Bach Uncaged Mina Gajić & Zachary Carrettin

• Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750): Violin Sonata No. 1 in G Minor, BWV 1001:
• 1 Bach: Violin Sonata No. 1 in G Minor, BWV 1001: I. Adagio 06:16
• John Cage (1912 - 1992): Sonatas & Interludes for Prepared Piano:
• 2 Cage: Sonatas & Interludes for Prepared Piano: Sonata No. 3 02:28
• 3 Cage: Sonatas & Interludes for Prepared Piano: Sonata No. 4 02:00
• Johann Sebastian Bach: Violin Sonata No. 1 in G Minor, BWV 1001:
• 4 Bach: Violin Sonata No. 1 in G Minor, BWV 1001: II. Fuga 12:07
• John Cage: Sonatas & Interludes for Prepared Piano:
• 5 Cage: Sonatas & Interludes for Prepared Piano: Interlude No. 1 03:42
• 6 Cage: Sonatas & Interludes for Prepared Piano: Sonata No. 5 01:57
• 7 Cage: Sonatas & Interludes for Prepared Piano: Sonata No. 6 02:19
• Johann Sebastian Bach: Violin Sonata No. 1 in G Minor, BWV 1001:
• 8 Bach: Violin Sonata No. 1 in G Minor, BWV 1001: III. Siciliana 05:10
• John Cage: Sonatas & Interludes for Prepared Piano:
• 9 Cage: Sonatas & Interludes for Prepared Piano: Sonatas No. 14 "Gemini" 02:47
• 10 Cage: Sonatas & Interludes for Prepared Piano: Sonatas No. 15 "Gemini" 02:46
• Johann Sebastian Bach: Violin Sonata No. 1 in G Minor, BWV 1001:
• 11 Bach: Violin Sonata No. 1 in G Minor, BWV 1001: IV. Presto 04:12
• John Cage: Sonatas & Interludes for Prepared Piano:
• 12 Cage: Sonatas & Interludes for Prepared Piano: Sonata No. 16 04:34
• Total Runtime 50:18

Info for Bach Uncaged

This recording is a reflection of several performances that took place over time and in varying acoustic environments, including collaborations with contemporary and aerial/vertical dance. The Cage works tend to be binary in form, and while meditatively free flowing in spirit, the architecture is clean and easily understood. The Bach works—four movements that make up a sonata—offer a multitude of interpretive options, including an approach that wanders through the harmonic labyrinth without regard to pulse and traditional notions of time, magnifying minute rhetorical statements along the way. It can be such that the Bach works represent the dreamscape while the atonal prepared piano pieces of Cage represent structure. This might be in opposition to many listeners’ expectations. Performance traditions of Bach, combined with the underlying dance rhythms and characters that pervade his instrumental writing, steer many musicians in the direction of the rational: consistent tempo, consistent articulation in each motif’s repetition, concise determination of tempo and character as related to the movement’s marking, such as “allegro.” Bach’s exquisite contrapuntal writing and harmonic nuance contribute to the idea of intellectualism as an oft utilized guide for musical interpretation—when deciding about phrasing, articulation, and the sense of time. Conversely, Cage’s exploration of non-Western music idioms played on western instruments seems a natural departure from the European ideas of form and content. Thankfully, written music has much room for the implementation of ever-changing ideas in time, ideas that change over time, and even though a recording seems to be a permanent medium, recordings can be approached as a performance: a rendition of a work or an entire concert program is a reflection of ideas that are offered to the audience here and now. In this recorded rendition, Cage offers the morning coffee following each Bachian dream.

“Violinists Zachary Carrettin and Yueun Kim deliver outstanding playing in Bach’s Double Concerto in D minor. Festival Artistic Director Mina Gajić – whose work as a superbly accomplished pianist I have long admired and reviewed – makes the D minor keyboard concerto sound as if it had been written for her. Both the gifted vocal soloists – soprano Josefien Stoppelenburg and mezzo-soprano Claire McCahan – sing with impeccable command of the JC Bach sacred Baroque style. Cellist Coleman Itzkoff provides a rock-solid foundation throughout the concert. All six artists shine in the closing concert of the indispensable Boulder Bach Festival.” (Rafael DeAcha, All About The Arts)

Zachary Carrettin, violin
Mina Gajić, piano

Mina Gajić
A versatile pianist, Mina Gajić started her music career and education in Yugoslavia. She has performed as concerto soloist and recitalist in Italy, France, the Czech Republic, Serbia, Montenegro, China, Bolivia, and in the United States. As duo partner with violinist Zachary Carrettín, she has performed on four continents, focusing on a diverse repertory spanning the centuries and various styles—on historic period pianos in addition to modern concert instruments.

Her awards include first prize at the International Competition Città di Stresa, Italy; third prize at the Nikolai Rubinstein Competition in Paris; first prize at the Competition of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Republic Competition of Serbia for five consecutive years; first prize at the Stanković Competition in Belgrade with special distinction for collaborative artistry, as well as semi-finalist at the Shanghai International Piano Competition.

