Pictures here — Junction Trio from left to right: Stefan Jackiw, violin | Conrad Tao, piano | Jay Campbell, cello
Center image: Benjamin Grosvenor, piano
Right image: Augustin Hadelich, violin | Francesco Piemontesi, piano.
Aspen Music Festival and School/Courtesy photo
The Aspen Music Festival and School has launched ticket sales for its 2026 Winter Music Recitals scheduled for February and March.
Aspen Music Festival and School supports teachers and students across Roaring Fork Valley. This includes in-school enrichment and its Musical Connections program, which provided outreach by inviting esteemed musician Aaron Larget-Caplan to visit the school this month.
2026 Winter Music Recital Series
The Aspen Music Festival and School has launched ticket sales for its 2026 Winter Music Recitals series, three evenings of classical music scheduled for February and March at Harris Concert Hall. Subscriptions for all three concerts are $110, and all performances begin at 6:30 p.m.
“These recitals offer such a special opportunity to see these exquisite artists in an intimate setting. One is so close to them in Harris Hall, you can see them in a blink,” Aspen Music Festival and School Vice President of Marketing Laura Smith said.
“Patrons can buy subscriptions to keep the same seats for all concerts, plus enjoy a discount, or mix-and-match with exactly the concerts and seats that work best for them.”
Feb. 17: The Junction Trio will perform “Ghosts and Echoes” at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 17. The bold, imaginative program is set to include Aspen Music Festival and School alumni Stefan Jackiw on violin, Jay Campbell on cello, and Conrad Tao on piano and spans music across centuries.
Repertoire:
- Cage: Six Melodies for Violin and Piano (selections)
- Beethoven: Piano Trio in D major, Op. 70, No. 1, “Ghost”
- John Zorn: Ghosts (selections)
- Schubert: Piano Trio in B-flat major, D. 898, Op. 99
March 4: Renowned British pianist and internationally acclaimed virtuoso Benjamin Grosvenor and formerly the youngest-ever BBC Young Musician winner performs.
Repertoire:
- Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2, “Moonlight”
- R. Schumann: Fantasy in C major, Op. 17
- Scriabin: Piano Sonata No. 2 in G-sharp minor, Op. 19, “Sonata-Fantasy”
- Ravel: Gaspard de la nuit
March 17: Violinist Augustin Hadelich and Francesco Piemontesi will return for a rare winter appearance, joined by pianist Francesco Piemontesi in his Aspen Music Festival and School debut.
Repertoire:
- Grigny/Piemontesi: Récit du chant de l’hymne précédent (from Pange, lingua)
- Debussy: Violin Sonata in G minor
- Rameau/Piemontesi: Pièces de Clavecin en Concert, Concert No. 2 in G major, “La Boucon”
- Poulenc: Violin Sonata
- György Kurtág: Three Pieces for Violin and Piano, Op. 14e
Smith added, “I believe this series is one of the defining aspects of the Aspen experience, where you can both live in a mountain town and still access the best arts of the world’s major cultural centers.”
A full circle moment: Aaron Larget-Caplan
Aspen Music Festival and School also supports teachers and students across Roaring Fork Valley. This includes in-school enrichment and its Musical Connections program, which provided outreach by inviting esteemed musician Aaron Larget-Caplan to visit the school this month.
Acclaimed guitarist, composer, and Colorado-based musician Aaron Larget-Caplan returned to Basalt and Carbondale from Dec. 8-9 to work with the students by leading workshops and assemblies as part of Music Connections outreach.
For Larget-Caplan, who attended Colorado Rocky Mountain School, Basalt Middle School, Carbondale Community School, Waldorf School on the Roaring Fork, and Carbondale Middle School, these visits “pay it forward.” He traces it back to a similar school visit he experienced in his youth.
“Growing up in Denver, I remember when the Denver Symphony came to my elementary school. I played the clarinet. He performed a Brahms Sonata, and I thought, ‘Wow.’ When I heard this, I didn’t know this existed, and music really saved my life as a teenager. It improved all my grades, discipline, how I think, and how I learn,” Larget-Caplan said.
Now, as a concert guitarist, he has performed across the U.S., Europe, Russia, and Taiwan. He’s premiered more than 120 solo and chamber works, soloed with orchestras, and led commissioning projects. He has also received multiple awards and held prestigious residencies at the Banff Centre and John Cage Trust at Bard College.
He added, “As soon as I was a halfway decent musician, whenever I came back to Colorado, I wanted to make sure that these kids heard this and had opportunities to hear music.”
He’s also determined to demystify the world of music for young learners.
“You don’t have to be a professional with music,” he said. “There are so many paths. This is not something our society is very warm to unless you’re famous, and I refuse to accept that.”
For more information, visit aspenmusicfestival.com/events/winter-music-2026 or Aaron Larget-Caplan.