We welcome South African cellist Jacques-Pierre Malan into the AmiciMusic family with this powerful program featuring folk-inspired music by Beethoven, Janacek, and Schumann along with the amazing Mendelssohn Cello Sonata in D Major. Mendelssohn was one of the greatest child prodigies who helped bring Leipzig to the top of the musical world with his conducting and musical power. He also helped revive the music of J.S. Bach, which had gone out of favor during the Classical period. Sadly, Mendelssohn’s position as one of the top composers began to diminish after his death, largely through anti-semitic attacks by Wagner and others. When the Nazis rose up, his music was banned despite the fact that Mendelssohn had converted to Christianity in his lifetime. Only now are we putting Mendelssohn back where he belongs in the top tier of composers.