What happens when two renowned but very different musical masters cross paths? According to Music@Menlo, "mutual admiration" sparked when French composer Maurice Ravel and American composer George Gershwin met in 1928 at a birthday celebration for Ravel. That the two composers held each other's artistry in such esteem inspired the theme of Music@Menlo's latest virtual concert, "Mutual Admiration: Gershwin and Ravel," featuring violinist Kristin Lee and pianist Orion Weiss.
Lee and Weiss will play a selection of works by Gershwin and Ravel in a performance available online for on-demand viewing through Saturday, Jan. 23.
The concert is presented as part of Music@Menlo's online Explorer Series, which pairs musical performances and discussion.
The program opens with Ravel's Violin Sonata no. 2 in G major, op. 45 (1923–27), followed by Five Selections from Porgy and Bess for Violin and Piano by Gershwin (arranged by Jascha Heifetz) and concludes with Ravel's Tzigane for Violin and Piano.
Music@Menlo's co-directors, Wu Han and David Finckel, are also co-artistic directors of the Chamber Music Society at Lincoln Center in New York City, giving Music@Menlo a deep well of talented guest artists to draw from for its own season. Lee and Weiss are both members of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and they each have many credits, among them: Lee is a principal artist with Camerata Pacifica in Santa Barbara while in recent years, Weiss has released recordings of the complete Gershwin works for piano and orchestra with longtime collaborators the Buffalo Philharmonic and conductor JoAnn Falletta.
Listeners can get Lee and Weiss' insights into the works featured in the "Mutual Admiration" performance during a short discussion presented as part of the program.
Tickets are $25. For more information, visit musicatmenlo.org.
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