A letter published in the July 3 issue of The Aspen Times unfairly criticizes Debbie Braun, CEO of the Aspen Chamber, for “snubbing” the Aspen Music Festival in her praise of the Aspen Food & Wine Classic as well as the Aspen Ideas Festival and other smaller events.
The events she praises help attract visitors to Aspen. These visitors inject significant amounts of cash into the community. I doubt the Music Festival does — although years ago it might have provided such a stimulus.
Today there are a number of competitive festivals both in Colorado and the rest of the country. From our experience, Vail is now offering far more lively performances by a variety of professional orchestras. Yes, Aspen does offer concerts by renowned artists, but far too many of those are “mailed in.” It is not worth the effort to go to Aspen for concerts. Vail is a different matter, as is Boulder or possibly flying to Tanglewood.
Those living in Aspen should enjoy it for what it is — one of the best summer music schools in the United States. The emphasis is on the word “school.” The Ideas Festival and the Food & Wine Classic as well as Jazz Aspen are all at much higher levels of professionalism in their fields. They attract thousands of visitors.
Philip Verleger
Denver