Summer Season 2025 – Recommended Recordings

The Sun Valley Music Festival is grateful to Peter Henderson, Festival Principal Keyboard, for compiling the following listening list for the Summer Season’s repertoire. A few words from Peter:

Dear Audience Members,

To preview the Sun Valley Music Festival’s 2025 Summer Season before our live performances at the Sun Valley Pavilion, listed below are vibrant recorded performances of our programmed repertoire. For works by Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, I have provided both traditional (modern instruments) and HIP (historically informed performance / period instruments) alternatives. As of May 2025, all listed recordings are available via major streaming services (e.g., Spotify, Apple Music, Qobuz).

Happy listening!
Peter Henderson, SVMF Principal Keyboardist

Opening Night with Gabriela Martinez

Festival Chamber Orchestra
Monday, July 28, 6:30 PM
Sun Valley Pavilion

Alasdair Neale, Conductor
Gabriela Martinez, Piano

  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20 in D Minor, K. 466 (Martinez) — Trad.: Alfred Brendel, piano; Sir Neville Marriner / Academy of St. Martin in the Fields (Philips / Decca) • HIP: Malcolm Bilson, fortepiano; John Eliot Gardiner / English Baroque Soloists (Archiv Produktion)
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Symphony No. 35 in D Major, K. 385, “Haffner” — Trad.: Bruno Walter / Columbia Symphony Orchestra (Sony Classical) • HIP: Nikolaus Harnoncourt / Concentus Musicus Wien (Sony Classical)

Haydn and Stamitz

Festival Chamber Orchestra
Tuesday, July 29, 6:30 PM
Sun Valley Pavilion

Alasdair Neale, Conductor
Adam Smyla, Viola
Stephanie Childress, Conductor

  • Carl Stamitz: Viola Concerto in D Major, Op. 1 (Smyla) — Gabriela Demeterová, viola; Ondřej Vrabec / Czech Philharmonic Collegium (Supraphon)
  • Joseph Haydn: Symphony No. 80 in D Minor — Trad.: Orpheus Chamber Orchestra (Deutsche Grammophon) • HIP: Giovanni Antonini / Kammerorchester Basel (Alpha Classics)

Gabriela Martinez and Festival Musicians Play Brahms

Chamber Concert
Thursday, July 31, 6:30 PM
Sun Valley Pavilion

Gabriela Martinez, Piano
Hanna Ji, Violin
Chris Tantillo, Viola
Bjorn Ranheim, Cello

  • Caroline Shaw: Gustave Le Gray — David Violi, piano (Alpha Classics)
  • Johannes Brahms: Piano Quartet No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 25 — Martha Argerich, piano; Gidon Kremer, violin; Yuri Bashmet, viola; Mischa Maisky, cello (Deutsche Grammophon)

Beethoven 4 and Anna Clyne

Festival Chamber Orchestra
Friday, August 1, 6:30 PM
Sun Valley Pavilion

Alasdair Neale, Conductor

  • Anna Clyne: Within Her Arms — Eric Jacobsen / The Knights (Sony Classical)
  • Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 4 — Trad.: George Szell / Cleveland Orchestra (Sony Classical) • HIP: Frans Brüggen / Orchestra of the 18th Century (Philips / Decca)

Time for Three Play Mason Bates

Festival Orchestra
Monday, August 4, 6:30 PM
Sun Valley Pavilion

Alasdair Neale, Conductor
Time for Three

  • Aaron Copland: Fanfare for the Common Man — Aaron Copland / London Symphony Orchestra (Sony Classical)
  • Hector Berlioz: Roman Carnival Overture — Charles Munch / Boston Symphony Orchestra (RCA / Sony Classical)
  • Mason Bates: Silicon Hymnal (Co-commissioned by the Sun Valley Music Festival) — No commercial recording available

