Honored to have ‘God’s Time: Music of J.S. Bach on Guitar’ chosen as one of the Best Albums of 2023 by The Arts Fuse!

Arts Feature: Top Classical Recordings and Concerts of 2023

Read the whole article by clicking above!

I am grateful for the many people who have made this year so special. At times I felt like 2023 was a normal year of music making and collaboration, and then I would be reminded that our recent past is very much with us and that the world is very fragile. 

I consider 2023 to be Adventure in Music year, and I think we have earned a bit of rest and a special cappuccino or affogato (see below) to commemorate the beauty that can exist in the world, if we so desire it.

Onward for a wonderful, safe, and healthy 2024, and thanks to all who have listened, enjoyed, and explored music with me in 2023!

Aaron

Collaborators:

• Christopher Bush, clarinet
• Johnathan McCullough, baritone
• Frederic Jodry III, harpsichord
• Robert Lehman, violin
• Kimberly Lehman, viola
• Rebecca Hartka, cello
• Jeff Christmas, conductor with the Bowdoin Chamber Choir
• Charles Coe, poet
• Kabir Sehgal, Tiger Turn
• Alex Fedorov, design
• Steve Hunt, mixing and mastering
• Gina Genova, Will Rowe, and Simon Henry Berry, American Composers Alliance
• Gene Caprioglio, Edition Peters
• Steve Schwartz, Your Heaven Audio
• Michael Newman, Mannes School of Music
• João Luiz, Hunter College
• Tali Roth, Juilliard
• Nick Morgan, TEDx

Premieres:

• Alan Hovhaness – Mystic Flute, Op. 29, arranged by ALC, Robbins Library, Arlington, MA, February 2023 (US premiere)
• Daniel Felsenfeld – Only Winter Certainties on Bargemusic, Brooklyn, New York, April 2023 (info)
• Sam Cave – …in the soft dark welling… at the Smith Center for the Arts, Providence College, September 2023
• Nicolás Lell Benavides – Rinconcito for guitar & string trio, University of Southern Maine, December 2023 (info)

New Album & Recordings

• Spanish Candy – May 26, 2023 on Tiger Turn (888-10) (info)
• Berceuse Inquiète by Ronald Pearl, for the New Lullaby Project, live at Providence College (listen)

Album Reviews

• The Arts Fuse: God’s Time: Music of J.S. Bach on Guitar
• Take Effect: Spanish Candy
• Fanfare: Spanish Candy
• James Wegg Review of 3 albums: Spanish Candy, John. Cage. Guitar., God’s Time: Music of J.S. Bach
• The Whole Note: Spanish Candy
• Take Effect: Drifting, Vol. 3 of the New Lullaby Project
• Take Effect: honey cadence
• Take Effect: God’s Time: Music of J.S. Bach on Guitar
• Amazon Fan Review: honey cadence

Publications:

• honey cadence – a collection of six meditations by Aaron Larget-Caplan was published by the American Composers Alliance, May 2023 (info)

Publication Review:

• This is Classical Guitar: honey cadence 
• This is Classical Guitar: Bacchanale by John Cage arranged for two prepared guitars

Awards: 

• Paul Revere Award for Graphic Excellence from The Music Publishers Association of the United States presented for Aaron’s arrangement of Bacchanale by John Cage, June 2023 (info)
• Cultural Grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council for Now Musique, Feb. 2023
• Best of 2023 by The Arts Fuse: God’s Time: Music of J.S. Bach on Guitar, Dec. 2023 (info)
• Reached 6-million streams!

Videos:

• Spanish Candy intro video (watch)
• Remembering by Laurie Spiegel, written for the New Lullaby Project (watch)
• Libertango by Astor Piazzolla, arranged for sextet (watch)
• Interview with Anthony R. Green (watch) 
• Interview with Daniel Felsenfeld (watch)
• TEDx – moving still by Aaron Larget-Caplan (watch) 

Instructional Videos:

• Dream by John Cage 
• Round from Three Easy Pieces by John Cage

Interviews:

• Conducting Conversations, WCRI, Rhode Island, May 2023

Classes

• Juilliard, New York
• Hunter College, New York
• New York University Steinert School of Music
• Mannes at the New School of Music, New York

Misc.

