It was all the way back at the beginning of the year, but Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra principal cellist Yuri Hooker's solo performance of [Tchaikovsky]'s Variations on a Rococo Theme was a concert I will never forget. His sublimely emotional interpretation and gutsy performance brought tears to my eyes.

The other star of the evening was concertmaster [Karl Stobbe], who was at his technical and interpretative best. It was truly a program with multicultural influences. The Estonian Tali conducted Spanish composer Astor Piazzolla's Las Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas, arranged by Russian Leonid Desyatnikov intermingled with 18th century Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi's The Four Seasons.

Janina Fialkowska remains one of Canada's premier pianists. Called "a born Chopin interpreter" by Arthur Rubinstein, she performed in a special concert for the Women's Musical Club this fall.