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2025 Festival highlights include performances by pianist Hélène Grimaud, violinist Anne Akiko Meyers, and classical guitarist Xuefei Yang; the world premiere of a new saxophone concerto by Joan Tower; a multi-concert celebration of Ravel’s 150th birthday; and more, all with the help of the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra and some of the world’s most accomplished soloists.

 

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JFK: The Last Speech – World Premiere

Chautauqua Auditorium 900 Baseline Road, Boulder, CO, United States

“Our national strength matters,” said President John F. Kennedy, “but the spirit which informs and controls our strength matters just as much.” This line and others appear in the libretto of the world premiere symphony JFK: The Last Speech, inspired by the celebration of poet Robert Frost which would become President Kennedy’s final speech. Composer Adolphus Hailstork says of JFK: The Last Speech, “My writing will reflect the autumn season, the solemnity of the moment, and the unique oratorical gifts of Kennedy the president, and the profound literary gifts of Frost the poet.” This landmark program begins with two additional world premiere performances; be the first to experience new music by rising star Jordan Holloway and Pulitzer Prize-nominated CU Boulder Professor of Composition Carter Pann, each commissioned by the Festival.

JFK: The Last Speech is a project of members of the Amherst Class of 1964 through their non-profit Reunion ’64, Inc. They had the privilege of witnessing President Kennedy deliver his last major speech, October 26, 1963. The symphony joins two earlier projects, a book, and documentary of the same title.

$18 – $75

Brentano String Quartet

Chautauqua Auditorium 900 Baseline Road, Boulder, CO, United States

The 2023 Robert Mann Chamber Series continues with the “wonderful, selfless music-making” (The Times, London) of the Brentano String Quartet, Ensemble-in-Residence at the Yale School of Music. The program opens with Mozart’s intriguing “Hoffmeister” String Quartet, a chamber gem of character and complexity. Two touching memorial pieces by James MacMillan follow: his brief and delicate Memento and the miniature For Sonny, rife with pizzicato nursery rhymes and harmonies of shifting tones, composed to honor the memory of a friend’s grandson. It is fitting that Brentano ends their performance with one of the last and most profound pieces by Beethoven, since the Quartet takes its name from arts patron Antonie Brentano, believed to have been Beethoven’s mysterious “Immortal Beloved.”

$18 – $65

Michael Christie Conducts Tchaikovsky 4

Chautauqua Auditorium 900 Baseline Road, Boulder, CO, United States

“Fate, that fatal force” is the driving theme of Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony, with one of the most brilliant and virtuosic finales in all of music; Music Director Emeritus Michael Christie returns to conduct this mighty symphony. 2022 Sphinx Medal of Excellence recipient Michelle Cann performs Ravel’s glittering Piano Concerto in G as well as Florence Price’s Piano Concerto in One Movement; The Philadelphia Inquirer declared Cann’s recent performance “exquisite in both the Liszt-like technical sparkle and probing humanity of Price’s writing.”

$18 – $75

Michael Christie Conducts Tchaikovsky 4

Chautauqua Auditorium 900 Baseline Road, Boulder, CO, United States

“Fate, that fatal force” is the driving theme of Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony, with one of the most brilliant and virtuosic finales in all of music; Music Director Emeritus Michael Christie returns to conduct this mighty symphony. 2022 Sphinx Medal of Excellence recipient Michelle Cann performs Ravel’s glittering Piano Concerto in G as well as Florence Price’s Piano Concerto in One Movement; The Philadelphia Inquirer declared Cann’s recent performance “exquisite in both the Liszt-like technical sparkle and probing humanity of Price’s writing.”

$18 – $75

All Mozart: “Linz” & Violin Concerto No. 3

Chautauqua Auditorium 900 Baseline Road, Boulder, CO, United States

This concert was created with Mozart fans in mind! Guest conductor François López-Ferrer begins with the delightful overture to Mozart’s tongue-in-cheek opera Impresario, followed by his ornate and impressive Third Violin Concerto, performed here by the “fresh, different and exhilarating” (San Francisco Chronicle) violinist Grace Park. The orchestral arrangement of his solemn Adagio and Fugue follows intermission, and the concert culminates with Mozart’s inventive Symphony No. 36, the “Linz,” which he composed in only four days after a surprise request while visiting the Austrian town of the same name.

$18 – $75

Brahms, Britten & Poulenc

Chautauqua Auditorium 900 Baseline Road, Boulder, CO, United States

The Robert Mann Chamber Music Series continues by highlighting musicians from the Festival’s own ranks. Britten’s Phantasy Quartet begins with a march and proceeds with lively pastoral charm. Poulenc is a composer known for his aesthetic of irrepressible good humor; he called his jaunty but complex Sextet “an homage to the wind instruments I have loved from the moment I began composing.” Brahms’ sophisticated Second String Sextet is rich with nostalgia, but sweeps all sadness away in its warm, bright finale.

$18 – $65

Brahms 2 + Shostakovich

Chautauqua Auditorium 900 Baseline Road, Boulder, CO, United States

Despite the distant threat of rain – “the necessary shadow,” as the composer called it – Brahms’ Second Symphony is a sunny and idyllic work beloved for its rambunctious joy and its balance with that hint of cloud. Eun Sun Kim, a conductor of “assured technical command, subtlety and imagination” (New York Times), leads this program, which opens memorably with the “electro-acoustic soundworld” of Mason Bates’ Rhapsody of Steve Jobs. Gramophone calls Johannes Moser “one of the finest among the astonishing gallery of young virtuoso cellists,” and there is no finer showcase of Moser’s musical prowess than Shostakovich’s boisterous and demanding First Cello Concerto.

