Quad City Symphony Orchestra Masterworks IV: “Bella & Brahms,” February 4 and 5

Saturday, February 4, 7:30 p.m.

Adler Theatre, 136 East Third Street, Davenport IA

Sunday, February 5, 2 p.m.

Augustana College's Centennial Hall, 3703 Seventh Avenue, Rock Island IL

With the musicians' latest repertoire showcasing legendary works by equally timeless composers Johannes Brahms and Dmitri Shoshtakovich, the Quad City Symphony Orchestra continues their 2022-23 Masterworks season with Bella & Brahms, the concert's February 4 and 5 performances at Davenport's Adler Theatre and Augustana College's Centennial Hall boasting the long-awaited Quad Cities return of violin virtuoso Bella Hristova, who last performed with the ensemble in 2017.

Lauded by the Washington Post as "a player of impressive power and control" who "brought the audience to its feet," Bulgarian-American violinist Hristova has also won international acclaim for her “expressive nuance and rich tone” from the New York Times, and has distinguished herself on the world stage as a performing artist with a remarkably diverse repertoire and bold approach to programming. A recipient of the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant, Hristova has won numerous awards including First Prize in the Young Concert Artists International Auditions and in the Michael Hill International Violin Competition, and she is a Laureate of the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis.

In past seasons, Hristova has performed extensively as a soloist with orchestras around the country, including the Buffalo Philharmonic, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, the New York String Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, the Hawaii, Kansas City, Knoxville, and Milwaukee Symphonies, as well as orchestras in Asia, Europe, Latin America and New Zealand. Beyond her many appearances with orchestras, the artist performs frequently with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and has held residencies at top conservatory and summer music festival programs as a recitalist. She has performed recitals at Carnegie Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, and Boston’s Isabella Gardner Museum, and recently commissioned and premiered Japanese-Zimbabwean composer Nokuthula Ngwenyama’s “Miasma" for unaccompanied violin.

Hristova began violin studies at the age of six in her native Bulgaria, and after gaining accolades following master classes in Salzburg with Ruggiero Ricci, she studied with Ida Kavafian at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. She went on to receive her Artist Diploma with Jaime Laredo at Indiana University, and Hristova's instrument of choice is a 1655 Nicolò Amati violin once owned by the violinist Louis Krasner. Hristova lives in New York City, with her husband David and their beloved (but, as she says, poorly behaved) cats.

For her return engagements in the Quad Cities on February 4 and 5, Hristova will close the Bella & Brahms program with Shostakovich’s boisterous and darkly comedic "Violin Concerto No. 1," which will be preceded by Brahms’ intimate and evocative "Third Symphony," a composition renowned for its flowing rhythms and lush, soaring melodies.

Masterworks IV: Bella & Brahms performances will be held at Davenport's Adler Theatre on February 4 at 7:30 p.m., and, in Rock Island, at Augustana College's Centennial Hall on February 5 at 2 p.m. One hour prior to each performance, concert-goers are invited to attend informational "Concert Conversations" to learn about the works on the program, and admission to the concert events is $10-65. For more information and tickets, call (563)322-0931 and visit QCSO.org.