Virtuoso Russian violinist Philippe Quint joins the San Diego Chamber Orchestra on February 12, 13, and 16 in a concert of music about both the tender and the passionate side of love. He will be playing a 1723 Stradivari violin on loan from Mrs. Arrison through the generous efforts of the Stradivary Society in Chicago.

Philippe Quint has been called the “modern day Paganini" by the Cincinnati Enquirer.  The New York Times described Quint as having "power, breadth of tone and passion.”  The Buffalo News described him as having "immaculate technique, a spontaneously expressive flow, and a tone that embraced both richness and sweetness.”

Quint’s virtuosity will be showcased in Ravel’s Tzigane (Gypsy) which is a fine example of smoldering Hungarian passion and requires a fiery style of violin playing.  The gypsy culture has long been imbued with a sense of exoticism and sensuality.  It is only fitting that the program will also feature Quint on the Bizet/Sarasate Carmen Fantasy.

Inspired by love and romance, the program includes two works on marriage: Mozart’s Overture from The Marriage of Figaro, and as a precursor to marriage, Elgar’s Salut d'Amour.  Elgar, separated from the woman he loved wrote Salut d'Amour.  The deeply tender music fulfilled its purpose as Elgar and his beloved married a year later.

In addition to honoring the loves of the past, The Chamber Orchestra takes part in a modern day love story as they perform Schubert’s Serenada “Leise flehen meine Lieder", which is performed in honor of Helen and Harry Miyahira.  The concert is dedicated to the Miyahira’s for their long standing support of the Orchestra and their membership as founding members of the Maestro’s Circle, a group pledged to multiyear support for Maestro Jung-Ho Pak.

A more sobering tribute to love comes in the form of Corigliano’s film score to The Red Violin.  Quint performs the haunting Anna’s Theme which captures the spirit of the beloved and deceased wife of a seventeenth-century Italian violin-maker.

Debussy’s Girl with the Flaxen Hair and Claire de Lune, both of which were inspired by poetry, add a more ethereal depiction of love.  The Girl with the Flaxen Hair is in response to a poem by Charles-Marie Leconte De Lisle describing a girl seated in a field of flowering clover:  “the girl with flaxen hair, the beauty with cheery lips.”  Claire de Lune illuminates a more melancholy poem by Paul Verlaine:   “The while they celebrate in minor strain/Triumphant love, effective enterprise,/They have an air of knowing all is vain,— .”

The San Diego Chamber Orchestra’s performance will take place on February 12, 7:30 pm at Sherwood Auditorium, La Jolla: February 13, 7:30 pm at Del Mar Country Club, Rancho Santa Fe; and February 16, 7:30 pm at St. Paul’s Cathedral, San Diego. For tickets and information regarding upcoming concerts, visit www.sdco.org or call 858-350-0290 ext. 7

The performance at Rancho Santa Fe is sponsored by Northern Trust Bank. Mr. Quint’s appearance is sponsored by Walter and Robbie Bregman of Del Mar.