House Music: Caitlin Lynch and Roger Tapping perform "Waltz"

Episode 94 — March 11, 2021
Tim Mauthe: “Waltz” for violas
Performed by Caitlin Lynch and Roger Tapping

Violists Caitlin Lynch and Roger Tapping, who’s a member of the Juilliard String Quartet, have been playing music together since 2008. For this House Music Series video, they perform a socially-distant rendition of composer Tim Mauthe’s Waltz, which was originally composed in 2012 for Mauthe and Lynch to perform together. It’s a duo that’s always brought Lynch great happiness; when she performs this music, she feels incredibly satisfied by the radiant harmonies he writes.

Lynch began working with Metropolis nearly a decade ago, and from her first rehearsals with the group she was impressed by how much care she felt coming from her fellow musicians. She knew it was more than just a gig, it was a deeper experience where something imaginative and magical would happen with each performance. Since those early days, she’s played with the group at a wide range of venues, from the Metropolitan Museum of Art to the Phillips Collection to Le Poisson Rouge to Lincoln Center. Some of her favorite collaborations were with composer Timo Andres and violinist Emily Wells, and whenever she performs with Metropolis she knows the experience will be rewarding.

Lynch also began working with Tapping about a decade ago, when they met at the Itzhak Perlman Chamber Music Workshop. Here, they perform from their homes in Boston and New York, experimenting with how to make music from distant locations. They’re both wearing headphones, but what struck Lynch the most when virtually recording the piece was how Tappings’s generous, inspirational style resonated through headphones and screen. Recording Waltz was a nourishing experience, one that allowed for a real sense of collaboration, even from a distance.

Notes by Vanessa Ague

House Music: Bite-sized concerts recorded at homes around the world

In 2020-21, we created a weekly video series featuring short-form concerts of newly-commissioned works, supporting 208 artists around the world during the pandemic.