Joshua Bell + Mussorgsky’s Pictures

Chautauqua Auditorium 900 Baseline Road, Boulder, CO

In his first appearances as 2023 artist-in-residence, the one and only Joshua Bell performs Bruch’s First Violin Concerto. The great 19th century violinist Joseph Joachim, to whom the composer dedicated this masterpiece, considered this concerto to be “the richest, most seductive” of all German violin concertos. Bruch’s Violin Concerto has become one of the most legendary works for the instrument and is an exquisite vehicle for Bell’s showmanship. The second half features Mussorgsky’s instantly recognizable Pictures at an Exhibition, a suite of musical paintings inspired by the sketches of the composer’s close friend Viktor Hartmann. The program opens with Sphinx Medal of Excellence recipient Carlos Simon’s Motherboxx Connection, the first movement of his Tales: A Folklore Symphony for orchestra; in Simon’s words the motherboxx is “an all-knowing entity that is aware of the multi-faceted aspects of blackness.”

$18 – $80

Family Concert: Peter and the Wolf + Goodnight Moon

Chautauqua Auditorium 900 Baseline Road, Boulder, CO

What do you get when you mix a boy, a duck, a cat, a wolf — and an orchestra? You get Peter and the Wolf, Prokofiev’s beloved symphonic fairytale that uses the playful story of a wolf on the prowl to introduce young listeners to the instruments of the orchestra. Entertaining actor and comedian Janae Burris narrates this timeless tale. The 2023 Festival Family Concert, conducted by Kalena Bovell and featuring vocals by Jennifer Bird-Arvidsson, also includes an upbeat suite from Bizet’s Carmen, Eric Whitacre’s musical setting of the children’s classic Goodnight Moon, and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s festive overture celebrating his African culture, Danse Nègre.

$10

John Corigliano: Living Legend

Chautauqua Auditorium 900 Baseline Road, Boulder, CO

The Festival is honored to welcome none other than Pulitzer Prize-winning John Corigliano as 2023 composer-in-residence. Conducted by Music Director Peter Oundjian, this retrospective program examines three stages of Corigliano’s vast career, beginning with his pastoral Gazebo Dances. Corigliano penned the song cycle One Sweet Morning in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the events of 9/11, borrowing text from four poems of varying intensity and ultimately ending with, as he explains, “the dream of a world without war – an impossible dream, perhaps, but certainly one worth dreaming.” The tender words of these poems are performed here by the highly sought-after mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke. Corigliano’s most recent work is Triathlon, written for guest saxophonist Timothy McAllister, who returns to the Chautauqua stage after dazzling Festival audiences in 2022. Triathlon demonstrates McAllister’s musical athleticism in three dynamic movements which feature in turn soprano, alto, and baritone saxophone.

$18 – $75

Joshua Bell + Debussy’s La Mer

Chautauqua Auditorium 900 Baseline Road, Boulder, CO

In the first evening of a two-part preview performance, 2023 Artist-in-Residence Joshua Bell performs selections from Elements, an unparalleled work for violin and orchestra in five movements, each written by a different acclaimed composer. In this concert, Bell performs “Fire” (composed by Jake Heggie); “Water” (Edgar Meyer); and “Ether” (Jessie Montgomery). The program closes with a beloved favorite by Debussy; the musical brushstrokes of La Mer create Impressionistic sketches of the sea.

(A co-commissioned project with five major orchestras, Elements will receive formal premieres around the world beginning in September 2023. Hear it at the Festival first!)

$18 – $80

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