Final Sunday: Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5

SUPPLEMENT TO THE ASPEN TIMES MONDAY, AUGUST 16, 2021 VOL 31, NO. 8

Final Sunday: Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5

SHANNON ASHER

Festival Focus Writer

Audiences have come to expect grand things at the Aspen Music Festival and School’s (AMFS) Final Sunday concert, and this season’s program is sure to deliver. Two sublime artists with whom to enjoy one final Sunday afternoon are the two scheduled to perform this coming Sunday, August 22: AMFS Music Director Robert Spano and violinist Augustin Hadelich.

The concert caps a season like no other, during which the AMFS administration and artists went to great lengths to bring live, in-person music back into being in Aspen. AMFS President and CEO Alan Fletcher says, “I think—despite some necessary restrictions and a lot of testing—that we all primarily felt joy in being together, and making and listening to magnificent live music. The ingenuity, creativity, and dedication with which musicians coped with the pandemic and various degrees of lockdown and isolation have been moving and impressive. They have also reinforced repeatedly the fact that there is nothing like a truly social, acoustic experience. Returning to that has been a blessing for us all summer.”

Named Musical America’s 2018 “Instrumentalist of the Year,” Hadelich is consistently cited worldwide for his phenomenal technique, soulful approach, and insightful interpretations. The New York Times says, “Mr. Hadelich increasingly seems to be one of the outstanding violinists of his generation.”

Augustin Hadelich, performing with the Aspen Festival Orchestra in 2018.

GRITTANI CREATIVE

Under the baton of Spano, Hadelich opens the program with Bruch’s soaring Violin Concerto No. 1—the composer’s first major work, which put him on the musical map. AMFS Vice President for Artistic Administration and Artistic Advisor Asadour Santourian says, “This violin concerto is so magnificently conceived that the artist is compelled to follow the directions of this composer. It is rich with melody and orchestration. It is rich in that repartee between soloist and orchestra. It is a quintessential Romantic work. Every movement gives us multiple themes to hum and whistle all the way home after the concert.”

Bringing the season to a rousing close is Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 in E minor. For Fletcher, Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony brings up unforgettable memories of the last time the work was performed at the Festival. “It was probably the loudest thunder and hailstorm ever experienced in the Tent,” Fletcher says. “We decided to skip the slow movement and go straight to the noisy parts to see if they would be loud enough. They were not and finally, we had to just stop.”

He continues, “The slow movement of Tchaikovsky Fifth has one of the greatest horn solos in the whole repertoire, and our French horn player John Zirbel had prepared so hard. He said, ‘I am playing that horn solo,’ and continued to sit in the middle of the stage by himself and play it. The whole audience was still there, and it was just a great Aspen moment.”

No matter the weather, the Festival’s Final Sunday concert itself is always an Aspen moment, especially with such a sweepingly beautiful symphony as this. “What better way to end the season?” Santourian asks. “This is the big finish. The last movement will probably have people on their feet before the last two dozen measures are done. It’ll be a fantastic close to the summer. I’m really excited.”

Artist-faculty member and concertmaster Alexander Kerr celebrates with students after the Aspen Festival Orchestra concert on August 1.

CARLIN MA

FESTIVALFOCUS

YOUR WEEKLY CLASSICAL MUSIC GUIDE