FESTIVALFOCUS YOUR WEEKLY CLASSICAL MUSIC GUIDE
SUPPLEMENT TO THE ASPEN TIMES
MONDAY, JUNE 28, 2021
VOL 31, NO. 1
Planning in a Pandemic: Bringing the Festival Back LAURA E. SMITH
Vice President for Marketing and Communications
After a heart-pumping year of planning and re-planning, the Aspen Music Festival and School is back, live and in person. “Our plan always was that we bring back the most music, to the most people, as we possibly could,” says AMFS President and CEO Alan Fletcher, adding, “this meant for our artist-faculty, students, and guest artists whose lives were upended, as well as our audience.” He continues, “Since March of 2020, we kept abreast of every public health recommendation and prediction. Over and over, we made spectacularly detailed plans to meet the guidelines—and then in just weeks or even sometimes days would need to fully scrap those and start over. It’s been a heroic effort on the part of everyone, the staff, but also the faculty, the board, and our donors, who have given us their faith and support when we’ve needed it most.” The work started as early as last September with the full budget process. Says Senior Vice President for Strategy and Administration Jennifer Elliot, “We normally take six weeks to budget and plan each fall. We map out the artists and season, but also the students and faculty of each instrumental program, nearly 1,000 units of housing, a detailed marketing plan, concert-by-concert production needs, transportation, cafeterias, sales—the budget is thousands of lines.” She explains that in fall of 2020, the staff did this process from the ground up, with
GRITTANI CREATIVE
The Benedict Music Tent, poised for the return of Aspen’s music lovers after standing silent for more than a year during the global pandemic.
huge changes for COVID assessed and planned, and they did it twice. “We had two scenarios,” she explains, “we hoped one would prove a good base for wherever we eventually would end up—and one did.” Elliot also oversaw all safety plans for the Festival, monitoring the ever-changing guidelines and working with an aerosols specialist
and an HVAC consultant to determine safe capacity for every single AMFS activity from a lesson on a trumpet to full orchestras in the Music Tent. “We separately analyzed each space,” she says, “I have huge spreadsheets with data showing the air turnover per hour in every space. We know exactly how many people can be in each one, and doing what,
with what for breaks, and in masks or not. It’s a huge matrix.” Vice President for Artistic Administration and Artistic Advisor Asadour Santourian usually begins planning each season at least a year ahead, which was the same in 2020.
See Planning, Festival Focus page 3
Slatkin and Barnatan play Beethoven Favorites, Friday SHANNON ASHER
Festival Focus Writer
Internationally acclaimed conductor and Aspen alumnus Leonard Slatkin will return to the Aspen Music Festival and School this Friday to kick off the season’s first Aspen Chamber Symphony concert with two of Beethoven’s most-loved works and a lesser-known gem. After more than a year-long hiatus from live music, Slatkin is eager to return to Aspen. Although he has been back on the podium for about two months now, he confides that it has not yet felt normal, at least in terms of trying to communicate with musicians through a mask. “A conductor covering more than half of his face is like a flute player using three fingers,” Slatkin says. “The spacing between musicians also makes it more challenging to communicate and to achieve a sense of ensemble. Nevertheless, I am happy to be making music again.” He is also happy to be back in Aspen again where he was a
LEWEL LI
Conductor and Aspen Music Festival and School alumnus Leonard Slaktin returns to the Benedict Music Tent podium July 2.
student in the mid-1960s. He recalls that it “ . . . was quite small back then, and there was a true sense of family among the students and faculty. Many of my lifelong friendships were made there, and I loved every minute of my experience.”
Having been the music director at major symphony orchestras including Detroit, St. Louis, and Washington, Slatkin now guest conducts all over the world. When he received the AMFS’s invitation to conduct Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony this summer, Slatkin couldn’t resist the opportunity to take another look at this beloved orchestral work: “Who can turn down the opportunity to try and improve on one’s last performance? But I will add something to the mix to demonstrate a few of the sketches that Beethoven rejected. Hopefully, we will learn that this composer always knew what was right.” “Mr. Slatkin has a little surprise for our audience on that concert,” says Asadour Santourian, AMFS vice president for artistic administration and artistic advisor. “He is trying to recreate the Bernstein notes on the great presentation of the Beethoven symphony and its themes. There is a little surprise there.”
See Beethoven, Festival Focus page 3
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FESTIVALFOCUS | YOUR WEEKLY CLASSICAL MUSIC GUIDE
MONDAY, JUNE 28, 2021
Supplement to The Aspen Times
Groundbreakers, Past and Present, for Summer 2021 LAURA SMITH Vice President for Marketing and Communications
How does one plan an artistic season coming back from a world-wide pandemic? According to AMFS Vice President for Artistic Administration and Artistic Advisor Asadour Santourian, imagining the 2021 program was, as always, a channeling of the full arc of the art form, right up until the thinking of this very moment. “There are our continuing relationships, of course,” says Santourian, “with artists, with great composers, but there is also an eye to who is breaking pathways to the future.” The season brings forward last year’s themes of celebrating Beethoven’s 250th (now 251st) birthday and a focus on women composers, smartly packaged as “Uncommon Women of Note.” “Beethoven was the original ground-breaker, the original revolutionary,” notes Santourian. “We have his symphonies, concertos, sonatas—not a completist take, but a wonderful survey of his works. And we also have works by composers of all ages, races/ethnicities, and genders. We are invited into many worlds, their worlds. The juxtaposition of old and new shows the trajectory of where music is going.” The opening Friday Aspen Chamber Symphony concert begins with a work by Julia Perry called A Short Piece for Orchestra. Santourian is bringing her work to the Aspen stage for the first time. “We open with a black American composer Julia Perry, who died young, but left a legacy of music,” he says.
