The festival offers stellar chamber music. The evening I flew in, on July 11, I saw the Dalí Quartet make its Bravo! Vail debut in nearby Beaver Creek. A highlight of the concert was the ensemble’s relentless vigor and unabashed humor during the jaunty String Quartet No. 2, Magueyes, by Silvestre Revueltas.

After intermission, Ricardo Morales, the principal clarinet of the Philadelphia Orchestra, joined in for Weber’s Clarinet Quintet in B-flat. At an altitude of 8,080 feet, it was a test of endurance. The incredibly agile clarinetist was unfazed, although the quartet had to take a short water break after the opening number — an agitated and exciting Quartet in F minor (op. 20), by Haydn.