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WHEELING – Concert-goers will get that Philly feeling when guest violinist Michael Ludwig joins music director Andre Raphel and the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra on Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto.
The WSO Masterworks II concert is set for 8 p.m. Friday at the Capitol Theatre.
“One of the most rewarding parts of making music is the opportunity to collaborate with artists with whom one has a shared history,” Raphel said.
“I’ve known Michael Ludwig for many years, and we worked together on numerous concerts when I was an assistant, and he was associate concertmaster of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Michael’s recordings as a soloist over the years have helped me keep track of his extraordinary trajectory as an artist,” Raphel said.
Ludwig recalls their time working together, as well.
“I remember his beautiful musicianship on the podium, and all the fun times we shared together. We have remained in touch through the years, and I am thrilled for us to have the this reunion in Wheeling,” Ludwig said.
“There is a big Philadelphia connection for this concert: Andre and I not only both worked with the Philadelphia Orchestra, but we also both studied at the Curtis Institute of Music. And the concerto I will be playing was written by Samuel Barber, who was born outside of Philly in West Chester and had a long association with Curtis as well. The rich romanticism and beautiful lyric quality of the concerto are extraordinary.”
And on another Philadelphia note, Ludwig studied violin with his father, Irving Ludwig, who was a violinist in the Philadelphia Orchestra and music director of the Lansdowne Symphony Orchestra
Ludwig added that his fiancee will be performing with the WSO at the Friday concert.
” I am thrilled that my fiancee, Rachael Mathey, will be joining the violin section of the Wheeling Symphony for this Masterworks concert,” Ludwig said.
Hailed by Strad Magazine for his “effortless, envy-provoking technique … sweet tone, brilliant expression and grand style,” the violinist enjoys a multi-faceted career as a soloist, recording artist and chamber musician.
A highly sought-after soloist, he has performed on four continents, including appearances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Boston Pops, KBS Symphony in Seoul, Korea, Beijing Symphony and the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra, collaborating with such conductors as JoAnn Falletta, Sir Georg Solti and John Williams among others.
Masterworks II is an evening of Spanish and American music. Along with the Barber Volin Concerto, the program includes Roberto Sierra’s ” Fandango,” Astor Piazzolla’s Tres Movimientos Tanguisticos Portenos and Oblivion; and Manuel de Falla’s The Three-Cornered Hat Suite No. 2.
Sierra will complete a composer residency with the orchestra Wednesday through Friday.
In addition to attending rehearsals with the Wheeling Symphony and visiting West Liberty University and West Virginia University, Sierra will speak about his “Fandangos” at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Mount de Chantal Conservatory at Wheeling Jesuit University. Dancers will perform the tango at this event, which is open to the public.
Sierra and Ludwig will discuss Spanish and American music with Raphel at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Ohio County Public Library and again at Concert Talk at 7 p.m. Friday in the Capitol Theatre Ballroom.
The concert begins at 8 p.m., with a pre-concert dinner of Spanish-inspired food catered by Rocco Basil. The menu includes Ropa vieja (Spanish braised beef); chicken with chorizo and potatoes; stewed garbanzo beans; pisto, Spanish roasted vegetables; and flan.
For tickets and dinner reservations, call (304) 232-6191.
Masterworks II is sponsored by Paul T. Tucker. Sierra’s composer residency is sponsored by Judge and Mrs. Frederick P. Stamp Jr.