1) I would love for Julia Fischer to record the Shostakovich and Sibelius violin concertos, for I have the sinking feeling that I will never get to hear her perform them otherwise! If not, perhaps I can wish for her to perform more in the US, preferably in New York City or close to the Northeast!
Speaking of the Sibelius and Shostakovich, here are some pictures of her playing those very concertos that I happened to find:
Sibelius violin concerto - Summer 2007 - 1
Sibelius violin concerto - Summer 2007 - 2
Shostakovich violin concerto - August 2010
2) I wish to see Diana Vishneva perform "Don Quixote" or "The Sleeping Beauty."
It occurs to me that despite having seen two full seasons of Vishneva performing, I have yet to see her in a full-length ballet where her character is alive at the end of the show. I know that she prefers the dramas, which all seem to end in death, but since she has received such critical praise for her performances of Kitri and Aurora, I would love to see them for myself.
Of her 2009 performance at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, Alistair Macauley wrote:
On Tuesday’s opening night Diana Vishneva — injured for much of 2008 — was in bright, flashing form as the heroine Kitri. The sheer luster of her presence is often startling; I know of no dancer today who so gloriously seems a source of light.
And Sarah Kaufman of the Washington Post ranked her performance in "The Sleeping Beauty" in February as one of the best performances of 2010:
Diana Vishneva in the title role of "The Sleeping Beauty," performed by the Mariinsky Ballet in February at the Kennedy Center Opera House. Vishneva, one of the supreme dance artists of our day, warmed an audience that had braved a snowstorm to see her with luminous acting and dance phrasing that was sensitive to both the music and the moment.
3) I wish for Mao Asada to fulfill her goal of reworking all her jumps. I know that it will take a lot of time and effort to do this, and I just hope that she can maintain her motivation and not be too disheartened if she isn't able to put everything together this season. I firmly believe that Mao will succeed eventually, but eventually might not come before March!
