The Festival includes opera productions in both Castle and Garden Theaters, and many thematic concerts and masterclasses.

Mr. Botstein's thematic concerts have often overstated their case, and this "Rosenkavalier" was no exception.

When music of very different kinds is bound into one thematic concert, it is usually in the lives of its composers that a common bond is found.

So Mr. Charlap began this George Gershwin tribute, the first of six thematic concerts, with a modest overture.

In thematic concerts, the group's programs juxtapose standard repertoire and chamber pieces from established composers of the 20th century with more recent works.

The second series of thematic concerts, The Natural World, currently being performed during the 2009-2010 season, features mostly living composers from the USA and abroad.

His final project as music director, "20th-Century Snapshots," a series of 11 thematic concerts, begins next Sunday with "The Gershwin Circle" and ends in 2001.

The formula - two weeks in August of thematic concerts with established performers and informal explanations - satisfies her, and the audience is certainly out there.

The completeness and chronology were abandoned in favor of thematic concerts.

Performances during the day are held at several smaller stages where performers are presented in thematic concerts and workshops resulting in very intimate performances.