Colorado Symphony presents Stravinsky's The Firebird with Cleo Parker Robinson Dance, Michael Thornton's John Williams Horn Concerto and Elgar's Introduction and Allegro.
The Colorado Symphony is bringing The Firebird to Boettcher Concert Hall on October 23, 24, and 25, and it's more than just a standard orchestral program. The big draw here is that Stravinsky's The Firebird isn't just being played—it's being performed on stage by the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance company. If you've never seen it, the piece pulls from Russian folklore, weaving fairy tales, magic, and danger into one of the most electrifying scores of the 20th century. The story follows a Firebird who helps a young prince rescue princesses from the sorcerer Kashchey, and seeing the dance alongside the music gives the whole thing a different energy than just listening from your seat.
From there, the spotlight shifts to the symphony's own principal horn, Michael Thornton, who takes on John Williams' Horn Concerto. Williams has a specific way of talking about the horn—he describes it as an instrument that "stirs memories of powerful things, of noble and beautiful things" and whose sound "invites us to dream backward to ancient time." Hearing that played by one of the symphony's own makes it feel like a bit of a homecoming for the piece. The evening opens with Elgar's Introduction and Allegro, led by guest conductor Michael Francis.
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If you're arriving early or want to stick around after, there's a bit more on the edges. A pre-concert prelude features associate principal horn Kolio Plachkov, and there's a post-performance talkback with Francis and Thornton, so you can hear them talk through the program after the music stops. The whole thing runs over three dates: October 23 and 24 at 7:30 PM, and a matinee on October 25 at 1:00 PM, all at Boettcher Concert Hall in Denver.
