Post blogger Michael Conniff took a trip back in time to the jazz age courtesy of Aspen Community Theatre. "I came away as did so many others asking the obvious question: how could a community theatre pull off such a feat?" he blogs. "The friends who came with us had no idea this was anything but a professional theatre company until long after "Chicago" came to a roaring, rocking, raucous close. I think those of us who try to go every year remain amazed when Jason at Explore Booksellers turns out to be a song and dance man of surprising talent. Watching Aspen Community Theatre just like that--faces in the crowd who find center stage, if only for a moment."
The Rodney Crowell Acoustic Trio, whose namesake has played with the likes of Emmylou Harris, Rosanne Cash, and the late Johnny Cash, performs this Sunday night, 10 pm at Belly Up.
Aspen Music Festival and School Director of Educational Outreach Deborah Barnekow is on the road with the Colorado State University Concert Choir this week. The following is a today's entry from Glenwood Springs:
There is something so exhilarating in bringing a large group into the schools. The Colorado State University Concert Choir arrived last night in Glenwood for 2 exhausting days working with the high and middle school choirs in the valley and to perform for our two PLUS (adopted) schools. I have such respect for the choir directors and their dedicated students.
The first hurdle is finding them a place to stay and some food along the way during the day. In asking families to host choir members in their homes, I have met many new and generous people to whom I am grateful. My thanks also to Aspen and Basalt High Schools for hosting the group for lunch the two days.
As I climbed on board their bus upon arrival last night to welcome them, I was a bit overwhelmed by their faces of dedication to the task I am asking of them. I look forward to getting to know each of them. They will perform a free concert on Tuesday night, March 11, at the First United Methodist Church in Glenwood Springs at 6:30 pm. I hope to see you all there.
A folkie in punk’s clothing, Ani DiFranco battled successfully against the Goliath of corporate rock to emerge as one of the most influential and inspirational cult heroines of the 1990s. Her songs tackle complex and emotional issues with insight and compassion, her music’s empowering attitude and anger tempered by the poignant candor of singer/songwriter confessionalism. Ani is touring in support of her first career retrospective, “Canon,” released on Sept. 11, 2007.
“Here at last we have a major pianist using the brilliance at his disposal to illuminate what the composer wrote, rather than himself.”―John von Rhein, Chicago Tribune
ASPEN, Colo. — Pianist Stephen Hough is widely regarded as one of the most important and distinctive pianists of his generation. The renowned pianist brings his extraordinary touch to the beloved repertoire of Mendelssohn, Beethoven, and more in Harris Concert Hall, Thursday, March 6 as part of the Aspen Music Festival and School’s 2008 winter recital series.
The program includes Mendelssohn’s Variations sérieuses in D minor, op. 54; Webern’s Variations for Piano, op. 27; Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor, op. 111; Weber’s Aufforderung zum Tanze (Invitation to the Dance), J. 260, op. 65; Chopin’s Waltzes; Saint- Saëns’ Valse nonchalante in D-flat major, op. 110; Chabrier’s Feuillet d'album; Debussy’s La plus que lente; and Liszt’s work from Valses oubliees, and his Mephisto Waltz No. 1, “The Dance in the Village Inn.”
Notes from the road from Aspen Music Festival and School Director of Educational Outreach Deborah Barnekow:
With varied age levels again on our second day, the Trio is more comfortable with the challenge. Our first session was with the IB students at Aspen High School who will be participating in our Composer Forum in April. Our focus was to demonstrate the unique sound they have and talk about how to write for their respective instruments. The harp, of course, is the most daunting and there were many questions for Nuiko. After the trio performed the Arnold Bax Elegiac Trio, Paul Jung commented that he could hear early strains of the Beatles in it which initiated an interesting discussion!
At Aspen Elementary, we challenged the children to come up with titles for the music they heard. Sofia Gubaiduliina's Garden of Joys and Sorrow was given the title The Dangerous Land of the Crystal Moon by one 4th grader. (I asked if I could use the title and was told she would think about it!)
Praised for his personal charisma and boundless imagination, pianist Piotr Anderszewski returns to Aspen ’s Harris Concert Hall on Wednesday, February 20 at 7:30 pm for the second concert of the Aspen Music Festival and School’s winter recital series. The program includes Bach’s Partita No. 2 for Keyboard in C minor and Partita No. 1 for Keyboard in B-flat major; Schumann’s melancholy Humoreske in B-flat major, op. 20; and Szymanowski’s Masks, op. 34, included in the pianist’s highly-praised recording of the composer’s solo piano works, which received the Classic FM Gramophone Award in 2006 for best instrumental disc.
In recent years Anderszewski has been singled out for several high profile awards, including the prestigious Szymanowski Prize in 1999 and the Royal Philharmonic Society’s 2000 Best Instrumentalist Award. In April 2002 he was named Gilmore Artist and described by this prestigious award’s advisory panel as “truly extraordinary.”
