Videos – Pepe Romero Jr. Guitar

In late February, I spent a few hours in the studio of luthier Pepe Romero Jr. in Southern California.

He and I had met once or twice before over his guitars, but this was the first time we made videos together. 

Happy to share these 4 videos with you.

Feel free to comment on the videos here or on the YouTube videos.

Toru Takemitsu’s arrangement of Harold Arlen’s ‘Over the Rainbow’

My own composition: honey cadence

Francisco Tarrega’s ‘Prudent Étude’

Prelude N. 1 in C Major, BWV 846 by J.S. Bach, arranged by me 🙂

Visit Pepe Romero Jr.’s Website

https://luthier.peperomero.com/

2024 Music Highlights

Thank you for an amazing 2024! 

I am incredibly appreciative of the support received this year. 

Some of the concerts and trips would not have been financially feasible without the generosity of individuals and organizations.

Huge shouts to Arun Luthra, Walburga Marder, Marion Singer, Peter & Yukiko Zisa, Mary Rowell, Luigi Oliva and Nicoletta Vismara, Ciro Gentile, Gino D’Ignazio, Camille Lizarribar, Pasquale Tassone, Laura Kuhn, Renee Lewis & Chris Penny, Peter Frewen and Jenie Smith, Wolfgang and Mechthilde Weber, Yael Abrahamsson, Krista Keogh, All Classical Radio, WOMR, John McDonald, Hannabach Strings, New England Conservatory, Boston Mayor’s of Arts & Culture, NEFA, Christopher Bush, Patreon supporters, Laurie Caplan, Caroline, and my amazing wife and muse, Catherine.

Thank you so much!

A recap of a fulfilling and musical 2024!

US Premiere of Heretic by Richard Cameron-Wolfe – Best Performance of 2024 – The Arts Fuse

photo Catherine Larget-Caplan

New album – Spanish Gems – info & listen

New Publication with Edition Peters: Hovhaness, Mystic Flute – score & video

Debut at Symphony Space, Thalia Theater in New York – video

2 Premieres for Choir & Guitar:

  • Alan Hovhaness – East Coast Premiere – video & review
  • Vineet Shende – New movements of ‘Pravasa – Travels of the Guitar’ at Bowdoin College – video

Residency at the John Cage Trust at Bard College – blog post

Commissioned Douglas Knehans for a new work for guitar + electronics, to be premiered in 2025.

Collaboration with actors —
Recited Shakespeare on stage! 

Hall of Fame inductees for the Arts, Sciences and Humanities at Cherry Creek

Collaboration with poet Charles Coe

Hall of Fame induction to Cherry Creek High School – article

New Lullaby Project concerts and premieres #’s 76, 77, 78 – website

Piano solo ‘Aurore‘ debuted by John McDonald at Tufts University – video

Concerts in Oklahoma, Oregon, Maine, New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Tennessee

Joined the New England Conservatory Extension Division – link

Appointed to the Board of the American Composers Alliance

Created 22, 1-minute Guitar Instruction Videos on Youtube, Tiktok, Instagram

Album and concert reviews in Boston Musical Intelligencer, James Wegg Review (JWR), The WholeNote, The Arts Fuse, Fanfare, Take Effect.

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The 11 recordings reached over 10 million streams!

Returned to Europe for the first time since 2019!

Duomo di Milano

Passalacqua in Naples

Passalacqua Cappuccino 

 

 

For more photos, videos, and news, follow me on Facebook, Youtube, Tiktok, Instagram, Threads, and LinkedIn! 

Thank you for an incredible 2024!

10 Million Streams!

Amazon Music – 7,193,011
Spotify – 3,416,060
Youtube – 1.8 million
Apple Music – 68K

*as of December 28, 2024

Special Thanks to Tiger Turn, Stone Records, Alex Fedorov, Steve Hunt, all of the composers, and most of all, the LISTENERS!

Album Review – Spanish Gems in Take Effect

Thank you to Take Effect Reviews for a 10/10 in this February 2024 review of Spanish Gems!

Link to Review: https://takeeffectreviews.com/february-2024-2/2024/2/28/aaron-larget-caplan

“a richly diverse and attentive performance that’s profoundly technically and perfectly beautiful. 10/10”

Listening Links: https://lnk.to/SpanishGems

*click image to enlarge or read the text below

February 28, 2024
Spanish Gems – Aaron Larget-Caplan
Tiger Turn, 2024

10/10

The globally praised classical guitarist Aaron Larget-Caplan returns with his 11th solo album, where the Spanish classical and flamenco sounds are fleshed out with an inimitable attention to form and mood.

Francisco Tárrega’s “Capricho Árabe (Serenata)” opens the listen with Larget-Caplan’s finger acrobatics retaining the radiance of the original, but also delivered in his own meticulous spirit, and “Panaderoes”, by Esteban de Sanlúcar, offers dizzying progressions that are so flawless and precise it hardly seems like just one guitar is present.

Further along, the dance floor ready “Asturias (Leyenda)” also possesses calm moments as Larget-Caplan takes the song off Isaac Albéniz’s piano and places it on his agile guitar, while Gaspar Sanz’s “Suite Espanola: Canarios” is packed with firm, melodic gestures from the most intense piece included.

