Remembrance of Music Past: Modern composers respond to Bach’s cello suites

What: Dinner and Music – Dorotea Racz, Solo Cello
When: Sunday 9 December 2018 at 5pm
Where: the home of Paul Cassedy in Baltimore Maryland.
Who: Dorotea Racz (Cello)
Program: Remembrance of Music Past: Modern composers respond to Bach’s cello suites: Music of Bach, Bolcom, Glass, and Crumb.
Menu: Fish stew, and assorted Georgian and Armenian fare (including some vegan items).

Hey all,

After a few months away, I am looking forward to re-starting our Evenings of Dinner and Music. I would be delighted if you could join me for an evening of solo cello music on Sunday, 9 December 2018. Our artist for the evening, cellist Dorotea Racz, has prepared a wonderful program for us of modern responses to the Bach 5th cello suite: including work by Bolcom, Glass, and Crumb. It will certainly be an exciting and educational evening of wonderful music: both traditionally classical and current and contemporary.

As usual, we ask a $20 contribution which goes 100% to the artist. The dinner and wine are my gift to you as my guests.

Menu: Georgian (plus a bit of Armenian, Greek, and French)
As many of you know already, I have just returned from a wonderful long trip to Greece, Georgia, and Armenia. While I was traveling I made a point to sample local cuisine. While I was visiting Georgia, I had the great good fortune to be included in a cooking class of Georgian specialties.

Georgian cuisine is very much a unique mix of middle-eastern, Mediterranean, Persian, and Indian. This evening in December will be my first chance to practice making some of the dishes I learned to make in my class in Georgia: Khachapuri (a bread stuffed with cheese), Achapa (a vegan dish with kidney beans and walnuts), Apyrpylchara (another vegan dish of peppers stuffed with walnuts), and, perhaps, a kind of dumpling called Khinkali as a little appetizer.

Timing: Disciplined
As usual, we will make a point of starting the recital promptly at 5:20pm. The goal is to end the evening, both the recital and the dinner, in plenty of time for the DC folk to travel home and be snug in bed by about 9:30pm on a "school night."

RSVPs: by 4 December
Please let me know if you can join me for this wonderful evening of dinner and music by 4 December as that is when I will begin making final preparations for our menu and seating; If you need directions and parking suggestions, please let me know in your response. Significant others (or just others you think might be interested) are always warmly welcome. Just let me know if you are bringing someone with you so that I can keep track of our numbers.

Dress: informal.
As many of you know, my place is 'teeny tiny' and our seating space is limited. Please wear comfortable clothing. It will likely be cold outside, but get warm inside, so wearing layers is a good idea..

Performer Bio:
Croatian cellist Dorotea Rácz has concertized throughout Europe, United States, Central and South America as a soloist, recitalist and chamber musician. Prof. Racz has performed in prestigious venues such as the Mozarteum in Salzburg (Austria), the Teatro Naval in Buenos Aires (Argentina), the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., and the Carnegie Hall in New York (USA). Recent festival appearances include International Festival "Umbria Classica", International Tango Festival Medellin (Colombia), Festival Musica de Camera San Miguel de Allende (Mexico), and Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival (USA).

A passionate collaborator and advocate of 20th and 21st century music, Racz is the founder and co-director of Audeamus International Music Festival, a performance and teaching festival in Zagreb, Croatia. In addition to the annual festival in Zagreb, Racz has directed auxiliary concerts under the auspices of Audeamus in the
United States, including “100 Years of Croatian Classical Music” at the Kennedy Center. In 2017, Prof. Racz has recorded chamber music of Robert Muczynski for a Dutch label Brilliant Classics.

In recent years, Prof. Racz serves as the principal cellist of the Pan American SymphonyOrchestra and a cellist of D.C.-based piano trio Tango Camerata. She has collaborated with Piazzolla protégé Martin Leon, and the tango quintets Forever Tango and F-21. Moreover, Prof. Racz has presented various concerts of Central and South American music in association with the Latin American Music Center. Most recently, Prof. Racz appeared as a soloist with the Pan American Orchestra at the Kennedy Center presenting the North American premier of Arturo Marquez Cello Concerto Espejos en la Arena.

During her education, Prof. Racz has collected over thirty international prizes, including the Grand Prize at International Competition “Casarza Ligure” (Italy), 1st prizes at International Competition “Antionio Janigro” for young cellists (Croatia), International Competition “Valsesia Musica” (Italy), International Competition Alpe-Adria "Alfredo e Vanda Marcosig" (Italy), as well as the 2nd price at the AFAF International Concerto Competition (USA), to mention a few.

At the age of sixteen, Prof. Racz was awarded a full merit scholarship to study with Amit Peled at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, where she completed Bachelor and Master of Music degrees. Prof. Racz completed Doctorate in Music at the Catholic University of America, with a full scholarship and graduate assistantship in the studio of Michael Mermagen. Prof. Racz serves as Professor of Cello and Chamber music at the George Mason University School of Music and Catholic University of America.

What's the music?

Dorotea Racz

Attendees

Francine S.