FESTIVALFOCUS YOUR WEEKLY CLASSICAL MUSIC GUIDE
SUPPLEMENT TO THE ASPEN TIMES
MONDAY, AUGUST 14, 2023
VOL. 33, NO. 8
Emerson String Quartet Plays Harris Hall One Last Time with an idea that seemed crazy at the time. They decided to play all six Bartók quartets Now one of the preeminent chamber in one long concert for Bartók’s centenary—a ensembles in the world, after 40 years the marathon which had never been attempted Emerson String Quartet will hang up their before. “Everyone thought it wouldn’t work,” instruments for good, but not before stoprecalls Setzer, “but it became one of those ping at the Aspen Music Festival and School magical evenings when people got more (AMFS) for one final performance in the and more into it.” space they inaugurated, Harris The concert was a triumph, disConcert Hall, on Tuesday, August cussed and emulated throughout 15. the chamber music world, even The original members of the by people who weren’t there. Emerson String Quartet—Eugene The Emersons followed up Drucker and Philip Setzer—met with cycles of Beethoven and at Juilliard in 1975, both violinists’ Shostakovich and became, at the sons. They were in their early 20s beginning of the digital era, the when they got together and realpreferred quartet of Deutsche ized that they had similar, almost Grammophon for whom they identical ideas about music: what have recorded virtually the was good, what wasn’t, and what whole of the quartet repertoire, they wanted their fledgling partincluding numerous original comnership to be. positions written for them. They started in the quartet In 2012, David Finckel left the repertoire by alternating first and quartet to play music in other second violin parts, a practice forms, usually with his wife, the that is usually abandoned once pianist Wu Han—a seismic event student days are over, but these which could easily have preJÜRGEN FRANK two loved the variety and consaged the breakup of such a tight In their final recital in Aspen, the Emerson String Quartet (left to right, tinue the practice to this day. knit group. Instead, they were Paul Watkins, Eugene Drucker, Philip Setzer, and Lawrence Dutton) presA couple of false starts at the ents a quintessentially “Emersonian” program featuring works by Ravel, joined by Welsh-born cellist Paul beginning quickly gave way to the Shostakovich, Walker, and Beethoven’s “Razumovsky” Quartet. Watkins, decades younger, who perfect combination when they were joined ing, learning from everybody. I met my wife fit into the quartet seamlessly and brought by Lawrence Dutton on viola and David in Aspen (violinist Elizabeth Lim-Dutton), and new and innovative ideas which were welFinckel on cello. And, suddenly, just like that, we’ve been together now for 36 years. It’s comed by the others. “We knew immediatethey were the Emerson String Quartet, uni- such a special place, unlike any other. It’s only ly that Paul was one of the finest musicians versally known as “the Emersons,” choosing right that we’re now coming back for our last we had ever played with,” says Dutton. the name because they liked the social ideas season,” says Dutton. Those of us who have been coming to of the American idealist and thinker Ralph In March of 1981, the Emersons came up Aspen nearly as long as the Emersons have BY RUTH LEON
Festival Focus Writer
Waldo Emerson. Dutton was a student at the AMFS in 1975 and 1976 and, ever since he joined the Quartet, has revelled in the group’s annual appearances at the Festival. “I fell in love with Aspen right from the start. We made so many friends, played with such great musicians, had so much fun climbing mountains, teach-
SERAPHIC FIRE AND SERAPHIC FIRE PROFESSIONAL CHORAL INSTITUTE RECITAL Wednesday, August 16 3 PM | Harris Concert Hall Free! Journey through 830 years of music history with this alwayspopular recital that covers music from the 12th century to today. Showcasing the breadth and depth of the choral music repertoire, this free program includes works by Hildegard of Bingen, Josquin des Prez, Samuel Barber, Philip Glass, and more.
so many memories of individual concerts which astounded us. Writer and critic Harvey Steiman spotlights his particular favorites: “Already a fixture in Aspen, the Emerson Quartet played the entire set of 15 Shostakovich string quartets over eight seasons from 1999 to 2007. Deutsche Grammophon was there to record them right there in See Finale, Festival Focus page 3
Tenor Matthew Polenzani Stars in Mozart’s Idomeneo BY SARAH SHAW
Festival Focus Writer
On Thursday, August 17, the Aspen Opera Theater and VocalARTS (AOTVA) program presents Mozart’s Idomeneo in the Benedict Music Tent. World-renowned tenor Matthew Polenzani, whom Aspen Music Festival and School Vice President for Artistic Administration Patrick Chamberlain calls “one of the great tenors before the public today,” reprises the title role he performed to much acclaim at the Metropolitan Opera. Based on Homer’s tale of the ancient Greek King Idomeneo of Crete, Mozart wrote this large-scale work when he was just 24 years old. Conceived as an opera seria, a highly formal and stylized musical formula that was the “in thing” with European aristocrats at the time, Idomeneo is a departure from some of Mozart’s more famous operas that were written in the opera buffa or comic and semicomic genre.
FAY FOX
World-renowned tenor Matthew Polenzani reprises the title role he performed to much acclaim at the Metropolitan Opera.
Set in Crete in 1200 BC, the opera tells the story of King Idomeneo’s return from victory in the Trojan war. When a great storm destroys his ship, Idomeneo, desperate to save his own life, begs Neptune, the god of the sea, to spare him. In return, Neptune asks him to sacrifice the first living person he sees. Upon safely returning to shore, Idomeneo sees his son, Idamante, waiting there. Like many stories from Greek myth, Idomeneo is fundamentally about the human struggle to choose between duty and the heart’s desire.“The central issue of the opera,” says Polenzani, “is the idea that this father must find his way forward to keep his son alive.” As the father of three teenage boys, the role is personal for Polenzani. “As an actor and a parent, I love wrestling with these issues of sacrifice. What would I give to make it possible for Idamante to continue to live? I’ve been singing this role for 15 years and every time I step foot into his See Idomeneo, Festival Focus page 3
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