Episode 111 — May 9, 2021
Esteban Zapata Blanco: “Folk Songs for Solo Viola - I. Alalá” for viola
Paul Hindemith: “Sonata for Solo Viola Op. 31/4 - II. Lied. Ruhig, mit wenig Ausdruck. Langsame Viertel.” for viola
Performed by Jordan Bak

Violist Jordan Bak returns to the House Music series with two meditative works that serve as reflections on our last year of making music from home, without the concert hall. The pieces—a premiere of Esteban Zapata Blanco’s Folk Songs for Solo Viola, written this year, and Paul Hindemith’s Sonata for Solo Viola, Op. 31/4—each lend a different perspective on contemplative, sublime musical sound.

Bak initially came into contact with Zapata Blanco’s music through his wife, Rubina, who’s also a violist. She’d been studying in the Netherlands, and collaborated with Zapata Blanco while living there. The three recently reconnected and had the idea for Zapata Blanco to write a new piece for solo viola that celebrated Zapata Blanco’s Spanish cultural heritage. The result is Folk Songs for Solo Viola. 

Bak’s first House Music series video, in which he played a work by another of his collaborators, Lisa Heffter, showed a more animated side of his playing. Here, he revels in meandering melodies. Zapata Blanco’s piece highlights the culture of his Spanish home in the Iberian peninsula, while maintaining a stillness, and Hindemith’s piece feels like gently floating through the air. Bak recorded this House Music video from his home just outside of New Haven, Connecticut.

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.