Soulful! When Twin Cities native Xavier Jara plays his guitar, time doesn't rush by so quickly and every moment is an invitation to beauty. His performance of the haunting Elegy, by Jeremy Collins, is in this week's Regional Spotlight.
Jesus Silva's poetry is filled with words and phrases that ring in the imagination. ('There is that star, scintillating.') Minnesota guitarist and composer Jeffrey Van set Silva's poem 'Transformation' ('like a trill of diamonds') for guitar quartet and mixed chorus. The Minneapolis Guitar Quartet and the Choral Arts Ensemble performed the piece in March.
Elizabethan composer William Byrd's keyboard dances of 1591 are gentle, suave and sensuous. Pianist Richard Good articulates these program opening dances in such a way that you can almost hear words. His performance from a Frederic Chopin Society recital in April are in this week's Regional Spotlight.
Mark Kosower is the principal cello of the Cleveland Orchestra. In this week's Regional Spotlight, he performs his transcription of the opening Adagio and Fugue from Bach's Sonata in C for Solo Violin. Kosower performed at Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church this summer as an artist-in-residence with the International Cello Institute.
The voices wind around one another like vines on a trellis, a peaceful, cooling and gratifying whole. The Mirandola Ensemble sings a Bach motet in this week's Regional Spotlight.
Garrett McQueen is the newest host in the Classical MPR lineup. A professional bassoonist, McQueen founded the Cooper-Young Winds in Memphis. Their performance of Samuel Barber's 'Summer Music' is in this week's Regional Spotlight.
This week's Regional Spotlight features the Finale of Haydn's Symphony No. 92 from last year's Lakes Area Music Festival.
In this week's Regional Spotlight, Andrew Altenbach conducts the final movement of Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 3 ("Scottish") from last year's Lakes Area Music Festival in Brainerd.
The bravos are loud and genuine! The 10th-anniversary season of the Lakes Area Music Festival is about to begin in Brainerd, Minn. Ravel's 'Introduction for Harp, Winds and Strings' from last year's festival is in this week's Regional Spotlight.
The wow factor was front and center when the Aizuri Quartet performed at Sundin Hall in June. The ensemble performs a madrigal by 16th-century composer Carlo Gesualdo in this week's Regional Spotlight.
