Name: Livestream: Conlon Conducts Mendelssohn, Mahler
Start: 2023-07-23T16:00:00

Sasha Cooke

James Conlon

Rodrick Dixon

Lise de la Salle

Aspen Music Festival

Yes, there is a second Mendelssohn piano concerto. Mysteriously, it’s become eclipsed by the first one, even though it’s comparable in merit both pianistically and musically. Mendelssohn had a long and reciprocal love affair with England, and he wrote the piece for the Birmingham Music Festival. When he premiered it himself, the audience must have been delighted by both the craftsmanship and heartfelt lyricism of their German hero. His performance was equally impressive, causing one British critic to write: “In forcible and impetuous passages, there was a force and an élan which almost took one's breath away. His touch was exquisitely delicate, his fingers sang as they rippled over the keyboard." The charismatic Lise de la Salle has garnered similar praise: “For much of the concert, the audience had to remember to breathe... the exhilaration didn’t let up for a second until her hands came off the keyboard.” (Washington Post)