• New press photos with photographer Paula Morin (info)
• TEDx – moving still by Aaron Larget-Caplan (watch) 

LARGET-CAPLAN’S JOHN CAGE ARRANGEMENT WINS NATIONAL AWARD

The Music Publishers Association of the United States presented a Paul Revere Award for Graphic Excellence in June to Aaron Larget-Caplan for his arrangement of Bacchanale by John Cage, for two prepared guitars published by Edition Peters. The Bacchanale publication was issued in the fall of 2022 and won second prize in Music for Fretted Instruments category.

It is the third in a series of John Cage arrangements for guitar done by Larget-Caplan. The first ‘Six Melodies’ for violin and guitar from 2015 were followed by a collection of seven solos by Cage titled ‘Piano Music for Guitar’ in 2017. They are the first arrangements to receive permission from the Cage estate for publication, and have been widely acclaimed for their inventiveness, quality, and playability.

Larget-Caplan recorded all these compositions on his extensively praised album, ‘John. Cage. Guitar.’ It was issued by Stone Records (UK) in 2018. Classical Guitar Magazine said, “Aaron Larget-Caplan is fast becoming perhaps the greatest guitar advocate for the music of John Cage.”

Originally a solo work for prepared piano written in 1948 for dancer and choreographer Syvilla Fort, Bacchanale requires the performer to “prepare” the piano. Fort asked Cage for a work for percussion ensemble, but there was not enough room on stage, so Cage experimented by putting items in the piano itself like screws, bolts, washers and insulation. Bacchanale is the first of his works to do such preparations, and he would go to win a Guggenheim Fellowship and an Award from the National Academy of Arts and Letters for his invention of the prepared piano.

Established in 1964 in honor of the 200th anniversary of the first music engraving in America by the famous silversmith Paul Revere, Paul Revere Awards for Graphic Excellence were initially given as a means of alerting the music industry to the advantages of providing the best possible publication from the viewpoint of engraving, graphic arts and production standards. Today the awards still recognize outstanding examples of graphic design, with an emphasis on usability for orchestras, educators, libraries and individuals.

This is the second publication of Larget-Caplan’s to have received Paul Revere Awards for Graphic Excellence from the MPA. In 2021, Larget-Caplan’s Nights Transfigured, Volume 1 of the New Lullaby Project Anthology published in partnership with the American Composers Alliance won multiple awards: 1^st prize for Guitar Music Notesetting, and 2^nd prize for Book Design and Cover Design.

*See blog post on Nights Transfigured award

Award Information (click)

MUSIC FOR FRETTED INSTRUMENTS
1st Prize: Two Sides (Pierre Jalbert) Schott Music Corporation
Notesetter: Philip Rothman
Production Coordinator: Scott Wollschleger

2nd Prize: Bacchanale (John Cage, Arr. Aaron Larget-Caplan) Edition Peters USA
Notesetter: Aaron Larget-Caplan
Book Design: Héctor Colón
Production Coordinator: Owen Summers

PURCHASE THE SCORE:

Bandcamp (autographed by Larget-Caplan) • Alfred Music

QUOTES:

“John. Cage. Guitar. is an excellent introduction to those who want to approach [Cage] for the first time. Highly recommended.” ~ NeuGuitars (Italy)

“John. Cage. Guitar., quite properly, knows no fear in its blend of delicacy, complexity and amiable simplicity.” ~ Music Web International

AUDIO LINKS:

Stone Records • Spotify • Amazon • Apple

VIDEO:

On February 15, Now Musique received a Cultural Recovery Grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council awarded.

Founded by Aaron Larget-Caplan in 2019, Now Musique is dedicated to exploring the new and neglected in music with solo and chamber music concerts being presented in Boston and beyond. 

Between August and November 2022, Now Musique presented 5 program in 8 concerts in the Boston neighborhood of Dorchester. The programs featured 25 composers with many in attendance, as well as a few dead composers for balance. 

We are honored and grateful to have received the award and we look forward to celebrating through music in the near future!

http://nowmusique.com/ 

Our next concert is May 19 in Providence, Rhode Island with Grammy Nominated baritone Johnathan McCullough.

Now Musique is fiscally sponsored by Fractured Atlas. All donations are tax deductible.

Mass Cultural Council Celebrates $51M in Cultural Sector Pandemic Recovery Grants

Funding List

In August of this year, I kicked off a series of five concert for Now Musique: two concerts in August followed by one each month through November. Begun in 2019, Now Musique focuses on programming new and neglected music in settings in and out of the concert hall.

Thanks to a grant from the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture in June 2022, I was able to program these five concerts and multiple children’s events in the Boston neighborhood of Dorchester.