$18 – $75

Brahms 2 + Shostakovich

Chautauqua Auditorium 900 Baseline Road, Boulder, CO, United States

Despite the distant threat of rain – “the necessary shadow,” as the composer called it – Brahms’ Second Symphony is a sunny and idyllic work beloved for its rambunctious joy and its balance with that hint of cloud. Eun Sun Kim, a conductor of “assured technical command, subtlety and imagination” (New York Times), leads this program, which opens memorably with the “electro-acoustic soundworld” of Mason Bates’ Rhapsody of Steve Jobs. Gramophone calls Johannes Moser “one of the finest among the astonishing gallery of young virtuoso cellists,” and there is no finer showcase of Moser’s musical prowess than Shostakovich’s boisterous and demanding First Cello Concerto.

$18 – $75

Schumann’s Piano Concerto

Chautauqua Auditorium 900 Baseline Road, Boulder, CO, United States

Internationally renowned guest conductor Hannu Lintu joins the Festival for a program beginning with the “concerto for birds and orchestra” Cantus Arcticus by Lintu’s countryman, Finland’s Einojuhani Rautavaara. One of Schumann’s most enduring works is his Piano Concerto, which creates a thrilling collaboration, rather than a tension, between the piano and orchestra. "After bringing a soft touch to opening statement, Yun displayed a robust, muscular sound in the cadenza that complemented the tug-of-war that occurs between soloist and orchestra in this work," says Bachtrack of guest pianist Tony Siqi Yun. Rounding out the program is Haydn’s Symphony No. 96, one of his famed London symphonies, which earned its nickname “Miracle” when a chandelier fell during its premiere and — by a miracle! — killed no one.

$18 – $75

Beethoven, Debussy & Dvořák

Chautauqua Auditorium 900 Baseline Road, Boulder, CO, United States

The final concert of the 2023 Robert Mann Chamber Music Series highlights the Festival’s own musicians. Though it was composed on the early side of his career, Beethoven’s energetic String Trio in C Minor gives a decisive glimpse into the intensity of expression the composer would eventually be renowned for. In Debussy’s sparkling Danses — commissioned to showcase the rich capabilities of the harp — his first dance explores the ethereal (the “sacred”) and gradually becomes a swirling, earthly waltz (the “profane,” or secular). Dvořák composed his famous Second Piano Quintet during a happy period in his life; that contentment shines through in this treasured jewel of chamber repertoire.

$18 – $65

SOLD OUT: Joshua Bell + Debussy’s La Mer

Chautauqua Auditorium 900 Baseline Road, Boulder, CO, United States

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

SOLD OUT: Joshua Bell + Mahler 1

Chautauqua Auditorium 900 Baseline Road, Boulder, CO, United States

Music Director Peter Oundjian and the Festival are pulling out all the stops for an unforgettable season finale. In the second 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 “Air” (composed by Jennifer Higdon) and “Earth” (Kevin Puts). Oundjian continues his tradition of ending the Festival with a grand work by Mahler; in his First Symphony Mahler celebrates the pure taste of victory after a struggle, guiding listeners through daydreams and darkness before rewarding them with a heroic ending and as much blinding joy as the horns can muster.

(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

Alisa Weilerstein Plays Dvořák’s Cello Concerto

Chautauqua Auditorium 900 Baseline Road, Boulder, CO, United States

The 2024 Festival season opens with the much-anticipated return of Alisa Weilerstein, whose music “emerges with sunlit clarity” (The Guardian); here Weilerstein performs one of the most breathtaking works for cello. Later: Mendelssohn could not shake the “festive air” of Italy while composing his Fourth Symphony, which he called “ the happiest piece I have ever done.” The program begins with a brief and evocative Masquerade; composer Anna Clyne drew inspiration from promenade concerts held in London’s pleasure gardens and their “exotic street entertainers, dancers, fireworks,” and of course, masquerades.

$18 – $80

Family Concert: Green Eggs and Ham

Chautauqua Auditorium 900 Baseline Road, Boulder, CO, United States

Do you like Green Eggs and Ham? Musical storytellers Really Inventive Stuff return by popular demand, this time with their fully-staged adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ beloved children’s classic featuring Sam-I-Am. This engaging Family Concert also includes a musical twist on three of Aesop’s most familiar fables: “The Fox and the Crow,” “The Dog and His Reflection,” and “The Tortoise and the Hare.”

$10

Alisa Weilerstein Plays Dvořák’s Cello Concerto

Chautauqua Auditorium 900 Baseline Road, Boulder, CO, United States

The 2024 Festival season opens with the much-anticipated return of Alisa Weilerstein, whose music “emerges with sunlit clarity” (The Guardian); here Weilerstein performs one of the most breathtaking works for cello. Later: Mendelssohn could not shake the “festive air” of Italy while composing his Fourth Symphony, which he called “ the happiest piece I have ever done.” The program begins with a brief and evocative Masquerade; composer Anna Clyne drew inspiration from promenade concerts held in London’s pleasure gardens and their “exotic street entertainers, dancers, fireworks,” and of course, masquerades.

$18 – $80