My Funny Valentine: February 9, 2012

Our latest Noteworthy video embraces the Valentine’s Day spirit even further by presenting a beautiful “classical crossover” rendition of the holiday’s most enduring pop song, Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart’s classic “My Funny Valentine” (from their 1937 musical Babes in Arms). Star violinist Joshua Bell and Broadway diva Kristin Chenoweth here team up to perform this romantic gem in an elegant and sophisticated arrangement by pianist / conductor Lee Musiker, scored for a small chamber ensemble. The video is a promo for Mr. Bell’s 2009 Sony Classical release At Home with Friends, which was the topic of the first of two interviews conducted with him by Classical Archives Artistic Director Nolan Gasser. As Mr. Bell said at the time, this arrangement stems from a TV special he and Ms. Chenoweth did several years earlier, and became one of the main inspirations for the album. Enjoy, and tell us what you think!

Joshua Bell and Kristin Chenoweth perform Rodgers & Hart’s “My Funny Valentine”