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Bravo! Vail presents first-ever spring family chamber music concert, April 8-9

In “Leave It to Ludwig,” Bravo! Vail 2017 Piano Fellow Jenny Chen plays a young pianist who is struggling to master Beethoven’s famous Piano Sonata in C minor, commonly known as the “Sonata Pathétique.” One day, while the pianist is practicing the sonata, a bust of Beethoven magically comes to life.
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If you go …

What: Bravo! Vail Music Festival presents two performances of the Spring Family Concert, “Leave It to Ludwig.”

When and where: 4 p.m.

• Saturday, April 8, Vail Performing Arts Center, 68 Avondale Lane, Beaver Creek

• Sunday, April 9, Eagle Valley High School, 641 Valley Road, Gypsum

Cost: $5 for adults, free for children and students.

More information: Visit bravovail.org or call 970-827-5700.

A special new family event comes to the Vail Valley on Saturday, April 8, and Sunday, April 9 with Bravo! Vail’s first-ever Spring Family Concert.

The hourlong program, “Leave It to Ludwig,” features the music and stories of one of the greatest composers of all time: Ludwig van Beethoven. “Leave It to Ludwig” will be presented at 4 p.m. upvalley on Saturday, April 8, at the Vilar Performing Arts Center in Beaver Creek and downvalley on Sunday, April 9 at Eagle Valley High School in Gypsum.

Created by Bruce Adolphe, director of family programs at Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, “Leave It to Ludwig” is an original and fun-filled way for parents to immerse their children in the world of classical music and for everyone in attendance to learn the stories and meanings behind some of the most familiar music ever written. Entertaining to people of all ages, Ludwig resonates especially with young audiences ages six and older.



The program is an introduction to Beethoven — part concert, part theater — in which the composer comes to life to reveal to a young amateur pianist the true heart and soul of his music. Bravo! Vail 2017 Piano Fellow Jenny Chen plays the young pianist, who is struggling to master Beethoven’s famous Piano Sonata in C minor, commonly known as the “Sonata Pathetique.” One day, while the pianist is practicing the sonata, a bust of Beethoven magically comes to life.

“This program is more than simply fantastic music-making — it is a great introduction to classical music and a chance to learn more about Beethoven.”Jennifer TeisingerExecutive director, Bravo! Vail

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Beethoven (Adolphe) tells the pianist that the best way to understand and appreciate the “Sonata Pathetique” is to get to know more of his music. This leads to engaging performances and entertaining, story-filled explorations of Beethoven’s brilliant string quartets — performed by Bravo! Vail 2017 Young Professionals in Residence Zora String Quartet — which span the composer’s legendary career.



Bravo! Vail’s presentation of “Leave It to Ludwig” is part of the festival’s mission to expand its educational and outreach activities in order to make classical music and its numerous benefits accessible to audiences throughout the valley.

“The expansion of Bravo’s offerings to families is one of our exciting new initiatives to celebrate Bravo’s 30th season this year,” said Jennifer Teisinger, Bravo! Vail executive director. “We are thrilled to bring Beethoven’s genius to life through the story-telling mastery of Bruce Adolphe augmented by the brilliance of the Zora Quartet and pianist Jenny Chen.

“This program is more than simply fantastic music-making — it is a great introduction to classical music and a chance to learn more about Beethoven, while laughing out loud at Adophe’s antics. These concerts are fun, casual and offered at 4 p.m. to fit into your apres-ski schedule.”

About the performers

Adolphe is the resident lecturer for the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, where he founded the family concert series Meet the Music! In addition to his work with the Chamber Music Society, Adolphe serves as Composer-in-Residence for the Brain and Creativity Institute at the University of Southern California, and he’s the creative director for an interdisciplinary educational organization he co-founded called The Learning Maestros. Adolphe also hosts the Piano Puzzler segment on the American Public Media program Performance Today.

Chen was born in Taipei, Taiwan. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the Curtis Institute of Music and her master’s degree from Yale University. Currently, she’s pursuing her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the Eastman School of Music. Chen has performed with numerous ensembles, including The Philadelphia Orchestra, the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and the Taipei Symphony Orchestra.

In 2015, Chen performed Mozart’s Concerto for Two Pianos with Anne-Marie McDermott and the Pacific Symphony. Her numerous honors include earning silver medals at the New York International Piano Competition and the Eastman School of Music’s Young Artists International Piano Competition as well as the Henk de By Incentive Prize at the International Franz Liszt Piano Competition in the Netherlands.

The acclaimed Zora String Quartet, whose members earned diplomas from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, is the 2016-17 Graduate Quartet-in-Residence at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. In 2015, the quartet won the grand prize and gold medal at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, the Coleman National Chamber Music Competition, and the Young Concert Artists International Auditions.

The Zora String Quartet’s repertoire spans works from the Classical period to the present day, and the ensemble has performed at Alice Tully Hall in New York City, the Emilia Romagna Festival in Italy and the Beethoven House in Bonn, Germany.

About the festival

The Bravo! Vail Music Festival brings world-renowned musicians to venues throughout the Vail Valley for nearly seven weeks during the summer, drawing music lovers from around the world. The only festival in North America to host four of the world’s finest orchestras in a single season, Bravo! Vail celebrates its 30th season this year from Thursday, June 22, through Friday, Aug. 4.

The 2017 season features residencies with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic, plus the London-based Academy of St Martin in the Fields, which, in 2016, became the first international orchestra to perform at the Festival. In addition, internationally acclaimed chamber artists and soloists perform a wide array of unique and carefully curated chamber music programs.

For more information about Bravo! Vail, visit bravovail.org or call 970-827-5700.


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