Sir Stephen Hough plays Grieg
2024-08-08 18:30 - 19:30 (America/Denver) | Sun Valley Pavilion, 300 Dollar Rd, Sun Valley, Idaho, 83353, United States
Pre-Concert Chat at 5:45 PM
Lawn Paver Bar

Gabriela Ortiz
Antrópolis
Edvard Grieg
Concerto in A Minor for Piano, Op. 16

Upbeat with Alasdair: Why Mahler’s Sixth Symphony Still Resonates Today
2024-08-09 12:00 - 13:00 | The Community Library, John A. and Carole O. Moran Lecture Hall, 415 Spruce Avenue, Ketchum, ID, 83340, United States
Admission is free. Space is limited; reservations are required to attend in person. Reservations open to the public on Thursday, July 25 at 9:00 AM (MT)
Click here to reserve
Viewers can enjoy the talk in person at the Community Library lecture hall (415 Spruce Ave, Ketchum) or broadcast live on the Festival’s website. Doors open at 11:30 a.m. (MT). The presentation begins at 12:00 p.m. (MT).
Reservations are required to attend in person and begin Thursday, July 25 at 9:00 a.m. (MT) on the Festival’s website, or you may contact the Festival office at info@svmusicfestival.org . Reserve your seats early, as space is currently limited in the Library’s lecture hall. Reservations are accepted in the order they are received; reservations made online are received faster. Capacity is unlimited for the online broadcast and reservations are not required to watch online. Only in-person attendees will be able to participate in the Q&A session that will take place towards the end of the presentation.

Afternoon Pavilion Concert
2024-08-09 15:00 - 17:00, 2025-08-08 15:00 - 17:00 | ID
Featuring intermediate and beginning students and ensembles
Prelude String Orchestra
Prelude Choir
Concert Choir
Piano duets and woodwind and brass ensembles
Philharmonia Orchestra

Evening Pavilion Concert
2024-08-09 18:30, 2025-08-08 18:30 | Sun Valley Pavilion, 300 Dollar Rd, Sun Valley, Idaho, 83353, United States
Featuring advanced students and ensembles
Chamber Singers
Advanced Chamber Orchestra
Sun Valley Youth Orchestra

Advanced Chamber Group
2024-08-10 11:00 - 12:00, 2025-08-09 11:00 - 12:00 | St. Thomas Episcopal Church, 201 Sun Valley Rd, Sun Valley, ID, 83353, United States
This concert features string and piano students from the Advanced Chamber Program performing in small ensembles.

Opera Workshop Performance
2024-08-10 14:00 - 2024-08-12 14:00, 2025-08-09 14:00 | Sun Valley Opera House, 1 Sun Valley Road, Sun Valley, Idaho, 83353
This concert features vocal and piano students from the Advanced Chamber Program performing staged opera scenes and piano ensembles.

Mahler's Symphony No. 6
2024-08-11 18:30 - 20:00 | Sun Valley Pavilion, 300 Dollar Rd, Sun Valley, Idaho, 83353, United States
Pre-Concert Chat at 5:45 PM
Lawn Paver Bar

Gustav Mahler
Symphony No.6 in A Minor, “Tragic”

Beethoven's Triple Concerto
2024-08-13 18:30 - 19:30 | Sun Valley Pavilion, 300 Dollar Rd, Sun Valley, Idaho, 83353, United States
Pre-Concert Chat at 5:45 PM
Lawn Paver Bar

Jessie Montgomery
Strum
Ludwig Van Beethoven
Concerto in C Major, Op. 56, “Triple”

James Ehnes plays Brahms
2024-08-14 18:30 - 19:30 | Sun Valley Pavilion, 300 Dollar Rd, Sun Valley, Idaho, 83353, United States
Pre-Concert Chat at 5:45 PM
Lawn Paver Bar

Quinn Mason
A Joyous Trilogy
Johannes Brahms
Concerto in D Major for Violin, Op. 77

