Music of War

Witness the Carnegie Hall debut of violinist Blake Pouliot, whom the Toronto Star calls “one of those special talents that comes along once in a lifetime.” It’s an electrifying program from the very first measure, with Bao Zhi Yang’s Ambush on All Sides providing a dramatic opening statement that leads into Janáček’s sole surviving Violin Sonata, a work of aching passion and sincerity. Pouliot treats listeners to an additional masterpiece: Prokofiev’s Violin Sonata No. 1, which demands extraordinary dynamic command as it moves between its most ethereal and forceful passages. Rounding out the concert is the premiere of an innovative, Carnegie Hall co-commissioned work by Derek Skye and Pirayeh Pourafar.