Mark Fewer, violin
James Kennerley, organ
Charles Weaver, theorbo and guitar
Daniel Swenberg, theorbo
Robert Willey, Yamaha Disklavier and synthesizer
Heinrich von Biber and Conlon Nancarrow were composers who took virtuosity to unprecedented heights. Biber experimented with differently tuned strings to expand the possibilities of the violin, while Nancarrow wrote for the mechanical “player piano,” as his compositions surpassed human performance capability.
This program juxtaposes Biber sonatas with a selection of Nancarrow Player Piano Studies.
Program
Biber: Sonata Representativa
Nancarrow/Willey: Study for Player Piano No. 7
Biber: Sonata III (from 8 Sonatas published in 1681)
Nancarrow/Willey: Studies for Player Piano Nos. 2b, 6 and 21
Biber: Sonata V (from 8 Sonatas published in 1681)
BAC Salon: The Originals is a series of music by composers with uncompromising visions, performed by some of today's most respected musicians in an intimate salon setting.
Leadership support for music programming in 2017 provided by the Anne and Chris Flowers Foundation and the Thompson Family Foundation.

Mark Fewer
Known for his exceptional versatility, violinist Mark Fewer has toured worldwide in famous halls such as Wigmore, Carnegie, and Salle Pleyel, to smaller venues such as Le Poisson Rouge (NYC), Bartok House (Budapest) and The Forum (Taipei).

James Kennerley
Hailed as “a great organist” displaying “phenomenal technique and sheer musicality” (Bloomberg News), James Kennerley is a multi-faceted musician, working as a conductor, keyboardist, singer, and composer. His performances are known for their illustrious flair and thrilling virtuosity, subtlety and finesse.

Daniel Swenberg
Lutenist Daniel Swenberg concentrates on Renaissance and baroque performance practices with special devotion to the role of basso-continuo playing and the instruments central to its practice: the theorbo/chitaronne, renaissance and baroque lutes, early guitars, and the gallizona/callichon.

Charles Weaver
Charles Weaver performs on early plucked-string instruments both as a recitalist and as an accompanist. Chamber music appearances include Early Music New York, Hesperus, Piffaro, Parthenia, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Folger Consort, TENET, ARTEK, Musica Pacifica, and Blue Heron.

Robert Willey
Robert Willey grew up on the San Francisco peninsula, studied classical piano and performed with the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra, attended Stanford University, earned a bachelor’s degree in music from University of North Texas, a master’s in computer music, and a Ph.D. in theoretical studies from University of California San Diego.