Bravo! Vail announces 2022 summer schedule
The Bravo! Vail Music Festival announced its 35th Festival season with a celebration and concert at Donovan Pavilion this Thursday. Artistic director Anne Marie McDermott and executive director Caitlin Murray presented the schedule and shared highlights with audience members, before concluding the night with a piano concert performed by McDermott and Bravo! Vail piano fellow Zhu Wang.
Comprised of more than 60 concerts throughout the Vail Valley, the six-week festival showcases four internationally acclaimed resident orchestras — The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic — alongside renowned chamber ensembles and new and familiar voices in composition and artistry.
Package tickets are available online now, and single tickets will go on sale on March 15.
World premiere of newly commissioned works
Bravo! Vail’s 35th season elevates the Festival’s commitment to supporting living composers and their work through the launch of the New Works Symphonic Commissioning Project (Symphonic Commissioning Project). As part of this bold initiative, Bravo! Vail will commission three new works each year for five years, engaging a wide representation of compositional voices.
“It is our responsibility, as probably the most important classical music summer festival in this country, to be bringing new works into the chamber music cannon and into the orchestral cannon,” McDermott said. “It’s really quite an explosive time in classical music with young composers from all over the world. Indian composers, Afghan composers, Black composers, female composers — it is such a new chapter in this area, and Bravo! really wanted to wrap its arms around it and embrace it.”
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The 2022 Symphonic Commissioning Project includes world premieres of works by Chris Rogerson, Katherine Balch and Carlos Simon, performed by The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra and New York Philharmonic, respectively. The Rogerson piece is a piano concerto commissioned in honor of McDermott’s 10th anniversary as artistic director. She will perform the celebratory piece with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra on June 25.
In addition to these new symphonic works, eight additional pieces by living composers will have their Bravo! Vail premieres this season. A number of the commissioned composers will be on-site to engage with audiences and participate in educational activities.
Four Orchestra Residencies
Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra: June 23-26
After stepping in last year to fill the spot of UK-based orchestra Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, which was denied visas during the pandemic, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra is returning to Bravo! for its second season.
“They were superstars last year on three weeks notice,” McDermott said. “We had these exhilarating discussions with their artistic leadership, and they were so honored and excited to come back.”
In addition to premiering Rogerson’s piano concerto, Saint Paul will give the Bravo! Vail premiere of Xavier Foley’s “For Justice and Peace”, as well as a new orchestral arrangement of Bach’s Goldberg Variations by Principal Horn James Ferree.
• Thursday, June 23: Beethoven by The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
• Saturday, June 25: Bach & Rogerson by McDermott
• Sunday, June 26: Copland’s Appalachian Spring
Dallas Symphony Orchestra: June 29-July 4
Music Director Fabio Luisi returns for his second year at Bravo! Vail, leading two extraordinary programs featuring Beethoven’s choral masterwork, Symphony No. 9, Choral; a world premiere of Katherine Balch’s music for young water that danced beneath my feet; and Berlioz’s vividly imaginative Symphonie Fantastique.
Principal Pops Conductor Jeff Tyzik continues his popular music arrangements, which have become a Bravo! Vail favorite over the years. This summer, Tyzik’s programs include “Revolution: The Music of the Beatles” followed by a “Kings of Soul” concert and concluding with the annual Patriotic Concert on July 4.
• Wednesday, June 29: Revolution: The Music of The Beatles
• Thursday, June 30: Symphonie Fantastique Conducted by Luisi
• Friday, July 1: Kings of Soul
• Saturday, July 2: Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony
• Monday, July 4: Patriotic Concert
The Philadelphia Orchestra: July 8-16
One of the world’s most innovative orchestras, The Philadelphia Orchestra, joins Bravo! Vail for six performances this summer, including three under the direction of Principal Guest Conductor Nathalie Stutzmann and two led by Saint Louis Symphony Music Director and former Philadelphia Orchestra Principal Guest Conductor Stéphane Denève.
Highlights include the Bravo! Vail premiere of Stacy Garrop’s Penelope Waits; Richard Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben; Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 3; Schubert’s Symphony No. 9, The Great; and solo guest appearances by Haochen Zhang, Daniel Lozakovich, Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider, Kirill Gerstein and the Orchestra’s own Ricardo Morales and Choong-Jin Chang.
Adding a whimsical flair to this year’s residency, the Orchestra will captivate audiences of all ages in Warner Bros. Presents Bugs Bunny at the Symphony, performing Looney Tunes scores live with favorite cartoon characters projected on the big screen.
• Friday, July 8: A Hero’s Life with Denève
• Saturday, July 9: Rachmaninoff’s Third Symphony
• Sunday, July 10: Warner Bros. Presents Bugs Bunny at the Symphony
• Thursday, July 14: Beethoven & Schubert with Stutzmann
• Friday, July 15: Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony
• Saturday, July 16: Brahms’s Fourth Conducted by Stutzmann
New York Philharmonic: July 20-27
The iconic New York Philharmonic closes Bravo! Vail’s 2022 Orchestra Series with six powerful performances led by Music Director Jaap van Zweden and Maestro Bramwell Tovey.
