Violinist Paul Huang and the London Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Jun Märkl present two American concertos from the mid-twentieth century: Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35 and Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto, Op. 14. In an interview for the album, Huang shares, “These concertos offer two complementary visions of American musical identity. Korngold brought with him the lush Romantic idiom of Old Europe and transformed it within the new world of Hollywood, creating a uniquely American fusion of cinematic sweep and classical craft. Barber, by contrast, was born into the fabric of American musical life: his concerto channels a distinctly homegrown voice – lyrical, direct, and emotionally forthright – that resonates with the openness and individuality often associated with American art. Together, these works trace the cultural story of a nation shaped both by the brilliance of immigrants who reimagined their traditions on new soil and by composers whose music expresses the country’s own evolving sensibility.”