Joshua Bell And Larisa Martinez To Perform “Voice And The Violin” Concert Live And Online Tonight From 92NY

Joshua Bell, the world-renowned violinist, and his wife, the acclaimed soprano Larisa Martinez, are kicking off the 2022-2023 season of the 92NY Center for Culture & Arts in New York with a concert at 7:30 p.m. ET tonight that can be heard both in-person and online.

The online concert will be available for viewing for 72 hours from the initial broadcast.

Their program, “Voice and the Violin,” features music by composers ranging from Chopin and Mendelssohn to Rachmaninoff and Bernstein. Bell and Martinez will be accompanied by pianist Peter Dugan, who is also the host of the NPR program, “From the Top.”

When the program was announced, Bell and Martinez said, “Our concept for the Voice and the Violin program began during the pandemic, while we were quarantined and finding new ways to collaborate and enjoy music together.

“Although finding repertoire written specifically for violin and voice can be a challenge, we discovered and fell in love with these gems featured (in tonight’s performance). An example of this comes from one of Mendelssohn’s lesser-known works, ‘Ah, ritorna, età dell’oro,’ from Infelice. It was wonderful to explore a work by one of our favorite composers that was originally written for this unique instrumentation. Another happy discovery was Hérold’s ‘Jours de mon enfance’ from the opera Le pré aux clercs. This piece features exciting dialogue moments between the voice and the violin, making it especially fun for us to perform this piece together.”

Martinez also said she was “especially proud to showcase the song ‘Mi Rancho’ by Puerto Rican composer Narciso Figueroa, and lyrics by Luis Lloréns Torres, as a little gem” from her homeland.

The program will close with a medley based on Bernstein’s West Side Story suite, arranged by Charles Czarnecki.

In an interview this week, Bell said he had been performing both in the U.S. and overseas since May of 2021; Martinez also has been touring. They performed other versions of the 92NY program earlier this year and hope to eventually record it.

Puerto Rico-born and raised Martinez is working on a new album whose working title is, “Songs of Love and Longing,” for release next year. The latest album of Bloomington, Indiana-born and raised Bell is “Joshua Bell: At Home with Music,” based on an intimate recital from his and Martinez’s home in upstate New York that was recorded during the pandemic and broadcast on PBS.

Bell said the pandemic had allowed him to “take time, reset, do physical things. I feel I play my instrument better, I am refreshed.”

Martinez said she was happy to be performing again in front of live audiences, because “as performers, we feed off of what we see in the audience. It’s so strange when you perform online,” without an audience.

“We want to connect with people, to be part of a community,” she added, noting that the pandemic also had shown “how important the arts are for us as human beings.”

Bell further noted the importance of listening to a concert with an audience of other people, something he said creates a “palpable feeling.”

He said he and his wife “intend to have fun” tonight.