It may be the shortest month of the year, but we’re certainly not short on concerts. May your 28 days be full of music! Check out our February concert picks below to fill out your calendar.
Jefferson Symphony: Poetry and Music
Feb. 2, 3:00 p.m., Green Center in Golden
Name a better duo than poetry and music. I’ll wait.
Composers through the years certainly think it’s a match made in heaven, too, and the Jefferson Symphony has prepared a concert devoted to this perfect pairing. The German giants Paul Hindemith and Richard Strauss were both inspired by German folklore and poetry (Hindemith wrote his own poem for the work), and Mexican composer Sivelstre Revueltas puts music to Cuban poet Nicolas Guillen’s tale of the ritual sacrifice of an immense snake, “Sensamaya.”
Front Range Chamber Players: Homeland with Ivy Street Ensemble
Feb. 4 Fort Collins, Feb. 8 Denver
One, two, three, four! The Front Range Chamber Players presents the Ivy Street Ensemble with guest cellist Thomas Heinrich. Hear a variety of instrumentations: a solo, duo, trio and quartet, featuring Mozart, Kodaly, Beethoven and more.
Aspen Winter Series: Lugansky Plays Wagner, Beethoven, and More
Feb. 7, 6:30 p.m., Harris Concert Hall
Pianist Nicolai Lugansky kicks off the Aspen Winter Series concerts throughout February and March. It’ll be a dramatic concert; Beethoven’s moody “Tempest” Piano Sonata, Mendelssohn’s touching “Songs Without Words,” and Lugansky’s own arrangement of music from Wagner’s Götterdämmerung.
Colorado Symphony: Tchaikovsky, Grieg and Ravel
Feb. 7 - 9, Boettcher Concert Hall
Guest conductor Robert Spano and pianist Stephen Hough join the Colorado Symphony for a trio of works that span 42 years. Edvard Grieg’s youthful and fresh Piano Concerto (1868), the struggles and evolution of fate in Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 (1888), and Ravel’s suite capturing childhood wonder “Mother Goose.”
Fort Collins Symphony: Tales of City Lights and Jazz Nights
Feb. 8, 7:30 p.m., Lincoln Center
It’s a tour of American experiences. Start the journey on Broadway with Richard Roger’s “Slaughter on Tenth Avenue.” Then Chick Corea’s Trombone Concerto (written for the soloist you’ll hear on this program, Joe Alessi) leads a tour of New York and the life of Alessi. Duke Ellington’s “Black, Brown, and Beige Suite” paints the African American experience. And finally, get lost in wanderlust with Gershwin’s “American in Paris.”
Grand Junction Symphony: Marimba Reflections
Feb. 8 & 9, Asteria CMU Performing Arts Theatre
Good vibrations? The Grand Junction Symphony spotlights a lesser heard solo instrument in their February concert: the marimba. Plus, the Symphony is joined onstage by Colorado West Performing Arts Ballet for Stravinsky’s Pulcinella Suite.
Clyfford Still Museum Music in the Galleries: El Javi
Feb. 9, 12 p.m. & 1 p.m.
Denver-based Latin American guitarist El Javi blends flamenco, classical, folk and even progressive rock elements into his performances and compositions. As with all “Music in the Galleries” concerts, it’s a family-friendly event. After the concert, wander through the Clyfford Still Museum - the concert is included in the price of admission.
Aurora Symphony Orchestra: “Close To You” – A Symphonic Celebration of Love"
Feb. 15 & 16
Love is in the air and on the stage. Grab your sweetheart (or treat yourself to a solo evening) and join the Aurora Symphony for some of the most passionate, romantic moments in music. The concert includes Tchaikovsky’s “Romeo and Juliet,” arias from Mozart and Saint-Saëns operas, and film music by Henry Mancini and Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Boulder Symphony and Music Academy: Brahms Symphony No. 2: Harmony for Humanity
Feb. 15 & 16
A noble dedication from the Boulder Symphony – their February concert is a tribute to the power of the human spirit. Celebrate the beauty of life with Marquez’s passionate “Danzon No. 2,” Brahms’ lush Symphony No. 2 and Richman’s Violin Concerto “Paths to Dignity”, with a meditation for those experiencing homelessness.
Colorado Bach Ensemble: St. Matthew Passion
Feb. 21, 7:00 p.m., Central Presbyterian Church, Denver
Feb. 23, 2 p.m., Parsons Theatre, Northglenn
Bach’s profound faith touched everything he wrote, but few things showed it more powerfully than his “St. Matthew Passion.” Hear the story of the final moments before Jesus’s death as told by Matthew, and brought to life byf Bach in one of his sacred masterpieces.
St. Martin’s Chamber Choir: The Prince of Music, 500 years of Palestrina
Feb. 22 - 24, various locations, Denver
500 years is a towering amount of time to us mere mortals. But St. Martin’s Chamber Choir shares Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina’s enduring presence in the world by celebrating the 500th anniversary of his birth. Hear the madrigals and masses of Palestrina’s great life.
Opera Colorado: La boheme
Feb. 22, 25, 27, 28 & March 2, Ellie Caulkins Opera House
It’s hard to be grumpy in the presence of Puccini, especially when it’s his best-known work. Heartbroken? Yes. Grumpy? Nah. Opera Colorado invites you to explore the tragic love of Mimi and Rodolfo in 19th-century bohemian Paris.
Colorado Children’s Choir: So Many Voices
Feb. 23, 3:00 p.m., Montview Presbyterian Church
The Colorado Children’s Choir presents hundreds of years of choral traditions in one afternoon. Hear their Concert Choir and Tour Choir and tour the world through choral music.
The Colorado Choir: Celebrate!
Feb. 28 & March 1, Bethany Lutheran Church
Honor Harriet Tubman and Black History Month with “They Called Her Moses” by legendary conductor and arranger Robert De Cormier and Donald McKayle. The concerts straddle the February/March line, and so does the program: kick off Women’s History Month with eight songs by women composers. A lot to celebrate indeed.
Looking Ahead
Vilar Performing Arts Center: Daniel Hope with the Polish Chamber Orchestra of Sinfonia Varsovia
March 2, 6:30 p.m., Beaver Creek
Lone Tree Symphony: Boldly Go! (See Jean Inaba in the violin section!)
March 7, 7:30 p.m., Lone Tree
Beethoven in the Rockies: Colorado Piano Trio and Friends
March 9, 7:00 p.m., Greeley
CU Presents: 50 years of the Takacs Quartet
March 9 & 10, Boulder
Hear CPR Classical by clicking “Listen Live” at the top on this website, or download the Colorado Public Radio app. Listen on your radio to CPR Classical at 88.1 FM in Denver, at radio signals around Colorado. You can also tell your smart speaker to “Play CPR Classical."
