Hop pianist-in-residence Sally Pinkas is joined by her frequent collaborator, Saul Bitrán, first violinist with the Latin Grammy-winning Cuarteto Latinoamericano. This program includes three Latin American composers who frequented Paris — Argentine tango king Astor Piazzolla, Brazilian great Heitor Villa-Lobos and popular Mexican composer Manuel María Ponce Cuéllar — plus sonatas by Maurice Ravel and Gabriel Faure, two of the French composers they rubbed shoulders with.

These composers were among many Latin American artists who flocked to Paris in the 20th century. French music made an indelible impact on Ponce’s musical language, whereas Piazzolla’s sojourn only solidified his connection with the Argentinean tango — although Paris might have given him the Bach-styled fugues and avant garde instrumental effects that found their way into the nuevo tango he went on create. Villa-Lobos famously claimed, upon arriving in the City of Light, "I have not come to learn, I have come to show what I have made up to now.” However, his music did pick up strains of French Impressionism. All these cultural collaborations come forth in this beguiling program.