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Guitarist Jason Vieaux, Santa Fe Symphony to perform sold out show
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Classical guitar maestro Jason Vieaux will perform with the Santa Fe Symphony on Christmas Eve at the Lensic Performing Arts Center.
The Grammy Award winner will land in New Mexico between dual professorships at the Cleveland Institute of Music and Philadelphia鈥檚 Curtis Institute of Music, and his online guitar classes on and a touring schedule that sees him flying from Amsterdam to Seoul, South Korea.
鈥淚 used to do this with no problem in my 30s,鈥� Vieaux said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a little hard in my 50s with two kids.
鈥淢y best playing ever was this year,鈥� he added. 鈥淚 started prioritizing sleep 鈥� putting it even ahead of practice.鈥�
The guitarist estimates he has played in both Santa Fe and sa国际传媒官网网页入口 at least four times. On Christmas Eve, Vieaux will perform Antonio Vivaldi鈥檚 鈥淕uitar Concerto in D Major,鈥� as well as Joaqu铆n Rodrigo鈥檚 famous 鈥淐oncierto de Aranjuez.鈥�
The 鈥淐oncierto de Aranjuez鈥� is perhaps the most famous guitar concerto ever written.
鈥淚 think this is my third time playing it with (Santa Fe,)鈥� Vieaux said. 鈥淭he second movement鈥檚 played by everybody from Miles Davis to Chick Corea and Led Zeppelin. Apparently (Zeppelin) did it all through the 鈥�77 tour. 鈥楽pain鈥� by Chick Corea quotes the melody.鈥�
Davis鈥� famous 鈥淪ketches of Spain鈥� album plays the jazzman鈥檚 arrangement on all of side one, he added.
鈥淚t鈥檚 one of those things that led to pop culture,鈥� Vieaux said.
Guitarist Jason Vieaux, Santa Fe Symphony to perform sold out show
鈥淭he outer movements are a happy recollection of his honeymoon,鈥� he continued. 鈥淗is wife said the second movement is all about a stillborn. The last notes are all about the child going to heaven.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 why it鈥檚 so beloved,鈥� Vieaux added. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why people are often moved to tears. You can hear them鈥� in the audience.
The Vivaldi is one of the composer鈥檚 most popular concertos.
鈥淭he second movement is a really fast movement,鈥� Vieaux said. 鈥淚 remember it from a coffee commercial when I was a kid. The John Williams recording I listened to all the time when I was a kid.鈥�
He also loved the guitar-heavy early Beatles, thanks to his mother鈥檚 albums.
鈥淪he heard me singing harmonies,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檇 be banging out the drums.鈥�
His mother also gave him his first classical guitar when he was 5 years old. Then the Buffalo Guitar Quartet performed at his school.
鈥淭hey all had on John Lennon glasses,鈥� Vieaux said. His mother coaxed private lessons from founding quartet member Jeremy Sparks.
鈥淚 was one of those weird kids that the parents didn鈥檛 have to lean on to practice,鈥� Vieaux said. 鈥淎round 13 or 14 I started to get serious about it.鈥�
Today, Vieaux is famous for his ping-pong ball manicure. He glues a slice to the underside of his right thumbnail as a kind of extended press-on nail guitar pick.
鈥淚鈥檓 going to get one more today or tomorrow,鈥� he said.
After the concert, he鈥檒l take a nap on the plane and fly home to his family in Cleveland on Christmas Day.
National Public Radio called Vieaux 鈥減erhaps the most precise and soulful classical guitarist of his generation.鈥�
