Festival Focus Week 5 by Aspen Music Festival and School

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VOL 31, NO. 5

Broadway Talents Celebrate Richard Rodgers by Elvis), or practically anything from The Sound of Music—so many of these songs are It’s said that somewhere in the world Richard embedded into our cultural DNA. “He was Rodgers’s music is heard on stage every night so incredibly prolific,” Einhorn says. “There of the year. Without him, the Broadway musical was a love language between Rodgers writas we know it would have been something else ing the music and the lyricist that he worked entirely. To celebrate the works of this legend- with, where the songs really spoke to us, to ary composer, the Aspen Music Festival and our heart directly, and to our core.” School (AMFS) and Theatre Aspen are joining The evening highlights songs that Einhorn forces to present The Sweetest Sounds: The and Price feel celebrate the human spirit. Music of Richard Rodgers, August 2 and 3 at the “We’re going to give some good historical Benedict Music Tent. background on who Rodgers was as a perThis two-night tribute celebrates the musi- son, as well as the shows that he’s written,” cal output of Rodgers and his two most fre- Einhorn explains. “I think the audience is quent collaborators: Oscar Hammerstein II going to come in for 90 minutes of pure healand Lorenz Hart. The sheer volume of works ing, celebration, and joy and will leave with a created by these pairings—Rodgers & Hart smile on their face. They’re really going to get and Rodgers & Hammerstein—is unmatched the chance to go down memory lane.” by any other Broadway composer. To transport audiences into the world This year’s co-presenof Rodgers, the songs tation between the AMFS will be performed by top and Theatre Aspen builds “I think the audience Broadway talent: Christy on the success of 2019’s Altomare (Anastasia); is going to come in collaboration, South Tony-nominated Brandon for 90 minutes of pure Victor Dixon (The Color Pacific, and reunites leading Broadway music direcPurple, Hamilton); Tonyhealing and joy . . . ” tor and conductor Andy winner Santino Fontana Andy Einhorn Einhorn and the Aspen (Tootsie); and Mandy Broadway music director Festival Ensemble with Gonzalez (In the Heights, and conductor Tony-nominated stage Wicked). director Lonny Price. “They’re all wonderful Featuring timeless tunes from The Sound people and they’re going to be terrific interof Music, Oklahoma!, The King and I, State preters of the music,” Einhorn notes. “I love Fair, and more, the music is “as good as it finding spectacular voices who also have gets,” says Einhorn. Whether it’s “My Funny great personalities who can really showcase, Valentine,” “Blue Moon” (made famous not only their own talent, but also elevate SHANNON ASHER

Festival Focus Writer

Broadway music director and conductor Andy Einhorn conducts the Festival Symphony during the 2019 season’s joint AMFS–Theatre Aspen production.

what is in the music and words.” Though this will not be a fully staged theatrical production, Einhorn says the major story elements from each of the selected musicals will be evident: “There will be some particular sequences where it’ll definitely be like we’re excerpting a bit from the show.” Although some of the songs are now more than 70 years old, Einhorn thinks the reason the music remains timeless is that “They are full of heart, full of love, and full of the most gracious wisdom that I could ever imagine. Every time you hear one of these songs, I equate it to being in Aspen on a snowy day with a great fire in front of you, and you’ve never felt so good in your life.”

A Quintessentially Pianistic Program JESSICA MOORE

AMFS Director of Marketing

Pianist Behzod Abduraimov, who impressed audiences last summer with his virtual AMFS recital, performs in Aspen on July 30 and August 4.