Dr. Gajić holds degrees from the Academy of Fine Arts in Belgrade, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, where she was awarded the prestigious Charles Ross fellowship, and was a winner of the Carl and Lillian Illig Scholarship, and the Diane Sacks Prize. She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Colorado-Boulder.

Notable performances have included critically-acclaimed period instrument renditions of works by Chopin, Brahms, Britten, Ives, Berg, Antheil, and Bartók. Her doctoral dissertation and subsequent research on the work of Yugoslav composer Josip Slavenski connect Balkan folkloric traditions and approaches to twentieth century music between the two World Wars.

Dr. Gajić has held teaching positions at Sam Houston State University School of Music, the University of St. Thomas Music Preparatory School, and Rocky Ridge Music Center Summer Academy.

Her performances of Brahms and Schumann (Érard, 1895) can be heard on the critically-acclaimed audio book, Escapement, by award-winning author Kristen Wolf. Additionally, Gajić and Carrettín's recording of Schubert sonatas on historical instruments was released in March, 2020 and became a Top 10 on Billboard Charts "Traditional Classical" the following month. Her recording of Balkan Dances & Tango Nuevo is set for release in 2021 on the Sono Luminus label.

Dr. Gajić is the founder and Artistic Director of Boulder International Chamber Music Competition—Art of Duo. In 2014 she became Director of Education at Boulder Bach Festival. After transforming BBF's education, community engagement, and fellowship artist programs she became Artistic and Executive Director, making her the first woman and immigrant artistic leader of the Boulder Bach Festival.

Zachary Carrettin
has performed as orchestral and choral conductor, violinist, violist, and cellist da spalla in more than twenty-five countries on four continents, and has established a reputation for presenting thoughtful, dynamic and diverse programs which feature repertory from the sixteenth to the twenty-first centuries. He performed as soloist at the opening ceremonies of the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, the Dayton Center for the Performing Arts, the Museo del’ Arte Rovereto-Trentino (Italy), and was featured at the Wolf Trap Center for the Performing Arts Face of America Series, the San Francisco War Memorial Opera House, at the Stavanger Festival (Norway), and in a private concert for the Sultan and Royal Family of Oman, in Muscat, in the capacity of Music Director of Project Bandaloop, (1999-2004). He has since conducted orchestras across the United States, Germany, the Czech Republic, Romania, and the National Symphony Orchestras of Moldova and Bolivia. He conducted the first recording of Bolivian composer Gustavo Navarre’s Sinfonía, and conducted the first known performance of Capuzzi’s ballet music, L’Impostore punito. Carrettín has performed and recorded numerous works in manuscript following several research trips to archives in Bergamo, Milan and Venice.

In the field of historically inspired period instrument performance, Carrettín appeared several times as concerto soloist with the American Bach Soloists, and as guest concertmaster and soloist with numerous baroque period instrument ensembles including the GRAMMY-nominated recording of Hasse’s Marc’ Antonio e Cleopatra with Ars Lyrica Houston, the U.S. premiere of Vivaldi’s rediscovered opera Montezuma with Musica Angelica and Long Beach Opera, critically-acclaimed recording of baroque chamber music from the New World Villancicos y Cantidas with El Mundo, and several productions of opera, oratorio, and instrumental music with American Bach Soloists. He toured internationally performing Mexican baroque instrumental and vocal chamber music with the ensemble El Mundo, and toured the California mission churches performing baroque music of the New World with renowned choir, Chanticleer. Carrettín’s recording of Schubert sonatas on original instruments with pianist Mina Gajić was released in March, 2020 on the Sono Luminus label, and the following month hit No. 9 on Billboard Charts "Traditional Classical."

He recently recorded Bach Cello Suites #'s 1, 2, and 3 (on baroque viola) during Covid-19 pandemic lockdown. That recording, titled "Metamorphosis," is now available on all platforms.

In chamber music Carrettín has collaborated with the Tokyo Quartet, the Assad Brothers, Joyce Yang, Richie Hawley, Kenneth Goldsmith, Cho-Liang Lin, Ian Hobson, Martin Beaver, and in Baroque/Classical/Romantic period instrument ensemble performances with Giovanni Antonini, Richard Egarr, Nicholas McGegan, Monica Huggett, Mahan Esfahani, Manfredo Kramer, Reinhard Goebel, Sherezade Panthaki, and Nicholas McGegan. Formative orchestral experience included serving as a first violinist in the Bergen Philharmonic (Norway), as principal viola in La Jolla Summerfest Chamber Orchestra, and on period instruments as a first violinist with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Portland Baroque Orchestra, San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival Orchestra, and as principal second violin with Houston Grand Opera baroque opera orchestra. An advocate of diversity in music, Carrettín toured one-hundred cities with Yanni and shared the stage with Ray Charles, the Black Crowes, Cake, Joan Jett and many others at festivals internationally, as soloist with Project Bandaloop. ...

Booklet for Bach Uncaged