Shravan, violin;
     Cameren Anai Williams, viola; Wangshu Xiang, cello

Antonín Dvořák, Piano Quintet in A Major No. 2, Op. 81
     Kevin Lin, violin; Douglas Kwon, violin; DJ Cheek, viola; Austin Huntington, cello;
     Vivienne Spy, piano

The final concert of the 2023 Robert Mann Chamber Music Series highlights the Festival Orchestra’s musicians performing music by Beethoven, Debussy and Dvořák. 

Clockwise from top left: Jake Heggie, Jennifer Higdon, Kevin Puts, Edgar Meyer and Jessie Montgomery

Thursday, August 3, 7:30 p.m.
JOSHUA BELL + DEBUSSY’S LA MER 
Peter Oundjian, conductor
Joshua Bell, violin
“The Elements”: Suite for Violin and Orchestra (preview performance)
     “Fire” by Jake Heggie
     “Space” by Jessie Montgomery
     “Water” by Edgar Meyer
     (Commissioned by Joshua Bell)
Claude Debussy, “La Mer”

In the first evening of a two-part preview performance, 2023 Artist-in-Residence Joshua Bell performs selections from “The Elements,” an unparalleled work for violin and orchestra in five movements, each written by a different acclaimed composer. In this concert, Bell performs “Fire” (by Jake Heggie); “Water” (by Edgar Meyer); and “Space” (by Jessie Montgomery). A project co-commissioned by five major orchestras, “The Elements” will receive formal premieres around the world beginning in September 2023. The program closes with a beloved favorite by Debussy, “La Mer.” 

Sunday, August 6, 6:30 p.m.
JOSHUA BELL + MAHLER 1
Peter Oundjian, conductor
Joshua Bell, violin
“The Elements”: Suite for Violin and Orchestra (preview performance)
     “Air” by Jennifer Higdon
     “Earth” by Kevin Puts
     (Commissioned by Joshua Bell) 
Gustav Mahler, Symphony No. 1

Music Director Peter Oundjian and the Festival pull out all the stops for an unforgettable season finale. In the second evening of a two-part preview performance, 2023 Artist-in-Residence Joshua Bell performs selections from “The Elements,” an unparalleled work for violin and orchestra in five movements, each written by a different acclaimed composer. In this concert, Bell performs “Air” (by Jennifer Higdon) and “Earth” (by Kevin Puts). A project co-commissioned by five major orchestras, “The Elements” will receive formal premieres around the world beginning in September 2023. 

Oundjian continues his tradition of ending the Festival with a grand work by Mahler; in his First Symphony Mahler celebrates the pure taste of victory after a struggle, guiding listeners through daydreams and darkness before rewarding them with a heroic ending and as much blinding joy as the horns can muster.