Invisibles - for solo piano, Jan Bratos, Miguel del Aguila

INVISIBLES - for piano Op. 124 after a poem by Antonio Machado
Commissioned by Natsuki Fukasawa and Dr.Ann Harriman (Tier 1)
Jennifer Reason and Citywater Inc. (Tier 2), and Dr.Michael Rickman and by Lino Rivera (Tier 3)

Invisible to us are all those people we no longer see because their freedom - or their lives - have been taken away. Invisible are all the places that have been destroyed by war and conflicts. This work gives a voice to one who has been silenced as it tells its story. The structure of the music follows that of the poem by Antonio Machado (1875-1939). The beauty of this poem lies in its simplicity and ambiguity. In his poem, the Lady with the white flower is the victim, as is also the entire town. The man that passes by and destroys it can be seen as her lover, as a symbol of war, prejudice, injustice, addiction or as death itself. Invisible was written in 2019 and premiered the same year at Tali’s Music Festival in Sarajevo by pianist N. Fukasawa.

Antonio Machado (1875-1939)

La plaza tiene una torre, la torre tiene un balcón, el balcón tiene una dama, la dama una blanca flor.
Ha pasado un caballero -¡quién sabe por qué pasó!-,
y se ha llevado la plaza, con su torre y su balcón, con su balcón y su dama su dama y su blanca flor.

The plaza has a tower, the tower has a balcony, the balcony has a lady, the lady, a white flower.
There passed a man
-nobody knows why!-,
and he took away the plaza, with its tower and its balcony, with its balcony and its lady, its lady and her white flower.
(translation: Miguel del Aguila)

Der Platz hat einen Turm,
der Turm hat einen Balkon,
der Balkon hat eine Dame,
die Dame eine Blume aus Weiß.
Ein Herr ist vorbeigegangen
warum nur ging er vorbei?
und hat den Platz mitgenommen
mit seinem Turm und seinem Balkon, mit seinem Balkon und seiner Dame, seiner Dame und ihrer Blume aus Weiß.


Jan Bratos - Piano

Music: Miguel del Aguila

From CD LUCES AUSENTES
Benjamin Harris Plays Miguel del Aguila Chamber Music for Double Bass
music & publisher © Copyright: Miguel del Aguila (BMI)
sound recording ℗ Copyright 2022 Benjamin Harris/Miguel del Aguila
production/engineering/editing: Benjamin Harris, Miguel del Aguila, Jorge Mazurik

Made possible by the generous support of the Sphinx Organization, Orquesta Sinfónica de Xalapa and Tlaqná Centro Cultural.

This album was recorded 2021 during the confinement of the COVID-19 Pandemic and it’s dedicated to the victims and their families.

www.benjaminharrisbass.com
www.migueldelaguila.com

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Jan Bratos

Originally from Slovenia, pianist Jan Bratoz graduated with honors from Mozarteum University. He has performed in Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Croatia, Italy, the United States and Mexico both as a soloist and in chamber ensembles. His musical work has allowed him to obtain first place in competitions such as the Slovenian National Competition, Bradshaw and Buono International Piano Competition New York, USC Concerto Competition Los Angeles, and second place in Los Angeles Liszt Competiton among others. In 2005 he was invited to participate as a soloist with the Pacific Symphony Orchestra (USA) and in the winners' concert at Carnegie Hall in New York, 2007. In 2011 and 2013 he participated as a soloist with pianist Diana Castro with the Xalapa Symphony Orchestra. Jan began his piano studies in Slovenia with professors Bojan Glavina, Janez Lovse and Siavush Gadjieff. Later he obtained the bachelor's and master's degrees in piano performance from the Mozarteum University of Salzburg Austria, under the tutelage of professors Hans Leygraf and George Kern (1997-2004). His doctoral studies in Piano Performance were carried out at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles CA (USA) under the direction of pianist Kevin Fitzgerald, as trustee of the Frank & Dunphy Kerze Scholarship Award for pianists (2004-2008). Additionally he completed a master's degree in Hammerklavier at Mozarteum University (2015-2017). Since 2008 he has been the principal pianist of the Xalapa Symphony Orchestra, and is a piano teacher at the Institute of Music of the State of Veracruz.