海角大神

There are specific times when I wish I had a teleporter/something that travels at the speed of light. A lot of the time these moments come along when I鈥檓 running late or when I鈥檓 feeling听别蝉辫别肠颈补濒濒测听lazy. But the majority of the time, it鈥檚 when I want to be in multiple places at once. Technically that would be impossible, but I would definitely get close. One of those times is definitely right around now鈥攕ummer music festival season.

听This year, the lineups for the standout festivals around the country (and world) are worthy of this said machine. From California to New York to Salzburg, conductors like Esa-Pekka Salonen, Lorin Maazel, and Alan Gilbert will lead ensembles such as the Vienna Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, and the New York Philharmonic. Music by HK Gruber, John Cage, Bruckner, Alban Berg, Peter Brook, and many, many others will fill the stages. The festivals that are available this year bring together these great performers and music seamlessly. Instead of jumping from venue to venue, atmosphere to atmosphere, steady streams of performances are what make these festivals some of the most exciting classical events of the year.

听听 The west half of the US is bursting with summer music festivals that, judging by the programs, all are worth visiting. The听听(June 25-August 5) at the Chautauqua Auditorium in Boulder is studded with classical stars, such as the soprano Kelley O鈥機onnor and violinists Henning Kraggerud and James Ehnes, as well as jazz icons like Marcus Roberts and Chris and Dave Brubeck.听, the jazz-classical hybrid composer, will have his 鈥淔estival Overture,鈥� commissioned by the CMF, premiered. Marcel Tyberg's (1893-1944) completion of Schubert鈥檚 鈥淯nfinished鈥� Symphony 67 years after听颈迟蝉听completion will be performed. The Brubecks will also hear their work, 鈥�Ansel Adams: America,鈥� the one movement symphonic tribute to the photographer, performed at the festival.

Also in Colorado is the听听(June 26-August 3)听in Vail Valley. Pianist Anne-Marie McDermott is the artistic director of the festival for the first time this year, and three resident orchestras are taking the stage: the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.听, the New York-ian composer/singer-songwriter (his piece 鈥溾�� is for sure worth a listen, as are many others) is the composer-in-residence. The festival is organized into ten different themes, some of them being 鈥�Beethoven: Architect of Humanity,鈥� 鈥淕olden Twilight: The Music of Mahler,鈥� and 鈥淏ig Music for Little Bands.鈥�

听Further west is the听听(June 9-12) in Ojai, California. Though the festival is short compared to others, it packs a lot into one weekend. The soprano Dawn Upshaw is the director of the festival for its 65^th 听season, and she鈥檚 brought along the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Peter Sellars, the percussion group red fish blue fish, and many other performers. Maria Schneider will perform works TBA with her orchestra, and her commissioned piece, 鈥淲inter Morning Walks,鈥� will be premiered by the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Upshaw, and conductor Richard Tognetti (the ACO and Tognetti will perform works by other composers throughout the weekend, including Crumb, Webern, Scelsi, Bach, and Tognetti himself). George Crumb鈥檚 鈥�,鈥� from his American Songbook IV, will be premiered as a staged work staged by Peter Sellars.

听The east half of the US is also going to be seeing some wonderful festivals this summer. The听听(July 5-August 14) is the first of two festivals at Lincoln Center (the second听 is the Mostly Mozart festival) and features theater, music, dance, opera, and visual art. Directed by Nigel Redden, the festival focuses on innovative programs and bringing unique works to viewers. This year, the premiere of Peter Brook鈥檚 direction of Mozart鈥檚 鈥淭he Magic Flute鈥� is at the front of the program. Brook has changed the story and moved around the music to create a modern, youthful version of the classic; because of this new version, the LCF performance is being called "." Another part of the festival that is sure to draw large audiences is the Cleveland Orchestra鈥檚 鈥�.鈥� The orchestra鈥檚 program will include symphonies by Bruckner.听 As conductor Franz Welser-M枚st 鈥渇reshly reimagines鈥� Bruckner鈥檚 music, he will be 鈥渋lluminating鈥� it with works by John Adams. The Royal Danish Orchestra will perform, as will Tom Z茅. Poul Ruders鈥檚 opera, 鈥�Selma Jezkov谩,鈥� based on Lars Von Trier鈥檚 film听Dancer in the Dark,听will also have its North American premiere.