Four of the five programs showcased new music from the New Lullaby Project, works for electronics and guitar, solos from Spain, my Bach arrangements, and solos from honey cadence. One concert featured chamber music for harpsichord and guitar with the wonderful Frederick Jodry.

The “formal” concerts were held at 5:30pm on Thursdays at the Upham’s Corner Branch of the Boston Public Library, were free for the public to attend, and included a Milk & Cookie reception.

I will be posting video and audio in the near future.

Let me know your thoughts and leave a comment below.

Aaron

PHOTO GALLERY:

Composers:
Lynn Job, Stanley Hoffman, John McDonald, Frank Warren, Charles Turner,, Ronald Pearl, Tom Nazziola, John Johnstone, Brian Schober, Scott Wheeler, Dean Rosenthal, Lainie Fefferman, Tom Flaherty, Ian Wiese, Gregory Biss, Stefanie Lubkowski, Dennis Bathory-Kitsz, Laurie Spiegel, Anthony R. Green, Jim Dalton, Michael Veloso, Curtis Hughes, Francine Trester, Vineet Shende, Larget-Caplan, J.S. Bach, Luigi Boccherini, Domenico Scarlatti, Esteban Sanlucar, and Pascual Marquina

Positives:

• Neighborhood Cultural Events – Rare to have classical music events in the neighborhood.
• 25 living composers featured with many in attendance!
• Families in attendance – the earlier time and relaxed vibe invited families to attend.
• Milk & Cookies – quite the success!
• Press – Feature in the Dorchester Reporter

Become a supporter of Now Musique by giving a tax deductible donation via Fractured Atlas

Responses From Attendees:

What a pleasure it was to attend the “Now Musique” concerts at the Upham’s Corner BPL! Aaron’s varied selection of contemporary guitar pieces is an inspired concept for a library, introducing music that entrances and intrigues, while also respecting the equilibrium of the space. – Doria Hughes

This year, I had enormous pleasure attending 3 sequels of Aaron Larget-Caplan’s “Now Musique” concert series presented in the Upham’s Corner Branch of the Boston Public Library. I found these short concerts entertaining, full of musical energy, perfectly covering large spectrum of guitar music. Aaron’s introduction to presented pieces included well balanced description of music as well as snippets of music creation stories coming directly from contemporary and frequently local composers.  It was a treasure chest of fun and social interaction.
– Marek Kloczewiak

It was wonderful to have live music in the branch every month from August through November. Aaron was lovely and easy to work with. The music was fresh and interesting and the composer component was something completely unexpected, a real draw for the audience. – Georgia Titonis, Branch Librarian, Uphams Corner Branch library

I had the privilege of attending Aaron’s recent concert at the Uphams Corner Library during which he performed my “Winter Lullaby”. It was a wonderful experience to hear Aaron’s exceptional and sensitive performance of this piece as well as the others on the program, speak with audience members and meet the other composers. The ambiance and reception of those in attendance were memorable.  – Brian Schober, composer

Negatives:

• Traffic – Though aimed for people in the neighborhood, those coming into Boston during rush hour were presented quite the challenge. Greatly appreciated!
• Public Transportation – close to a commuter rail and ample bus lines, but Boston is not consistent so people were hesitant to depend on it.
• Publicity – How to reach potential audiences when attention is spread over multiple digital platforms, major newspaper are cutting back, and postering has a limited scope?
• Concert reviews – none 😢

For Next Time:

• Spread out the concerts over 8-10 months
• Include more performers
• Invite local schools to be involved
• Bring in local businesses
• Add venues in various parts of Boston and beyond

Concert Posters:

Become a supporter of Now Musique by giving a tax deductible donation via Fractured Atlas

Now Musique Composers TL: John McDonald, Stanley Hoffman, Charles Turner, Aaron Larget-Caplan TR: Larget-Caplan, Ronald Pearl, Brian Schober, Scott Wheeler BL: Tom Flaherty, Larget-Caplan, Stefanie Lubkowski, Ian Wiese, Dennis Bathory-Kitsz BR: Anthony Green, Francine Trester, Jim Dalton, Michael Veloso, Larget-Caplan, Curtis Hughes

 

I’m very excited to announce that I was awarded an Opportunity Fund Grant from the Mayor’s of Office of Arts & Culture to produce a series of 5 concerts in my Dorchester neighborhood of Upham’s Corner through my series Now Musique.

Read about the awards from the City of Boston HERE.

