Described by The Washington Post as "an exciting, boundary-defying performer" and by The New York Times as "striking and charismatic . . . [with] bravura technique and soulful musicianship," internationally renowned violinist Rachel Barton Pine joins the DSO to perform Aram Khachaturian's exhilarating "Violin Concerto in d minor." This virtuoso showpiece incorporates musical elements from folk songs and dances of the composer's native Armenia, perfectly capturing the exotic Oriental flavor of traditional folk melodies and the rich diversity of customary dance rhythms. The "Symphony No. 1 in g minor" by fellow Russian composer Vasily Kalinnikov - with its compendium of lush, sweeping themes and sumptuous tonal colors - makes up the first half of the program. Selections from Khachaturian's "Masquerade Suite" culminate the DSO's distinctive celebration of this vast and fascinating land, with its mixed heritage from the Byzantine, Ottoman, and Mongol empires, blended with the more recent artistic legacies of Tsarist Russia and the Soviet Union.