On April 5 and 6, Michael filled in on short notice for an ailing Nicola Benedetti in two performances of the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with the Virginia Symphony.

The response of the audience, press and orchestra were extremely positive and both performances drew immediate and very enthusiastic standing ovations. Critic Lee Teply wrote:

VIRGINIAN PILOT April 7, 2008

MENDELSSOHN SHINES
A guest soloist turns in a memorable performance.
Felix Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto fulfilled all expectations.

Violinist Michael Ludwig was a last -minute replacement for Nicola Benedetti, who had been the scheduled soloist for the Mendelssohn concerto. His technical and interpretive skills were more than enough to make this a memorable performance as soloist. He tossed off runs and arpeggios with apparent ease and with excellent intonation and rhythmic precision. The fast outer movements were exciting because of Mendelssohn's development of the material and Ludwig's interpretation of it, but the slow middle movement was the emotional core. Its melodies were spun out with the skill of a great singer, with touching effect.