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Famous for inciting a riot at its 1913 premiere due to its cutting-edge compositional techniques, Stravinsky’s Rite represents “the mystery and great surge of creative power of Spring.” BBC Music Magazine has praised violinist Vadim Gluzman’s performance of Prokofiev’s acerbic Second Violin Concerto as “a thing of great beauty.” This exuberant program opens with a spirited Short Ride in a Fast Machine, of which composer John Adams asks, “You know how it is when someone asks you to ride in a terrific sports car, and then you wish you hadn’t?”

Famous for inciting a riot at its 1913 premiere due to its cutting-edge compositional techniques, Stravinsky’s Rite represents “the mystery and great surge of creative power of Spring.” BBC Music Magazine has praised violinist Vadim Gluzman’s performance of Prokofiev’s acerbic Second Violin Concerto as “a thing of great beauty.” This exuberant program opens with a spirited Short Ride in a Fast Machine, of which composer John Adams asks, “You know how it is when someone asks you to ride in a terrific sports car, and then you wish you hadn’t?”

“Look, how brightly the universe shines! Splendour falls on everything around…” Schoenberg’s chromatic and stunningly beautiful Transfigured Night draws inspiration from a poem about a woman harboring a dark secret and the man who loves her enough to forgive her. 2024 marks Schoenberg’s 150th birthday, as well as Bruckner’s 200th; this program continues the anniversary celebrations with some of the best-loved of Bruckner’s music, his Fourth Symphony. The hunt is on in this “Romantic” Symphony, which begins with daybreak and puts the horn section to work during its lively “Hunting of the Hare.” Music Director Peter Oundjian calls this inspired concert “the most beautiful program of the summer.”

Augustin Hadelich, one of the greatest violinists of all time, returns to perform Tchaikovsky’s unparalleled Violin Concerto. The deeply patriotic Dvořák wished to use his music to recognize the struggle and oppression of his fellow Czechs; he wrote of this urgent Seventh Symphony, “What is in my mind is Love, God, and my Fatherland." Kevin Puts’ Two Mountain Scenes, composed “with the impressive backdrop of the Rocky Mountains in mind” and beginning with “the sonic illusion of a single trumpet reverberating across the valley,” opens this wondrous program.

Augustin Hadelich, one of the greatest violinists of all time, returns to perform Tchaikovsky’s unparalleled Violin Concerto. The deeply patriotic Dvořák wished to use his music to recognize the struggle and oppression of his fellow Czechs; he wrote of this urgent Seventh Symphony, “What is in my mind is Love, God, and my Fatherland." Kevin Puts’ Two Mountain Scenes, composed “with the impressive backdrop of the Rocky Mountains in mind” and beginning with “the sonic illusion of a single trumpet reverberating across the valley,” opens this wondrous program.

“ Grimaud doesn't sound like most pianists,” proclaims The New Yorker, also calling her “a reinventor of phrasings” and “taker of chances;” here she opens the 2025 Festival season with Brahms’ monumental First Piano Concerto. Surrounding Brahms’ intense work are familiar showstoppers: Ravel’s famously unrelenting Boléro, a dreamy suite from the ballet Daphnis et Chloé, and fantastic musical fireworks by Stravinsky.

“ Grimaud doesn't sound like most pianists,” proclaims The New Yorker, also calling her “a reinventor of phrasings” and “taker of chances;” here she opens the 2025 Festival season with Brahms’ monumental First Piano Concerto. Surrounding Brahms’ intense work are familiar showstoppers: Ravel’s famously unrelenting Boléro, a dreamy suite from the ballet Daphnis et Chloé, and fantastic musical fireworks by Stravinsky.

The Philadelphia Inquirer calls violinist Benjamin Beilman “poised and monstrously talented;” Beilman takes the stage with Mozart’s Fifth Violin Concerto, best known for its final movement’s “Turkish” style. Guest conductor Chloé Van Soeterstède leads the Festival through this all-Mozart program, which also includes the composer’s animated Symphony No. 34 as well as overtures to two of his most popular operas, Don Giovanni and The Marriage of Figaro.

Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto finds the composer moving toward his own personal style, displaying what would become his hallmark drama, spirit, and agitation; pianist Yeol Eum Son brings a “fearlessly fast articulation” (The Times) to the stage. Sofia Gubaidulina’s striking “Fairytale Poem” draws inspiration from a children’s story about creativity, and its music is fittingly full of color. Guest conductor Ryan Bancroft conducts this dynamic program, which also includes Shostakovich’s Tenth; written shortly after the Soviet dictator Stalin’s death, this symphony is rife with terror, passion, and oppression — until one final, hopeful ray of light.

Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto finds the composer moving toward his own personal style, displaying what would become his hallmark drama, spirit, and agitation; pianist Yeol Eum Son brings a “fearlessly fast articulation” (The Times) to the stage. Sofia Gubaidulina’s striking “Fairytale Poem” draws inspiration from a children’s story about creativity, and its music is fittingly full of color. Guest conductor Ryan Bancroft conducts this dynamic program, which also includes Shostakovich’s Tenth; written shortly after the Soviet dictator Stalin’s death, this symphony is rife with terror, passion, and oppression — until one final, hopeful ray of light.

Classical guitarist Xuefei Yang, known for her “feisty virtuosity, impeccable technique and sensitive musicianship” (New York Times), performs Rodrigo’s florid Concierto de Aranjuez; Rodrigo set out to evoke “the fragrance of magnolias, the singing of birds, and the gushing of fountains” of a royal estate in the Spanish city of Aranjuez. Kodály’s beguiling Dances of Galánta, which adapts sprightly Hungarian folk tunes, makes an exuberant dance partner for Rodrigo’s Concierto. After intermission, Schubert breaks free of classical conventions with his light and airy Fifth Symphony.

Possibly the single most treasured symphony ever written — especially its beloved “Ode to Joy” — Beethoven’s influential Ninth Symphony celebrates brotherhood, forgiveness, and the quest for peace. Music Director Peter Oundjian conducts this masterwork, which also welcomes to the Festival stage soprano Lauren Snouffer, mezzo-soprano Abigail Nims, tenor Issachah Savage, bass Benjamin Taylor, and St. Martin’s Chamber Choir. Composer Michael Abels’ Amplify, co-commissioned by the Festival, opens the program; on top of his Pulitzer Prize-winning compositions for opera, audiences may recognize Abels’ work from film scores such as Get Out, Us, Chevalier, and more.

Possibly the single most treasured symphony ever written — especially its beloved “Ode to Joy” — Beethoven’s influential Ninth Symphony celebrates brotherhood, forgiveness, and the quest for peace. Music Director Peter Oundjian conducts this masterwork, which also welcomes to the Festival stage soprano Lauren Snouffer, mezzo-soprano Abigail Nims, tenor Issachah Savage, bass Benjamin Taylor, and St. Martin’s Chamber Choir. Composer Michael Abels’ Amplify, co-commissioned by the Festival, opens the program; on top of his Pulitzer Prize-winning compositions for opera, audiences may recognize Abels’ work from film scores such as Get Out, Us, Chevalier, and more.

Music Director Peter Oundjian continues his tradition of closing the Festival season with a massive Mahler symphony. Composer Alban Berg once wrote of Mahler’s Ninth, “The first movement is the greatest Mahler ever composed. It is the expression of a tremendous love for this earth, the longing to live on it peacefully and to enjoy nature to its deepest depths – before death comes.” The myriad colors of life are present in the mighty Ninth, throughout which Mahler grieves, dances, basks in sunlight, and ultimately reflects on the enormity of it all.

The 2026 Festival opens with a once-in-a-generation violinist: Himari, a 14-year-old phenomenon who has already collected substantial awards and recognition, performs Sibelius’s Concerto for Violin, full of Nordic snow and moody skies. Just as Sibelius invokes his native Finland, Tchaikovsky’s dramatic Fifth Symphony is infused with Russian colors. Composer Carter Pann also unveils a brand new piece of music to celebrate the start of the Festival season.

The 2026 Festival opens with a once-in-a-generation violinist: Himari, a 14-year-old phenomenon who has already collected substantial awards and recognition, performs Sibelius’s Concerto for Violin, full of Nordic snow and moody skies. Just as Sibelius invokes his native Finland, Tchaikovsky’s dramatic Fifth Symphony is infused with Russian colors. Composer Carter Pann also unveils a brand new piece of music to celebrate the start of the Festival season.