“I’m exceptionally excited about her. She was trained at Westminster Choir College and Juilliard. She won many, many prizes, distinguished prizes, as a composer. This work is an introduction to our audiences. Over the coming years, I expect we will hear a lot more of her music, because there is a lot more.”
DON’T MISS BEETHOVEN’S NINTH SYMPHONY in a very special live event. Robert Spano leads four sensational soloists, the chorus Kantorei, and full orchestra in Beethoven’s epic “Ode to Joy.” Buy tickets for the live event, reserve a general admission Lawn ticket, or watch the FREE LIVESTREAM. 970 925 9042 or aspenmusicfestival.com
Throughout the season, Santourian brings an extraordinary mix of musical minds to the stage, this year especiallyW informed by his three years of research on works by non-a white composers. “This is just the beginning of shining a lightc on brilliant composers previously underrepresented,” he says. “I hand selected each after years of research and amu d excited to introduce them to the Aspen audience.” Also debuting this year is the Aspen Opera Theater andd VocalARTS program under co-artistic directors Renéeh Fleming and Patrick Summers with Edward Berkeley as stagec i director. The fourteen up-and-coming program fellows are a already making big waves in the opera world. They arrive in s Aspen to participate in this unique program, which takes a holistic approach, coaching the full person into an operaw career, not just training a voice. w “Renée and Patrick’s vision has always been about a com-T plete and compleat singer—not just an opera singer, but au singer who is also equally versatile with song literature, contemporary song literature, and is also very savvy in terms ofJ finances, self-management, entrepreneurial thinking, mind-p s fulness,” says Santourian. The singers will perform at public opera scenes masteri classes on Saturday mornings from July 3 to August 21, and in concert presentations of Mozart’s The Magic Flute on July 17 (also livestreamed for free) and Handel’s Rodelinda on August 21.
WELCOME BACK, AMFS STUDENTS AND ARTIST-FACULTY!
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FESTIVALFOCUS | YOUR WEEKLY CLASSICAL MUSIC GUIDE
Supplement to The Aspen Times
MONDAY, JUNE 28, 2021
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PLANNING IN A PANDEMIC Continued from Festival Focus page 1
What wasn’t the same were the unpredictability of artists’ availability, which roiled and changed with surges and vaccine news, and the size and composition of the orchestras. Ultimately plans were made with orchestras of very particular sizes and instrumentation, based on stage dimensions, distancing needs, and the make-up of the faculty and student body. “I chose works with the utmost care for things like how many clarinets each needs, how small a string section could carry it, while simultaneously balancing all the most important factors of which artists could join, their passions, and the season’s overall artistic style, mix, and excitement,” said Santourian. The artist-faculty and students, the real heart of the AMFS who also make up the organization’s multiple orchestras, were planned such that students would live one to a room. This meant a student body of 270 students rather than the usual 630. Explains Vice President for School and Festival Operations Jennifer White, “Safety was our first driver in making our plans. After figuring out how we could house our students safely, we assessed every single program, instrument by instrument, to see exactly how many of each we could bring
ELLE LOGAN
The Festival had plans for as few as 175 in the Tent, and as many as 2,000, and as many different plans for the Lawn.
and have the students have both a quality experience and have the right mix for Aspen’s huge performance schedule.” She continues, “After that, we made plans for everything from running our own bus system and having only boxed food, to requiring masks on instruments as well as people. Much of
that is past now, but we researched it all.” Ticket sales and audience plans were also refashioned from the ground up many times over the year. There were plans in the Tent for as few as 175 and as many as 2,000, and as many different plans for the Lawn. The goal was to maximize capacity and keep seating and ticketing as close as possible to the Festival’s usual system, already complex to start with. Ultimately, the need to remain flexible did mean a full rethinking of how to ticket for all constituencies, including faculty and students for whom concerts are a very important part of their Aspen experience. The current plan strikes a balance, and audience members so far have been understanding and appreciative. The changes in guidelines brought about huge swings in offerings. For example, until about two weeks before onsale it did not seem possible to have passes, a key part of Aspen’s concert-going charm. When suddenly it did become possible, the old pass system wouldn’t work. An entirely new system was created to fit with the updated protocols. As with so many pivot moments, it was a challenge, but as staff have noted all year, “it sure was never boring.”