These Now Musique concerts are free to the public, the concerts will take place at the Upham’s Corner Library with one at the St. Mary’s Episcopal Church. I will also introduce contemporary music from the New Lullaby Project in a couple of young person community events at the UC Library.

Each concert will feature lullabies written for the New Lullaby Project, a solo by Larget-Caplan, a couple of standards, and other works. The exact program will be announced prior via this website and on social media.
Composers are encouraged to attend.

These are the first concerts of Now Musique since Covid-19, so we hope you will come and celebrate life through music!

CONCERT SCHEDULE 

CONCERT 1: Nights Songs & Dances
Thursday August 11 • 5:30pm • Concert • Uphams Corner Branch of the Boston Public Library
Music by Lynn Job, Stanley Hoffman, John McDonald, Frank Warren, Charles Turner, Larget-Caplan and Spanish Composers.

CONCERT 2: Frets & Hammers w/ guest harpsichordist Frederick Jodry
Saturday August 20 • 7pm • Concert • St. Mary’s Episcopal Church
Music by Bach, Boccherini and Larget-Caplan
Repeated 8/21 in Newport, RI & 8/28 in Provincetown, MA w/slight variation

CONCERT 3: Lullings
Thursday September 15 • 5:30pm • Concert • Uphams Corner Branch of the Boston Public Library
Music by Ronald Pearl, Tom Nazziola, Curtis Hughes, Brian Schober, Scott Wheeler, Dean Rosenthal, Larget-Caplan.

CONCERT 4: Electric Hush 
Thursday October 13 • 5:30pm • Concert • Uphams Corner Branch of the Boston Public Library
Music by Lainie Fefferman, Tom Flaherty, Ian Wiese, Gregory Biss, Stefanie Lubkowski, Dennis Bathory-Kitsz, and Larget-Caplan. Includes two works for electronics and guitar!

CONCERT 5: Catching Dreams
Thursday November 17 • 5:30pm • Upham’s Corner Branch of the Boston Public Library
Music by Laurie Spiegel, Anthony Green, Jim Dalton, Michael Veloso, John Johnstone, and Francine Trester.

*Please visit Aaron’s Calendar and FB page for program announcements 

Now Musique is a 501c3 under Fractured Atlas. Learn about you can support Now Musique HERE

2021 was many things, boring wasn’t one of them!

I’m not great at reflecting on the year, so I made a little list of some accomplishments as this year felt extra special:

• 13 premieres
• 2 albums issued
• 2 anthologies published
• 12 radio and podcast appearances
• 6 concerts
• 4 festivals
• 3 awards
• 1 article
• 450K+ streams!

Not bad for barely leaving home 🙂

May 2022 be all that you wish for and need. I’m preparing for some recordings, concerts (fingers crossed), and a surprise or two.

Thank you for being safe and sharing in my music.

Aaron Larget-Caplan

Year In Review

Premieres

Lainie Fefferman – Carousel – guitar + electronics
Tom Flaherty – Steps and Leaps – guitar + electronics
Alejandro Rutty – Down with those guitars
David Warrin Solomons – Passacaglia
UNC Greensboro Students: Joshua Weitz, Noah Marney, A.J. Lyon – 3 Pieces

New Lullaby Project Premieres

Curtis Hughes – lullibule
John Johnstone – Blue Lullaby
Tom Nazziola – Lull-a-by-the-sea
Ronald Pearl – Berceuse Inquiète
Štěpán Rak – Lullaby
Brian Schober – A Winter Lullaby

L->R top: Johnston, Pearl, Schober
L->R bottom: Nazziola, Rak, Hughes

RECORDINGS ISSUED

A Guitar Holiday – Tiger Turn Records (450K streams!)
Drifting, Volume 3 of the New Lullaby Project – Stone Records
Passacaglia by David Warin Solomons, digital single
Discography of 6 Albums from 2006-2021 issued online by Stone Records

PUBLICATIONS

Nights Transfigured, Volume 1 of the New Lullaby Project, Pub. American Composers Alliance
Hushed, Volume 2 of the New Lullaby Project, Pub. American Composers Alliance 

RADIO & PODCASTS (click–>Podcast)

All Things Cage with Laura Kuhn (3x!)
Café Classicale with Felice Coral
Conducting Conversations with Mike Maino
Exploring Music with Tigran Arakelyan
Classical Guitar Around the World with Kevin Collins (2x)
Guitaromanie! with Karl Wohlwend
All Things Six Strings with Rick Cox
Is That Really Legal with Eric Ruben
Jay Talking with Bradley Jay

