What can you say about an evening that was so perfect, inspiring, and resoundingly spectacular!? That characterizes an evening performance by FIU’s virtuosic violinist Misha Vitenson along with Cuban pianist Felix Spengler at Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall on Saturday, April 13.
The program was quite ambitious with the two musicians performing Shostakovich’s Preludes for Violin and Piano op. 34; Brahms’s Violin and Piano sonata in A major op. 100; Tchaikovsky’s Meditation; and Saint-Saëns’s Havanaise op. 33. From the moment Vitenson played his first notes the entire audience was mystically captivated by him, and in absolute awe of his talent. From making the most difficult pieces seem so easy, to his contagious energy and charm, there wasn’t a sound in the recital hall, except for the roar of applause that erupted after every piece. Spengler proved to be a savvy collaborator on the Brahms sonata and a very sensitive accompanist in the performance.
In attendance was Vitenson’s student, Sage Mcbride, who flew to New York in order to see him perform. After the concert he announced, “I am so lucky to have a teacher that inspires me, not just during lessons, but especially when I see him perform. To see him perform in Carnegie Hall was an experience that I will never forget. It reminds me of how much he has helped me and that someday it might just be me on that stage.”
Misha is the first violinist of the Amernet String Quartet, FIU’s Ensemble-In-Residence, at the School of Music. To learn more about him or the Amernet String Quartet, please click here. You can hear this celebrated violinist perform with the quartet at the Mainly Mozart Festival held in Coral Gables on Sunday, May 12, 3:00 PM and Sunday, May 26, 3:00 PM. More information can be found here.
