ASPEN MUSIC FESTIVAL AND SCHOOL 60th SEASON

February 5th, 2009 at 11:06am Aspen Music Festival 355

A CELEBRATION OF ART, IDEAS AND THE HUMAN SPIRIT

June 25 to August 23, 2009

David Zinman conducts five concerts throughout the summer, joined onstage by superstar soprano and AMFS alumna Dawn Upshaw, alumnus and violinist Gil Shaham, European sensation Janine Jansen and renowned pianist Jeffrey Kahane

Aspen Opera Theater Center presents La bohème, The Rape of Lucretia and Don Giovanni

Dawn Upshaw performs a recital featuring works by acclaimed composer Osvaldo Golijov, including his critically acclaimed work written for the singer, “Ayre”

Nicholas McGegan conducts Bach’s complete Brandenburg Concertos over two special evenings

Songstress Natalie Cole presents “Still Unforgettable” with jazz bassist Christian McBride and full orchestra, presented in association with Jazz Aspen Snowmass

Western U.S. premiere of Clarinet Concerto by composer and AMFS President and CEO Alan Fletcher, with clarinetist Michael Rusinek and conductor Andrey Boreyko

Collaborations with Aspen’s arts elite, including the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, Jazz Aspen Snowmass, the Aspen Institute, Aspen Art Museum and Aspen Film

Crossover musicians Edgar Meyer, Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas; Chris Thile with his new band Punch Brothers; and Mark O’Connor and Sharon Isbin share their own musical interpretations

Leonard Slatkin closes the 2009 season August 23 with Verdi’s Messa da Requiem

More than 400 public events feature appearances by Sarah Chang, James Conlon, Simone Dinnerstein, Vladimir Feltsman, former AMFS music director Lawrence Foster, Marc-André Hamelin, Lynn Harrell, Janine Jansen, Nicholas McGegan, David Robertson, Gil Shaham, Leonard Slatkin, Lise de la Salle, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, the Takács Quartet and
Dawn Upshaw, among others

ASPEN, Colo. — For 60 years, artists and thinkers have come together in the mountains of Colorado to listen and to learn from each other, to grow in their connections to nature, the arts, and their own humanity. This summer, the Aspen Music Festival and School celebrates this milestone with a season that explores its own core values, guided by some of the most important thinkers in 20^th-century Western culture, especially Goethe, Beethoven and Albert Schweitzer.

The 1949 Goethe Bicentennial Convocation and Music Festival, from which grew the AMFS and Aspen Institute, was an effort by organizers Walter and Elizabeth Paepcke to breach the social chasm between the West and Germany created by the two World Wars. Because Goethe was an intellectual of such great humanity and breadth, the Paepckes believed exploring his work and his influence on European culture could help bring the positive aspects of Germany back into focus and hasten the healing process.

Schweitzer came to the Convocation on his only visit ever to the United States . He told an Aspen crowd, through translator Thornton Wilder, "how an individual by himself and through his own study can arrive at conviction capable of guiding him on the right road throughout his existence: that to Goethe is the question that matters.”

Other participants who made the trek to Aspen, then just an isolated ex-mining town, included Spanish philosopher José Ortega y Gasset, pianist Arthur Rubinstein, and conductor Dimitri Mitropolous and the full Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra. Many of the Paepckes’ associates from their intellectual circle in Chicago attended, and were mesmerized, and wanted to come back again the next year. Thus little Aspen was reborn as a ski town in the winter (the Paepckes’ winter hobby), and, in the summer, a cultural Mecca in the mountains.

As an homage to the Goethe celebration’s ambitious and noble ideals, this season offers many musical works inspired by Goethe’s literary work, including Beethoven’s complete music from Egmont, Gounod’s Faust ballet music, Berlioz’s Damnation of Faust and even offers a recital re-creating vocal selections performed at the 1949 Goethe Bicentennial. The theme also highlights the sonatas, variations, bagatelles, and symphonies of Beethoven and the works of J.S. Bach (whom as a music scholar and organist, Schweitzer studied in depth, and whose biography of the composer is still in print). Events include a Bach cantata workshop with composer John Harbison, the six Brandenburg Concertos over two nights with conductor Nicholas McGegan and the Bach Concerto for Two Violins with violinist Robert McDuffie.

