Strings Retuned

If Beethoven is our mad genius, the moody but brilliant choir kid who gets all of the solos, then Mozart is his opposite: the all-around jock who letters in every sport, is student council president, and on the honor roll. A versatile composer, he wrote sonatas, symphonies, masses, chamber music, concertos and operas. Today’s episode explores serenades, string quartet, and a piano concerto, as well as highlighting his contemporary, Chevalier de Saint Georges: Mozart’s archrival, or the guy who won homecoming king.

The classical music world is full of powerhouse female musicians; in episode 5, meet soloists and concertmasters who regularly lead ensembles at the Strings Pavilion with talent and grace.

In this week’s program, Strings Music Director Michael Sachs has curated past Strings Music Festival performances to expand your mind and soothe your weary soul. Selections range from spine-tingling piano solos to a meditative composition for percussion performed at The Tank, Northwest Colorado’s one-of-a-kind sound space.

Relationships are how we understand the past and bring it into our future. In episode three, travel over one hundred and fifty years of musical relationships between composers Haydn, Prokofiev, Stravinsky, Grieg, and Mozart. Music Director Michael Sachs and artist guests discuss connections between their intimate chamber and exuberant orchestra repertoire.

Imagine: you’re lazily savoring a pastry while sitting on the Rue de Vaugirard, staring into Le Jardin du Luxembourg. The piano begins … and you enjoy four dreamy recordings of Debussy, Fauré, Franck, and Saint-Saëns.

The premiere “Strings Retuned” episode celebrates 250 years of the world’s love affair with Ludwig Van Beethoven. Western classical’s most brilliant mad genius is highlighted in four diverse recordings and historical commentary.