New is the thing in this fall’s classical-music season.
The Colorado Symphony begins its 2005-06 season with a new music director, Jeffrey Kahane, a celebrated pianist who is gaining increasing national and even international attention as a conductor as well.
In what is easily the most important classical post in the state, Kahane will be responsible not only for shaping and building the orchestra for years to come but also for serving as something of a regional champion and cheerleader for classical music in general.
Listeners will have many opportunities to hear Kahane in action, beginning Friday, when he joins acclaimed violinist Joshua Bell for three performances, and Oct. 14 and 15 when he offers an in-depth, commented look at Ludwig van Beethoven’s famous and still-radical Symphony No. 5.
At the same time, Opera Colorado will present its first production in the new $92 million Ellie Caulkins Opera House, the city’s first venue dedicated to the unique requirements of opera and ballet since the razing of the Tabor Grand Opera House in 1964.
The company will present eight performances Nov. 3-13 of one of the most beloved operas of all time, “Carmen.” Starring in the title role in five of the performances will be celebrated mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves, who presented a dazzling Denver concert in September 2002.
Here’s a look at other events in the fall classical season worth noting:
TAKÁCS QUARTET
Thursday|Lakewood Cultural Center
Sept. 18-19|Grusin Music Hall, Imig Music Building, University of Colorado at Boulder
To get a sense of this Boulder-based quartet’s growing fame, consider that its recent recording of Beethoven’s late string quartets has been selected as one of the six finalists for Gramophone magazine’s record-of-the-year award. These concerts will be among the group’s first with its new violist, Geraldine Walther.
I MUSICI, FESTIVAL ITALIANO
Sept. 20|Gates Concert Hall, Newman Center for the Performing Arts, University of Denver
Visiting chamber orchestras remain rarities in the Denver area, especially ones of this caliber. Based in Rome, this venerable, 15-member ensemble was formed in 1952 and has since recorded dozens of albums that have sold millions of copies worldwide.
DAVID SHIFRIN, CLARINETIST, WES KINNEY, CONDUCTOR, FORT COLLINS SYMPHONY
Oct. 1|Lincoln Center, Fort Collins
Any opportunity to hear Shifrin is always welcome because he is one of the premier exponents of the clarinet. This concert will be especially notable because it features the regional premiere of David Schiff’s “Canti di Davide,” which was composed in memory of conductor David Golub.
RICHARD GOODE, PIANIST, FRIENDS OF CHAMBER MUSIC
Oct. 5|Friends of Chamber Music, Gates Concert Hall, Newman Center, University of Denver
Concerts by this seasoned performer – one of the great pianists of our time – dependably sell out, and it’s not hard to understand why. He brings a blazing, all-or-nothing intensity to his playing that is paired with a refreshing sense of modesty, a profound awareness that he is there to serve the music and not himself.
GLOUCESTER CATHEDRAL CHOIR
Oct. 23|St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral
This venerable English choir, which was founded by King Henry VIII in 1545, consists today of 16 boys and 10 adults. In addition to 300 cathedral services each year, the group tours internationally and is heard regularly on British radio and television.
HILARY HAHN, VIOLINIST
Nov. 3|Macky Auditorium, University of Colorado at Boulder
Nov. 4|Fine Arts Concert Hall, University of Wyoming, Laramie
Nov. 6|Lincoln Center, Fort Collins
In 2001 Time magazine named Hahn the country’s top young classical musician, and she has lived up to the billing. Now an exclusive Deutsche Grammophon recording artist, she regularly performs with the world’s top orchestras.
EDGAR MEYER, BASSIST, BÉLA FLECK, BANJO
Nov. 10|CU Artist Series, Macky auditorium, University of Colorado at Boulder
Nov. 12|Newman Center Presents, Newman Center, University of Denver
Meyer, a 2002 recipient of a MacArthur Foundation “genius grant” and one of classical music’s most versatile artists, regularly teams with Fleck. Expect the program to veer in directions ranging from Johann Sebastian Bach to bluegrass.
TRIO MEDIAEVAL, “OWT OF YOUR SLEPE ARYSE AND WAKE,”
Dec. 1|Newman Center Presents, Newman Center, University of Denver
With Scandinavian songs, medieval carols and contemporary music, this vocal trio offers an unusual musical take on the holiday season. Founded in 1997 in Oslo, Norway, this tightly integrated group is striving to be a successor to the famed Anonymous 4.
EMERSON STRING QUARTET
Dec. 6-7|Friends of Chamber Music, Newman Center, University of Denver
Many critics regard this American ensemble as quite simply the finest string quartet active today. Its many recordings, including the complete set of quartets by Dmitri Shostakovich, have gained the group six Grammy Awards as well as numerous other significant honors.
LANG LANG, PIANIST, GRANT LLEWELLYN, GUEST CONDUCTOR
Dec. 9-11|Colorado Symphony, Boettcher Concert Hall
Lang Lang is fast joining the rarefied ranks of classical musicians such as cellist Yo-Yo Ma, whose popularity extends beyond the field into the general populace. This summer at the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival, he presented two sold-out performances with the New York Philharmonic.
