Shulgold’s writing erudite, perceptive
I first came to Denver from London in the late 1970s. It was very different then from the city I rediscovered a decade later, and, over a series of visits in the 1980s and 1990s, I have watched the downtown area grow and expand at an astonishing pace.
Of course there are many natural assets to make Denver the attractive place it is today, not least the magnificent mountain backdrop, and the weather (with all those hours of sunshine), while LoDo and the delightful Cherry Creek are splendid shopping venues, even if The Tattered Cover — the best bookshop in America — has moved to Colfax.
And in winter the snow in the mountains makes for the finest skiing anywhere, while the weekend Ski Train from Union Station offers the perfect way to reach it.
But it is in the expansion of the arts, the symphony, the ballet, the opera, the Santa Fe arts district, and more recently the chamber and instrumental concerts in the beautiful Gates Auditorium that have turned Denver into a major international arts center.
First the Colorado Symphony which discovered and nurtured Marin Alsop, whose career has now swiftly blossomed. She has made a sensational debut in England where the major London orchestras love working with her, and is already a key recording artist with Naxos. Make no mistake about it, she is already set to become the first great international woman orchestral conductor — a true successor to Leonard Bernstein, her mentor. Meanwhile her much loved Denver orchestra is in good shape under its new maestro, Jeffrey Kahane, and, according to Marc Shulgold, its 2007/8 season promises well.
On my present trip I managed to experience the latest jewel in Denver’s artistic crown, one of the piano recitals presented by the Friends of Chamber Music. As it so happened the pianist was English, Stephen Hough, a virtuoso and artist of the highest order. The Gates venue is not only handsome and very comfortable, but has wonderful acoustics, perfect for solo recitalists and small instrumental groups. It is not unlike London’s Wigmore Hall, only it holds twice as many listeners (900 and every seat was taken), and it will surely not be too long before, like the Wigmore, and Carnegie Hall in New York, it will be an essential debut visit to establish any budding new artist’s career.
The planned program for the coming season includes an astonishing galaxy of illustrious names — Angela Hewitt, Krystian Zimerman, Christian Tetzlaff, Marc-Andre Hamelin, and Piotre Andrewski. Wow!
Moreover, Wes Blomster’s program notes for the Hough recital were among the best I have ever encountered, precise and very informative. But I should not have been surprised, for the strength of the writing in the arts coverage of the Rocky Mountain News is equally and consistently impressive.
I always turn first to Shulgold’s column and I often wonder if the paper’s readers realize that his comments and reviews show a standard of erudition and perception that are by no means inferior to the writing found in the East Coast papers, in New York and Boston, yet are more reader-friendly and readily communicative.
Of course I include Kyle MacMillan (Shulgold’s counterpart at The Denver Post) in these remarks, but I particularly enjoyed the recent Rocky Mountain News weekend survey of 2007-’08 symphony season — “The symphony aims to please every taste” — breaking it down as Popular Favorites, Bold New Music, and Unfamiliar Music by Composers We’ve Heard Of, Sorta (I like that).
So Denver’s press coverage of the arts — a vital ingredient of any city’s culture — is in good hands.
Ivan March, London
Editor, The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs
and contributor to The Gramophone
Editor's note: An abbreviated version of this letter appears in May 19 print editions of the Rocky Mountain News.
I did it; I read the entire letter; it took quite a while; however, it was a good read. I beat Ivan; I came to Denver as a 14-year-old runaway from Monte Vista in 1950 or 51. It infuriates me when I read opinion that takes the opposite ground of Ivan's letter. Be forewarned: If you badmouth Denver, I'll find out who you are and you've heard that song by Elvis: "If you're looking for trouble; you came to the right place...look right in my face...." Me, your friendly deicide.
Posted by Richard Grimes Risen ape r22037@yahoo.com (ffrf.org) on May 19, 2007 02:52 PMWe are indeed lucky in Denver to have great art. I am happy to see this reconized from outside the city. With the addition of many new professional groups, including the Baroque Chamber Orchestra of COlorado, we will continue to have the best right here in our city. A great city is built on great art.
Posted by Michael on May 24, 2007 03:21 PM