FESTIVALS

New Music Gathering, Portland, Oregon
21^st Century Guitar Festival – Portugal
Guitar Foundation of America – Denver, Colorado
‘Institute for Effective Training International Conference’ – Russia

AWARDS

Three Revere Awards from the Music Publishers Associations – Nights Transfigured
Grant Southbridge Cultural Council
Small Business Association Grants

CONCERTS

Tew Recital Hall, UNC Greensboro, North Carolina
First Congregation Church Camden, Maine
Robbins Library, Arlington, MA
Zalon, Philadelphia, PA
Jacob Edwards Library, Southbridge, MA
Windhover, Rockport, MA w/ amazing Dancers: Michael Trusnovec, Xin Ying, Annmaria Mazzini,, Thryn Saxon

ARTICLES (click–>articles)

Dorchester Reporter – Larget-Caplan’s new album explores Christmas classics

So proud to announce the Music Publishers Association of the United States Revere Awards for 2020-21! It is not every day that one can say their project topped anything by guitar god Steve Vai, but that is exactly what has happened today, and without a whammy bar.

I am over the moon to learn that Volume 1 of the New Lullaby Project Anthology ‘Nights Transfigured’ has won two 2020-2021 Revere Awards for Guitar Music and Book Design.

We placed in two categories of graphic excellence, and I could not be more proud of this work that we have been doing through the pandemic months. A very big shout out to Simon Henry Berry and Will Rowe absolutely bringing their best to our little publishing enterprise at American Composers Alliance.

Nights Transfigured, various composers – curated by Aaron Larget-Caplan won 1st prize for Guitar Music as well as book design and cover art.

Featuring 15 compositions by composers from three countries and off two albums, ‘Nights Transfigured’ is a collaboration between the American Composers Alliance and ALC Music Publishing. It was assembled by the outstanding team of Gina Genova, Simon Henry Berry, and me. A shout out to Alex Fedorov for assisting in the original New Lullaby Project artwork that inspired the cover art. Gratitude to the composers for entrusting me with their music. CHAMPAGNE FOR ALL!!

Award link: https://www.mpa.org/2020-2021-revere-award-winners/?fbclid=IwAR1JcpXCrEzPxXC8ak_MbPQWwao4nzOx0lI5FX_PlmLXOAsZF_vInLfhlqc

You can order ‘Nights Transfigured’ through your local music dealer. PDFs and institutional discounts are at the ACA website: https://composers.com/composers/various-collections-and-anthologies/nights-transfigured

It is also available through Bandcamp: https://alcguitar.bandcamp.com/merch/nights-transfigured-scores-of-the-new-lullaby-project-vol-1 (discount code: 10offalc for 10% off)

See Aaron’s Fall Newsletter!

http://createsend.com/t/y-B9ACD42E1FA6369B

I am very excited to announce that I have been awarded the Médaille D’Etain (Pewter Medal) from the Socièté Académique Arts-Sciences-Lettres de France.

This is an award with over 100 years of history given to those who have demonstrated success in the Arts at the highest of quality. Not being a French citizen, as of yet, this is quite an honor. I was selected last fall by French painter Dominique Boutaud, who is a USA Representative of the Arts-Sciences-Lettres, and in February I submitted a portfolio about my musical life. It was an immense project taking most of January to prepare and weighing in at 7lbs!

The process of collecting and reflecting on the last 15+ years of my musical life was extremely rewarding. I was reminded of so many wonderful collaborations, travels, and exciting people in my life because of music. Also, I have done a lot! It is easy to get caught only looking forward in an art that is, for the most part, ephemeral. This was a gift I did not expect, but needed.

I am extremely grateful to the many composers who have entrusted me with their creations. Your encouragement and artistic honesty continues to inspire me daily.

There is an awards ceremony in Paris on June 22nd hosted by the ARTS-SCIENCES-LETTRES society at the Hotel Inter Continental, during which the diplomas and awards are given to the recipients. Diplomas of Medal of Platinum, Gold, Vermeil, Silver, Pewter and Bronze, awarded by the Superior Commission of the Rewards.

A lovely side note. I learned recently that Monaco artist Claude Gauthier has won multiple medals from ASL. You may recognize his work as the cover art on my first CD: Tracing a wheel on water.

Other US winners include:
Intermedia artist C. M. Judge
Chreogorapher & Dancer Amanda Whitworth

If you would like to learn more about ASL please visit: https://www.arts-sciences-lettres.fr/