“In difficult times, art is more essential than ever” says AMFS President and CEO Alan Fletcher. “David Zinman and his artistic team have put together a truly spectacular anniversary season for us – one that harkens back to the Festival’s core values but that also showcases the most brilliant musicians and new music of our time. This will be a season people will remember, and I invite all music lovers and anyone who wants to reconnect with beauty, and with themselves, to join us for it.”

“The 2009 season programming is inspired from the original themes of the 1949 season— highlighting the music inspired by Goethe, Beethoven and the evocative words of Albert Schweitzer,” says David Zinman, AMFS music director. “Helping us to celebrate our 60^th anniversary season will be an honor roll of superb artists who are both familiar to Aspen audiences and those we are introducing this summer. Along with great music of Beethoven, Brahms, Ravel, Debussy, Bruckner and Mahler we will also take a closer look at music of our time.”

The season will also include works by Berlioz, Gounod, Liszt, Mendelssohn, Schubert, Schumann, Wagner, Haydn, Mozart, Strauss and Stravinsky and will present a wide array of standard orchestral repertoire including Verdi’s dramatic Messa da Requiem. Contemporary works by composers Osvaldo Golijov, John Harbison, Sydney Hodkinson, Peter Lieberson, Christopher Rouse, Kaija Saariaho, Lalo Schifrin and George Tsontakis are also planned.

The three fully staged operas featuring the talented students of the Aspen Opera Theater Center (AOTC) and directed by Edward Berkeley include Puccini’s La bohème (July 16, 18, 20) conducted by George Manahan, Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia (July 30, August1) conducted by Jane Glover, and Mozart’s Don Giovanni (August 18, 20, 22) conducted by James Gaffigan.

Maestro Zinman will conduct the first of his festival performances on June 28, when he leads Gil Shaham and the Aspen Festival Orchestra (AFO) in Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 2 in D major. On July 12, Zinman leads electrifying young violinist Janine Jansen in a program featuring John Harbison’s Symphony No. 5 and Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D major. Harbison’s symphony, inspired by the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, features two movements based on a poem by Czesław Miłosz, sung by baritone Nathan Gunn who performed the work’s world premiere with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and a song based on a poem by Louis Glück, sung by mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke. The maestro, joined by soprano Dawn Upshaw, conducts the Aspen Chamber Symphony (ACS) in Beethoven’s Music from Egmont― inspired by Goethe’s Tragedy―on July 24 and he concludes the season with the AFO and pianist Jeffrey Kahane on August 16 in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 27 in B-flat major.

Collaborations between the AMFS and Aspen ’s numerous world-class cultural and intellectual organizations are a key component of this summer’s programming. Among those joining the music festival in 2009 will be the Aspen Art Museum, Aspen Institute, Jazz Aspen Snowmass, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, Aspen Film and Aspen Public Radio. These collaborations are highlighted by Aspen’s nationally acclaimed ballet troupe dancing in the Benedict Music Tent to live orchestral music (August 10, in association with Aspen Santa Fe Ballet) and the Festival’s first foray into pops, Natalie Cole’s Still Unforgettable with bassist Christian McBride and the AMFS’s Sinfonia orchestra (June 27 in association with Jazz Aspen Snowmass), featuring a timeless collection of popular songs from the great American songbook, brought to life with Cole’s beautiful vocal and iridescent flair. She received rave reviews when she opened the 2008 season for the legendary Boston Pops last May.

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 on the cusp. Renowned alumni include violinists Joshua Bell, Sarah Chang, Cho-Liang Lin, Robert McDuffie, Midori, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg and Gil Shaham; pianists Ingrid Fliter, Orli Shaham and Joyce Yang; conductors Marin Alsop, James Conlon, James Levine and Leonard Slatkin; composers William Bolcom, Philip Glass, Augusta Read Thomas, Bright Sheng and Joan Tower; vocalists Jamie Barton, Danielle DeNiese, Sasha Cooke, Renée Fleming, Ryan McKinny and Dawn Upshaw; cellists Lynn Harrell and Alisa Weilerstein; performer Peter Schickele and bassist Edgar Meyer.