The听听(July 2-August 23) will also be held in New York but will have a much less metropolitan feel than the LCF. 听鈥淐armen,鈥� 鈥淢edea,鈥� 鈥�Annie Get Your Gun,鈥� 鈥淎 Blizzard On Marblehead Neck,鈥� and 鈥淟ater the Same Evening鈥� will be performed throughout the two months at Glimmerglass鈥� Alice Busch Opera Theater. 鈥淎 Blizzard on Marblehead Neck鈥� was composed by Jeanine Tesori as her first operatic composition. The work will be premiered at Glimmerglass and is about an episode in the playwright Eugene O鈥橬eill鈥檚 life. 鈥淟ater the Same Evening,鈥� composed by John Musto, is a one-act opera that was inspired by five听听paintings. If you live, or are visiting, Illinois, you鈥檒l want to check out the听听(July 27-August 19) in Highland Park. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra鈥檚 summer residency is having its 75^th 听anniversary, and they鈥檙e bringing in James Conlon as the music director. He will conclude a Mahler Cycle with 鈥淒as klagende Lied鈥� and will also present Puccini鈥檚 鈥淭osca.鈥� Lang Lang and Andr茅 Watts will be featured in performances of Liszt, to commemorate his bicentennial, as well as works by Berlioz, Wagner, and Brahms. The CSO will perform Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, and the score to 鈥�The Lord of the Rings鈥�The Fellowship of the Ring.鈥� A commission from Nico Muhly for the听听and commissions from听will also be performed.

But the majority of concert goers don鈥檛 live in America. The lineup of festivals from Europe is equally astounding and worth looking at. The听听(August 19-September 7) in Austria is presented at the Grafenegg Castle and grounds. The听Tonk眉nstler听Orchestra will be the orchestra-in-residence, and听The Paris Orchestra, Vienna Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw, Pittsburgh Symphony (with Anne-Sophie Mutter, who was the NYPhil鈥檚 artist-in-residence this season), Israel Philharmonic, Seoul Philharmonic, and Philadelphia Orchestra (with Janine Jansen) will be the other featured ensembles with Rudolf Buchbinder as the artistic director.听听will be the festivals composer-in-residence, lead the three-day composer-conductor workshop 鈥淚nk Still Wet,鈥� and have his 鈥淣orthwind Pictures鈥� premiered.

Another Austrian festival, the听听(July 27-August 30), is characterized in Gramophone Magazine as 鈥渢he Big One鈥攖he festival to which most other European festivals aspire鈥︹�� The festival this year will include conductors Riccardo Muti, 海角大神 Thielemann, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Ingo Metzmacher, Pierre Boulez, Gustavo Dudamel, Daniel Barenboim, and Sir Simon Rattle (that鈥檚 pretty dang superstar). Verdi鈥檚 鈥淢acbeth,鈥� Strauss鈥檚 鈥淒ie Frau Ohne Schatten,鈥� Jan谩膷ek鈥檚 鈥淭he Makropulos Affair,鈥� Stravinsky's "Le Rossingnol," Tchaikovsky's "Iolanta," and Mozart鈥檚 鈥淭he Marriage of Figaro,鈥� 鈥�Don Giovanni,鈥� and 鈥淐osi fan tutte鈥� (the three operas in which Mozart collaborated with Lorenzo Da Ponte) will be the chosen works for the operatic section of the festival. The music program 鈥淭he Fifth Continent鈥� will include Nono鈥檚 鈥淧rometeo,鈥� Cage鈥檚 鈥淩yoanji,鈥� Salvatore Sciarrino鈥檚 鈥淢acbeth,鈥� and Feldman鈥檚 鈥淣either.鈥� Mahler symphonies and songs will also be performed. The resident Vienna Philharmonic will perform along with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic, and others.

And, of course, we can鈥檛 forget the (BBC)听听(July 16-September 11). Since the Proms, which is a collection of daily classical concerts (over 70) in London鈥檚 Royal Albert Hall, are so immense and jam-packed with countless performers and orchestras, it鈥檚 almost impossible to overview them鈥攄efinitely听听to see what interests you if you are able to attend. A few concerts that look exciting to me are Prom 5 (Messiaen, Dusapin, Beethoven), Prom 30 (Gabriel Prokofiev), Prom 34 (Bridge, Holt, Dupr茅, Saint-Sa毛ns), Prom 36 (Reich), Prom 43 (Copland, Bax, Barber, Bart贸k, Prokofiev), and Proms Saturday Matinee 4 (Tippett, Tavener, Gubaidulina)鈥攖hough, if the opportunity to attend every single one arose, I would take it in a second.

Elena blogs at .

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