The Ferragamo store in Yacht Haven Grande hosted a cocktail reception Wednesday evening to honor cellist Alisa Weilerstein and pianist Inon Barnatan, visiting artists set to perform on St. Thomas Thursday night.
The event was dual purpose: to show off Ferragamo’s new spring/summer collection for 2010 and to raise funds for and awareness of The Forum, which is sponsoring Weilerstein and Barnatan’s performance.
The non-profit Forum sponsors musicians, artists, speakers, dancers, poets and much more in an effort to bring world-class artists to the territory.
Concert attendees are to be treated to a not-very-often-performed Frederic Chopin arrangement for piano and cello, according to Forum board member Neil Pryor.
The event also gave residents a chance to talk with both artists face to face.
Weilerstein, who performed at the White House in November, and Barnatan are both members of the Lincoln Center Chamber Orchestra.
Barnatan, an internationally acclaimed pianist who started studying at age four, has lately developed a project of Franz Shubert’s late solo piano and chamber music, which the pianist performed in Amsterdam, Mexico and at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.
Weilerstein studied at Columbia University, concentrating on Russian history, which puts her music in a broader context, the cellist said, especially when performing pieces by Soviet-era composers Dmitri Shostakovich and Sergei Prokofiev.
Weilerstein and Barnatan performed a workshop Wednesday before Charlotte Amalie High School, and admired the students’ enthusiasm.
Weilerstein advises young artists to “love the music. Go to as many concerts as possible. There are many ways to be a musician.”
Pryor explained that both he and Ferragamo Retail Supervisor Costantino Fusca believe that the relationship with Ferragamo is symbiotic.
Pryor explained that many of Ferragamo’s customers come to the territory for the winter, and may not be familiar with the Forum’s work. Likewise, Forum supporters may not be familiar with Ferragamo’s collections. Ferragamo’s event helps to get the word out to both groups.
Ferragamo’s new collection caught the eye of many of the evening’s attendees, with purchasers crowding the store and buying bags, shoes and even a dress from the new collection. A portion of proceeds from the evening’s sales will go to support The Forum’s work.
Tickets for Thursday night’s 8 p.m. performance at Pryor-Jolleck Hall at MCM Center are still available either through the Reichhold Center Box office at 340-693-1559 or at the door at Pryor-Jolleck Hall.
For further information about the Forum, call 340-690-4350.