In addition to the 150 members of the AMFS’s highly accomplished artist-faculty, 2009 guest artists and conductors include violinists Sarah Chang, Janine Jansen, Leonidas Kavakos, Cho-Liang Lin, Robert McDuffie, Gil Shaham and Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg; vocalists Dawn Upshaw and Nathan Gunn; conductors Andrey Boreyko, James Conlon, James DePreist, Nicholas McGegan, Peter Oundjian, David Robertson and Leonard Slatkin; pianists Yefim Bronfman, Vladimir Feltsman, Ingrid Fliter and Jeffrey Kahane; ensembles include the American String Quartet, the Emerson String Quartet, the Takács Quartet and the Jupiter String Quartet; and Christopher Rouse and John Harbison as composers-in-residence.

Performers making their AMFS summer guest-artist debuts include vocalist Natalie Cole; soprano Indra Thomas; mezzo-sopranos Jamie Barton and Sasha Cooke; baritone Nathan Gunn; pianists Jeremy Denk and Lise de la Salle; clarinetist Michael Rusinek; violinists Angela Chun, Jennifer Chun, Janine Jansen and Sergey Khachatryan; and ensembles Edgar Meyer/ Sam Bush/ Jerry Douglas Trio and the Punch Brothers.

Aspen offers the ultimate in flexibility for patrons with passes, the most self-directed and convenient way to attend concerts. (Prices have not been raised from 2008.) The Gold Season Pass ($1,250) offers entrée to all regularly scheduled events and validation by phone on day of event. The Kickoff Pass ($190) is good for all regular events through July 3. The Full Season Pass ($975) offers unlimited access to the festival’s regular events throughout the summer. Children 6 to 17 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 in person; 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 400 musical events during its nine-week summer season in Aspen . The institution draws top classical musicians from around the world to this 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.
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To follow:
· Notable Events and People, Summer 2009, pp. 7-10
· AMFS General Information, pp. 11-13

High resolution photos available at www.aspenmusicfestival.com (media) or upon request.

AMFS NOTABLE EVENTS AND PEOPLE
SUMMER 2009

• The Festival’s first venture with pops: When Natalie Cole’s seminal Unforgettable…With Love came out in 1991, the jazz album set a new standard for reinventing the Great American Songbook. Cole waited eighteen years to return to the genre and Still Unforgettable proves to be more than worth the wait. On June 27, Cole, jazz bassist Chistian McBride and the AMFS Sinfonia orchestra will perform music from the new album, including a posthumous duet of the song “Walkin’ My Baby Back Home,” first recorded by Cole’s father in the early 1950s. (Presented in association with Jazz Aspen Snowmass.)
• AMFS alumnus Nicholas McGegan will conduct the complete Brandenburg Concertos July 14 and 15. Bach’s six instrumental works are an audience favorite, widely regarded as among the finest musical compositions of the Baroque era. McGegan conducts and performers include violinists Gil Shaham and Adele Anthony, among others.

• A (free!) Day of Music returns for its fifth year on July 21 as the Festival invites the community to enjoy a day-long open house showcasing the AMFS students in collaboration with artist-faculty, in master classes, rehearsals and performances on the Castle Creek Campus as well as in the Benedict Music Tent and Harris Concert Hall.

• Soprano Dawn Upshaw’s ability to reach the heart of music and text has earned her the devotion of an exceptionally diverse audience and awards accorded to only the most distinguished of artists. In 2007, she was named a Fellow of the MacArthur Foundation, the first vocal artist to be awarded the “genius” prize. This summer, Upshaw lends her voice to music from Beethoven’s Egmont and Golijov’s “She was here…” on July 24 and also performs a recital featuring “Ayre” by noted contemporary composer Osvaldo Golijov on July 29.

• Save the date: Starving artists, Paris ’s revolution-era cafés and an unforgettable love affair provide the backdrop for Aspen’s grandest benefit event of the season, July 16. The gala evening includes cocktails and premier seating at the opening-night performance of La bohème, one of the most popular operas of all time.

