Hymn of Apollo
Ben Katz ~ harpsichord
Dani Zanuttini ~ theorbo
Amanda Beranek ~ harp
Jackie Hager & Nathan Francisco ~ violoncellos
Ben Katz is joined by several friends for the first program of solo and chamber music specially curated for Midtown Concerts. Conceived as a musical hymn to Apollo, the ancient Greek god of music and light, this program explores the notion of light and shade (chiaroscuro) as translated to sound. Through sharp contrasts, rhapsodic versus rhythmic dances, lamentation versus celebration, and inner monologue versus lively dialogue, we search out a magical middle ground, where time stops for a moment and ancient flames flicker once more.
Harpsichordist Ben Katz has appeared in venues including London’s Fenton House, ISSUE Project Room and Roulette in New York, and Boston’s Gardner Museum. He has performed as a soloist, as leader of the new Baroque group Rootless Neapolitans, and with ensembles including A Far Cry, Tiny Glass Tavern, The Knights, and Palaver Strings. Ben maintains a deep engagement with the scholarly and performance community currently investigating historical improvisation in music from the Middle Ages to the Early Modern era. In 2013−14, a grant from Boston’s Beebe Foundation, took him to London where he studied Bernardo Pasquini’s autograph partimenti (compositions notated as figured basses) in the British Library. He has since presented original research on partimenti at the Stile Galante International Porpora Conference and Historical Keyboard Society of North America, and conducted workshops for Stony Brook University, Longy School of Music, and the Harvard Organ Society.
