For several years, leaders of the Bravo Vail Valley Music Festival had tried to snare the fast-rising maestro Alan Gilbert as a guest conductor for the New York Philharmonic’s annual summer residency in the mountain community.
In 2007, they were thrilled to learn he would be able to fit Vail into his schedule in 2008, and that excitement only grew when the then-40-year-old conductor was subsequently appointed the orchestra’s next music director — his tenure to begin in 2009.
“We had no idea he was even being considered for the post,” Eugenia Zukerman, the festival’s artistic director, said via e-mail. “When he was named music director-designate a few months back, we were absolutely delighted.
“I think Maestro Gilbert is a superb choice, and we are thrilled that our Vail audiences will have the unique opportunity of hearing him with the philharmonic before he is officially their music director.”
Gilbert will lead the first two concerts of the philharmonic’s 2008 residency, with piano sensation Lang Lang as soloist on July 18 and cellist Heinrich Schiff joining the orchestra on July 19. (877-812-5700 or vail )
Here’s a look at 10 other names that will figure prominently in this summer’s constellation of classical music festivals:
Ludwig van Beethoven. Music director Michael Christie and the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra at Chautauqua in Boulder will take on the daunting if attention-grabbing challenge of presenting all nine of the celebrated composer’s symphonies during five concerts July 6-13. (303-440-7666 or colorado )
Measha Brueggergosman. In August, she was one of three singers spotlighted in a Gramophone magazine cover story titled “The New Sopranos.” The rising star will be the soloist June 16 in Barber’s “Knoxville: Summer of 1915” at the Colorado College Summer Music Festival in Colorado Springs and appear Aug. 17 at the Aspen Music Festival. (June 16, 866-464-2626 or and Aug. 17, 970-925-9042 or aspenmusic )
Philip Glass. The opening night, July 27, of the Vail International Dance Festival will feature one of the most accomplished composers of our time. Glass, alone and with cellist Wendy Sutter, will accompany two solo dance works and a duet, all set to his music. (888-920-2787 or )
Ricky Ian Gordon. A noted composer for the musical theater, Gordon’s opera, “The Grapes of Wrath” debuted in 2007 at the Minnesota Opera. Bravo commissioned him to create a 50-minute tale of love and loss, titled “Green Sneakers,” and will premiere the piece July 15. (877-812-5700 or )
Mark Grey. Bridging two cultural traditions, “Enemy Slayer: A Navajo Oratorio” combines Grey’s music with text by Navajo poet Laura Tohe. The work, commissioned by the Phoenix Symphony, will be performed July 24 and 25 at the Colorado Music Festival. (303-440-7666 or colorado )John Harbison. The Metropolitan Opera debuted this respected composer’s adaptation of “The Great Gatsby” in 1999 and revived it after some revisions in 2002. The Aspen Music Festival commissioned a suite from the work, which will receive its premiere June 22, with David Zinman leading the Aspen Festival Orchestra. (970-925-9042 or )
Jennifer Koh. This talented 30-year-old violinist makes two appearances in Colorado this summer, appearing June 27 with the Rochester (N.Y) Philharmonic at Bravo! and July 6 at the Colorado Music Festival. (June 27, 877-812-5700 or and July 6, 303-440-7666 or )
Kelley O’Connor. With her deep, haunting voice, this mezzo-soprano has sprung to national fame with arresting appearances as Federico García Lorca in Osvaldo Golijov’s “Ainadamar.” She returns to Colorado to serve as soloist for Peter Lieberson’s “Neruda Songs” July 18 at the Aspen Music Festival and Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 July 31 and Aug. 1 at the Colorado Music Festival. (July 18, 970-925-9042 or , July 31 and Aug. 1, 303-440-7666 or )
Arnold Schoenberg. This revolutionary composer’s “Gurre-Lieder,” which was begun and almost entirely completed in 1900, is a kind of bridge from the traditions of the 19th century to the often radical innovations of the 20th. The hybrid work, a kind of oratorio crossed with a symphony, culminates the Aspen Music Festival’s season on Aug. 17. (970-925-9042 or ).
Giuseppe Verdi. Verdi’s Requiem, among the most powerful of the thousands of compositions created in the funeral-mass form, stands as an all-time choral masterwork. Guillermo Figueroa, the new music director of Music in the Mountains in Durango, will lead a performance on July 27. (970-385-6820 or )
Kyle MacMillan: 303-954-1675 or kmacmillan@denverpost.com
