If you ask me, Wildwood’s the move for tonight. Your ears probably need serious rehabilitation after hearing Attorney General Jeff Sessions utter the words “I don’t recall” roughly 1,245 times today, so consider a drive out to Wildwood Park for the Arts to hear the ASO Concertmaster play a super rare violin. It’s basically the aural equivalent of a 24-hour juice cleanse.
As part of the organization’s summer music festival, Arkansas Symphony Orchestra’s Kiril Laskarov, in his 18th season as ASO Concertmaster, will play a Stradivarius violin. Laskarov’s something of a Little Rock treasure, too often underappreciated, and these violins are pretty hard to come by; most sources estimate that there are only 512 or so violins still kicking around that were crafted by the famous Italian family in the 17th and 18th centuries. And, like a rare fine wine or an expensive truffle, lots of people have conducted tests to see if the genuine article stands up to its pedigreed reputation.
Lucky for you, you can decide for yourself. Tickets for tonight’s 7:30 p.m. concert are $15, and you can nab one here.