Pianist Behzod Abduraimov returns to Aspen for two performances that place piano repertoire at center stage. In the first, on Friday, July 30, he performs Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Aspen Chamber Symphony, and on Wednesday, August 4, he presents a solo recital. With an international touring schedule that features engagements in the major capitals of the world, Abduraimov’s career has taken him miles away from his hometown of Tashkent, Uzbekistan. AMFS’s Vice President for Artistic Administration and Artistic Advisor Asadour Santourian says, “He emerged on the world stage as a tween, and then a teen, and has maintained an

unbelievable star trajectory his entire young life.” A regular in Aspen since his 2016 Festival debut, Abduraimov’s programmatic focus this season is wholly pianistic—a fact that sounds entirely obvious given his instrument of choice, yet is noteworthy because the featured composers—Beethoven, Scarlatti, Schumann, and Rachmaninoff—were all pianists themselves. The demands on the performer are not only technical, but also require a certain maturity of expression. Santourian feels Abduraimov has certainly reached the appropriate stage of his artistic development to tackle such programmatic choices. “He always demonstrated maturity as an artist, regardless of age, and now he’s

Citing the composer’s particular skill at interweaving lyrics with melodies in an unforgettable way, Einhorn says, “For some reason, every time Richard Rodgers did it, we seem to remember it. The lyrics are simple but not simplistic. They’re not overly psychological. They’re actually the language of love and sound like normal people speaking, which is why we’re able to relate to it.” Einhorn continues, “There’s always something still to be discovered with this music. I think that’s a big thing that we’ve all lost out on in the last 16 months, is that real ability to connect with people. I feel like this new material will really speak to people and will be a wonderful healing moment for all of us.”

Also this week . . . Special Event: A Recital by Daniil Trifonov piano TUESDAY, JULY 27 | 7 PM Benedict Music Tent The London Times called him “without question, the most astounding pianist of our age.” Grammy Award– winning Russian pianist Daniil Trifonov has enjoyed a spectacular ascent as a solo artist, champion of the concerto repertoire, chamber and vocal collaborator, and composer. Don’t miss his Aspen recital, which features works by Debussy, Szymanowski, Prokofiev, and Brahms.

See Abduraimov, Festival Focus page 3

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Recitals Showcase Beethoven’s Most Challenging Works PIPER STARNES

Festival Focus Writer

This week, the Aspen Music Festival and School presents two recitals at the Benedict Music Tent, showcasing two of Beethoven’s most challenging and gratifying works. Both at 7 pm, the first event with the American String Quartet is July 28, and the second, with Andreas Haefliger, is July 29. The American String Quartet opens its recital with Beethoven’s String Quartet in C-sharp minor, op. 131, recognized as one of the composer’s most experimental and extraordinary works. Overwhelmed by its impressiveness, Schubert once said, “After this, what is left for us to write?” As one of Beethoven’s favorite quartet compositions, op. 131 stretches the possibilities of what two violinists, a violist, and a cellist can do. Together, the Quartet’s members—Peter Winograd, Laurie Carney, Daniel Avshalomov, and Wolfram Koessel—bring unmatched talent to Beethoven’s great quartet piece, performing all seven uninterrupted movements.

The American String Quartet present a recital July 28.

Reflecting on the quartet’s 47-year history, violist Avshalomov recalls op. 131 was one of the first pieces the group learned together, saying, “The work doesn’t change, but we discover new things in it with every performance.” In contrast with Beethoven’s 195-year-old work, the Quartet will also present a brand-new commission: Piano Quintet by Octavio Vazquez. Known for his natural ability to inspire, pianist and composer Vazquez will join the American String Quartet on the Tent stage for the piece’s world premiere. The work draws on Spanish music and historical events from the Middle Ages, a time marked by cultural diversity and social turbulence. With this historical framework in mind, Vazquez states that his piece is centered on today’s socially relevant themes of “intolerance, violence against ‘others’ in whichever form the distinction is made, [and] the imposition of narrow views.” An expression of Vazquez’s musical persona and Galician heritage, Piano Quintet musically quotes a sixteenth-century madrigal to amplify, as he describes, “distant echoes” of the past, but with a personal, avant-garde style. Avshalomov adds, “Audiences can expect sounds unlike any they have heard before, tempered with an emotional immediacy comparable to that of op. 131.” The Beethoven celebration resumes July 29 when pianist Andreas Haefliger performs two sonatas, showcasing both his and the composer’s ambitious and distinguished skill set. Haefliger calls the first, Piano Sonata No. 16 in G major, op. 31, no. 1, “Beethoven’s most humorous and surprising sonata” as it breaks from the traditional music styles of eighteenth-century Vienna.

