Jason Vieaux to play piece written for Segovia
Classical guitarist to perform with NM Philharmonic
Grammy Award-winning classical guitarist Jason Vieaux will perform a piece written for one of his idols on Saturday.
The Spanish composer Joaquín Rodrigo penned “Fantasía para un gentilhombre” (“Fantasy for a Gentleman”) in 1954 for the legendary guitarist and gentleman in the title, Andrés Segovia .
Vieaux will play the work with the New Mexico Philharmonic at Popejoy Hall.
“What’s new about this one is I’ve performed it several times without any amplification,” Vieaux said in a telephone interview from his Cleveland home. “Segovia may have had something to do with that, because Segovia was strongly against amplification of the guitar.”
Rodrigo constructed a dialogue between the guitar and the orchestra, borrowing the melodies of the baroque Spanish composer Gaspar Sanz.
“They’re basically rearranged with 20th century harmonic construction,” Vieaux said. “I think it’s a genius composition.”
That the guitarist will perform without the help of electronics is somewhat ironic, considering the music he grew up on.
“I don’t make any connection between Steely Dan and classical music, but I’m a huge fan of Steely Dan, the Beatles and the Police,” he said.
Jazz became a second inspiration. His favorites include such luminaries as (saxophonist) Wayne Shorter, Miles Davis, Pat Metheny and Weather Report’s Joe Zawinul.
“My father had all these jazz records,” Vieaux said. “My mother had all these soul records. I got into classical guitar through the music; through the repertoire. My first teacher was a great classical guitarist. I began to understand the language of classical music and Bach.”
Vieaux won a 2015 Grammy Award for Best Classical Instrumental Solo for his recording “Play.” He was the first classical musician to appear on NPR’s “Tiny Desk” concert series. His coming projects include recording with the Escher Quartet and a duet with the violinist Anne Akiko Meyers and French accordionist Julien Labro.
He has yet to decide on his next solo project.
“I’m doing like three world premieres a year,” said Vieaux, who also leads the guitar department at the Cleveland Institute of Music.“I’m looking to find someone that’s a bit on the cutting edge whose music is going to be around for a long time.”