Compañía Nacional de Danza

Alternately noble and quixotic, Barber Violin Concerto contrasts a classical couple with a bare- footed couple as the worlds of ballet and modern dance collide. Peter Martins created his Barber Violin Concerto to Samuel Barber’s 1941 Violin Concerto, Opus 14 (1939) – Editorial: G. Schirmer. The ballet, which Martins choreographed for New York City Ballet’s American Music Festival in 1988, features one pair of classical dancers and one pair of modern dancers. The ballet was originally performed by NYCB Principal Dancers Merrill Ashley and Adam Lüders as the classical couple, and Paul Taylor Dance Company member Kate Johnson and choreographer and dancer David Parsons as the modern couple.