Pops Night –INDIANA JONES AND THE RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK™ LIVE IN CONCERT
2024-08-17 18:30 - 19:30 | Sun Valley Pavilion, 300 Dollar Rd, Sun Valley, Idaho, 83353, United States
Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark™ Live in Concert
John Williams’s score performed live-to-film by the Sun Valley Music Festival Orchestra

Four Sea Interludes and the Organ Symphony
2024-08-19 18:30 - 19:30 | Sun Valley Pavilion, 300 Dollar Rd, Sun Valley, Idaho, 83353, United States
Pre-Concert Chat at 5:45 PM
Lawn Paver Bar

Benjamin Britten
Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes, Op. 33a

Camille Saint-Saëns
Symphony No.3 in C Minor, Op.78, “Organ Symphony”

Garrick Ohlsson in Recital
2024-08-20 18:30 - 19:30 | Sun Valley Pavilion, 300 Dollar Rd, Sun Valley, Idaho, 83353, United States
Pre-Concert Chat at 5:45 PM
Lawn Paver Bar

Frédéric Chopin
Nocturne in F Major, Op. 15, No. 1
Nocturne in B Major, Op. 9, No. 3
Barcarolle in F-sharp Major, Op. 60
Fantaisie in F Minor, Op. 49
Impromptu No. 1 in A-flat Major, Op. 29
Mazurka in C-sharp Minor, Op. 50, No. 3
Scherzo No. 2 in B-flat Minor, Op. 31

Season Finale: Rachmaninoff and the Pines of Rome
2024-08-22 18:30 - 19:30 | Sun Valley Pavilion, 300 Dollar Rd, Sun Valley, Idaho, 83353, United States
Pre-Concert Chat at 5:45 PM
Lawn Paver Bar

Sergei Rachmaninoff
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43

Ottorino Respighi
I pini di Roma (The Pines of Rome)

Upbeat with Alasdair: A Conversation with Pianist Joyce Yang
2025-03-05 17:30 - 18:30 | The Community Library, John A. and Carole O. Moran Lecture Hall, 415 Spruce Avenue, Ketchum, ID, 83340, United States
Join Music Director Alasdair Neale and pianist Joyce Yang in conversation as they prepare for the Music Festival’s upcoming Winter Season concerts at the Argyros. Ms. Yang rose to fame in 2005 as the youngest contestant and silver medalist at the 12th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. An accomplished chamber musician as well as soloist, she and Maestro Neale will discuss this Winter Season’s concert program among other artistic topics.
Admission is free. Space is limited; reservations are required to attend in person. Reservations open to the public on February 19, at 9:00 AM (MT)
Viewers can enjoy the talk in person at the Community Library lecture hall (415 Spruce Ave, Ketchum) or broadcast live on the Festival’s website. Doors open at 5:00 p.m. (MT). The presentation begins at 5:30 p.m. (MT).
Reservations are required to attend in person and begin Wednesday, February 19 at 9:00 a.m. (MT) on the Festival’s website, or you may contact the Festival office at info@svmusicfestival.org . Reserve your seats early, as space is currently limited in the Library’s lecture hall. Reservations are accepted in the order they are received; reservations made online are received faster. Capacity is unlimited for the online broadcast and reservations are not required to watch online. Only in-person attendees will be able to participate in the Q&A session that will take place towards the end of the presentation.

Joyce Yang in concert with Festival Musicians
2025-03-06 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-03-07 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-03-08 19:00 - 21:00 | Argyros Performing Arts Center, 120 Main St South, Ketchum, ID, 83340, United States
The Sun Valley Music Festival presents its seventh Winter Season at the Argyros Performing Arts Center, from March 6 to 8. The 2025 Winter Season features guest curator and pianist Joyce Yang. A Sun Valley favorite, Ms. Yang has performed several times with Music Director Alasdair Neale and the Festival Orchestra, including the Festival’s Summer Seasons in 2013 (Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1), 2016 (Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F Major), and 2021 (Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2). Ms. Yang rose to fame in 2005 as the youngest contestant and silver medalist at the 12th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. An accomplished chamber musician, she’ll join forces with Festival Orchestra musicians in a program featuring works by Poulenc, Dohnányi, and Schumann. Ms. Yang will also perform solo piano works by Rachmaninoff each evening.

