Summer festivals are a bright spot on the classical music landscape

The Washington Post (7 June 2026):

Canadian pianist Marc-André Hamelin has perhaps the most accomplished technique of any keyboard player today, which means that the whole canon of classical piano repertory is open to him, and his programs often juxtapose several works of staggering complexity. Among a wide range of fascinating programs on the Aspen Music Festival calendar this year is Hamelin’s recital of works by Chopin, Enescu, Debussy and Mieczysław Weinberg, a Polish-born contemporary of Shostakovich. As if that isn’t enough, he ends with Earl Wild’s thrillingly difficult transcriptions of songs by George Gershwin.

Aug. 20, Aspen Music Festival, Aspen, Colorado. aspenmusicfestival.com.