Yankee Doodle Variations, Henri Vieuxtemps (October 2008)
Belgian violinist/composer Henri Vieuxtemps wrote this piece for an American tour in the 1840's. Yankee Doodle Variations received an ecstatic welcome from American audiences, so much so that Vieuxtemps ultimately regretted writing the piece that American audiences always demanded he play.
Ann makes her violin whistle and then her bow arm plays Yankee Doodle's three-string conclusion with breathtaking accuracy and conviction.
Dance of the Blessed Spirits, Christoph Willibald Gluck (October 2008)
The moving melody Dance of the Blessed Spirits is taken from Gluck's opera Orpheus and Euridice. It mourns the virtuous souls resting in the eternal peace of Elysium's fields.
Henryk Wienawski's Scherzo Tarentelle Scherzo Tarentelle was a showpiece written to emphasize composer Henryk Wienawski's left-hand violinistic skills (rapid-fire shifts and large left-hand leaps among them). The piece itself employs the playful Scherzo form, while the Tarentelle is an Italian dance. According to legend, the Tarentelle was a dance to be performed after the bite of the tarantula. Its frantic motions are meant to mimic the spasms the poison of the spider creates.
Home | Venues | Press | Music | Videos | Pictures | Bio | Compositions | Contact