It’s not often one gets to hear the world premiere of a new concerto, so mark your calendars for this concert helping celebrate the Music Festival’s 40th Anniversary! Back in 2021, the Festival commissioned “trailblazing” (Los Angeles Times) and Grammy-nominated composer Andy Akiho to write a cello concerto for Jeffrey Zeigler, the former cellist of the famed Kronos Quartet. Following the concerto, the celebration will continue with Handel’s Music for the Royal Fireworks, composed in 1749 to celebrate the end of the War of the Austrian Succession.

Don’t miss this evening of audience favorites! The celebratory program kicks off with John Williams’ iconic Olympic Fanfare, followed by Johann Strauss Jr.’s Blue Danube, recognizable from the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. Associate Conductor Stephanie Childress will then lead the orchestra through Wagner’s thrilling Ride of the Valkyries and Rossini’s William Tell overture. The blockbuster program concludes with Ravel’s stirring Boléro.

The Sun Valley Music Festival is thrilled to announce that Yo-Yo Ma will join Music Director Alasdair Neale and the Festival Orchestra for an unforgettable Gala concert in celebration of the Festival’s 40th Summer Season. The performance will be the Sun Valley debut of the celebrated cellist, who is one of the most acclaimed artists of our time and whose name epitomizes classical music. He will perform Antonín Dvořák’s Cello Concerto in B Minor. 

Knighted in 2022, Sir Stephen Hough is a composer and author in addition to being one of the world’s finest pianists. For this concert, he will perform two solo piano pieces (including one he wrote) before joining with Festival Musicians for Antonin Dvořák’s Piano Quintet No. 2. Dvořák fills his Quintet with Bohemian song and dance elements that he wrote himself in the traditional style. It’s a happy piece that was instantly popular and still is, and it’s easy to hear why: a variety of alternative motifs, ranging in emotional quality, but always returning to graceful and joyful melodies.