SERGEI RACHMANINOFF
Preludes
Op. 32, No. 12 in G-sharp Minor: Allegro
Op. 32, No. 10 in B Minor: Lento
Op. 23, No. 4 in D Major: Andante cantabile
Op 32, No. 13 in D-flat Major: Grave
Joyce Yang, piano
FRANCIS POULENC
Sextet for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Horn, Bassoon, and Piano
Joyce Yang, piano
Andrea Kaplan, flute
Erik Behr, oboe
Jason Shafer, clarinet
Andrew Cuneo, bassoon
Catherine Turner, horn

INTERMISSION
ERNST VON DOHNÁNYI
Serenade in C Major for Violin, Viola, and Cello, Op. 10
Shawn Weil, violin
Adam Smyla, viola
Emileigh Vandiver, cello
ROBERT SCHUMANN
Quartet in E-flat Major for Piano, Violin, Viola, and Cello, Op. 47
Joyce Yang, piano
Jeremy Constant, violin
Marylène Gingras-Roy, viola
Amos Yang, cello

Please enjoy the Winter Season listening list compiled by Peter Henderson, Festival Principal Keyboard. Read and Listen here

Admission is free, but space is limited, and reservations are required.

Public reservations begin Wednesday, February 5 at 9:00 AM (Mountain Time).
Reserved seats are limited to two seats per household to any one performance in the series.
Festival donors at the Patron ($6,000) level and up may make concert reservations early, beginning Wednesday, Jan. 29 at 9:00 AM (Mountain Time), by calling the Festival office at 208.622.5607.

Attending winter performances

Concerts will take place at 7:00 PM from Thursday, March 6 through Saturday, March 8 at the Argyros Performing Arts Center in Ketchum.
Doors open 30 minutes before each performance.
Performance duration will be about two hours and includes one intermission.
Beer, wine, and non-alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase.

Click here for complete attendance details, including information about the performance venue and your concert experience. Parking details and helpful information about getting to the concerts can be found by clicking here.

Upbeat with Alasdair: Season Overview: You Won't Want to Miss a Note
2025-07-25 11:00 - 12:00 | ID
This summer, the Music Festival offers music spanning nearly 250 years, from 1784 (Joseph Haydn’s Symphony No. 80) to 2025 (Mason Bates’s Silicon Hymnal, completed earlier this year). While the combination of Time for Three and Mason Bates will likely draw a large (if not HUGE) crowd, there are some other new(ish) works this season that might not generate so much attention. Join Maestro Neale for a discussion highlighting several hidden gems in the coming programs – pieces you may not have heard, but that are more than worthy of your listening time.
Admission is free. Space is limited; reservations are required to attend in person. Reservations open to the public on Monday, July 14
Viewers can enjoy the talk in person at the Community Library lecture hall (415 Spruce Ave, Ketchum) or broadcast live on the Festival’s website. Doors open at 10:30 a.m. (MT). The presentation begins at 11:00 a.m. (MT).
Admission is free. Space is limited. Reservations are required to attend in person and begin Monday, July 14 at 9:00 a.m. through The Community Library’s calendar.

July 25 – https://thecommunitylibrary.libcal.com/event/13825521

Capacity is unlimited for the online broadcast and reservations are not required to watch online. Only in-person attendees will be able to participate in the Q&A session that will take place towards the end of the presentation.

Opening Night with Gabriela Martinez
2025-07-28 18:30 | Sun Valley Pavilion, 300 Dollar Rd, Sun Valley, Idaho, 83353, United States
Pre-Concert Chat at 5:45 PM
Lawn Paver Bar

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Piano Concerto No. 20 in D Minor, K. 466
Symphony No. 35 in D Major, K. 385, “Haffner”

For recommended listening, please click here.

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!