• Aspen ’s tradition of presenting the best new talent is brought to the fore when cellist Alisa Weilerstein (July and violinist Janine Jansen (July 9), two of the hottest rising stars in classical music today, perform back-to-back concerts this summer. Critical acclaim follows both these young virtuosos: The New York Times pronounced, “[Ms. Weilerstein] lets you know exactly who she is, and it’s hard to imagine not wanting to develop the acquaintance in the years ahead.” And The Times of London declares “Jansen is the queen of the sensitively woven and singing line and of myriad subtleties in expression… She gives the music heart and plays like a child of nature.”
• Composer and AMFS President and CEO Alan Fletcher was commissioned by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra to create a clarinet concerto for PSO principal clarinetist Michael Rusinek, which premiered last May to critical acclaim with Manfred Honeck conducting. Rusinek joins the Aspen Chamber Symphony to perform Fletcher’s work for the Aspen audience, conducted by Andrey Boreyko on July 10.

• This summer, three Aspen Opera Theater Center productions, under the direction of Edward Berkeley, will offer a range of theatrical experiences. One of the top operas in the repertory, Puccini’s La bohème, conducted by George Manahan (music director of New York City opera), underscores the human condition through love found and lost (July 16, 18, and 20); Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia, conducted by Jane Glover (music director of Chicago’s Music of the Baroque) is rooted in the emotional turmoil of an ancient and modern world in which women are put on righteous pedestals only to be torn down and destroyed (July 30, August 1); and Mozart’s Don Giovanni, conducted by James Gaffigan (an AMFS alumnus who has held assistant and associate conductor positions with the San Francisco Symphony and Cleveland Symphony) tells a tale of seduction and addiction, set to Mozart’s supremely sublime music (August 18, 20, and 22).
• In one of the season’s premier collaborations, the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet returns to dance to live music of Vivaldi and Biber, August 10. Choreographers featured are Jorma Elo and Twyla Tharp. (Presented in association with Aspen Santa Fe Ballet.)
• Last summer, mandolinist Chris Thile wowed the audience when he performed on the Harris Concert Hall stage with AMFS artist-faculty member and bassist Edgar Meyer. Thile returns in 2009 with his band, Punch Brothers—whose name is taken from the Mark Twain short story, Punch, Brothers, Punch!―August 17. The band’s style has been described by Times Online as introducing “bluegrass instrumentation and spontaneity in the structures of modern classical.”
• Bassist and musical innovator Edgar Meyer, called “the best bassist alive” by San Diego Magazine, invites longtime collaborators Sam Bush (violin and mandolin) and Jerry Douglas (dobro) for an evening of genre-bending and incomparable musicianship on August 12.

• August 19 offers a special re-creation of some of the AMFS’s first events, with selections from the 1949 song recitals sung by the legendary Herta Glaz and Jerome Robbins. This recital features mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton and bass-baritone Ryan McKinney.

• Leonard Slatkin closes the 2009 summer festival August 23, with Verdi’s monumental Messa da Requiem. “Only a genius could have written such a work,” Brahms wrote, after hearing the piece. The performance features Indra Thomas (soprano), Michelle DeYoung (mezzo-soprano), Vinson Cole (tenor), Morris Robinson (bass-baritone) and the Colorado Symphony Orchestra Chorus directed by Duain Wolfe .

• Overtures: AMFS artist-faculty will perform Beethoven Cello Sonatas, variations and bagatelles at 4:45 p.m. each Friday as a prelude to the evening’s Aspen Chamber Symphony performance. This series showcases the breadth of the composer’s musical cycle and the depth of talent in the AMFS artist-faculty roster. Overtures cost $10 or are free to those with a ticket to that evening’s orchestral concert.

• World premieres for the 2009 season include:
·        Peter Lieberson’s Suite from Ashoka’s Dream, August 2 (co-commissioned by the AMFS and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra)
·        George Tsontakis’s Concerto for Two Violins, August 7 (commissioned for and performed by violinists Angela Chun and Jennifer Chun)
·        George Tsontakis’s Cello Sonata with David Finckel and Wu Han
·        Sydney Hodkinson’s String Quartet No. 5, July 25

• Conductors: In addition to Music Director David Zinman , conductors appearing in 2009 include Andrey Boreyko, James Conlon, James DePreist, Lawrence Foster, James Feddeck, Fabien Gabel, Jane Glover, James Gaffigan, Lawrence Isaacson, Jeffrey Kahane, Kirill Karabits, Leonidas Kavakos, George Manahan, Nicholas McGegan, John Nelson, Peter Oundjian, David Robertson, Christopher Seaman, Murry Sidlin, Leonard Slatkin, Michael Stern and Joaquin Valdepeñas.