Honoring its long and treasured relationship with Gustav Mahler, the Philharmonic presents a celebration of the composer’s life, work and inspiration through van Zweden-led performances of Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 and Symphony No. 2 “Resurrection,” with corresponding educational activities. As music director of the Philharmonic from 1909-11, Mahler led the U.S. premiere of his Symphony No. 1 with the orchestra in 1909.
“To hear Mahler at the Ford Amphitheater — with the squirrels and the birds and the aspen trees and the occasional thunderstorm — this is not like hearing Mahler inside a concert hall,” McDermott said. “This is such a gift, to hear Mahler in the outdoors, where he drew such tremendous inspiration.”
Additional highlights include the world premiere of a work by Carlos Simon as part of the Symphonic Commissioning Project; the Bravo! Vail premiere of Nina Shekhar’s Lumina; Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra; a Sondheim Celebration; and guest appearances by Seong-Jin Cho, Bomsori Kim, Conrad Tao, Joélle Harvey and Zlatomir Fung.
• Wednesday, July 20: Beethoven & Mahler Conducted by Van Zweden
• Friday, July 22: A World Premiere with the New York Philharmonic
• Saturday, July 23: Tao Plays Mozart
• Sunday, July 24: Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony
• Tuesday, July 26: Tovey Conducts Tchaikovsky
• Wednesday, July 27: A Sondheim Celebration
Chamber Music Series at the Vilar Performing Arts Center
Bravo! Vail’s Chamber Music Series returns to the Vilar Performing Arts Center in Beaver Creek for four intimate performances by internationally celebrated chamber musicians and ensembles.
The programs feature recitals by Bravo! Vail Artists in Residence Hélène Grimaud and Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider; the return of Bravo! Vail’s 2021 Chamber Musicians in Residence, the Verona Quartet; and the Danish String Quartet, Musical America’s 2020 Ensemble of the Year. Anne-Marie McDermott joins Szeps-Znaider and the Verona Quartet on their programs.
Immersive Experiences Series at Donovan Pavilion
Bravo! Vail’s Immersive Experiences Series studies a specific theme or body of work in depth through performances, lectures and other avenues of exploration.
The 2022 Series, entitled “A Love Story in Song”, examines the intense, intimate relationships between composers Robert Schumann, Clara Schumann and Johannes Brahms, and the impact these connections had on their lives and work, with a special emphasis on their art songs (Lieder).
“This is one of classical music’s greatest soap operas,” McDermott said. “So we decided, let’s take this opportunity of bringing our audience on a journey, over two nights, into this great love story, and really tell it through song.”
The two programs are curated and performed by tenor Nicholas Phan, soprano Susanna Phillips, pianist Myra Huang and pianist Anne-Marie McDermott, with Robert Schumann’s beloved song cycles Frauenliebe und Leben (A Woman’s Life and Love) and Dichterliebe (A Poet’s Love) serving as anchors for the programs.
•Monday, July 18: The Art of Song, Part 1
•Tuesday, July 19: The Art of Song, Part 2
Free education and engagement programs
Throughout the festival, Bravo! Vail offers more than 35 free concerts in the Vail Valley community, featuring emerging artists and musicians from visiting orchestras and ensembles.
At the heart of Bravo! Vail’s mission to promote a lifelong appreciation of the arts. These accessible programs break down economic and geographical barriers, ensuring everyone in the community can enjoy high-quality classical music and educational opportunities in their own towns.
This summer, Bravo! will offer eight free community chamber concerts at the Beaver Creek Interfaith Chapel, three family concert programs, “Inside the Music” masterclasses and a number of community partnerships that will bring music to audiences outside the concert hall. Partners in 2022 include Vail Health, Roundup River Ranch, Walking Mountain Science Center, Golden Eagle Senior Center and Edwards Interfaith Chapel.
Bravo! is offering a summer intensive workshop for advanced students of the year-long Haciendo Música program, which provides students in grades 2-12 with weekly after-school violin or piano instruction. Bravo! Vail’s Summer Intensive camp provides students with four days of individual training and ensemble coaching, as well as exclusive access to orchestral partners, guest artists and other music development opportunities during the festival.
This year, Bravo! Vail is also collaborating with El Sistema Colorado and Aspen Music Festival and School for a Young Musicians Day during the Summer Intensive camp.
“We are so thrilled to be able to open our doors and welcome students from other programs, not just our own,” said Bravo!’s executive director Caitlin Murray. “These kids who are growing up have one of the greatest music festivals in the world in their backyard and we want to make it as accessible to them as possible.”
Additional events
Classically Uncorked Series at Donovan Pavilion
After a two-year hiatus, Bravo! Vail’s popular Classically Uncorked Series returns with three bold chamber music programs performed by Bravo! Vail’s Chamber Ensemble in Residence the Dover Quartet, joined by illustrious artists Davóne Tines, Edgar Meyer and Anne-Marie McDermott. Each adventurous program is expertly paired with handcrafted wine and gourmet food.
The Linda & Mitch Hart Soirée Series
Renowned musicians lead four evenings of chamber music at magnificent private residences throughout the community. Artist and program details will be announced at a later date.
Ticket Information
Package ticket sales are now open, and single ticket sales begin March 15. Please visit BravoVail.org for more information about purchasing tickets.
