Mark O’Connor, classic fiddler

Pre-concert talk about American Classical Music by Mark O’Connor, himself.

Americana Symphony
(“Variations on Appalachia Waltz”)                   O’Connor
The Fiddle Concerto (Movement III)(1992)       O’Connor
Song of Liberty Bell                                        O’Connor
Fanfare for the Volunteer (1994)                      O’Connor

“He plays the violin like it wasn’t even invented in Europe,” is how one reviewer described Mark O’Connor.  “Cross-pollinator” is how O’Connor describes himself when it comes to his string playing, placing equal emphasis on jazz, classical and traditiional music – especially American traditional music.  O’Connor has fashioned his music on the idea of the American journey – a culture looking for a better tomorrow:  the camp songs of the westward movement and the optimism it represented; the South with its rock ‘n roll, jazz, Cajun, and country; the East with Broadway, Gershwin, and Ellington.  All of this is America’s cultural heritage, and O’Connor wants to spread the notion that things “can be ‘American’ and be all right.