Haydn and Stamitz
2025-07-29 18:30 | Sun Valley Pavilion, 300 Dollar Rd, Sun Valley, Idaho, 83353, United States
Pre-Concert Chat at 5:45 PM
Lawn Paver Bar

Carl Stamitz

Viola Concerto in D Major, Op. 1
Joseph Haydyn
Symphony No. 80 in D Minor

For recommended listening, please click here.

Stephanie Childress leads the orchestra in Haydn’s Symphony No. 80. It’s not as famous as many of his other symphonies, but not for any good reason—it’s a lovely work that is stormy at times, light-hearted and even funny at others. Not “LOL” funny, but classical music funny—defying expectations with little twists of melody and form. Carl Stamitz probably wrote his viola concerto for himself, as he was a virtuoso violist. Festival Principal Viola Adam Smyla will tackle this bright, lively, and altogether enjoyable showcase for his instrument to open the concert.

Gabriela Martinez and Festival Musicians Play Brahms
2025-07-31 18:30 | Sun Valley Pavilion, 300 Dollar Rd, Sun Valley, Idaho, 83353, United States
Pre-Concert Chat at 5:45 PM
Lawn Paver Bar

Johannes Brahms

Piano Quartet No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 25

For recommended listening, please click here.

Pianist Gabriela Martinez joins with several Festival Orchestra musicians to perform Brahms’s Piano Quartet in G Minor. Clara Schumann played the piano part at this piece’s premiere in 1861, which was fortunate since it’s often described as “stupendously virtuosic.” The piece met with instant acclaim, lauded for both its innovative structure—which launches straight into a number of variations on the first theme—and its incredible finale, which was written “in the gypsy style,” according to Brahms’s own description. Ms. Martinez will open this concert with Caroline Shaw’s Chopin-inspired Gustave le Gray.

Beethoven 4 and Anna Clyne
2025-08-01 18:30 | Sun Valley Pavilion, 300 Dollar Rd, Sun Valley, Idaho, 83353, United States
Pre-Concert Chat at 5:45 PM
Lawn Paver Bar

Anna Clyne

Within Her Arms
Ludwig van Beethoven
Symphony No. 4 in B-Flat Major, Op. 60

For recommended listening, please click here.

In between two of the most famous classical works ever written (his third and fifth symphonies), Beethoven produced this gem of a composition. Light, airy, and approachable, it certainly warrants more love; Schumann called it “a slender Greek maiden between two huge Nordic giants.” Can a piece of music be mournful and elegiac, somber and grieving, while also exquisitely beautiful, even radiant, and full of life? Give a listen to Anna Clyne’s ode to her mother, Within Her Arms, and see what you think.

Advanced Chamber Music Interim Recital
2025-08-02 16:00 | Community School Theater, 1 Community School Drive, Sun Valley, ID, 83353, United States
Featuring select ensembles and solos

Advanced Chamber Music Pop-Up Performance
2025-08-02 17:00 - 18:00 | Ketchum Town Square, Ketchum, 83340, United States
Hear students from the Advanced Chamber Program in a special pop-up performance.

Time for Three Plays Mason Bates
2025-08-04 18:30 | Sun Valley Pavilion, 300 Dollar Rd, Sun Valley, Idaho, 83353, United States
Pre-Concert Chat at 5:45 PM
Lawn Paver Bar

Hector Berlioz

Roman Carnival Overture
Mason Bates
Silicon Hymnal (Co-commissioned by the Sun Valley Music Festival)

For recommended listening, please click here.

Sun Valley favorites Time for Three return to perform a new concerto written for them by Mason Bates. Titled Silicon Hymnal, Bates describes it as “an electro-acoustic book of songs.” The program opens with Berlioz’s Roman Carnival Overture, an exuberant piece full of dance themes inspired by the composer’s time in Italy and the best themes from his first opera.

Soloist Recital
2025-08-06 16:00 - 17:00 | Community School Theater, 1 Community School Drive, Sun Valley, ID, 83353, United States
Students from the one-week summer program for grades 2-12 who are selected by audition present previously prepared works showcasing their individual talents.

