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Lewis Kaplan is honored with the presentation of the Knight's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. Read the press release from The Consulate General of Germany __________________________________________________________________ March 2009 Professor Lewis Kaplan releases his long-awaited DVD: The Bach Chaconne: God, Music, and Numbers A Performance and Lecture by Lewis Kaplan __________________________________________________________________ Summer Academy
Salzburg: An Instructive Faculty Concert Bach und die Zahlen 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21…… Bach’s Chaconne is an inexhaustible theme. In his faculty recital Lewis Kaplan treated it thrillingly and comprehensively. It was a most enjoyable performance further enhanced by Kaplan’s program notes. Kaplan introduced the themes sequentially that Bach used in the Chaconne . It is constructed not only on the four note bass theme which is the starting point for the 32 variations but on the five variations of this theme which follow. The bass theme does not appear in its simple form but is imbedded in a rich interplay. For the Thomas Cantor (Bach) the bass theme by itself would not have presented enough of a challenge. Kaplan projected what might have been occurring in Bach’s mind. He stressed Bach’s belief that all music was at the service of God and pointed to Bach’s striving for perfection. As an example of this he related Bach’s visit to Frederick the Great of Prussia and his improvisation on Frederick’s theme. Bach amazed everyone , however, about a year later Bach sent to Frederick an extraordinary work, “A Musical Offering” further demonstrating his virtuosity as a composer. Kaplan presented examples of Bach’s striving for perfection through the use of music and numbers. In variation 21, he uses a trumpet call with a three note motif sounded nine times ( in the 8 measure variation). Another example was his use of the Fibonacci number series, the Golden Section. In concluding, Kaplan said that ultimately everyone would have to draw his own conclusion regarding Bach’s use of numbers. “And now I will play the Chaconne – forget about themes A , B , C , etc….” And he played –
with passionate expression which for him was the most important
thing. He played with the conviction of an enraptured narrator,
one who thoroughly knows his tale but seeks new ways to experience
it. He performed with beautiful phrasing and especially thoughtful
differences between legato and non-legato. It was an intense experience! |
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