Chamber Orchestra Vienna-Berlin And A New TOSCA Are In Spotlight At Bravo! Vail Music Festival 2019

International Artists Join The Philadelphia Orchestra, Dallas Symphony, New York Philharmonic and More at Festival's 2019 Season through Aug. 4

Historically low temperatures did not stop musicians and audiences from enjoying the opening week of Bravo! Vail's 2019 season, which launched over the weekend, beginning a summer full of stellar national and International Artists. Deepening the festival's commitment to being an international music destination, Bravo! Vail presented the North American debut of the Chamber Orchestra Vienna-Berlin, composed of principal musicians of the Vienna Philharmonic and the Berlin Philharmonic. Soloists included violinists Anne-Sophie Mutter and Paul Huang; cellist Knut Weber; and Bravo Vail's Artistic Director and pianist Anne-Marie McDermott.

From the stage, Artistic Director Anne-Marie McDermott also announced the 2020 international chamber orchestra residency. "It was a dream of mine from the beginning of my tenure at Bravo! Vail to introduce our audiences to the distinct musical vibrancy of world-class chamber orchestras playing beloved scores not often heard performed by our large-scale resident orchestras. Our dream came true with the introduction of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields in 2016 and its subsequent two residencies, and continued this summer with the thrilling North American debut of Chamber Orchestra Vienna-Berlin. That principal wind and strings players of the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics graced the stage of the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater bringing to life dazzling masterpieces by Mozart and Haydn was simply unreal. Next summer, we are equally thrilled to welcome another distinguished European ensemble, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe with the superstar pianist Yuja Wang. What a fitting complement to the already exciting residencies of Dallas, Philadelphia and New York."

The Grammy-winning Chamber Orchestra of Europe was founded in 1981 by a group of young musicians graduating from the European Union Youth Orchestra. Pianist Yuja Wang will perform with the ensemble over three nights in 2020 in performances of Chopin's first piano concerto, Shostakovich's second, and Schumann's piano concerto.

Looking ahead in the current season, on July 11 and 13, 2019, Bravo! Vail presents its first original opera production, a full staging of Puccini's Tosca custom-designed for the outdoor Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater. Yannick Nézet-Séguin, The Philadelphia Orchestra and Metropolitan Opera's Music Director, will lead the Bravo! Vail Festival Chorus, the Colorado Children's Chorus, The Philadelphia Orchestra, and an all-star international cast headed by soprano Julianna di Giacomo, tenor Yusif Eyvazov, baritone Elchin Azizov, and bass Richard Bernstein.

The Dallas Symphony Orchestra's Bravo! Vail schedule this year includes Beethoven concerts, a tribute to Nat King Cole and Natalie Cole, and a July 4 "Patriotic Concert." The DSO will also switch from classical music to classic movies, playing the entire score of Jurassic Park to a screening of the complete film on June 30.

In addition to Tosca, The Philadelphia Orchestra's residency will also feature violinist Hilary Hahn performing Mendelssohn and Ravel, and with pianist Nicholas Angelich performing Brahms and Prokofiev.

The New York Philharmonic goes to the movies too, performing music from the scores to Vertigo, The Godfather, Star Wars, and Raiders of the Lost Ark with conductor Alexander Joel. They will also perform Beethoven's Eroica Symphony No. 3 and Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3, respectively featuring pianists Conrad Tao and Yefim Bronfman, and an evening of the music of Cole Porter.

Highlights from the festival's highly popular Chamber Music Series this year include the Takács Quartet, pianist Anne-Marie McDermott with the St. Lawrence String Quartet and with members of the Dallas Strings, pianist Yefim Bronfman (who will also perform with the New York Philharmonic), and free concerts by the Verona Quartet, playing music by Ravel and Pulitzer Prize finalist Michael Gilbertson, and the Omer String Quartet, Top Prize winner at the 2017 Premio Paolo Borciani Competition in Italy.

The festival's re-imagined After Dark series will present clarinetist Ken Thomson, accordionist Hanzhi Wang, violinist Yvonne Lam, The Brass Project, and the genre-bending, five-time Grammy-winning bassist Edgar Meyer with his son, violinist George Meyer. The Classically Uncorked series includes Third Coast Percussion's performance of a new work by Philip Glass. And family-friendly "Meet the Orchestra" events will help foster a new generation of musicians and concertgoers.

Over the past three decades, Bravo! Vail has evolved from a small chamber music series to a month-and-a-half-long celebration of orchestral masterpieces, classic chamber music, new works, genre-defying programming, family events, film celebrations, and now opera, in the spectacular setting of the outdoor Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater and other prime Vail Valley venues. As the festival has grown, so has its commitment to the culture and economy of the region - and to bringing great artists together from around the country and the world.

For more information about the current season, visit www.bravovail.org.