GET THE MOST MUSIC FOR THE BEST PRICE! CALL TODAY FOR YOUR SEASON PASS. ASPEN MUSIC FESTIVAL AND SCHOOL BOX OFFICE: 970 925 9042 OR ASPENMUSICFESTIVAL.COM NOW – JUNE 30: 12 pm – 4 pm | JULY 1 – AUGUST 22: Daily, 12 pm – start of the day’s final concert
New this Year: Free Livestreams from the Tent
Continued from Festival Focus page 1
SHANNON ASHER
Festival Focus Writer
Debuting this year, the Aspen Music Festival and School will share a slice of the Festival experience with the world through a series of free livestream events. Broadcast in real time directly from the Benedict Music Tent, these virtual events bring the magic of what happens in the Tent into the homes of music lovers who aren’t able to attend the event and new audiences curious about Aspen’s famed concerts. Current audiences know how special and personal each Aspen concert is, but for many reasons one may not be able to attend any given event. Says Laura Smith, AMFS’s vice president for marketing and communications, “We are excited to bring the beauty and magic of what goes on in the Tent out to a broader audience. Both last summer and in the winter, our streams reached alumni from many decades, devoted Aspen friends who couldn’t be in town, performers’ families as far as Indonesia, locals tuning in for a taste, and, of course, new viewers who never otherwise would have been able to have this experience.” She continues, “These free broadcasts are such a great way to bring a wider audience in to share these evocative experiences together in real time.” Shot with four cameras and called live during the show, the schedule of streams spans the full summer and showcases six orchestral events: • Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony (July 3, 5:30 pm MT); • Aspen Festival Orchestra featuring violinist Stefan Jackiw, cellist Alisa Weilerstein, and pianist Inon Barnatan (July 11, 4 pm MT); • Mozart’s The Magic Flute (July 17, 7 pm MT); • Aspen Chamber Symphony with conductor Gemma New and pianist Tengku Irfan (July 23, 5:30 pm MT); • Aspen Chamber Symphony with pianist Joyce Yang and conductor Roderick Cox (August 13, 5:30 pm MT); and • Final Sunday Aspen Festival Orchestra featuring violinist Augustin Hadelich and music director Robert Spano (August 22, 4 pm MT). When asked why these events, Smith said, “We frankly could have streamed any event as each is a jewel of its own—it was
BEETHOVEN:
Conductor Gemma New (left) and pianist Tengku Irfan (right), both Aspen alumni, perform Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major on July 23.
hard to choose. In the end, we decided to offer a variety and showcase events with much-loved repertoire, emotive artists, and each with an Aspen backstory.” For example, on July 23, Gemma New will conduct the Aspen Chamber Symphony and guest pianist Tengku Irfan in their first performance together since they were both students in Aspen. “It means a lot to them, and I think we can share that depth with the viewers,” Smith says. “Each event will be not only a musical experience but a window into the full AMFS universe.” To watch any of the livestream events, visit the AMFS website, aspenmusicfestival.com/virtual-stage, where you can stream the event on your computer, tablet, or smartphone. The AMFS recommends connecting or “casting” the streams to your TV systems for the best audio and visual experience. Guidance on accessing the events and instructions for viewing them on the most common TV systems are also available on the website. Each concert will only be available to view on the AMFS Virtual Stage while the event is live and will not be available to watch on demand. Pro Tip: Make sure your smartphone, tablet, or computer are connected to the same Wi-Fi network as your TV. The AMFS looks forward to reconnecting with their patrons this summer (both in person and virtually)!
Beethoven’s iconic symphony was conceived in extremely harsh circumstances. Not only had the legendary composer and pianist coped with increasing deafness for six years, but he also feared losing a finger from an infection, was living in Vienna under Napoleonic occupation, and had suffered yet another romantic rejection. Maybe because of the tumultuous circumstances from which it arose, the impact of this work is undeniable and enduring. The program will open with African-American composer Julia Perry’s “A Short Piece for Orchestra,” a seven-minute work composed in 1952. This lively and brilliantly orchestrated work includes a raucous opening that leads to a haunting slow section before a thunderous finale. Early in her career Perry studied with luminaries such as Nadia Boulanger in Paris. She won the Boulanger Grand Prix for her Violin Concerto. She also wrote symphonies, piano concertos, a ballet, and three operas. “Julia Perry has left a legacy of music,” Santourian says. MARCO BORGGREVE The program also includes Pianist Inon Barnatan performs what Santourian calls “BeethoJuly 2, 11, and 15. ven’s final expression on the instrument,” his Concerto No. 5, “Emperor,” featuring pianist Inon Barnatan. This will be Slatkin’s first time collaborating with Barnatan and he says he “is really looking forward to it. [Barnatan] is an intelligent musician, and there is always something for me to learn from young artists.” The July 2 concert begins at 5:30 pm at the Benedict Music Tent and is 75 minutes, performed without intermission.
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MONDAY, JUNE 28, 2021
FESTIVALFOCUS | YOUR WEEKLY CLASSICAL MUSIC GUIDE
Supplement to The Aspen Times