Arriving closer to the end, the intimate and reflective “Spanish Romance” tugs on the heartstrings thanks to the sublime and expressive playing, and “Sonatina”, by F.M. Torroba, exits with 3 chapters of cautious and absorbing musicianship that leaves a lasting impression.

If you’re keeping score, this is Larget-Caplan’s 2nd album of Spanish celebration, and it’s a richly diverse and attentive performance that’s profoundly technically and perfectly beautiful.

 

Best Performance of 2024 – Heretic

I am honored to have The Arts Fuse choose my performance of Richard Cameron-Wolfe’s micro-opera ‘Heretic’ as one of the Best Performances of 2024!

The US premiere took place in January 2023 at Salem State University.

Video and lighting by Michael Harvey
Stage Direction by Jerry Johnson*
Coordinated by Karen Gahagan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See the year’s best performances and recordings list by clicking HERE

*Jerry Johnson passed suddenly in February 27, 2024. ‘Heretic’ was his final theater work. This honor goes out to his memory.

Award – Cherry Creek Hall of Fame

Album Review – Spanish Gems in JWR

“A delectable Spanish set, with nary a castanet in sight!”

The venerable Canadian music website James Wegg Review (JWR) wrote a few words about Spanish Gems.

READ: https://www.jamesweggreview.org//Articles.aspx?ID=2584

“Less, as measured by duration,
can most certainly be more”

4 Stars 

Click here or the link above to read the complete review

Milestone: honey cadence reaches 4 million streams!

This summer, the 2022 release of my original guitar solos, honey cadence, reached 4 million streams on Amazon Music. 

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This was not expected, but most welcome.

The most popular songs are a surprise to us.

Do you have a favorite?

From the honey cadence liner notes:

Composed at the end of 2021 and early 2022, the six pensive solos of honey cadence are the first of my compositions to be recorded.

I started sketching melodies and gestures that were floating in my head with the intent of creating an album of meditative intimacy, which though on the quiet side, would be able to keep one’s attention. Improvisations highlighting my preferred qualities of the guitar: tone and timbre variation, note doubling, harmonics, pitch bends, and percussion gave me the confidence and freedom to explore. Each of the six titles has a connection to music, as well as general language, i.e., ‘anticipation’ is a musical ornament and linguistically expresses expectation or prediction.

May the album add some sweetness to your life.

We are over joyed and grateful to all who have listened and continue to listen to the album

honey cadence is on all streaming services and a few physical copies are available at concerts or via Bandcamp.
Scores are published by the American Composers Alliance.

* album streams are different than song streams

Album Review – Spanish Gems in The WholeNote

Guitarist Aaron Larget-Caplan is back with his 11th solo album, and second celebrating Spanish musical heritage with Spanish Gems, a collection of works from the classical and flamenco repertoire (Tiger Turn 888-11 ALCguitar.com).

Included are Tárrega’s Capricho Arabe and Adelita, Esteban de Sanlúcar’s Panaderos, Albeniz’ Asturias, Gaspar Sanz’ Canarios from Suite Española, Emilio Pujol’s El Abejorro and – perhaps somewhat surprisingly – the ubiquitous Spanish Romance.”

Torroba’s three-movement Sonatina closes a thoroughly enjoyable – albeit brief at 35 minutes – CD full of Larget-Caplan’s customary clean and sensitive playing. O

June, July, August 2024
page 61

Link for listening: https://lnk.to/SpanishGems

Link for reviews, videos, and press: https://alcguitar.com/album-spanish-gems.php

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Album Review – Spanish Gems in Fanfare

SPANISH GEMS • Aaron Larget-Caplan (gtr) • TIGER TURN 888-11 (34:43)

TÁRREGA Capricho Árabe (Serenata). Adelita (Mazurka). SANLÚCAR Panaderos. ALBÉNIZ Asturias (Leyenda) (arr. Larget-Caplan). SANZ Suite Española: Canarios. ANONYMOUS Spanish Romance. PUJOL El Abejorro. TORROBA Sonatina

Spanish Gems is another outstanding recital by Aaron Larget-Caplan. On three previous occasions, I’ve reviewed for Fanfare recitals by the Boston-based guitarist. God’s Time—Music of J. S. Bach on Guitar (Tiger Turn 888-09) (Fanfare 46:3, Jan/Feb 2023) features Larget-Caplan’s transcriptions. Nights Transfigured (Stone 888-02) and Drifting (Stone 888-03) (both reviewed in Fanfare, 45:2, Nov/Dec 2021) are Volumes 2 and 3 of Larget-Caplan’s New Lullaby Project, featuring works the guitarist has commissioned, premiered, and recorded. In all cases, I was impressed by Larget-Caplan’s lovely, singing tone, aligned with mastery of both the technical demands and idioms of the works involved. That same level of artistry may be found in Spanish Gems, a collection of favorites teeming with seductive melody, rhythm, and color (strumming effects abound). Larget-Caplan plays all the Spanish works with a compelling balance of fire and elegance, magnified by the closely miked recording. This is a most enjoyable recital. Ken Meltzer

Four stars: Aaron Larget-Caplan’s beguiling recital of Spanish guitar favorites

– Fanfare, September/October, 2024

Link for listening: https://lnk.to/SpanishGems

Link for reviews, videos, and press: https://alcguitar.com/album-spanish-gems.php

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