“Pianist Yuja Wang is a dazzler,” claims Cleveland Classical. “She has a way of dressing, of taking the stage, and of bowing that bespeaks confidence and star quality.” In her Festival debut, Wang plays Barber’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Piano Concerto, a spectacular rainbow of sound. Music Director Peter Oundjian leads Bernstein’s vibrant Symphonic Dances from West Side Story, as well as short works from Prokofiev and Saint-Saëns.

“Pianist Yuja Wang is a dazzler,” claims Cleveland Classical. “She has a way of dressing, of taking the stage, and of bowing that bespeaks confidence and star quality.” In her Festival debut, Wang plays Barber’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Piano Concerto, a spectacular rainbow of sound. Music Director Peter Oundjian leads Bernstein’s vibrant Symphonic Dances from West Side Story, as well as short works from Prokofiev and Saint-Saëns.

Former Colorado Symphony Music Director Jeffrey Kahane returns to the Festival stage to lead all six of Bach’s celebrated Brandenburg Concertos with the help of “brilliantly stylish” trumpeter Caleb Hudson (New York Times). Possibly the most revered of all Baroque music, this complete set of Bach’s masterpieces should be on every music-lover’s bucket list.

Six-time Grammy-winning conductor and Music Director Laureate of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra Leonard Slatkin joins the Festival for a program celebrating the distinctive American sound. This spotlight on American composers begins with Aaron Copland’s Rodeo with its iconic “Hoedown,” followed by a chaconne from John Corigliano’s romantic score for the film The Red Violin. After the break: Ron Nelson’s paean to the South’s Savannah River, a haunting adagio by “unmistakably American-sounding” Cindy McTee (Washington Post), and finally George Gershwin’s jazzy symphonic poem An American in Paris.

Six-time Grammy-winning conductor and Music Director Laureate of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra Leonard Slatkin joins the Festival for a program celebrating the distinctive American sound. This spotlight on American composers begins with Aaron Copland’s Rodeo with its iconic “Hoedown,” followed by a chaconne from John Corigliano’s romantic score for the film The Red Violin. After the break: Ron Nelson’s paean to the South’s Savannah River, a haunting adagio by “unmistakably American-sounding” Cindy McTee (Washington Post), and finally George Gershwin’s jazzy symphonic poem An American in Paris.

Music Director Peter Oundjian begins this all-Mozart marvel with a mysterious serenade for winds, which broods before turning suddenly buoyant. At the keyboard for Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20 is Tony Siqi Yun, a nuanced performer who plays with “every note personalized” (Musical America). Closing this revel of Mozart’s genius is his Haffner Symphony, a staggering work of energy and invention.

Conductor Gemma New returns to lead a varied program, beginning with Prokofiev’s cheerful “Classical” Symphony, which he referred to as “a symphony as Mozart or Hayden might have written it.” Ricardo Morales joins the Festival Orchestra to perform Copland’s Clarinet Concerto — penned during a four-month tour of Latin America, the pulsing rhythms of Brazil are woven throughout Copland’s trademark jazz and lyricism. Morales continues with one of music’s finest showcases for the clarinet, Rossini’s challenging Introduction, Theme, and Variations. The program concludes with Ravel’s beloved Ma mère l’oye (Mother Goose) suite, where we meet Sleeping Beauty, Tom Thumb, Beauty and the Beast, and more.

Audiences raved about pianist Michelle Cann’s Festival debut in 2023; now Cann returns to Chautauqua to perform the world premiere of a piano concerto by esteemed composer Valerie Coleman. After intermission, Berlioz invites us on a psychedelic romp: his Symphonie Fantastique is a musical hallucination that evokes dark revels, an execution, and a visit to the underworld.

Audiences raved about pianist Michelle Cann’s Festival debut in 2023; now Cann returns to Chautauqua to perform the world premiere of a piano concerto by esteemed composer Valerie Coleman. After intermission, Berlioz invites us on a psychedelic romp: his Symphonie Fantastique is a musical hallucination that evokes dark revels, an execution, and a visit to the underworld.

Music Director Peter Oundjian continues his tradition of closing the Festival season with a massive Mahler symphony. Mahler referred to his sunny Third as “A Summer’s Midday Dream,” and was aware he was defying symphonic convention as he wrote it, saying, “But to write a symphony means, to me, to construct a world with all the tools of the available technique.” Grammy Award-winning mezzo soprano Fleur Barron and the Boulder Children’s Chorus join the Festival Orchestra to give this epic symphony its voice.