NOSTALGIC QUIETUDE – MUSIC OF THOSE WHO LEFT HOME

Due to illness, not related to Covid, the concert to be rescheduled for a later date in 2024. All tickets are being refunded.

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Now Musique presents acclaimed cellist Rafael Popper-Keizer a rare solo recital of reflection, quietude and comfort.

The concert, Nostalgic Quietude, begins at 7:30pm on Friday January 19, at the beautiful First Church Boston, 66 Marlboro Street. Seating is general admission. TICKETS

On the recital Rafael Popper-Keizer writes, “For the depths of midwinter, I wanted to present a program that offers space for reflection, quietude, and comfort. The underlying theme is one of nostalgia; the five composers represented on the first half are all artists who left their homeland (Wales, Ukraine, Germany, Switzerland, Catalonia) but whose music continued to deeply express the culture and ethos of their respective places of birth. The Bach that closes the program represents a more personal sort of nostalgia: in the most introspective and melancholic of his cello suites, Bach draws us into the depths of our own inner worlds and holds us there firmly for six profound moments in time.”

“Rafi is well known for his artistic excellence in the music community,” says Now Musique Artistic Director Aaron Larget-Caplan, “but he is rarely heard is such a setting. As a student at the New England Conservatory, I was very lucky to experience his solo playing when he was an Artist Diploma, so we are extremely happy to be able to present such an artist as Rafael Popper-Keizer to the wider public.

Tickets are $20 through Eventbrite or at the door, General Seating
Now Musique Website: http://nowmusique.com/

PROGRAM:

• The Cresset Stone – Hilary Tann (1947-2023)
• Ballade – Léon Mouravieff (1905-1987)
• Liebesleid – Ralf Gawlick (b. 1969)
• Suite #3 for unaccompanied cello in a minor – Ernest Bloch (1880-1959)
• El cant dels ocells – Traditional/Casals
      Intermission
• Suite #5 for unaccompanied cello in c minor – Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

NOW MUSIQUE:
Founded in 2019 by guitarist and composer Aaron Larget-Caplan, Now Musique is a new music series celebrating the recital format of new and often neglected solo and ensemble music with outstanding international artists. Committed to a bringing music into communities, the 2022 season saw five formal concerts featuring 30 living composers, and four more all-ages programs in Dorchester.

RAFAEL POPPER-KEIZER
Hailed by The New York Times as “imaginative and eloquent” and dubbed “a local hero” by the Boston Globe, cellist Rafael Popper-Keizer maintains a vibrant and diverse career as one of Boston’s most celebrated artists. He is principal cellist of the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Emmanuel Music, and the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, and a core member of many notable chamber music organizations throughout New England, including the Chameleon Arts Ensemble, A Far Cry, Winsor Music, and Monadnock Music. His 2003 performance with the Boston Philharmonic of the Saint-Saëns Concerto in A minor was praised by the Globe for “melodic phrasing of melting tenderness” and “dazzling dispatch of every bravura challenge;” more recent solo appearances include Strauss’ Don Quixote, with the Boston Philharmonic; Beethoven’s Triple Concerto, with Emmanuel Music; and the North American premiere of Roger Reynolds’ Thoughts, Places, Dreams, with Sound/Icon.

Mr. Popper-Keizer has been featured on close to two dozen recordings, including the premieres of Robert Erickson’s Fantasy for Cello and Orchestra, Thomas Oboe Lee’s cello concerto Eurydice, Yehudi Wyner’s De Novo for cello and small chamber ensemble, Malcolm Peyton’s unaccompanied Cello Piece, Concert Champêtre by Thomas L. Read for guitar and cello with Aaron Larget-Caplan, and major unaccompanied works by Kodaly and Gawlick.and major unaccompanied works by Kodaly and Gawlick.

As an alumnus of the New England Conservatory, Mr. Popper-Keizer studied with master pedagogue and Piatigorsky protégé Laurence Lesser; at the Tanglewood Music Center he was privileged to work with Mstislav Rostropovich, and was Yo-Yo Ma’s understudy for Strauss’ Don Quixote under the direction of Seiji Ozawa. His prior teachers include Stephen Harrison, at Stanford University, and Karen Andrie, at the University of California at Santa Cruz.

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Now Musique presents Nostalgic Quietude – Music of those who left home with Rafael Popper-Keizer, cello
Composers: Hilary Tann, Léon Mouravieff, Ralf Gawlick, Ernest Bloch, Casals, and Bach
When: Friday January 19 at 7:30pm, Doors open at 7pm
Admission: $20
Location: First Church Boston, 66 Marlborough Street, Boston 02116
TICKETS: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/nostalgic-quietude-cellist-rafael-popper-keizer-in-recital-tickets-769798186097?aff=oddtdtcreator
FB Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/654252766608469
Website: http://nowmusique.com/

On Sunday November 20th at Saint Mary’s Episcopal Church in Dorchester, I had the pleasure of collaborating on an exciting program of chamber music for Convergence Ensemble with three wonderful musicians: violinist Heidi Braun-Hill, violist Michelle LaCourse, cellist Hyun-Ji Kwon, and myself. 

