Bravo! Vail announces summer concert schedule
The Bravo! Vail Music Festival announced its 36th season lineup this week, with more than 80 concerts throughout the Vail Valley from June 22 to Aug. 3.
The six-week festival presents four internationally acclaimed resident orchestras — Academy of St Martin in the Fields, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic — alongside renowned chamber ensembles showcasing a rich schedule of inspiring guest artists, classical and pop programs, and new music.
“The world of classical music and musicians is evolving at an astonishing pace in thrilling ways,” artistic director Anne-marie Mcdermott said. “Bravo! Vail is incredibly proud to be evolving with it by providing an exquisite and welcoming platform to experience the incredible variety of creative voices we believe have the power to touch our audiences.”
Two world premieres take place at the festival, including “This Moment” by Anna Clyne with The Philadelphia Orchestra and a work by Nina Shekhar with the New York Philharmonic. Additionally, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra offers the Colorado and Bravo! Vail premiere of Angélica Negrón’s Arquitecta, featuring Colombian vocalist Lido Pimienta. Coupled with these three Symphonic Commissioning Project works, 16 works by living composers receive their Bravo! Vail premieres.
Bravo! Vail’s longstanding commitment to developing outstanding young artists is another hallmark of its programming. In 2023, six early-career competition winners will be featured, including international sensation Yunchan Lim and Anna Geniushene — Van Cliburn International Piano Competition’s Gold and Silver medalists respectively — and Van Cliburn Finalists Ilya Shmukler and Jonathan Mak; Bruce Liu, 2021 winner of the International Chopin Piano Competition; and Illia Ovcharenko, winner of the 2022 Honens International Piano Competition. Mak and Ovcharenko have also been selected as Bravo! Vail’s 2023 Piano Fellows.
Event details and artists are subject to change. Visit Bravovail.org for complete season information and updates. The schedule:
Orchestral Series at Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater
(shows start at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted)
Academy of St Martin in the Fields (June 22-25)
Thursday, June 22: Academy of St Martin in the Fields in a program featuring Anne-marie Mcdermott in Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 2.
Saturday, June 24: Mozart & Bach with Joshua Bell — ASMF music director and violinist Joshua Bell joins the ensemble in a selection of Mozart & Bach.
Sunday, June 25: Joshua Bell performs Paganini’s virtuosic First Violin Concerto, alongside ASMF.
Dallas Symphony Orchestra (June 30July 5)
Friday, June 30: Russian-israeli violinist Maxim Vengerov performs Brahm’s Brahms’ Symphony No. 3.
Saturday, July 1: Paul Simon Songbook with DSO.
Sunday, July 2: Luisi leads the DSO in the summer’s first Symphonic Commissioning Project premiere: Angélica Negrón’s Arquitecta featuring Colombian vocalist Lido Pimienta.
Tuesday, July 4 at 2 p.m.: Tyzik Conducts Patriotic Concert — In the return of an audience favorite, Jeff Tyzik conducts the DSO in a program celebrating Independence Day.
Wednesday, July 5: Tyzik and the DSO celebrate the music of John Williams.
The Philadelphia Orchestra (July 7-14)
Friday, July 7: The Philadelphia Orchestra opens its residency with an allbeethoven program.
Saturday, July 8: Denève Conducts Stravinsky & Ravel.
Sunday, July 9: Denève leads the orchestra in a celebratory evening featuring waltzes from around the world.
Wednesday, July 12: Music and artistic director Yannick Nézet-séguin conducts Tchaikovsky with Hilary Hahn.
Thursday, July 13: Winner of the 2021 International Chopin Piano Competition, Bruce Liu performs Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2.
Friday, July 14: Mozart’s Requiem — Nézet-séguin leads Anna Clyne’s This Moment paired with Mozart’s emotionally stirring Requiem, featuring Bravo! Vail Festival Chorus, Colorado Symphony Chorus.
