Events

The world premiere of a Festival-commissioned work by composer Xinyang Wang, who draws equal inspiration from classical music and traditional Chinese arts, opens this program, which also features clarinetist Todd Levy in Academy Award–winning composer Bernard Herrmann’s quintet Souvenirs de Voyage, a cinematic journey through England, Ireland, and Italy.

Using big data and ever more powerful computers, we can, for the first time, apply complex-systems science to economic activity, building realistic models of the global economy. This new science, which grew in part from research conducted at the Santa Fe Institute, will allow us to test ideas and make significantly better economic predictions — and, ultimately, create a better world.

Mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton—hailed as “a once-in-a-generation voice” by Opera magazine—makes her highly anticipated Festival debut in a recital with renowned pianist Julius Drake. Barton’s passion for telling stories through song provides the vibrant underpinning for an enthralling and eclectic program of works by Dvořák, Ives, Duparc, and Sibelius.

Mozart’s perfectly crafted Duo in G Major, performed by violinist William Hagen and violist Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, and Kodály’s thrilling and demanding Duo for Violin and Cello, played by Leila Josefowicz and Paul Watkins. Mozart is featured again in the second half, as his exquisite Clarinet Quintet showcases the soaring artistry of clarinetist David Shifrin and the Escher String Quartet.

Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox comes to Santa Fe this summer for an unforgettable night of classic genres performed with a modern twist by exceptional singers and musicians.

Pianist Julius Drake joins horn player Nathaniel Silberschlag and violinist William Hagen in treasured works by Schumann and Beethoven, which provide a lyrical and emotive frame for Schoenberg’s fiendishly difficult String Trio, performed here by violinist Leila Josefowicz, violist Milena-Pajaro-van de Stadt, and cellist Paul Watkins.

Bruce Hornsby has built one of the most diverse, collaborative, and adventurous careers in contemporary music. Drawing from a vast wellspring of American musical traditions, the singer/pianist/composer/bandleader has created a large and accomplished body of work and employed an array of stylistic approaches.

Telemann’s lyrical expressiveness, Zelenka’s harmonic inventiveness, and Vivaldi’s pyrotechnics are all on display in this program of Baroque riches, which culminates with Bach’s immortal Brandenburg Concerto No. 2.

Ailyn Pérez takes center stage as she returns to Santa Fe after her triumphant performances in Rusalka at the Santa Fe Opera. Hailed by The New York Times as “a major soprano,” Pérez brings her signature artistry to an intimate performance on the Lensic stage.

Widely considered the most influential quartet cycle after Beethoven’s, Bartók’s collection of six string quartets is a landmark artistic achievement. The rare opportunity offered here—to experience the full quartet cycle performed over the course of one evening—gives listeners a unique insight into Bartók’s creative development as he revolutionized the string quartet genre and moved from composing in the late-Romantic style to pioneering modernism.

On this powerful program, eight acclaimed wind players—including Minnesota Orchestra Principal Oboe Nathan Hughes and Cleveland Orchestra Principal Horn Nathaniel Silberschlag—come together to play Mozart’s earliest masterpiece for wind ensemble, the Serenade, K. 375, and violinist William Hagen leads an all-star ensemble in Brahms’s Piano Quintet, which one of the composer’s contemporaries, conductor Hermann Levi, described as “beautiful beyond words.”

Longtime Festival collaborator Kirill Gerstein, praised by The Guardian as “a peerless performer,” offers a rich Romantic recital program that includes Chopin’s Polonaise-Fantasy—a visionary work that, while writing the piece, the composer described as something he didn’t “yet know what to call”; Liszt’s flamboyant, Chopin-influenced Polonaise No. 2; and Schumann’s Carnival Scenes from Vienna, which moves masterfully and innovatively between the festive and the somber.