“Piotr’s intensity and musicianship bring the crowd to its feet whenever he performs in Aspen ,” says AMFS President and CEO Alan Fletcher. “And there’s no better place to hear the nuances and technical mastery of such an artist than the immaculate acoustics of Harris Concert Hall.”
Anderszewski has made a number of highly-praised recordings, including Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations, a disc which received exceptional critical acclaim. The recording was also the subject of a film by Bruno Monsaingeon, creator of documentaries on Yehudi Menuhin and Glenn Gould. For more information, see http://www.anderszewski.net/index.cfm
The AMFS’s 2008 winter recital series includes the best and the brightest of today’s classical music scene, including:
• Piano mega-star Emanuel Ax making his first appearance in Aspen in six years, February 26.
• Pianist Stephen Hough with a program featuring Mendelssohn, Beethoven and Chopin on March 6.
• Young violin sensation Leila Josefowicz, who takes the stage with the timeless music of Brahms and Schubert on March 10.
All winter recitals are performed at 7:30 pm in Aspen ’s 500-seat Harris Concert Hall ( 960 N. Third Street , Aspen , CO ). Tickets for Anderszewski’s recital are $55 for adults and are available at the AMFS Harris Hall Box Office, by calling 970-925-9042, or online at www.aspenmusicfestival.com.
The Aspen Music Festival and School is the United States ’ most extensive classical music festival, presenting more than 350 musical events during its nine-week summer season. The AMFS’s orchestras are composed of top professionals and music students, many on the cusp of their orchestral careers. The 2008 season runs June 19 through August 17.
The Aspen Meadows Resort is the hospitality sponsor of the 2008 Winter Music Series.
“Once Upon a Time…” theme offers a season-long exploration of folklore, legends, mythology and fairytales through music
David Zinman conducts the world premiere of John Harbison’s The Great Gatsby Suite, an AMFS commission which captures the spirit of the big band era
“Once Upon a Time…” shines through the Aspen Opera Theater Center this summer with two adult versions of the classic Cinderella tale and a production of Hansel and Gretel
Piano mega-star Emanuel Ax returns to Aspen with two extraordinary programs, including a special concert with pianists Joseph Kalichstein, Yefim Bronfman and Misha Dichter
A live taping of the nation’s most popular classical music show, From the Top, features
talent from Aspen’s own stellar student body
Jazz songstress Patti Austin joins the Count Basie Orchestra in a tribute to the first lady of American song, Ella Fitzgerald, presented in association with Jazz Aspen Snowmass
Multiple collaborations with Aspen’s arts elite, including the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, Jazz Aspen Snowmass, the Aspen Institute and Aspen Film
More than 350 public events feature appearances by Joshua Bell, Sarah Chang, James Conlon, Emerson String Quartet, Vladimir Feltsman, Julia Fischer, Nicholas McGegan, David Robertson, Gil Shaham, Leonard Slatkin and Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, among others.
The new season of American Idol began last week, but we fans here in the Roaring Fork Valley feel compelled to keep our enthusiasm concealed. Having become the symbol of shallow celebrity-obsessed culture, American Idol is held in contempt by the RFV’s self-proclaimed sophisticated and enlightened populace. The verdict is in; being an Idol fan is NOT cool.
Thankfully, Twin Sons of Different Mothers, a collaboration between Fogelberg and flautist Tim Weisberg, came out in 1978, and at least in my ear helped all but eliminate the neurasthenic superficiality of Saturday Night Fever.
More importantly, one score and zero years before Eric Clapton turned his eye inward and brought about the “unplugged” craze, Dan Fogelberg defined it. I realize Alpha6 may kick the crap out of me for praising soft rock, but I grew up, as I mentioned earlier, in the age of disco. I’ll take a Fogelberg tune over a Bee Gees hit seven days a week, and twice on Sundays.
Day 3 of Aspen Music Festival and School Education Outreach Director Debby Barnekow and young composer Andrew Norman's musical odyssey to Roaring Fork Valley schools.
In our second visit to the Aspen High IB program we added student Nick Holloran from Basalt who had the morning free (I don't remember this in my high school days!). An accomplished pianist (he participated in the PALS program this summer), Nick began composing this summer.
Day 2 from the road with Aspen Music Festival and School Education Outreach Director Debby Barnekow and young composer Andrew Norman.
Today was spent in one of our adopted schools in the PLUS program, Glenwood Springs Elementary. The fifth graders will begin a composition right after Christmas using their recorder instruments, so the goal was to help them find a process to begin. Using his verb piece with video that he presented yesterday to the high school students, Andrew had them improvise sounds that corresponded to the 13 verbs: "... drip, blip, sparkle, glint, float, ... chop, pop, splash." We split the group into two groups and with Andrew and me conducting, creating a sound piece. Of course, then when they heard/saw the piece that Andrew composed, the whole process was very clear... and fun!
