Stradivarius comes to mind when you think of special violins, but Niccolo Paganini preferred the strings of Guarneri Del Gesu. This week, in honor of the virtuoso’s 237th birthday, his ancestor Maria Elena Paganini orchestrated a huge celebration, ushered in with cocktails at Ascent Lounge overlooking Central Park featuring a performance by some extraordinary players, music director Edmond Fokker van Crayestein, Elly Suh, Kevin Zhu, Sabrina-Vivian Hopcker, and followed by a spectacular concert at Carnegie Hall. But the violins were the special guests, each one valued at roughly $10 million. Undaunted by their luxe value, the violinists took their instruments in stride: “They must be played.”
You are not going to hear happier music than Pink Martini. The Beacon Theater was packed this week with devotees, eager to hear the singers China Forbes and Edna Vazquez sing “Besame mucho,” “Amado mio,” “Yolanda,” and other hits with the “little orchestra” led by Thomas Lauderdale. Based in Portland, Oregon, this big band boasts players from all over the world, and vocalists performed in no fewer than fifteen languages. NPR’s Ari Shapiro, from Portland, dreamed of singing with this hometown band, and did so in French for “Et Maintenent.” Women flocked the stage for their moment in “I Am Woman,” as the evening ended with the audience in a conga line. A dozen musicians onstage, slide trombonists and violinists kept the dance alive.
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