Colorado Music Festival

Mahler 9
2025-08-03 18:30 - 20:00 (America/Denver) | Chautauqua Auditorium, 900 Baseline Road, Boulder, CO, 80302, United States
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.

Beethoven 9 + Michael Abels’ Amplify
2025-08-01 18:30 - 20:00, 2025-07-31 19:30 - 21:00
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.

Dover Quartet
2025-07-29 19:30 - 21:00
The Robert Mann Chamber Music Series is delighted to welcome “one of the greatest quartets of the last 100 years” (BBC Music Magazine), the Dover Quartet, Ensemble-in-Residence at the Curtis Institute of Music. Dover’s program includes Janacek’s emotionally charged “Kreutzer Sonata,” Schumann’s vigorous A-Minor Quartet, and finally Tchaikovsky’s noble First String Quartet.
Note: To create a more intimate experience, the number of seats available for chamber concerts is different than for our orchestral concerts. All price levels, including our lowest, are available in the main section of the auditorium.

Yang Plays Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez
2025-07-27 18:30 - 20:00
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.

Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3
2025-07-25 18:30 - 20:00, 2025-07-24 19:30 - 21:00
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.

Mozart & Dvořák
2025-07-22 19:30 - 21:00
The Robert Mann Chamber Music Series continues with a spotlight on the Festival’s own musicians. Mozart once considered his Quintet in E-Flat for Piano and Winds “the best work I have ever written;” its sense of spontaneity is beguiling. Dvořák’s Third String Quartet was one of his most successful compositions; like much of his most popular work, Op. 97 is flavored with melodies and rhythms he heard while visiting America, including various folk tunes and Native American drumming. The program begins with Nico Muhly’s minimalist Doublespeak, which was written as a gift for composer Philip Glass’ birthday and teems with stylistic rhythms and repetitions.
Note: To create a more intimate experience, the number of seats available for chamber concerts is different than for our orchestral concerts. All price levels, including our lowest, are available in the main section of the auditorium.

CPR Classical Night: Tchaikovsky & Beethoven
2025-07-20 18:30 - 20:00
Known for dominating international cello competitions, Hayoung Choi possesses a talent not to be missed; here Choi performs Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme, an elegant staple of cello repertoire. Guest conductor Maurice Cohn returns to the Chautauqua stage to lead Beethoven’s classically-styled First Symphony, the symphonic debut that established the composer as the luminary we know him as today. The program opens with Respighi’s five playful attempts to transcribe the sounds of doves, cuckoos, nightingales, and more.

Anne Akiko Meyers Plays Ravel
2025-07-18 18:30 - 20:00, 2025-07-17 19:30 - 21:00
There is something for everyone in these energetic concerts! Be among the first to hear a new showpiece for violin, The Pacific Has No Memory, composed by Eric Whitacre and commissioned by Latin Grammy-winning violinist Anne Akiko Meyers. Meyers, “the coolest thing to happen to the violin since Stradivari” (Denver Post), also performs Ravel’s fiery Tzigane. Music Director Peter Oundjian opens the program with Copland’s idyllic tribute to the American heartland, Appalachian Spring, and concludes with one of the most recognizable pieces of music ever written: the achingly romantic Fantasy-Overture to Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet.

Brentano String Quartet
2025-07-15 19:30 - 21:00
By popular demand, the Brentano String Quartet — Ensemble-in-Residence at the Yale School of Music — returns to the Robert Mann Chamber Music Series. The Times (London) raves, “Balance and intonation reach an almost unearthly level of perfection, yet there’s nothing inhuman about these American musicians.” Brentano’s Romantic program includes Webern’s abstract Five Movements for String Quartet, Brahms’ sunny Third String Quartet, and Schubert’s poetic A-Minor Quartet, which borrows a theme from his incidental music to the play Rosamunde.
Note: To create a more intimate experience, the number of seats available for chamber concerts is different than for our orchestral concerts. All price levels, including our lowest, are available in the main section of the auditorium.

An Evening of Mozart
2025-07-13 18:30 - 20:00
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.

Brahms 1 + Joan Tower’s World Premiere
2025-07-11 18:30 - 20:00, 2025-07-10 19:30
These can’t-miss concerts bring together two Festival favorites: lauded composer Joan Tower, whose concerto A New Day premiered at the Festival to rave reviews, and saxophonist Steven Banks, who stunned audiences in 2021. Now these powerhouses unite to give the world premiere of Tower’s saxophone concerto Love Returns under the baton of Music Director Peter Oundjian. After intermission, the Festival Orchestra performs Brahms’ brilliant First Symphony, which helped the composer step out of Beethoven’s shadow; critic Eduard Hanslick claimed that “…even the layman will immediately recognize it as one of the most distinctive and magnificent works of the symphonic literature.”

Schubert, Prokofiev & Brahms
2025-07-08 19:30 - 21:00
The 2025 Robert Mann Chamber Music Series opens with a program highlighting the Festival’s own musicians. Schubert left his String Trio in B Flat, D. 471 unfinished, but its single complete movement is a Classical jewel full of spontaneity. Prokofiev’s dizzying Quintet in G Minor was originally written as a ballet based on Parisian circus life and features aggressive and ever-changing rhythms. Brahms’ Third Piano Quartet is at times unsettled; an autobiographical work for Brahms, the music’s evolving moods reflect the composer’s own heartaches.
Note: To create a more intimate experience, the number of seats available for chamber concerts is different than for our orchestral concerts. All price levels, including our lowest, are available in the main section of the auditorium.

