On May 7, Musical Bridges Around the World closed their 2022-23 concert season with a hot show at San Fernando Cathedral… and that’s not just a metaphor. The air conditioner in the sanctuary wasn’t working, and so it was a little hot and humid. To combat the heat, the doors were held open, and in this concert recording featuring cellist Boris Andrianov and guitarist Dimitri Illarionov, you may hear the stray sounds of traffic from nearby Commerce Street!
Andrianov and Illarionov titled their program “Expedition” because the show includes music from all over the world, including Mexican, Spanish and Moldavian folk melodies.
A particular highlight is a new work commissioned by the duo, “Air Alert,” by composer Anna Drubich. Most recently, Drubich scored the Oscar-winning documentary “Navalny,” and like that film, “Air Alert” is about the current war in Ukraine.
“You can hear everything [in the music], the bombing,” Illarionov said after the show. “This piece is dedicated to the victims of the war, which we all hate.”
The program includes:
- Asturias – Isaac Albeniz
- Sonata in a minor – Antonio Vivaldi (with motorcycle intro!)
- Air Alert – Anna Drubich
- Capriccio Arabe – Francisco Tárrega
- Por Ti Mi Corazon – Manuel Ponce
- Doina Banatului and Hora Basarablei — folk dances from Moldavia
- Miniature -- Giya Kancheli
- Suite: Free Life on Earth – Giovanni Sollima
- La muerte del ángel – Astor Piazzolla
