Victoria Martino and James Lent
The Northern Lights Anniversary Series features Victoria Martino (violin) and James Lent (piano), as they celebrate milestone anniversaries of three major Northern European composers: Arvo Pärt (Estonia, b. 1935), Carl Nielsen (Denmark, b. 1865), and Jean Sibelius (Finland, b. 1865). On October 23 and November 20, Martino and Lent will salute European composers Carl Nielsen and Jean Sibelius, celebrated for their monumental contributions to the symphonic literature. It is a little-known fact that they were also professional violinists, with a brilliant command of technique and profound understanding of the musical possibilities of the instrument. Their passion for the violin almost exceeded their zeal for composition, and it manifested itself in a rich array of works for violin and piano, expressing the composers' deepest yearnings and most intimate emotions.