Strings Galore featured music duos with guitar for violin, viola, and cello by John Cage, Antonio Celso Ribeiro, and Thomas L. Read, as well two quartets for strings and guitar by Roland Dyens and Libby Larsen. A trio by Beethoven, and two guitar solos by Bach and yours truly rounded out the program.

Directed by Rachel Goodwin, Convergence Ensemble seeks to stimulate, support, and inspire stronger connections within and between New England communities through chamber music concerts and community enrichment programs. 

This was my first collaboration with Convergence Ensemble and the musician, and it was awesome!

Rarely do I have the pleasure of sharing 40min of chamber music, and relatively new chamber music, in a single concert. 

Huge thanks to Rachel Goodwin, Rose Hegel, and the Convergence Ensemble board for organizing the concert.

To the composers and friends Antonio Celso Ribeiro and Thomas L. Read, and to the lovely musicians who were gems to create music with.

We will be performing more, so stay tuned!

Microphone by Your Heaven Audio. Guitar strings by Hannabach

A wonder of gratitude to the people who helped make my 2-weeks in Southern California a great adventure!

There is not enough room for all the pictures and pages could be written about each of the Artists and amazing people I was able to meet and collaborate with. Please see below for links to many of them.

Until the next concert,
Aaron

Here are some worth checking out in the photos:

Robert and Katherine Bender – Karob Studios

Buzz Gravelle – Cal Poly Pomona faculty and Fretless guitars

Peter Yates – Multi-media Artist, Guitarist, UCLA faculty

Adrienne Albert – Composer

Cellista – Musician & Performance Artist

Tom Flaherty – Composer, Pomona Faculty

Gisel Vincent – Artist

Some picture locations:

Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, La Jolla

Schulman Auditorium, Carlsbad

Tacos on the side of the road, Santa Monica

Lofty Coffee, Encinitas

Sunday Nov. 20 • The Convergence Ensemble presents ‘Strings Galore’ a chamber music concert.

Program
Prelude 1, BWV 846 – J.S. Bach
sweet nuance – Aaron Larget-Caplan
from Six Melodies – John Cage, Arr. Larget-Caplan
Trio – Beethoven
Three Vintage Portraits of Exquisite Ladies Expressing Their Frame of Mind – Antonio Celso Ribeiro
Concert Champêtre – Thomas L. Read,
Cajun Set – Libby Larsen  – Gringalet • French Blues • Joe Ferail (Whoop and Stomp)
Tango en Skaï – Roland Dyens, trio arr. Dyens

Musicians: guitarist Aaron Larget-Caplan, violist Michelle LaCourse,
violinist Heidi Braun-Hill and cellist Hyun-Ji Kwon.

Time: 4pm
Location: St. Mary’s Church, at 14 Cushing Ave. Boston, MA, 02125
Admission: $15 suggested donation, Students Free
Information: https://www.convergenceensemble.org/

I think it was 2008 when I met the writer Glenn Kurtz. Like myself, he was an alumnus of the New England Conservatory and had studied with David Leisner. It was Leisner who recommended Glenn reach out to me.

Reading-Recital in NYC, 2013

Glenn’s book, his first, ‘Practicing – A Musicians Return To Music‘ had just been published by Knopf and he was looking to include a some guitar music during his reading at the Harvard Book Store in Cambridge. I agreed on the condition I would receive a signed copy, which I still cherish. In 2013, Glenn and I performed a few reading-recitals together in Boston and New York. We paired excerpts from his books with the matching pieces. A truly unique and wonderful experience, which attendees still ask me about!

‘Practicing – A Musicians Return To Music’ is an exquisite exploration of guitar history and teaching, and gives a nice glimpse of conservatory life from the eyes of a young musician. The personal story is based on his journals from the time and his desire to explore the musical flame that was such an important part of his life for so many years, but which was no longer. The personal trials and feelings of self doubt regarding “the path” of being a young musician are at time heart-wrenching, but they are always real. Though Glenn did not become the next Segovia, and I have no doubt that is completely fine with him, he inspired my saying, “once a guitarist always a guitarist”. Glenn is a beautiful writer and I highly recommend this book to all, guitar lovers or not.

Book Link–> https://amzn.to/3ssYStn

Have you read the book or heard Glenn read or speak about it? Did it inspire or possibly scare you?

https://amzn.to/3ssYStn

One of my most popular videos, España Cañi by Pascual Marquina is a classical music standard, though not for guitar! Originally written for orchestra there are few transcriptions for guitar solo. I made this at the request of the phenomenal flamenco and bolero dancer Gabriela Granados.

