Joshua Bell And Friends Share Musical Gifts For The Holidays

His new album features collaborations with Gloria Estefan, Alison Krauss, Kristin Chenoweth, Chick Corea, Branford Marsalis, Renee Fleming, Straight No Chaser, Michael Feinstein, Frankie Moreno, Plácido Domingo and others.

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With Musical Gifts from Joshua Bell and Friends, world-renowned violinist Joshua Bell recreates his family’s tradition of having friends come to his home during the holidays and joining in on songs that celebrate the warmth, beauty and magic of the season. Musical Gifts includes repertoire representing a variety of holiday traditions. The CD also relates to Bell’s Romance of the Violin album, and its follow-up Voice of the Violin. “On both of them, I took popular classical or non-classical songs and adapted them for my instrument,” says Bell. “The idea goes back to the violinists like Jascha Heifetz, who recorded with Bing Crosby, and my hero Fritz Kreisler, who often rearranged other composers’ works so delightfully. I also love the idea of celebrating music in ways different from how it was originally written, bringing in new arrangements and creating new repertoire for my instrument,” Bell adds.

“In America, Christmas transcends religion. It’s a time for family celebration, and I wanted Musical Gifts to be a little broader,” notes Bell. “Being that my late father was a former Episcopal priest and my mother is Jewish, I wanted to create a body of work that celebrates both traditions and captures the feeling of the holidays,” Bell adds.