Oy! A program of works by Osvaldo Golijov, Miguel de Aguila, Copland and Mendelssohn titled …. “DIRTY DANCING”! (and that’s just the first movie title of the Bach Dancing & Dynamite Series in Madison, Wisconsin.) Surely, this series is “pure protein”! 🙂

[FOREWORD: Out of respect for fellow artists and professional critics, I try to avoid opining on concerts and compositions. Most often it’s not that I disliked the art, but that it’s not for me to judge anyone’s artistic choices. I try to let the artistic experience work on me internally, giving it time to digest and react in my own creations instead… Here are some thoughts about matters which (I hope!) are not as artistic as they are a reflection on the contemporary concert life. ] As a young violist growing up between Moscow and New York, I idolized one man – Yuri Bashmet. Since the beginning, I loved his incredible tone, his unmatched vibrato (and that he plays *without* vibrato at least half-the-time), his impeccable intonation, and of course his powerful and highly individual interpretive approach and musicality. I was fortunate enough to hear the premiere of the Schnittke Viola Concerto, and the first concert of the Moscow Soloists. Elsewhere, I remember Yuri visiting us and giving me a short violin lesson&#

For those of you couldn’t attend the recent LJOVA AND THE VJOLA CONTRABAND performance at Joe’s Pub in New York, or for those who were turned away (it was completely sold out!), here are two videos, plus a wonderful review from the Newsday music critic Justin Davidson – enjoy!