Summer concert

The only American to have ever won the International Chopin Competition, “famous for great sonority, though he never seems to be working very hard to produce it” (Seattle Times), pianist Garrick Ohlsson returns to Sun Valley with a recital program to be announced.

The Music Festival’s 40th Anniversary Season concludes with two blockbusters of the classical repertoire. Garrick Ohlsson handles the Herculean piano role in Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. At times nearly thundering and demonic, at other times sweetly lyrical and romantic, many consider this Rachmaninoff’s finest work for piano and orchestra. It’s hard to imagine any piece following it, but Respighi’s Pines of Rome is up to the challenge. Taking us along a geographic tour of Rome, the piece concludes with a triumphant Roman legion marching home along the Appian Way. The Pavilion will tremble under the audience’s feet!

The Festival’s 41st season opens with an evening of Mozart. Venezuelan pianist Gabriela Martinez, described by The New York Times as “compelling…versatile, daring, and insightful,” performs Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20. It’s probably his most famous concerto, as it’s a delight end to end, and it accompanies the final scene and end credits of the 1984 film Amadeus. The program continues with Mozart’s equally popular “Haffner” Symphony. Full of exuberant life, it moves from a fiery and forceful opening, through an easygoing and peaceful middle, to a final movement that Mozart wrote should go “as fast as possible.” Alasdair Neale and the Festival Orchestra accept the challenge!