2025 Gala Concert: SIMPLY EXTRAORDINARY…Yuja Wang

Festival Orchestra
Wednesday, August 6, 2024, at 6:30 PM
Sun Valley Pavilion

Alasdair Neale, Conductor
Yuja Wang, Piano

  • Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture — Leonard Bernstein / New York Philharmonic (Sony Classical, recorded 1957)
  • Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 — Van Cliburn, piano • Kirill Kondrashin / RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra (RCA Red Seal / Sony Classical) 

Schumann, Beethoven, and Márquez

Festival Orchestra
Thursday, August 7, 6:30 PM
Sun Valley Pavilion

Alasdair Neale, Conductor
Polina Sedukh, Violin
Stephanie Childress, Conductor

  • Arturo Márquez: Danzón No. 2 — Gustavo Dudamel / Simón Bolivar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela (Deutsche Grammophon)
  • Ludwig van Beethoven: Romance No. 2 in F Major, Op. 50 — Trad.: Arthur Grumiaux, violin; Bernard Haitink / Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (Philips / Decca) • HIP: Thomas Zehetmair, violin; Frans Brüggen / Orchestra of the 18th Century (Philips / Decca)
  • Robert Schumann: Symphony No. 4 in D Minor, Op. 120 — Daniel Barenboim / Staatskapelle Berlin (Deutsche Grammophon)

An Evening of Ravel followed by Lawn Party

Festival Orchestra
Sunday, August 10, 6:30 PM
Sun Valley Pavilion

Alasdair Neale, Conductor
Stephanie Childress, Conductor

  • Maurice Ravel (orchestrated by Percy Grainger): “La vallée des cloches” from Miroirs — Sir Simon Rattle / City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (Warner Classics) 
  • Maurice Ravel (orch. Ravel): “Alborada del gracioso” from Miroirs — Jean Martinon / Chicago Symphony Orchestra (RCA / Sony Classical)
  • Maurice Ravel: Valses nobles et sentimentales — Seiji Ozawa / Boston Symphony Orchestra (Deutsche Grammophon)
  • Maurice Ravel: Suite No. 2 from Daphnis et Chloé — Claudio Abbado / Boston Symphony Orchestra (Deutsche Grammophon)
  • Bonus listening: Miroirs and Valses nobles et sentimentales were originally composed for piano solo. There are many excellent recordings of Maurice Ravel’s complete piano music available — one features Sun Valley Music Festival favorite Jean-Yves Thibaudet (Decca).

Gautier Capuçon Plays Elgar

Festival Orchestra
Tuesday, August 12, 6:30 PM
Sun Valley Pavilion

Alasdair Neale, Conductor
Gautier Capuçon, Cello

  • Gabriella Smith: Tumblebird Contrails — Esa-Pekka Salonen / Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra (Live recording available only on YouTube)
  • Edward Elgar: Cello Concerto in E Minor, Op. 85 — Jacqueline du Pré, cello • Sir John Barbirolli / London Symphony Orchestra (Warner Classics)

Brahms Symphony No. 4

Festival Orchestra
Wednesday, August 13, 6:30 PM
Sun Valley Pavilion

Alasdair Neale, Conductor

  • Johannes Brahms: Symphony No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 98 — Carlos Kleiber / Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra (Deutsche Grammophon)

Gautier Capuçon and Festival Musicians Play Schubert

Chamber Concert
Thursday, August 14, 6:30 PM
Sun Valley Pavilion

Juliana Athayde, Violin
Kristin Ahlstrom, Violin
Marylène Gingras-Roy, Viola
Gautier Capuçon, Cello
Amos Yang, Cello

  • Franz Schubert: String Quintet in C Major, Op. posth. 163 — Quatuor Ébène, with Gautier Capuçon, Cello II (Erato / Warner Classics)

Festival Orchestra Pops Night: Latin-Inspired Dance Music with Jacomo Bairos

Festival Orchestra
Saturday, August 16, 6:30 PM
Sun Valley Pavilion

Alasdair Neale, Conductor
Jacomo Bairos, Conductor
Featuring Joachim Horsely, Piano
with Luca Alemanno (Bass), Yonathan “Morocho” Gavidia (Percussion), and Murphy Aucamp (Drums)

