College of Charleston music professor Edward Hart will have a once-in-a-lifetime moment this Saturday (February 11, 2012), when his composition is played on a rare $4 million-dollar Stradivarius violin. Charleston Symphony Orchestra (CSO) Concertmaster Yuriy Bekker will play Hart’s Under an Indigo Sky at 7:30 p.m. at the Gaillard Auditorium (77 Calhoun St.).
“It is a privilege to have your music played by an exceptionally gifted musician. It is especially meaningful when that performer is your friend,” Hart says. “Since first meeting some years ago, I have wanted to write him a substantial work not only because we are friends, but because he plays the violin the way I would want to if I could play. In short, he makes all the right musical choices. And to hear Under an Indigo Sky on such a rare instrument is amazing.”
As a gesture of their esteem for the Charleston Symphony, Dr. Winifred and Mr. John Constable of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania donated the use of their family’s 1686 Stradivarius violin for use by in the concert. Considered to be the best violin-maker in the world, Italian luthier Antonio Stradivari (1644-1737) made more than a thousand violins during his lifetime, around 650 of which are believed to exist today. [Read more…]
PRESS:
Charleston Mercury, January 24, 2012
CharlestonToday.net, February 3, 2012
The Post and Courier, Charleston, February 5, 2012