A masterclass in musical storytelling, Stravinsky’s Petrushka mined Russian folk music to imagine the rich inner lives of dancing puppets. Soviet composer Sofia Gubaidulina crafted her own pointed fable about a piece of chalk that dwindles away in mindless busywork until it is liberated by a creative child, while leading opera and film composer Erich Korngold poured all of his dramatic gifts into his soaringly lyrical Violin Concerto. Award-winning violinist Gil Shaham uses his uniquely warm and poetic tone to kindle the Concerto’s “Old World” romantic sensibility.
