Bach Birthday Bash with Mak Grgic, guitar & Stephen Ackert, harpsichord
Passes for this performance are sold out; limited same-day passes will be available at the entrance
- Mak Grgic, guitar
- Stephen Ackert, harpsichord
Johann Sebastian Bach — Violin Sonata No. 1 in G minor, BWV 1001 (arr. Mak Grgic)
Celebrate Bach’s 339th birthday with guitarist Mak Grgic and harpsichordist Stephen Ackert in the West Garden Court at 3pm, featuring their transcriptions of preludes and fugues from Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier and his most beloved cantata movements, as well as Grgic's transcription of Bach's iconic Sonata No. 1 for Solo Violin, BWV 1001. Don't miss Grgic’s in-gallery talk and performance at 2pm in the West Building, Main Floor, Gallery 29.
Schedule:
2pm: Bach Talk with guitarist Mak Grgic (West Building, Main Floor—Gallery 29)
3pm: Bach on Guitar and Harpsicord (West Building, Main Floor—West Garden Court)
About Mak Grgic, guitar
Touted as a "gifted young guitarist" by The New York Times, and "a guitarist to keep an eye on" by the Washington Post, Mak Grgic [GER-gich] is a star on the worldwide stage. An expansive and adventurous repertoire attests to his versatility and wide-ranging interests. From the ethnic music of his native Balkans to extreme avant- garde and microtonal music, his roles as soloist, collaborator, and recording artist are fueled by curiosity, imagination, and boundless energy.
http://www.makgrgic.com/About Stephen Ackert, harpsichord
Stephen Ackert studied at the Frankfurter Hochschule für Musik as a Fulbright scholar under Maria Jäger-Jung (harpsichord) and Helmut Walcha (organ). He has performed at the Kennedy Center, the National Cathedral, Georgetown University, The Catholic University, and the embassies of Germany, Austria, Italy, and the Netherlands. From 1990 to 2003 he was the organist and choir director at The United Church in Washington, where he presented a series of 40 Bach lecture-recitals. He currently gives a concert series at Georgetown Lutheran Church titled "The Well-tempered Clavier as Bach Might Have Heard It." Ackert's lecture-recitals and preconcert talks on the interrelationships between music and art were a regular feature at the Gallery, where he headed the music department from 2004 to 2014. He has also lectured and performed at the Amalfi Coast Music and Art Festival in Italy and Baltimore’s Walters Art Museum, as well as on university campuses throughout the United States.