In Sunday’s (10/4) Denver Post, Kyle MacMillan writes, “It’s true that the Colorado Symphony’s reputation continues to blossom and that an assortment of high-profile soloists do make their way onto local programs. But let’s face it. The Denver-Boulder area is something of classical-music backwater. That’s why the opening of the 2009-10 season has been so exciting: It has felt, at least momentarily, like being in a larger and more active music center. The reason is simple: premieres, the creative lifeblood of any musical genre hoping to remain vital and relevant. And not just any premieres. They have been major works by high-profile composers, beginning with the Sept. 10 debut of George Crumb’s ‘The Ghosts of Alhambra (Spanish Songbook I),’ ” as part of the Colorado University College of Music’s celebration of Crumb’s 80th Birthday. “This spellbinding work, the 10th in his ongoing song settings of poems by Spanish poet Federico Garciá Lorca, rethinks the whole notion of art song, with its inventive vocalizations and unconventional accompaniment. … The Colorado Symphony took its turn a week later, presenting the debut of a work that makes use of an unlikely solo instrument—Chris Thile’s ‘Mandolin Concerto (Ad astra per alia porci).’ ”
Posted October 6, 2009