Hélène Grimaud Plays Brahms
2025-07-06 18:30 - 20:00, 2025-07-03 19:30 - 21:00
“[Hélène] 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.

SOLD OUT | Family Concert: Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Missing Maestro
2025-07-06 10:30 - 11:15
When the orchestra discovers their Maestro is nowhere to be found, they panic — until the world’s greatest detective agrees to take the case! All the musicians are suspects, which means Sherlock Holmes must investigate each of the instrument families — brass, woodwinds, strings, and percussion — to deduce who is behind this mystery. Will Sherlock be able to solve the Case of the Missing Maestro? Bring the whole family to find out! New! We are pleased to offer this concert for free. Please consider a donation to provide the joy of music to more children and families in our community.
There are no tickets available for this event and we do not keep a waitlist. Youth tickets are available for $10 for all other Festival concerts.

Mahler 4 & Ravel’s Shéhérazade
2024-08-04 18:30
Music Director Peter Oundjian continues his tradition of ending the season with glorious music by Mahler. The composer built his Fourth Symphony around his own song “The Heavenly Life,” which borrows text from a Bavarian folk poem. “The angelic voices gladden our senses,” the poem proclaims, “so that everything awakens for joy.” Mahler’s sunniest symphony invokes bells, harp, and woodwinds; in keeping with the lightness of the work, Mahler insisted the soprano perform “with childlike, cheerful expression;” soprano Karina Gauvin joins the Festival in this role. This final concert of the season includes Ravel’s colorful twist on the Shéhérazade tales — again featuring Gauvin’s “glowing, flexible tone” (Opera News) — and the overture to Strauss’ most famous and farcical operetta, Die Fledermaus.

Augustin Hadelich & Dvořák 7
2024-08-02 18:30, 2024-08-01 19:30
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.

Danish String Quartet
2024-07-30 19:30
“Yes, playing string quartets is our job, and yes it is hard work, but we mostly do it for pleasure, like we always did,” says the Danish String Quartet, a highly sought-after ensemble of energetic musicians who met each other at music camp as teenagers. The Quartet returns to the Robert Mann Chamber Music Series with a varied program including work by Haydn and Schumann.

Mozart: Duo Pianos, Haffner & A Little Night Music
2024-07-28 18:30
The Washington Post declares that twin sister pianists Christina and Michelle Naughton “have to be heard to be believed”; the Festival is honored to welcome these audience favorites for an all-Mozart program. Following the charming serenade Eine kleine Nachtmusik (“A Little Night Music”), the Naughtons perform the Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra, written for Mozart to play with his beloved sister Nannerl. After intermission is Mozart’s Haffner Symphony, a staggering work of intensity and invention.

Awadagin Pratt + Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade
2024-07-26 18:30, 2024-07-25 19:30
Celebrated pianist Awadagin Pratt makes his Festival debut with music old and new, beginning with Bach’s nimble Keyboard Concerto in A major. Pratt then performs a piece he commissioned from lauded composer Jessie Montgomery; her Rounds is inspired by an epic poem by T.S. Eliot and the opposing forces that appear in nature — “action and reaction, dark and light, stagnant and swift.” In Eastern folklore, the princess Scheherazade told the cruel Sultan 1,001 stories in order to save her own life; Rimsky-Korsakov borrows Scheherazade’s tales of royalty, festivals, sea voyages, and more in his richly orchestrated fantasy.

Haydn, Debussy & Mendelssohn
2024-07-23 19:30
The Robert Mann Chamber Music Series continues with a spotlight on the Festival’s own musicians. Haydn’s String Quartets achieved a new range of expression for secular music; his String Quartet C major, Op. 20, No. 2 is a diamond from start to finish. Debussy, a master of impressionism and fantasy, creates a quintessential dreamscape in his Sonata for Flute, Harp, and Viola. Instead of treating his string octet as two individual quartets, Mendelssohn’s innovative Octet finds all eight musicians working tightly together in, as the composer requested, “symphonic orchestral style.”

Gabriela Lena Frank’s World Premiere
2024-07-21 18:30
Be the first to experience a brand new concerto by Gabriela Lena Frank, heralded as one of the most significant women composers in history by the Washington Post. Kachkaniraqmi (“I Still Exist”) was commissioned by the Festival and will be performed by Boulder’s Grammy-winning Takács Quartet as ensemble-soloist alongside the Orchestra. After intermission, Joan Tower’s brilliant Concerto for Orchestra allows for great moments of individual virtuosity, but ultimately it is the entire Orchestra that shines. “I had imagined a long and large landscape that had a feeling of space and distance,” Tower says of her Concerto for Orchestra, in which the music “travels a long road.” This program celebrates three generations of women composers and opens with Florence Price’s Adoration, originally conceived for solo organ and performed here in its stunning arrangement for strings.

Olga Kern & Grieg’s Peer Gynt
2024-07-19 18:30, 2024-07-18 19:30
Welcome back, Festival favorite Olga Kern! Fresh off a celebration of Rachmaninoff’s 150th anniversary, Kern performs his Second Piano Concerto — a success from its inception, this memorable concerto’s themes that have been borrowed by countless films, Sinatra songs, and more. After intermission, Colorado Public Radio’s Kabin Thomas narrates the outlandish tale of Peer Gynt, a hopeless yarn-spinner who lies and sneaks his way through many misadventures and ultimately learns his lesson. Audiences will immediately recognize Grieg’s music, including the unforgettable “In the Hall of the Mountain King” and “Morning Mood.” Guest conductor Gemma New leads this crowd-pleasing program, which opens with Vivian Fung’s inspirational Prayer.
