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Anton Nel Celebrates 25 Years in Aspen
COMPILED BY JESSICA MOORE Director of Marketing
Beloved pianist Anton Nel celebrates a milestone 25 years on the Aspen Music Festival and School faculty this summer and, to mark the occasion, he and some of his dearest colleagues will take the Harris Concert Hall stage Wednesday, July 5 at 7:30 pm for a joyful evening of music-making. Learn more about the man behind the piano in his own words...
Q: When did you first come to the AMFS and what were your initial impressions?
A: My first time in Aspen was as a guest artist in 1988 to play Mozart’s K. 467 Concerto with the Chamber Symphony, the Chopin Cello Sonata with the legendary Zara Nelsova, and teach some masterclasses. Even though I knew the AMFS by reputation, I had never been to Aspen before. It really was love at first sight: worldclass music-making in a beautiful setting. What could beat that?
Q: What keeps you coming back year after year?
A: I joined the AMFS faculty in 1997, and, since then, have always looked forward to being in Aspen during the summer. When you come to a place like Aspen for as many summers as I have, you subconsciously put down roots. Over the years I’ve developed close personal and musical friendships with so many of my colleagues whom I look forward to seeing. I can’t wait to make music, hear beautiful concerts, teach my students, and breathe in the mountain air!
Q: What differentiates the AMFS from other festivals?
A: One of my favorite parts of this festival is the educational component. What makes the AMFS unique is that student and teacher sit side-by-side in the orchestra, which I find spectacular and moving.
Q: How did you put together the program for your celebratory recital?
A: I was so happy to be asked to do this concert and honored that everyone agreed to be on it. I did have the option of playing a solo recital, but with a veritable smorgasbord of some of the world’s finest instrumentalists right here, I was not going to spend the evening alone on stage!
The main work on the program is the Bartók Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion—an amazing piece which works very well at a festival, since the players and all the instruments are already here. I have spectacular colleagues who will share the stage with me: Joyce Yang, Ed Stephan, and Cynthia Yeh.
I adore Mozart—especially the beautiful E-flat Piano Quartet in his piano/chamber music output—and I’m looking forward to playing this with dear friends Kathy Winkler, James Dunham, and Desmond Hoebig. In between the Mozart and Bartók I will take a solo turn with Debussy’s Estampes; both composer and piece are near and dear to me.
Q: What do you enjoy about performing with your AMFS colleagues and Joyce?
A: Over the years some of my most important chamber music relationships have been forged here in Aspen; I play together with these colleagues almost every summer. Joyce and I have a little history together with the Bartók Sonata. I was her teacher when she first came to Aspen at age 17, and she offered to turn pages for me at a performance I had that summer of the Bartók with Ann Schein, Jonathan Haas, and Doug Howard! Joyce’s career skyrocketed shortly after. How wonderful it is to now make music with such a lovely colleague and friend.
Q: You have a day off—what’s your favorite Aspen itinerary?
A: There’s always walking and hiking to do, drives to surrounding towns, taking friends down valley to eat. Trying to improve my baking technique at altitude?? In earlier years I used to do more adventurous things like paragliding and rafting!
Q: What do you hope to accomplish during your next 25 years of AMFS?
A: If I should have 25 more years in me, I would love to continue as I do now: working with amazing students, playing glorious music, enjoying the mountains…(and I hope Paradise Bakery makes it another 25 years too!)
