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The term “transformation” can best describe the two works on this program by Russian composers Rodion Shchedrin and Igor Stravinsky. Shchedrin provides a new take on the music from Georges Bizet’s beloved opera Carmen. Scored for strings and percussion, it is “a creative meeting of the minds” of Bizet and Shchedrin, and it has become the Russian composer’s best-known work. Stravinsky’s Pulcinella was composed at the request of ballet impresario Serge Diaghilev and based upon the 18th century theatrical style known as Commedia dell’arte. Stravinsky masterfully blends Italian composer Giovanni Pergolesi’s classical melodies with his own distinctive rhythmic and harmonic language to create a work that is considered by many to be the best example of his Neoclassical period. The concert is free and open to the public. The Rachel M. schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts center, NOVA is located at 3001 N. Beauregard St., Alexandria, VA; parking for $6.