The Colorado Symphony Orchestra will present a broad sampling of classical favorites during its 2015-16 season, but also a three-part Shakespeare Festival, a concert staging of “The Music Man” and a symphonic tribute to filmmaker Mel Brooks.
The just-announced season is notably short on famous names in classical music, guest performers such as Pinchas Zukerman and Anne Akiko Meyers, who added star power to the current season — but, also, weighed down the CSO’s performance budget.
Instead, the orchestra will give popular players from its own ranks more opportunity to work front and center in solo roles. Among them, concertmaster Yumi Hwang-Williams, cellist Silver Ainomäe and harpist Courtney Hershey Bress.
The few recognized musical guests include banjo player Béla Fleck, on April 12, playing his Concerto for Banjo and Orchestra, a piece co-commissioned by the Colorado Symphony. Ukelele (and YouTube) star Jake Shimabukuro performs a special concert Oct. 10, and the father-son duo of pianist/conductor Jeffrey Kahane and vocalist/guitarist Gabriel Kahane arrive April 15-17.
Italian pianist Alessio Bax performs during the season’s opening weekend Sept. 18-20, which features Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5.
Music director Andrew Litton conducts that concert plus seven other major Masterworks concerts, which culminate grandly with the closing presentation of “Carmina Burana” May 20-22.
Other nights with big appeal include performances of Brahms’ Symphony No. 4, Oct. 2-3, Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 3, Nov. 6-8. and an all-Beethoven program, set Dec. 4-6 and built around his “Eroica” Symphony No. 3.
As usual, the programming on the edges pushes the orchestra in new directions. The Shakespeare Festival will feature both spoken-word performances and music. One program, March 18-20, will present music inspired by “Romeo & Juliet” by Prokofiev, Berlioz and Tchaikovsky, plus Bernstein’s “Symphonic Dances from West Side Story.”
“The Music Man” will be a rare concert staging of an entire piece of musical theater, Sept. 26-27. The April 9 “Symphonic Tribute to Mel Brooks” borrows background sounds from his films including “Blazing Saddles,” “Young Frankenstein” and more.
The 2015-16 season has little opera but it does have dance. The local company Wonderbound joins for a single program March 12. On Jan. 10, members of New York City Ballet dance for an all-Gershwin program. There’s a tie-in there: Litton recently became music director of the ballet company’s orchestra.
The CSO is offering a variety of subscription packages, on sale now, with tickets remaining at current prices. Single tickets will be available Aug. 3.
Get them at the box office at Boettcher Concert Hall in the Denver Performing Arts Complex, 14th and Curtis Streets. Hours are Monday-Friday 10 a.m-6 p.m.; Saturday noon-6 p.m.
Tickets can also be purchased at 303-623-7876 or coloradosymphony.org.
Ray Mark Rinaldi: 303-954-1540, rrinaldi@denverpost.com or twitter.com/rayrinaldi
