Episode 58: The Love Connection

Romance is in the air with some heart-strung melodies from Johannes Brahms, Edward Elgar, Josef Suk, and more. And we’ll also mark Valentine’s Day *and* the Lunar New Year with the touching Chinese tale of the “Butterfly Lovers,” brought to life on the Heifetz stage.

This Episode’s Playlist

J.S. Bach: Orchestral Suite No. 3 in G Major, BWV 1068II. Air
Liana Branscome, Isabella Gorman, Strauss Shi, violins  |  Steven Baloue, viola  |  Benjamin Fried, cello | Mishe Bjerken, bass
Christ Lutheran Church, Staunton, VA
Heifetz Institute Recording | 03.22.2022

Josek Suk: Song of Love, Op. 7
Fiona Khoung-Huu, violin  |  Rohan de Silva, piano
Francis Auditorium | Mary Baldwin University
Heifetz Institute Recording | 08.02.2022

Schumann: Romance, Op. 28, No. 2 [excerpt]
Lynne Mackey, piano
House concert, Staunton, VA
Heifetz Institute Recording 11.19.2020

Johannes Brahms: Viola Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 120, No. 1
II. Andante un poco adagio
IV. Vivace
Andrew Gonzalez, viola  |  Anton Smirnoff, piano
Francis Auditorium | Mary Baldwin University
Heifetz Institute Recording | 07.09.2015

Edward Elgar: Salut D’Amour, Op. 12
Julia Angelov, violin  |  Zhenni Li-Cohen, piano
Kreeger Museum of Art, Washington, DC
Heifetz Institute Recording | 12.19.2019

Vivaldi: Guitar Concerto in D Major, RV 93
II. Largo [excerpt]
Robby Brown, Guitar  |  Danny Yehun Jin, violin  |  Kiarra Saito-Beckman, violin  |  Matt Cohen, viola  | Zhihao Wu, cello
Linehan Concert Hall, UMBC, Baltimore Country, MD
Heifetz Institute Recording | 12.18.2018

Chen Gang / He Zhanhao: The Butterfly Lovers Concerto
Ji-Won Song, violin  |  Beilin Han, piano
Francis Auditorium, Mary Baldwin University
Heifetz Institute Recording | 07.16.2016

Go Deeper

• Check out violinist Ji-Won Song‘s “audio roadmap” to the Chinese folkloric epic The Butterfly Lovers, featured on this episode.
• Then there was the time when the traveling LOVEworks sculpture from the Virginia Tourism Office alighted on the Heifetz campus…
• Check out this playlist  of classical pieces to celebrate the Lunar New Year!