Boutique Bourbon Distilleries, Jazz Clubs, and Heavenly Food: Why the Carr-Petrova Duo Loves Louisville
Pianist Anna Petrova and Violist Molly Carr. Photo credit: David Beyda
Visiting a city can be overwhelming—especially when that city is overflowing with exceptional options for food, drinks, entertainment, shopping, and places to explore. Luckily, Classical Post’s newest feature Artist City Guides is here to change that.
What’s better than rapidly googling the city you’re visiting the night before you get there for the best of the best restaurants, bars, and clubs? Hearing from it first-hand from the classical music artists you love, respect, and admire!
In this newest feature section, we hear from some of our favorite classical music artists about their favorite cities in the United States—they tell us where to eat, where to stay, what to drink, and how to enter full relaxation mode, no matter where we’re visiting.
This week, the enormously talented Carr-Petrova Duo is dishing on their favorite spots in Louisville, Kentucky.
First, meet the two skilled women behind the Carr-Petrova Duo, Anna Petrova, pianist, and Molly Carr, violist.
The duo has been performing together since 2005—when they were attending school in New York at the Juilliard School and the Manhattan School of Music. Separately, each of the duo’s members is internationally acclaimed, award-winning soloists who have performed across the globe winning international competitions,
Together, the duo is rapidly compiling a remarkable list of accolades in recognition for their stunning musical expression, their refined artistry, and their relentless entrepreneur dedication to social initiatives.
If you’re planning a trip to Louisville, Kentucky soon, you won’t want to miss out on these exceptional destinations from the Carr-Petrova Duo. Headed to Louisville in January? You’re in luck! The Carr-Petrova duo will be performing in Louisville on Sunday, January 19th, 2020 at 3 PM as the guest artists for MusicEx concert series at Comstock Concert Hall.
WHERE TO STAY
We love visiting and playing in Louisville! It’s a vibrant city which prides itself on its boutique bourbon distilleries, horse racing, gourmet restaurants, country & bluegrass music, and much more!
Ever since Anna moved to Louisville last August (2018) to join the faculty of the University of Louisville, it has become one of our most-visited cities—as the duo often meets there to perform or just rehearse in preparation for upcoming concerts or tours.
We always stay in the quaint residential neighborhood of St. Matthew’s, which is near to downtown and the two main restaurant and bar strips, but also very near to the beautiful parks of Louisville.
WHERE TO EAT
As for restaurants, our hands-down favorite spot for enjoying a gourmet dish is Harvest—a restaurant with Southern fare offering fresh ingredients only from local farmers, featuring the photos of these farmers on the walls. Their menu changes every couple of weeks, you can always be sure to find cooking which feels like home and tastes like heaven! We especially love the fennel sausage Italian pasta!
WHERE TO DRINK
Another place to check out for entertainment if you’re looking for a night out on the town is the Jimmy Can’t Dance Jazz Club—a spectacular “hole-in-the-wall” sandwich-shop-turned-jazz-club venue, which features some of the best jazz bands touring the country.
Another great spot for a night out is Proof on Main – one of our favorites! After concerts, we always enjoy a trip to Proof on Main to celebrate with our all-time favorite drink—the “Kingslayer” cocktail, a smoky, slightly tangy, and just perfectly bitter concoction, finished with a sage leaf. We love it and crave it (and might possibly even play a little faster in our Louisville concerts knowing it’s coming soon!)
Proof on Main is both a restaurant and bar which is nestled in the acclaimed 21C hotel. The bar has a bourbon menu of over 10 pages which can satisfy even the most experienced connoisseur. It is also situated in the hotel lobby which hosts different expositions of contemporary art monthly. You can sip your cocktail and walk around to enjoy the galleries. (Also: do make sure to check their bathrooms as well! We’re quite sure you haven’t seen anything like them!)
Occasionally, following a concert (and after we’ve enjoyed a Kingslayer…or two) we will also head to the bar area of Louisville—Bardstown Road—where we would hop from place to place and more often than not, end in the Highlands Tap Room for some late-night karaoke and pool!
WHERE & HOW TO RELAX
The parks are a favorite destination for us and our pups Billie and Benji—sometimes the best rehearsal technique is to just take a break and go out into nature to disconnect for a bit! We especially love Cherokee Park, which was designed by the same architect who designed Central Park in Manhattan.