Philzuid

Slowly plucking, the strings create a hesitant pizzicato colored by small clarinet clouds, and then, rising above it all, that infinitely tender violin melody. It gives you goosebumps. The Andante from Prokofiev's Second Violin Concerto is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful pieces in the violin repertoire. Is it the nostalgia? It was one of the last works the Russian composer wrote in America. In this concert, it is performed by Alexandra Conunova.

Her recording of Prokofiev's Sonatas was praised to the heavens by Gramophone. "Liquid ease, virtuosity, and subtle spontaneity," wrote the leading music magazine. Chief Conductor Duncan Ward also conducts a tribute to centuries-old Renaissance music by Sweelinck and the symphonic richness of Respighi. This Italian master composer depicted cascading fountains, Nero's Circus Maximus, and sun-drenched harvest festivals of ancient Rome in an unparalleled manner.