Chaconne #26 – April 6, 2015 Private home NYC

I am very excited to be playing for one of my dear creative colleagues next Monday.  Since the last Chaconne (#25, 12/28/2014) I have been focussed on moving my residence, and have allowed the Bach to lie fallow through the deep winter.

Now it is Spring, and I am coming back to the Bach after these few months’ hiatus; I am finding a new level of understanding, particularly in terms of tempo and rhythmic organization, choosing to explore specific influence from two great Maestros with whom I have worked at the MET for many years.  More on that later!

7 thoughts on “Chaconne #26 – April 6, 2015 Private home NYC”

  1. Julian Zelizer

    Shem brought the sorrow and turbulence of Bach’s piece to life. In the intimate setting of a NYC living room. Shem conveyed the struggles that seemed to have shaped Bach as he wrote this piece at a difficult moment of his life. At certain points, Shem managed to make his instrument sound as if there were several violinists playing at once. The physicality of the performance was also quite moving.

  2. Robert Schenkkan

    A fantastic evening! So thought-provoking and so moving. The opportunity to hear great music played with extraordinary skill in an intimate setting is sadly so rare. There was such a sense of communion and immediate community in the sharing of this experience. And to sit so close to Shem, to hear the physical effort that goes into the performance. One could almost see the sound waves vibrating across the room. And while I have heard The Chaconne before, never have I payed such close attention. If it is indeed an anguished dialogue between the grieving composer and his God, it is a complex multi-layered one, worthy of Job.

  3. Deborah McDermott

    Shem, it was such an honor to experience your Chaconne in our private world of good friends and family. I personally adore that we were number 26 (one of my two lucky numbers!)

    I related to your comment about getting lost in your performance…how nothing else exists during those moments. I would imagine that during those moments you are feeling love….. love of life, love of your gift. And the beauty of that is that we, your audience, find ourselves immersed in that same feeling of “love”.

    Thank you, Deborah

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top