Acclaimed violinist performs with the Philadelphia Orchestra Friday

VAIL — The Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival hosts violin virtuoso Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, special soloist for The Philadelphia Orchestra, today at the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater in Vail. The concert starts at 6 p.m.

Salerno-Sonnenberg has devoted her lifetime to the violin. She is the recipient of the Avery Fisher Prize and has several recordings. Her playing is innovative, sharp and witty, said Lynne Mazza, Bravo’s associate artistic director.

“Nadja is one of America’s treasures and a festival favorite, and she always has a great smile,” Mazza said. “Her enthusiasm is infectious.”

Maestro Miguel Harth-Bedoya leads the orchestra in Piazzolla’s “The Four Seasons Buenos Aires” and Tchaikovsky’s “Symphony No. 6 in B. Minor, Op. 74, Pathétique.” These works take the audience on an explorative journey through the elements of nature, and then through the elements of passion, despair and death.

“The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires” begins with exciting rhythms and hypnotic beats and ends in tonal harmonies. Piazzolla covers a large range of moods and sounds to trace the cycle of the seasons. It’s a distinctive musical sound, combining jazz and Argentinean tango with classical forms and 20th century harmonic ideas.

The second work of the program, “Pathétique,” features extreme expressive elements and large dynamic ranges and was originally intended to convey the essence of life.

Though the composer wavered in his dedication to this theme, the finale does become a haunting song of farewell and despair as Tchaikovsky himself conducted the work’s premiere in 1893, just nine days before his death.

“Pathétique” begins and ends in the deepest despair, Mazza said, but provides an unorthodox sequence of movements — slow-fast-fast-slow — that blossom from intimate experiences to symphonic proportions.

The concert starts at 6 p.m. Tickets range from $23 to $84 and can be purchased at 877-812-5700 or at www.vailmusicfestival.org. Children 12 and under receive free general admission tickets.