Aspen – For many classical music fans, summer does not officially get underway until the first notes of the Aspen Music Festival.
As Colorado’s largest and most widely known classical music institution, the annual series is matched in size and scope only by the Tanglewood Music Festival near Lenox, Mass., the Boston Symphony’s summer home.
Aspen’s 56th season began last week with a trio of evening concerts that followed festival tradition – something taken very seriously here – and set the tone for the remaining eight weeks of events.
Headlining each of the three offerings were musicians with significant histories of festival appearances: Takács Quartet, 10 years; pianist Vladimir Feltsman, 12 years; and violinist Gil Shaham, at least two decades.
Although organizers make a point of introducing new faces each year, including violinist Julia Fischer and the Brentano String Quartet this summer, most guest artists are returnees familiar to regular attendees.
Asadour Santourian, artistic adviser and administrator, said the reason is simple.
“They’re family,” he said.
That answer might sound a bit glib, but there is a deep, undeniable camaraderie that exists among the students and performers. And it extends to the volunteers and audiences, some of whom have attended the festival for decades.
Not only have many of the soloists taught and performed in Aspen for years, a significant percentage of them, such as Shaham, studied here as well. Their lives have been intertwined with festival doings since they were teenagers.
The other obvious reason that organizers keep bringing back many of these artists is that they rank among the best in the field. A perfect example is the Boulder-based Takács Quartet, which, quite simply, is playing as well as any such ensemble in the world.
That was made unquestionably clear yet again Wednesday evening as the foursome got the the festival started on the right track with a dazzling sold-out concert in Harris Concert Hall.
The quartet combines unsurpassed technical sophistication with an appealing genuineness and undimmed enthusiasm for musicmaking. This was especially evident in its joyous rendition of Antonin Dvorák’s Piano Quintet in A Major, B. 155, Op. 81, with well-matched keyboardist Andreas Haefliger.
At the same time, the quartet conveyed the richness and complexity of Franz Joseph Haydn’s String Quartet in C Major, Hob. III/77, Op. 76, No. 3, bringing the desired freedom and brio of a country dance to the opening movement.
Rounding out the program was Alexander Borodin’s frequently French-sounding String Quartet No. 2 in D Major. Anchored by the nuanced playing of the group’s terrific first violinist, Edward Dusinberre, the group offered a breathtaking take on the second-movement nocturne.
As rewarding as it was to hear the Takács at the peak of its powers, it was also sad at the same time: The group will perform just one more concert in its current, exquisitely calibrated configuration.
After 10 years with the group, Roger Tapping, the Takács’ excellent violist, is departing and will be replaced later this summer by Geraldine Walther, principal violist of the San Francisco Symphony.
“Of course, we have had a fulfilling and rewarding 10 years with Roger, and so it is bittersweet,” Dusinberre said. “But we are greatly looking forward to Geri’s arrival in mid-August.”
Another festival regular, conductor Nicholas McGegan, got the Aspen Chamber Symphony’s season started with a spirited program Friday evening in the Benedict Music Tent that included Johann Sebastian Bach’s well-known Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor, BWV 1043.
It featured the ebullient playing of Shaham, who might just be the world’s greatest violinist, and his wife, Adele Anthony, who proved a worthy partner.
The only disappointments in the opening days came during Thursday evening’s Feltsman showcase, including mezzo-soprano Susanne Mentzer’s matter-of-fact takes on 10 art songs by Johannes Brahms.
The festival runs through Aug. 21, with concerts daily.
Fine arts critic Kyle MacMillan can be reached at 303-820-1675 or kmacmillan@denverpost.com.
