Bruch's Violin Concerto by Maria Ioudenitch
Max Bruch's Violin Concerto is in a class of its own. The lush orchestration, the virtuosic yet simultaneously moving violin part, the driving orchestral tutti sections in which royal grandeur and bittersweet passages alternate: it is romanticism of the very highest order. The young violinist Maria Ioudenitch was born in Russia but grew up in Kansas City. After winning a number of important violin competitions, including the Ysaÿe International Music Competition and the Joseph Joachim International Competition, her career got off to a flying start with her CD Songbird , released by record label Warner.
Prokofiev's Cinderella
Cinderella is Sergei Prokofiev's most famous and beloved ballet, along with Romeo and Juliet . Prokofiev composed this fairy-tale ballet in the middle of World War II. The music is colorful, imaginative, and romantic. The modernist composer is more melodious than ever; there is no room for too much misery here—the wicked stepmother excepted. In the suite from this ballet, the most beautiful moments from the ballet are presented, and Cinderella and her sisters, the wicked stepmother, and the prince come to life in the music. We will be swirling out of the hall this Sunday morning!