Spring has arrived, and Raymond Jones marks the season with a handpicked selection of music to match. Join him this Wednesday at 9 p.m. on WHRO-FM for “A Local Touch – Music with a Virginia Connection,” and enjoy music created and performed across the Commonwealth.
The program begins with the Piano Concerto in A minor by Jan Paderewski, recorded at St. Luke Catholic Church in McLean. Pianist Thomas Pandolfi is joined by the Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra under Petr Schmelzer.
Choral colors follow with “Lux: The Dawn From On High” by Dan Forrest, performed by the Williamsburg Choral Guild and the Virginia Wesleyan University Camerata under Brian J. Isaac, recorded at Williamsburg United Methodist Church. Soprano Lauren Tompkins and tenor Scott M. Crissman are featured soloists in this radiant work.
From Staunton, this week’s “Heifetz on Air” episode, “Fantasies & Fairy Tales,” explores the storytelling side of classical music. Cellist Zlatomir Fung brings a Czech legend to life, alongside music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Robert Schumann, in a program filled with imagination and drama.
The season’s energy continues with Igor Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring,” performed by the Virginia Symphony Orchestra under JoAnn Falletta. This recording was part of a special release marking Falletta’s 25th anniversary as music director, originally captured during a landmark 2013 collaboration with the Richmond Ballet celebrating the work’s centennial.
To close, music by Richmond-born composer Mary Howe captures the gentler side of the season in “Spring Comes Not Too Soon,” performed by soprano Courtney Maina and pianist Mary Dibbern.
Celebrate the sounds of spring with Raymond Jones and “A Local Touch,” Wednesday at 9 p.m. on WHRO-FM 90.3, or listen online from wherever you are.