This is the premiere performance in 2011 in Springfield, Massachusetts and filmed on point and shoot camera. Who knew it would take off!?

My arrangement has changed in a few places since 2011, but the energy and excitement of the music remains central to the realization. It combines classical and flamenco techniques into a serious solo. You can find scores (tab and standard notation) in my website STORE.

The Music of John Cage by James Pritchett

The first biography of John Cage!
I read this book in early 2012 as I was starting my journey of arranging Cage’s Six Melodies for violin and guitar. Though many of the ideas were quite new to me, I found the writing accessible and the ideas exhilarating. Many of the concerts I had experienced as a student at the New England Conservatory made much more sense!

Book: https://amzn.to/3B5tsL8 • ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

From Amazon: James Pritchett describes just what it was Cage did and why and how he did it. The book is centered around extensive descriptions of the most important works and compositional techniques, including in-depth explanations of the role of chance and indeterminacy in Cage’s music. Dr Pritchett also considers the relationship of Cage’s musical thought to his interests in such diverse subjects as Eastern philosophy and religion, Marshall McLuhan, and anarchism (among many others). This book thus makes the essential introduction to Cage’s musical world.

• Listen to the Podcast ALL THINGS CAGE: Conversation about John Cage. hosted by John Cage Trust director Laura Kuhn. In these episodes Kuhn interviews author James Pritchett.

March 6, 2021 https://wavefarm.org/radio/wgxc/schedule/rrv64j
March 8, 2021 https://wavefarm.org/radio/wgxc/schedule/4ptxqx

*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

The Mysticism of Sound and Music: The Sufi Teaching of Hazrat Inayat Khan

Hazrat Inayat Khan (1882-1927) wrote one of the most influential books on music and sound that I have experienced. Recommended to me when I was an undergraduate by the late New England Conservatory educator/provost and sitar player Peter Row, the book delves into the power of sound as experienced through the Sufism and music of South India. It is not enough for me to say it has had an effect on my approach to music and life. I think of it daily with every tuning of my strings. ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

https://amzn.to/3sFhODm

On August 6, 2021 the UK label Stone Records will issue Aaron’s sixth studio album ‘Drifting, Volume 3 of the New Lullaby Project’. At the same time they will re-issue Aaron’s earlier studio albums dating back to his debut album in 2006 and two the first two volumes of the New Lullaby Project. After the

Aaron and Mark Stone at Symphony Hall, 2018

successful collaboration of the 2015 and 2018 releases ‘The Legend of Hagoromo‘ and ‘John. Cage. Guitar.‘, Aaron and label founder/director Mark Stone came to an agreement that the music and the audiences would be best served by expanding their relationship to these albums. A fourth volume of new lullabies is in the works!

Newly released in the Stone Records catalogue:

• Tracing a wheel on water (2006) – Music by Barrios, Brouwer, Dyens Pujol, Takemitsu, and premieres by Lior Navok, Daniel Pinkham, and Kevin Siegfried.
• New Lullaby (2010) – Volume 1 of the New Lullaby Project. 14 contemporary solos in the genre of the lullaby.
• Nights Transfigured (2020) – Volume 2 of the New Lullaby Project. 14 contemporary solos in the genre of the lullaby
• Drifting (2021) – Volume 3 of the New Lullaby Project. 15 contemporary solos in the genre of the lullaby.

Already in the Stone Records catalogue:

• The Legend of Hagoromo (2015) – Inspired by Japan, each piece has a connection to the country either through the composer or aesthetic. Compositions by Brouwer, Takemitsu, Gershwin, Keigo Fujii, and premieres by Kota Nakamura, Ken Ueno, and Martin Max Schreiner. Only the 2nd recording of the title track.
• John. Cage. Guitar. (2018) – The first classical guitar album dedicated to the music of John Cage. Guitar solos, duos for violin and guitar, prepared guitar duo. All arrangements by Aaron Larget-Caplan.

LISTEN:

Spotify • Apple Music • Amazon • ALL Streaming

All Things Cage: Conversations about John Cage.

SHOW 2
All Things Cage: Aaron Larget-Caplan with Laura Kuhn (Audio)

Mar 13, 2021

Hosted by Laura Kuhn, Executive Director of the John Cage Trust.

The international recording, touring, and guitar virtuoso Aaron Larget-Caplan was Laura Kuhn’s second guest on All Things Cage on January 9, 2021, and soon after he was asking for an ex post facto quid pro quo: doing another program together, but with their roles reversed. With Larget-Caplan at the helm, their resulting conversation is almost entirely about Kuhn and her 30+ year journey with Cage, but Kuhn closes the program with a lengthy excerpt by Cage himself lifted from his first public performance of his Overpopulation and Art (1992) at Stanford University.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN: https://wavefarm.org/wf/archive/2whnef