2025 Gala Concert: SIMPLY EXTRAORDINARY...Yuja Wang
2025-08-06 18:30 - 20:00 | Sun Valley Pavilion, 300 Dollar Rd, Sun Valley, Idaho, 83353, United States
Wednesday, August 6, the Sun Valley Music Festival announces that renowned pianist Yuja Wang will be the featured guest artist of its 2025 Gala Concert. Yuja Wang’s appearance at the Festival’s only fundraising concert will provide an unforgettable evening of music. One of today’s most acclaimed pianists, she will perform Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with Music Director Alasdair Neale and the world-class Sun Valley Music Festival Orchestra.

Upbeat with Alasdair: Celebrating Ravel – His Enduring Legacy
2025-08-07 11:00 - 12:00 | ID
The Music Festival celebrates the 150th anniversary of Maurice Ravel’s birth with a special concert on Sunday, August 10. While Ravel never embraced the label of “Impressionist,” he certainly became famous for music that evokes images through music. He was also a master orchestrator, crafting soundscapes of exquisite sensitivity and – to many listeners – instantly recognizable as his own. In this edition of Upbeat, Maestro Neale discusses Ravel’s enduring appeal and offers some listening hints for the upcoming concert.
Viewers can enjoy the talk in person at the Community Library lecture hall (415 Spruce Ave, Ketchum) or broadcast live on the Festival’s website. Doors open at 10:30 a.m. (MT). The presentation begins at 11:00 a.m. (MT).
Admission is free. Space is limited. Reservations are required to attend in person and are now available on The Community Library’s calendar.

August 7 : https://thecommunitylibrary.libcal.com/event/13825533

Capacity is unlimited for the online broadcast and reservations are not required to watch online. Only in-person attendees will be able to participate in the Q&A session that will take place towards the end of the presentation.

Small Ensemble Recital
2025-08-07 16:00 - 17:00 | Community School Theater, 1 Community School Drive, Sun Valley, ID, 83353, United States
Students from this summer’s programs for grades 2-12 share their work from the week in small ensembles.

Schumann, Beethoven, and Márquez
2025-08-07 18:30 | Sun Valley Pavilion, 300 Dollar Rd, Sun Valley, Idaho, 83353, United States
Pre-Concert Chat at 5:45 PM
Lawn Paver Bar

Arturo Márquez

Danzon No. 2
Ludwig van Beethoven
Romance No. 2 in F Major, Op. 50
Robert Schumann
Symphony No. 4 in D Minor, Op. 120

For recommended listening, please click here.

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Stephanie Childress leads Schumann’s powerful and dramatic Symphony No. 4, a great example of Romantic (and romantic) music. It’s full of emotion, ranging from darkly brooding and mysterious to tender and melancholic. Schumann’s form is intricate and innovative, with the four movements fused together and various themes reappearing throughout. Also in a romantic vein, Principal Second Violin Polina Sedukh performs Beethoven’s Romance No. 2 with the Festival Orchestra, her violin singing the lovely melody. The concert opens with Arturo Márquez’s Danzon No. 2, a rhythmic and hypnotic dance tune made famous by its appearance in Mozart in the Jungle.

An Evening of Ravel followed by Lawn Party
2025-08-10 18:30 | Sun Valley Pavilion, 300 Dollar Rd, Sun Valley, Idaho, 83353, United States
Pre-Concert Chat at 5:45 PM
Lawn Paver Bar

Maurice Ravel
Excerpts from Miroirs
Valses Nobles et sentimentales
Daphnis et Chloé, Suite No. 2

For recommended listening, please click here.

Here’s an all-Ravel program in honor of the great composer’s 150th birthday. The concert opens with two of Ravel’s Miroirs, pieces he dedicated to avant-garde artists who were also his friends. Next up: a set of seven waltzes and an epilogue under the title Valses nobles et sentimentales. Ravel acknowledged Schubert as his inspiration, but there’s no mistaking Ravel’s distinctive sound and elegant orchestration. The evening concludes with Stephanie Childress conducting Daphnis et Chloé Suite No. 2. Stravinsky called it “not only Ravel’s best work, but also one of the most beautiful products of all French music.” Sit back, relax, and let the arrival of dawn wash over you.