New York Philharmonic (July 19-26)
Wednesday, July 19: Chick Corea’s Trombone Concerto.
Friday, July 21: New York Philharmonic performs Sibelius.
Saturday, July 22 at 7:30 p.m.: “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” in Concert with the Philharmonic.
Sunday, July 23: Music Director Jaap van Zweden leads Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 and Rossini’s William Tell Overture.
Tuesday, July 25: Van Zweden conducts the Philharmonic in Bruckner’s expansive Symphony No. 7.
Wednesday, July 26: Marin Alsop conducts Rachmaninoff with Yunchan Lim.
Chamber Music Series at the Vilar Performing Arts Center
(shows start at 7 p.m. unless otherwise stated)
Tuesday, June 27: Dover Quartet — The Dover Quartet with works by Haydn, Schubert, and George Walker.
Tuesday, July 11: Dalí Quartet & Ricardo Morales — The Dalí Quartet performs works by Latin American and classical composers in a program featuring The Philadelphia Orchestra’s Principal Clarinet Ricardo Morales.
Sunday, July 16: Seven Chances, a Buster Keaton silent film — Members of the Dalí Quartet, along with flutist Tara Helen O’connor, Philadelphia Orchestra Assistant Principal Bass Joseph Conyers, and pianist Stephen Prutsman perform Prutsman’s musical score to Seven Chances, a silent film by Buster Keaton, as it is projected on the big screen.
Monday, July 24: Mcdermott & Bavouzet — Internationally acclaimed pianists Jean-efflam Bavouzet and Anne-marie Mcdermott perform a recital of works for two pianos.
Immersive Experiences at Donovan Pavilion
(shows start at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted)
Monday, July 17: Prokofiev Piano Sonatas I — Mcdermott and Shmukler open Immersive Experiences.
Tuesday, July 18: Prokofiev Piano Sonatas II — Mcdermott and Geniushene, complete the cycle of Prokofiev’s Piano Sonatas.
Classically Uncorked at Donovan Pavilion
(shows start at 7:30 p.m. unless otherwise stated)
Tuesday, Aug. 1: Classically Uncorked I — Sandbox Percussion with works by Amy Beth Kirsten, David Crowell, Juri Seo, Viet Cuong, and Sandbox founder Victor Caccese.
Wednesday, Aug. 2: Classically Uncorked II — Andy Akiho’s groundbreaking Seven Pillars is a genre-defying audio collaboration for percussion quartet, performed by Sandbox Percussion.
Thursday, Aug. 3: Classically Uncorked III — Sandbox Percussion with John Cage’s Third Construction; George Crumb’s American Songbook III, Unto the Hills; and a selection of songs from Charles Ives, featuring the American soprano Susanna Phillips and Anne-marie Mcdermott.
The Linda & Mitch Hart Soirée series
(various private locations, shows start at 6 p.m.)
These four soirées are one-of-a-kind social and musical experiences hosted at magnificent private residences. Each evening begins with a cocktail hour followed by a performance by some of the world’s most extraordinary musicians with an intimate post-concert dinner. The 2023 series includes concerts by Joshua Bell, Maxim Vengerov, Anne-marie Mcdermott, and members of both the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and The Philadelphia Orchestra, as well as the Isidore String Quartet.
Friday, June 23: Soirée I — Joshua Bell and members of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, at the de Vink residence.
Thursday, June 29: Soirée II — Violinist Maxim Vengerov and Anne-marie Mcdermott, at the Mcgonagle residence.
Monday, July 10: Soirée III — Members of The Philadelphia Orchestra, at the Spector residence.
Thursday, July 27: Soirée IV — A performance by the Isidore String Quartet and New York Philharmonic Principal Viola Cynthia Phelps, location to be determined.
Education and engagement programs
Throughout the festival, Bravo! Vail offers more than 35 free concerts in the Vail Valley, featuring emerging artists and musicians from visiting orchestras and ensembles. All programs will be announced in early March.