Here are the CPR Classical concert choices for October 2024

October is here! The colors change, we get comfortable and hope that Colorado is finally cooling down. This month isn’t just about listening to the annual doses of “Danse Macabre” and “Night on Bald Mountain,” although those are certainly a highlight. Find out what, when and where Colorado ensembles are performing this month.

Hear many of these bands and more every day on Colorado Spotlight.

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CPR Classical presents: Anne Akiko Meyers with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra
October 4-6

Hear romanticism at its best in Tchaikovsky’s “Fantastic Overture to Romeo and Juliet” and a transformative period in the life of Jean Sibelius with his Symphony No. 3. The rest of the program? Anne Akiko Meyers plays one of the world’s favorite (and most performed) concertos, Mendelssohn’s energetic Violin Concerto in E minor. Trust me, the excitement of this one will definitely last for a few days. Plus, meet CPR Classical midday host Karla Walker in the lobby on Friday, October 4.

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Academy of Saint-Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble, Friends of Chamber Music
October 18, 7:30 p.m., Newman Center, Denver

Explore the regularly and rarely heard aspects of string chamber music with a trio of works performed by the legendary Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields Chamber Ensemble. The program includes Felix Mendelssohn’s masterpiece Octet, written when he was 16; a pair of pieces by Dmitri Shostakovich, 18; and Erwin Schulhoff’s Sextet (started when he was 25 – how old). The chamber ensemble is made up of the principal musicians of the ASMF, a more intimate group of musicians who have worked together for years or decades.

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Mozart/Beethoven: Simone Dinnerstein joins the Colorado Springs Philharmonic
October 19, 7:30 p.m. and October 20, 2:30 p.m., ENT Center for the Arts

Beethoven and Mozart met once before Mozart’s untimely death, but only for a brief period. Lucky for us, in the 21st century, the two meet up in Colorado Springs this month. Hear this dynamic duo with the Colorado Springs Philharmonic. Beethoven’s happy Symphony No. 2 and Mozart’s popular Piano Concerto No. 21 form a perfect duo. The CSP expands the concert with new and old instrumental music by Renaissance composer John Dowland and a moving elegy by contemporary composer Anna Clyne.

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Dance! Colorado Baroque Chamber Orchestra
October 19, 7:30 p.m., First Plymouth Congregational Church, Village of Cherry Hills
October 20, 3 p.m., Wellshire Presbyterian Church, Denver

We are in the 17th and 18th centuries with the added spice of baroque and contemporary dance. Dancer Julia Bengtsson, a member of the New York Baroque Dance Company, joins the Baroque Chamber Orchestra of Colorado for her own choreography to Bach’s Goldberg Variations. Longtime violinist and leader Cynthia Miller Freivogel leads the charge as soloist for a Telemann violin concerto. Handel’s “Water Music Suite in G major” and Pratorius’ “Terpsichore Dances” complete the concert. If you’re stuck at home, BCOC is offering a virtual experience of this concert.

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Poetry + Music: Beethoven Church – Northern Colorado
October 20, 3 p.m., Avogadro’s Number Bar and Grill, Fort Collins

For those of us clinging to summer, the Church of Beethoven concludes its 2024 summer series with eclectic trio Synesthesia Chamber Music teamed up with Colorado-based poet Bryan Roth. If you’ve never been to Beethoven’s Church, let yourself be breathed by the modern informality and affordability of the music, poetry and art. This is a self-styled informal experience, breaking the proverbial “fourth wall” between audience and performers.

Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite

And see, I told you Colorado won’t disappoint with Halloween music.

Boos and beers! Opera on tap
October 5, Brewability, Englewood

Opera and musical theater are full of dark, frightening and magical moments – experience them for yourself. Opera on Tap Colorado invites you to put on your best costume (if you want), grab a pint, and meet some of music’s nastiest characters. Can’t come? There is another show at New Image Brewing on October 25th.

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Monsters from the beginnings of cinema: Wild Beautiful Orchestra
October 13, 3:00 p.m. Lakewood Cultural Center, Lakewood
October 20, 7:00 p.m., Sie FilmCenter, Denver

Now here’s a fun evening idea: vintage cinema and live orchestral music. Denver’s Wild Beautiful Orchestra dates back to the dawn of cinema in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and this month offers a collection of science fiction and horror music. It’s the big screen brought to life by a ten-person orchestra, with a bit of Ravel, Webern, Bartok and more thrown in for good measure.

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Night of the Living Dead (Composers): Denver Philharmonic
October 25, Central Presbyterian Church, Denver
October 26, Mapleton Arts Center, Denver

Prepare for seasonal favorites, Berlioz’s “Symphonie Fantastique” and Saint-Saens’ “Danse Macabre,” which I recently learned feature Halloween’s favorite theme, the Dies Irae, in a major key. It’s an event for the whole family: Halloween activities in store, disguises encouraged and free entry for those under 18.

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It’s Halloween: Boulder Philharmonic
October 27, 2:00 p.m., Parsons Theater, Northglenn, CO
October 30, 6 p.m., Macky Auditorium, Boulder

Nothing beats Danny Elfman and Edvard Grieg. At least nothing leaves you in any doubt about the time of year. Celebrate the spookiest season of all with the Boulder Philharmonic. Listen to the scores of “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and “Harry Potter” with classics like “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” by Dukas and “In the Hall of the Mountain King” by Grieg.

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For more Halloween, check out the Colorado Symphony’s “Disney in Concert: The Nightmare Before Christmas” on October 25 and 26, and their “Halloween Spooktacular” on October 27 (and CPR Classical’s Jean Inaba will be there!).