Gautier Capuçon Plays Elgar
2025-08-12 18:30 | Sun Valley Pavilion, 300 Dollar Rd, Sun Valley, Idaho, 83353, United States
Pre-Concert Chat at 5:45 PM
Lawn Paver Bar

Gabriella Smith
Tumblebird Contrails
Edward Elgar
Cello Concerto in E Minor, Op. 85

For recommended listening, please click here.

What do the movie Tár and the Netflix show Wednesday have in common? Key characters playing Elgar’s cello concerto! Hailed as Elgar’s final masterpiece, it’s a gorgeous but not particularly happy work (would Wednesday Addams play anything remotely happy?) influenced by the devastating impact of World War I on the composer’s psyche. Gautier Capuçon returns to Sun Valley to deliver this hauntingly beautiful music. Stephanie Childress opens the concert with Tumblebird Contrails, a piece the composer Gabriella Smith says was “inspired by a single moment sitting in the sand at the edge of the ocean, listening to the hallucinatory sounds of the Pacific, watching a pair of ravens playing in the wind.”

Brahms Symphony No. 4
2025-08-13 18:30 | Sun Valley Pavilion, 300 Dollar Rd, Sun Valley, Idaho, 83353, United States
Pre-Concert Chat at 5:45 PM
Lawn Paver Bar

Johannes Brahms
Symphony No. 4 in E Minor

For recommended listening, please click here.

Fans of Beethoven may bristle at the suggestion, but there’s a sizable contingent that views Brahms’s Fourth Symphony as the very embodiment of the symphonic ideal. Precisely constructed, it displays Brahms’s absolutely mastery of the form. Filled with beautiful tunes and waves of romantic emotion, it also remains steadfastly earnest, even austere. Brahms recognized this quality, writing from his mountain retreat near Vienna that his symphony “tastes of the climate here. The cherries don’t ripen in these parts; you wouldn’t eat them!” Pay particular attention to the finale, a masterful homage to one of Bach’s chaconnes—a stately dance with 32 variations over a repeating bass line. It’s brilliant.

Gautier Capuçon and Festival Musicians Play Schubert
2025-08-14 18:30 | Sun Valley Pavilion, 300 Dollar Rd, Sun Valley, Idaho, 83353, United States
Pre-Concert Chat at 5:45 PM
Lawn Paver Bar

Franz Schubert
String Quintet in C Major, Op. posth. 163

For recommended listening, please click here.

Written in the last year of his life, Schubert’s String Quintet is often considered his greatest (and was his last) chamber work. He chose to add a cello, rather than a viola, to the traditional string quartet, and the result is a wonderful exploration of the instrument’s capabilities. At times the second cello reinforces the bass line, at other times it soars into its highest range, and at one point the two cellos play a lovely duet. The great cellist Gautier Capuçon joins with several Festival Orchestra musicians to bring this magnificent piece to life.

Festival Orchestra Pops Night: Latin-Inspired Dance Music with Jacomo Bairos
2025-08-16 18:30 | Sun Valley Pavilion, 300 Dollar Rd, Sun Valley, Idaho, 83353, United States
Lawn Paver Bar

For recommended listening, please click here.

Conductor Jacomo Bairos returns to Sun Valley (he previously conducted The Villalobos Brothers in 2021) with a program inspired by Latin dance music. Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Miami’s Nu Deco Ensemble, Bairos is known for merging classical music with a wide range of styles, composers, and artists. For Pops Night, Bairos has assembled a group including Joachim Horsley (piano), Luca Alemanno (Bass), Yonathan “Morocho” Gavidia (percussion), and Murphy Aucamp (drums). Their program will feature jazzy takes on recognizable tunes as well as impossible-to-resist Latin dance songs that will have you tapping your feet or perhaps dancing in the aisles (and on the lawn!).