  • Armed Forces Medley — Erich Kunzel / Cincinnati Pops Orchestra (Telarc)
  • Silver and Gold Beneath the Waves – No commercial recording available
  • Leonard Bernstein: “Mambo” from West Side Story — Leonard Bernstein / New York Philharmonic (Sony Classical, originally released 1961)
  • Ernesto Lecuona: Gitanerias — Morton Gould and His Orchestra (RCA Gold Seal)
  • Ernesto Lecuona: La Comparsa — Morton Gould and His Orchestra (RCA Gold Seal)
  • Ernesto Lecuona: Malagueña — Morton Gould and His Orchestra (RCA Gold Seal) • Also recommended: Ernesto Lecuona’s own recording of the original piano solo version of this piece (RCA)
  • Joachim Horsley: Beethoven in Havana – Via Havana
  • Joachim Horsley: Martinique Nocturne – Caribbean Nocturnes (Le Plan Recordings)
  • Joachim Horsley: Dmitri’s San Millán – Via Havana
  • Astor Piazzolla: Oblivion — Astor Piazzolla, bandoneon (with orchestra) (Trova Industrias Musicales)
  • Joachim Horsley: Impromptuno – Via Havana
  • Joachim Horsley: Lacrimoson – Caribbean Nocturnes (Le Plan Recordings)
  • Joachim Horsley: Dmitri’s San Millán – Caribbean Nocturnes (Le Plan Recordings)

Olga Kern Plays Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2

Festival Orchestra
Sunday, August 17, 6:30 PM
Sun Valley Pavilion

Alasdair Neale, Conductor
Olga Kern, Piano

  • Reena Esmail: “Testament” from Vishwas — Jyoti Prakas, tabla • David Rentz / Orchestra Collective of Orange County (Live recording only available on YouTube)
  • Sergei Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18 — Sviatoslav Richter, piano • Stanisław Wisłocki / Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra (Deutsche Grammophon) 

Olga Kern and Festival Musicians Play Beethoven

Chamber Concert
Monday, August 18, 6:30 PM
Sun Valley Pavilion

Olga Kern, Piano
Dylan Naroff, Violin
Si-Yan Darren Li, Cello

  • Sergei Rachmaninoff: Presto in E Minor from Six Moments Musicaux, Op. 16, No. 4 — Andrei Gavrilov, piano (Warner Classics)
  • Charles Samuel Bovy-Lysberg: Spinning Wheel (Le chant du rouet), Op. 108 — Olga Kern, piano (Live recording available only on YouTube)
  • Moritz Moszkowski: Étincelles (Sparks) from Eight Characteristic Pieces, Op. 36, No. 6 — Vladimir Horowitz, piano (Les Indispensables de Diapason)
  • Claude Debussy: Feux d’artifice (Fireworks) from Préludes, Book 2 — Krystian Zimerman, piano (Deutsche Grammophon)
  • Alexander Scriabin: Andante in F-sharp Major from Eight Etudes, Op. 42, No. 4 — Vladimir Ashkenazy, piano (Decca)
  • Alexander Scriabin: “Affannato” (“Breathless”) in C-sharp Minor from Eight Etudes, Op. 42 , No. 5 — Daniil Trifonov, piano (Deutsche Grammophon)
  • Sergei Prokofiev: Presto energico from Four Etudes, Op. 2, No. 4 — Frederic Chiu, piano (harmonia mundi)
  • Ludwig van Beethoven: Trio in D Major for Piano, Violin, and Cello, Op. 70, No. 1, “Ghost” (Kern, et al.) — Florestan Trio (Hyperion)

Season Finale: An Evening with Richard Strauss

Festival Orchestra
Thursday, August 21, 6:30 PM
Sun Valley Pavilion

Alasdair Neale, Conductor

  • Richard Strauss:  Tod und Verklärung (Death and Transfiguration), Op. 24 — Herbert von Karajan / Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra (Deutsche Grammophon, recorded 1969)
  • Richard Strauss: Suite from Der Rosenkavalier — André Previn / Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra (Deutsche Grammophon)