Program: Between Worlds

In this program you will hear mandolin player Avi Avital perform “Prelude and Allegro” (Fritz Kreisler), “Nacyem Nacyem” (traditional Turkish), Allegro Sonata in G Major (Johann Sebastian Bach), “Mi Yitneni Of” (traditional Israeli), Sarabande from Overture in the French Style, BWV 831 (J. S. Bach), “Improvisation” (Itamar Doari), “Giga” from Partita no. 2 in D minor, BWV 1004 (J. S. Bach), folk themes from “Miniatures” based on Georgian folk themes (Sulkhan Tsintsadze), “Romanian Folk Dances” (Bela Bartok), “Sette Canzoni Popolari Spagnole” (Manuel de Falla), Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 (Heitor Villa-Lobos), and Concerto in A Minor (Nikolai Budashkin).

Acknowledged by the New York Times for his “exquisitely sensitive playing” and “stunning agility,” Grammy-nominated Avi Avital is one of the world’s most exciting and adventurous musicians. He is deeply committed to building a fresh legacy for the mandolin through virtuosic performance in a range of genres and to commissioning new works for mandolin. This concert was held at the National Gallery of Art on Sunday, March 6, 2016.