Olga Kern Plays Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2
2025-08-17 18:30 | Sun Valley Pavilion, 300 Dollar Rd, Sun Valley, Idaho, 83353, United States
Pre-Concert Chat at 5:45 PM
Lawn Paver Bar

Reena Esmail
Testament

Sergei Rachmaninoff
Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18

For recommended listening, please click here.

Home to some of the most popular and recognizable tunes in classical music, Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto was an instant success and remains one of the most-performed orchestra pieces today. It will be in good hands (apologies) with Olga Kern, who won first prize at the Rachmaninoff International Piano competition at age 17 and remains the only woman to win the Gold Medal at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in the last 50 years. The concert opens with Reena Esmail’s Testament, which features traditional Hindustani melodies and easily demonstrates why Esmail’s music is receiving so much play these days.

Olga Kern and Festival Musicians Play Beethoven
2025-08-18 18:30 | Sun Valley Pavilion, 300 Dollar Rd, Sun Valley, Idaho, 83353, United States
Pre-Concert Chat at 5:45 PM
Lawn Paver Bar

Sergei Rachmaninoff
Presto in E Minor from Six Moments Musicaux, Op. 16, No. 4
Charles Lysberg
Spinning Wheel
Moritz Moszkowski
Étincelles [Sparks] from Eight Characteristic Pieces, Op. 36, No. 6
Claude Debussy
Feux d’artifice (Fireworks] from Préludes
Alexander Scriabin
Andante in F-sharp Major from Eight Etudes, Op. 42, No. 4
Affannato [Breathless] in C-sharp Minor from Eight Etudes, Op. 42, No. 5
Sergei Prokofiev
Presto energico from Four Etudes, Op. 2, No. 4
Ludwig van Beethoven
Trio in D Major for Piano, Violin, and Cello, Op. 70, No. 1, “Ghost”

For recommended listening, please click here.

Olga Kern opens this program with a series of light, short, and speedy pieces for solo piano. Following, she joins with Festival musicians for Beethoven’s Piano Trio in D Major, which got the nickname “Ghost” because of its ominous and spooky middle movement. It’s eerie, mournful, and almost painfully slow. In contrast, the two movements that surround it are short, cheerful and light-hearted, making for an interesting spooky sandwich. George Bernard Shaw wrote of Beethoven that “he could write music whose beauty will last you all your life; he could take the driest sticks of themes and work them up so interestingly that you will find something new in them at the hundredth hearing.” Listen and enjoy the simple “sticks” of themes in the very beginning of both outer movements.

Season Finale: An Evening of Richard Strauss
2025-08-21 18:30 | Sun Valley Pavilion, 300 Dollar Rd, Sun Valley, Idaho, 83353, United States
Pre-Concert Chat at 5:45 PM
Lawn Paver Bar

Richard Strauss
Death and Transfiguration, Op. 24
Suite from Der Rosenkavalier”

For recommended listening, please click here.

The Summer Season concludes with two pieces from Richard Strauss: his tone poem Death and Transfiguration and the suite from his opera Der Rosenkavalier. Tone poems are compositions that relate to stories in the “real world,” such as a hike in the alps in Eine Alpensinfonie. This one explores mystery of death and what lies beyond. Strauss wrote: “It occurred to me to present in the form of a tone poem the dying hours of a man who had striven towards the highest idealistic aims, maybe indeed those of an artist.” Der Rosenkavalier gives us the finest music from Strauss’s happy, funny, and sentimental opera. Listen for the famous waltz towards the end – a beautiful but also funny bit because waltzes didn’t really exist during the time of the opera’s setting in Mozart’s Vienna. Critics of the day gave Strauss a hard time for that, but we get to enjoy it.