Next, Haefliger digs deeper into Beethoven’s personal history with his Piano Sonata No. 29 in B-flat major, op. 106, “Hammerklavier.” Written during the final period of Beethoven’s career, “Hammerklavier,” meaning “hammer keyboard” in German, reflects the composer’s struggles with his worsening deafness. As the title suggests, the piece requires a significant amount of strength and determination from the pianist. “Beethoven shows his tremendous ability to illustrate the human experience in all its facets and touches on the Andreas Haefliger, July 29. divine in the depth and pure scale of op. 106,” Haefliger writes. Opening with a heroic allegro movement, the work proceeds into a whimsical scherzo, a devastating third movement, and concludes with a complex fugue. AMFS Vice President for Artistic Administration and Artistic Advisor Asadour Santourian notes, “[Beethoven] always hated the fugue, and in this sonata, he finally not only mastered it, but he gives in the last movement one of the most involved and demanding fugues written to this date and really for some time since. It takes a pianist of incredible imagination, skill, and power to tackle this work.” Well-aware of this musical responsibility, Haefliger is prepared to take on the challenge this Thursday night.

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ABDURAIMOV Continued from Festival Focus page 1

reached a point where he actually is more defined and definitive about his view on the music that he’s performing.” For his August 4 recital, Abduraimov will perform two sonatas by Scarlatti, Schumann’s Kreisleriana, and Rachmaninoff’s Variations on a Theme of Corelli. Regarding his choice of recital repertoire Abduraimov says, “In general, there is always an overarching connection in my program building. I strived to build a program that is designed to exhibit the scope of piano literature from the different eras and schools.” Santourian echoes this, explaining that “Scarlatti represents the bridge between Baroque and Classical, and then we have the Schumann, which is the height of nineteenth-century Romanticism, and the Rachmaninoff, which is the culmination of Romanticism—so we have a spread of 150 years in musical style and idiom represented in the program.” Where Santourian calls the two Scarlatti sonatas “little flourishes that are concert openers,” the Schumann and the

Rachmaninoff are “real, substantive concert pieces.” A quintessential early Romantic composer, Schumann would compose musical character studies to describe people around him. His Kreisleriana is one such work, created

“My fascination with Rachmaninoff . . . goes back to my childhood . . . . I do have a special affinity towards the man, the artist, and his music.” Pianist Behzod Abduraimov

as an homage to the character of ‘Kreisler’—the nom de plume of writer, critic, and thinker E.T.A. Hoffman, of whom Schumann was a deep admirer. Abduraimov looks forward to performing this work, admitting that “it is my very first time

MONDAY, JULY 26, 2021

playing Schumann’s music. Perhaps I wasn’t feeling ready for it, so it’s definitely a very special occasion for me.” On the other hand, Abduraimov is no stranger to Rachmaninoff. “My fascination with Rachmaninoff and his music goes back to my childhood years. I will never forget my first encounter with his Concerto No. 2 that I performed with the National Symphony Orchestra of Uzbekistan when I was 12,” he recalls, continuing, “I do have a special affinity towards the man, the artist, and his music.” In the Corelli variations, Santourian explains that Rachmaninoff takes the recognizable “La Folia” tune “through its paces in a very virtuosic way, through different keys and different piano techniques.” He continues, “It will be extraordinarily interesting to see what Behzod does with this because Rachmaninoff had unusually large hands and therefore had a very large reach. Some of these chords are quite full and the demands are muscular.” For his part, Abduraimov looks forward to returning to the Tent and performing this work, saying, “While I have no doubt the audience will enjoy this real gem, I myself can’t stop enjoying it as a pianist for its absolute ingenuity.”

