A musical connection with ECSO concert

You know what people are going to say: these two make beautiful music together.

Aw.

By "these two," we mean: Toshiyuki (Toshi) Shimada, who is, of course, the music director of the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra; and the soloist for Saturday's concert, pianist Eva Virsik - who also happens to be married to Shimada.

No wonder the program is titled "All in the Family."

The impressive Virsik has performed all over the world. She made her Carnegie Hall recital debut in 2008, and she has played to sold-out houses with, among many others, the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra. She has performed at the Festival of Contemporary Music in Berlin and the Russian Winter - again, among many others.

Her success probably isn't all that surprising, considering her auspicious musical beginnings. Growing up in Bratislava, Slovakia, she was a child prodigy who started taking piano lessons at 4, composed her own music at 5 , and won her first competition at 6. Her early talent continued blossoming. By 15, she had won several international competitions and was making her orchestra debut.

On Saturday, she will play Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor with the ECSO; it's one of Chopin's very few works with orchestra. Also on the program are Tchaikovsky's Manfred Symphony and John Barry's soundtrack for "Out of Africa."

- KRISTINA DORSEY

Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra,

8 p.m. Saturday, Garde Arts Center, 325 State St., New London; $27-$54; also, pre-concert lecture by pianist Gary Chapman at 7 p.m.; free champagne reception for entire audience follows the concert; (860) 443-2876, gardearts.org.