Guest host Frank Dans, Interim Artistic Administrator for the NAC Orchestra, interviews Jon Kimura Parker for the "Parker Plays Mendelssohn" concerts from February 5-6, 2014. Inspired by his sunny sojourn in Italy (and a brief infatuation with a young pianist), Mendelssohn composed an equally unclouded piano concerto, brimming with free-flowing lyrical lines and opportunities for displays of virtuosity by NAC Orchestra favourite Jon Kimura Parker. Schumann presented his Fourth Symphony to his beloved wife on her 22nd birthday, saying it contained her portrait in a melody he called the “Clara” theme. Listen for it, woven like a shimmering thread throughout the work. To begin the concert, re-enter Canadian composer R. Murray Schafer’s evocative musical landscape.