Masterworks

The NRO's opening night concert sets the stage for our season’s theme, The Elements of Nature. In Smetana’s Vlatva: The Moldau, take a trip down the mighty river Vlata, meandering through woods and meadows, past palaces and castles ruins, and ultimately ending in the majestic Elbe. Kodály's "Variations on a Hungarian Folksong" is a vibrant orchestral work that skillfully weaves intricate variations around a traditional Hungarian melody, while Williams' The Lark Ascending beautifully captures the essence of a lark soaring through the English countryside. Finally, Hindemith's Symphonic Metamorphosis vividly portrays natural themes with with lush orchestration and dynamic shifts throughout.

Music Director, Michael Stern returns to Summit County for this rousing concert including Tchaikovsky’s joyfully exuberant piece "Little Russian.” Depicting the calm, tumult, and power of the sea, Jean Sibelius’ The Oceanides tells a colorful tale of the mythical creatures who reside in the ocean. Gustav Mahler’s “What the Flowers in the Meadow Tell Me” starts with a graceful minuet then turns stormy, showing Mahler’s (and our own) conflicted relationship with nature.

Our celebration of the Elements of Nature continues with Light, Fire and Water. Nielsen’s Helios Overture came about after a trip to the Acropolis in Greece, depicting the journey of the sun from dawn to dusk over the Aegean Sea. Haydn’s “Fire Symphony” capturesthe essence of flickering flames and the elemental energy associated with fire in its spirited orchestral passages. Debussy’s La Mer immerses listeners in the evocative ebb and flow of the sea through its lush orchestration, delicate motifs, and vivid tonal colors, seamlessly capturing the nuanced beauty and tumultuous nature of the ocean.

Maestro Pintscher comes to Summit County with an international program including Rachmaninoff's "The Isle of the Dead," a haunting and atmospheric orchestral tone poem that transports listeners to a mysterious and otherworldly realm, inspired by Arnold Böcklin's painting of the same name. Debussy's "Iberia" is a vibrant and impressionistic musical journey that intricately captures the essence of Spain through its colorful orchestration, rhythmic vitality, and evocative use of Spanish folk elements. This concert ends with Ravel's "Boléro," an enduring masterpiece characterized by its hypnotic repetition and gradual crescendo, building a relentless rhythmic intensity through a single, mesmerizing melodic theme.

The Opening Night of the Vail Dance Festival kicks off the season with a program featuring Dance Theatre of Harlem, Limón Dance Company, Artist-In-Residence Sara Mearns, Michelle Dorrance, and ballroom duo Denys Drozdyuk and Antonina Skobina. In the second half of the evening, guest stars from New York City Ballet and American Ballet Theatre will join Colorado Ballet in a special performance of George Balanchine’s landmark ballet Serenade, with Tchaikovsky’s score performed live by the National Repertory Orchestra conducted by Michael Stern.

Continuing with our theme for the season, the NRO performs Britten’s Four Sea Interludes, evocative orchestral vignettes that depict the changing moods and elements of the sea, conveying the atmospheric nuances of coastal life. Abel’s Global Warming reflects on the similarities between folk music of divergent, immigrant cultures, and celebrates these common threads. The program also includes one of the most popular and familiar string pieces, Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings, a luminous and emotionally resonant composition that expresses a blend of romantic lyricism and classical elegance.

The NRO is thrilled to welcome back podium Karina Canellakis, a musician of great repute and a powerful voice in today’s music scene. The third symphony by Brahms displays a lyricism and organic flow that evokes a sense of introspection, certainly influenced by the city’s proximity to the Rhine River. Wagner's "Forest Murmers" from "Siegfried" is a lush and enchanting orchestral interlude, depicting the magical atmosphere of a forest, with delicate textures and shimmering sounds that contribute to the opera's rich narrative and mythological themes. We return to the Rhine for Wagner’s “Dawn and Siegfrid’s Rhine Journey,” capturing the radiant beauty of dawn and the heroic fervor of the hero Siegfried at the climactic conclusion to Wagner’s Ring Cycle.

We are honored to invite Robert Moody back—there may be no better composer today that crosses lines between classical, pop and dance fusions than Mason Bates. Liquid Interface gives us water in every form and explores the intersection of nature and technology through evocative and dynamic musical textures. Sibelius’ monumental fifth symphony captures the essence of the Finnish landscape, featuring soaring melodies, rhythmic motifs, and a triumphant finale symbolizing the awakening of national identity.

Connesson's Flammenschrift captivates with its fiery and dynamic orchestration, offering a thrilling musical journey that ignites the senses and leaves audiences spellbound. We will also look to the heavens with Holst’s epic tone-poem, The Planets. Each planet represented in this sprawling masterpiece showcasing a diverse range of musical atmospheres and brings the Roman deities for whom they are named into vivid reality.

The Season Finale opens with a reminder of the power of our natural world in Frank’s Contested Eden. You can hear the intersection of indigenous traditions and Western classical music beauty, painting a picture of California throughout the seasons and the harsh reality of wildfires at the door. The season concludes with Strauss’ monumental Alpine Symphony, which vividly depicts a journey through the Bavarian Alps, capturing the breathtaking scenery, changing weather, and the grandeur of nature with rich orchestrations and thematic developments. Though it was inspired by a day in the Alps, you will certainly recognize our own Ten Mile Range in the music.