Bravo James! Ehnes and NY Phil impress at rainy Vail

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The New York Philharmonic opened its residency at Bravo! Vail Music Festival on 22 July 2026 with a programme of Berlioz, Korngold, Britten and Stravinsky, under the baton of Elim Chan, who was performing in her festival debut.

The heavens had opened up to an apocalyptic level about 40 minutes before the concert started at 6pm, when many audiences members (myself included) were making their way towards the outdoor venue of the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater. While most of the concertgoers were sat under the extensive cover, a few hardy audience members took their seats on the unsheltered hill, adorned in rain ponchos and huddling under umbrellas – a scene that would not have been out of place on Henman Hill at Wimbledon.

Following a performance of the US national anthem (a procedure that took me, a UK-dwelling New Zealander, by complete surprise), the orchestra launched into a spirited and jolly rendition of Le Corsaire Overture, a work that showcased Berlioz’s skill of orchestration and programmatic writing. So it was fitting that this was followed by Korngold, a composer renowned for his work scoring Hollywood films.

James Ehnes played the solo part of the Violin Concerto as if he were the protagonist in a hypothetical 20th century film, with shimmering accompaniment and support from the orchestra. His communication was clear between the ensemble and Chan, as he swept through the work’s cinematic lines with apparent ease.

It was easy to forget that it was an outdoor concert as the acoustics were balanced and clear – occasionally, there were reminders that the concert was not inside, such as when the sound of thunder rumbled overhead, or the local birds struck up a conversation. Ehnes’s eyes followed the direction of a travelling cricket that decided to make itself known at the beginning of the Korngold second movement.

The last movement of Korngold evoked swashbuckling images from the Hollywood action films that were no doubt inspired by his music. Ehnes and the orchestra played with matched energy, the virtuosic excitement that came to a triumphant conclusion was met with a standing ovation. Ehnes rewarded the audience with an encore – he played the Preludio from Bach’s Partita no.3 with compelling variation and clarity of voices.

After the interval, the NY Phil performed Britten’s Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes, capturing the moods from ’Dawn’ to the outright ferocity of ‘Storm’ with precision and virtuosity. The final work was the Suite from The Firebird (1919), which elicited excited murmurs through the audience from the mysterious lower strings in the Introduction, as well as a few gasps of surprise at the onset of ’The Infernal Dance of King Kashchei’. Chan took the end of the Finale at a lick, an energising and compelling interpretation that once again, resulted in audience members leaping to their feet at the work’s conclusion.

The orchestra also indulged in an encore: the Polonaise from Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin. A satisfying conclusion to a compelling programme, all performed against the beautiful backdrop of some of the best nature Colorado has to offer.