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NOW – AUGUST 22: Daily, 12 pm – start of the day’s final concert

AMFS Brings Free Concerts to the Valley SHANNON ASHER

Festival Focus Writer

New this summer, the Aspen Music Festival and School (AMFS) is offering free one-hour concerts in community locations up and down the Roaring Fork Valley. The series, called Music on the GO, comprises 36 light-hearted musical events, performed by the talented music students of the AMFS. Concerts run July 27 to August 15 (see sidebar for dates and locations). The concerts are presented in a modified box truck that opens up to be a miniature concert venue, which allows significant flexibility in location. Says AMFS President and CEO Alan Fletcher, “Since it’s a mobile concert, they can go to places that we wouldn’t reach, to people who might have never thought of driving up to Aspen and purchasing a ticket. Now, we come to them. We come into their community and are able to do something really great.”

The Concert Truck, which converts into a fully functioning stage, will allow AMFS student musicians to perform throughout the Roaring Fork Valley.

Music on the GO concerts typically will occur at popular community gathering places from Aspen to Glenwood Springs, such as parks, libraries, and churches. Staff will mark out where the audience should set up, so that patrons may assemble appropriately. “It’s all very organized for the pandemic period,” Fletcher says. “They will be great concerts. We will have singers, strings, winds, brass, and piano, all very talented, very serious rising young musicians who are here to study at the Festival. We’re excited about it.”

Anderson Ranch Arts Center Molly Gibson Park Koch Park, Aspen The Arts Campus at Willits Wheeler/Stallard Museum Lawn Wheeler Opera House (outside) Willits Town Center, Triangle Park Aspen Saturday Market The Gant Aspen Christ Episcopal Church Aspen Koch Park, Aspen Anderson Ranch Arts Center Molly Gibson Park Koch Park, Aspen The Arts Campus at Willits Roaring Fork School District Offices Basalt Regional Library Willits Town Center, Triangle Park Aspen Saturday Market Snowmass Base Village Snowmass Base Village Koch Park, Aspen Carbondale Branch Library Molly Gibson Park Koch Park, Aspen The Arts Campus at Willits Aspen High School (outside) Red Brick Arts Center Lawn Willits Town Center, Triangle Park Ducky Derby 2.0 at Aspen Highlands Basalt Regional Library Glenwood Springs, location TBA Koch Park, Aspen

Clark’s Market is one of the proud sponsors of the Music on the GO concerts, underwriting three at Molly Gibson (Smuggler) Park on July 27, August 3, and August 10. Owner Tom Clark is especially looking forward to this collaboration. “We are delighted to partner with the AMFS this summer,” Clark says. “We are certain our customers and community will enjoy the extraordinary classical music that is to be provided by the Aspen Music Festival. Access to the arts is always a challenge and we are proud to be a small part of making it more accessible to everyone.” The young musicians coming from around the world to study with the elite artist-faculty at the AMFS represent some of the most promising rising talent in the classical music today. With an average age of 26 this year, they are often finishing graduate programs, or just launching into their early professional careers. “These are the same musicians we are presenting on our stages at the Benedict Music Tent and Harris Concert Hall,” notes Fletcher. “They are tremendous artists and in some cases have been preparing the works they will be playing for weeks or months.” The mobile venue being used for Music on the GO is a 16-foot box truck, converted into a fully functioning mobile concert venue, complete with lights, a sound system, and a piano. Called The Concert Truck, it was created by pianists Nick Luby and Susan Zhang in 2016 and they contract to work in cities and communities all over the country. Luby came up with the concept six years ago while traveling, when he would inadvertently draw in audience members while practicing piano in local churches. Those interactions made him think about how he could bring music into public spaces—an idea he then presented to Zhang who joined him in the endeavor. “In addition to creating artistic experiences that inspire and bring joy and togetherness, our aim is to expand what classical music can be and who it is for,” Zhang says. Of their upcoming performances in the area, Zhang said, “This is an incredibly beautiful place, and we hope to share what we do with this unique community of people who call the Roaring Fork Valley home.” For more information and concert schedule updates, visit aspenmusicfestival.com/music-on-the-go.

Festival Focus Week 5

Articles inside

A Quintessentially Pianistic Program

AMFS Brings Free Concerts to the Valley

Recitals Showcase Beethoven's Most Challenging Works

Broadway Talents Celebrate Richard Rodgers