Bernstein & Ravel with Vadim Gluzman & Andrew Litton

Former Music Director Andrew Litton returns to Denver, leading a must-see weekend steeped in elegance and the intoxicating sweep of the dance. Stravinsky’s Divertimento from the ballet La baiser de la fée is a glittering homage to Tchaikovsky through Stravinsky’s gleaming neoclassical lens. As Music Director for the New York City Ballet, Litton’s affinity for this repertoire brings its balletic grace and expressive warmth vividly to life. Acclaimed violinist Vadim Gluzman takes center stage for Bernstein’s Serenade, a radiant and deeply personal meditation on love inspired by Plato’s “Symposium” that is a concerto in all but name. As the world’s preeminent interpreter of the Serenade, Gluzman’s glittering tone and magnetic presence are ideally matched, declaring “I know every note of the score sideways and backwards and it’s part of my being, physically and emotionally.”

After intermission, Ravel’s world of waltz unfolds in one sweeping arc as Valses Nobles et sentimentales flows without pause into La valse. What begins in refined, Viennese-inspired charm gradually intensifies into a macabre, biting satire often interpreted as critique of a decadent society. Under Litton’s baton, Ravel’s shimmering textures promise to dazzle as the music spirals from nostalgic beauty to breathtaking, full‑throttle brilliance.