We were thrilled to have as our first guest this season, Turkish-born phenom, Celil Refik Kaya. Kaya played a highly varied program that spotlighted his arranging and composing as well as the traditional role we all play, that of interpreter. The concert was very well-attended and the audience loved him. (For the full program, see the end of the post).

Celil Refik Kaya on the Kulas Hall stage at Oberlin Conservatory

He opened his program with a three-movement work by Carulli—his Serenade Op 96. Written for guitar duet, Kaya presented the piece as a solo(!) It was highly effective.

He continued with an original arrangement of five movements from a French Baroque keyboard suite of Loeillet. Kaya proved himself well up to the task of the delicate and nuanced decorations this repertoire invites. After that, he offered his original work, Sonatina, an ear-friendly work that was an instant hit. He finished his first half with Jorge Morel’s wonderful Romance Criollo, played with verve.

Kaya continued his program with another original work, Bridges, from his collection, Sketches, Vol. 1. This piece impressed me greatly and was my favorite on the program.

He played a set of beloved standard works next, a group by Barrios, then turned to Spain with three works from de Falla’s great ballet, The Three-Cornered Hat. These were played brilliantly and the audience responded in kind.

The program concluded with a set of three seldom-played Piazzolla works, in his own arrangements. These proved highly effective and earned him an enthusiastic standing ovation. For an encore, he played his version of Ponce’s Estrillita. It was beautifully shaped and delicately presented, and left the audience very happy indeed that they’d been there.

After the concert, he joined us for the usual food and cheer at the Feve, and stayed up plenty late. The students enjoyed exchanging stories and getting to know him, and his friendly and engaging wife, Amanda, as well. The next day, we met for a master class. Five members of the studio played for him. First up, was Sam Schollenberger, with a presentation of the second movement of Morel’s Sonatina.

Next up was Solis Dornan, with a Prelude of Rodrigo.

After Solis, Josefina Stone played Domeniconi’s Turkish Variations, a piece Kaya hears often in master classes!

Grigor Ylli then played Albeniz’ Asturias.

Finally, Aleksandr Lapshin performed Bach’s Allegro BWV 998.

This was an excellent class featuring lots of useful tips for the students. Kaya was gentle and encouraging, but pushed them each to improve their interpretations in a range of ways. The students played beautifully, having prepared well, so the results were terrific.