Upbeat with Alasdair– A Conversation with Violinist Benjamin Beilman
2026-03-18 17:30 - 18:30 | The Community Library, John A. and Carole O. Moran Lecture Hall, 415 Spruce Avenue, Ketchum, ID, 83340, United States
Join Music Director Alasdair Neale and guest curator and violinist Benjamin Beilman for a conversation as they prepare for the Music Festival’s upcoming Winter Season concerts at the Argyros. Praised for his passionate performances and distinctive tone — described by The New York Times as “muscular with a glint of violence” — Beilman is an accomplished chamber musician. He and Maestro Neale will discuss this Winter Season’s concert program along with other artistic topics.
On Wednesday, March 18, 2026, at 5:30 PM, the Music Festival will present “Upbeat with Alasdair” featuring Alasdair Neale and Benjamin Beilman in conversation. The event will be held at The Community Library in Ketchum and livestreamed on the Music Festival’s website.
Admission is free. Space is limited; reservations are required to attend in person. Reservations open to the public through The Community Library’s calendar at https://thecommunitylibrary.libcal.com/event/15583152 on Wednesday, March 4, 2026, at 9:00 AM (Mountain Time).
Viewers can enjoy the talk in person at the Community Library lecture hall (415 Spruce Ave, Ketchum) or broadcast live on the Festival’s website. Doors open at 5:00 p.m. (MT). The presentation begins at 5:30 p.m. (MT).

2026 Winter Season: Featuring Benjamin Beilman in Concert With Alasdair Neale and Festival Musicians
2026-03-19 19:00 - 21:00, 2026-03-20 19:00 - 21:00, 2026-03-21 19:00 - 21:00 | Argyros Performing Arts Center, 120 Main St South, Ketchum, ID, 83340, United States
The 2026 Winter Season features guest curator and violinist Benjamin Beilman. Praised for his passionate performances and distinctive tone — which The New York Times described as “muscular with a glint of violence” — Mr. Beilman last performed with Music Director Alasdair Neale and the Festival Orchestra in 2018, playing Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto. An accomplished chamber musician, he’ll join forces with Festival Orchestra musicians.
Alasdair Neale, Music Director and Conductor
Benjamin Beilman, Curator and Violin
GABRIELLA SMITH
Sanguineum

Solo violin: Benjamin Beilman
AARON COPLAND
Suite from Appalachian Spring (original version for 13 instruments)

Conductor: Alasdair Neale
Flute: Catherine Payne
Clarinet: Jerry Simas
Bassoon: Tariq Masri
Piano: Peter Grunberg
Violin: Jeremy Constant, Erin Schreiber, Mayumi Masri, Alicia Yang
Viola: Adam Smyla, Chris Tantillo
Cello: Amos Yang, Eric Gaenslen
Double Bass: Stephen Tramontozzi
JOHN ADAMS
Road Movies

Violin: Benjamin Beilman
Piano: Peter Grunberg
ANTONIO VIVALDI
Le quattro stagioni (The Four Seasons), Op. 8, Nos. 1 – 4
Solo Violin: Benjamin Beilman
Violin: Jeremy Constant, Erin Schreiber, Mayumi Masri, Alicia Yang
Viola: Adam Smyla, Chris Tantillo
Cello: Amos Yang, Eric Gaenslen
Double Bass: Stephen Tramontozzi
Harpsichord: Jonathan Dimmock

Admission is free, but space is limited, and reservations are required.

Public reservations begin Wednesday, February 18 at 9:00 AM (Mountain Time).
Reserved seats are limited to two per household for one of the three performances
Festival donors at the Patron ($6,000) level and up may make concert reservations early, beginning Wednesday, February 11 at 9:00 AM (Mountain Time), by calling the Festival office at 208.622.5607.

Attending winter performances

Concerts will take place at 7:00 PM from Thursday, March 19 through Saturday, March 21 at the Argyros Performing Arts Center in Ketchum.
Doors open 30 minutes before each performance.
Performance duration will be about two hours and includes one intermission.
Beer, wine, and non-alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase.

Click here for complete attendance details, including information about the performance venue and your concert experience. Parking details and helpful information about getting to the concerts can be found by clicking here.
