In the Ross Family Theatre at the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center

An evening devoted entirely to Eastern European music—its intensity, memory, and inner light. Violinist Shannon Lee and pianist-composer Arseniy Gusev trace a century of voices shaped by upheaval and transformation: Janáček’s Violin Sonata, written as the sound of war echoed in his mind; Enescu’s Impressions d’enfance, a day and night remembered through Romanian folk color; Slonimsky’s bold modern energy; and Gusev’s own Crossroads, where those histories converge. Together they reveal how art endures, transforms, and continues to give light in dark times.

Artists:
Shannon Lee, violin
Arseniy Gusev, piano

Program:
Janáček - Violin Sonata
Enescu - Impressions d’enfance, Op. 28
Gusev - Crossroads, for Violin and Piano
Slonimsky - Violin Sonata

Program and order subject to change.

About St. Louis International Classical Music Enterprise (ICME-STL)

In May 2025, a tornado ripped through St. Louis. It killed five of our neighbors and caused more than $1.6 billion in damage.

The tornado—now among the costliest in U.S. history—left behind not only broken homes, but broken connections. Families grieved in silence, while whole neighborhoods were abandoned.

If you live in St. Louis, you understand recovery demands more than financial aid; it requires belonging, healing, and identity. And you deserve to be part of that recovery. Classical music is the vessel that uniquely nurtures these ideals.

That is why the St. Louis International Classical Music Enterprise (ICME–STL) was incorporated in July 2025.

Our mission is urgent: to help St. Louis fully recover from the May tornado—not only financially, but in spirit and strength—through classical music that carries with it the timeless values of survival, prosperity, and identity.

Our vision is bold: together with you, we can help St. Louis achieve even greater international recognition for being a unparalleled hub for transformative, socially conscious classical music performance. We can together drive both tourism and community renewal to St. Louis.

ICME–STL is modeled on musician-driven service projects like the Partitura Project created by legendary Portuguese pianist Maria João Pires in 2012. We are musician-led and community-rooted, an engine for both emergency relief and lasting civic renewal.

Because great music should do more than merely console in hardship. It should give you and your community the courage to rise well above any hardship with a deeper sense of purpose.

For more information visit https://stlclassical.org/about/