Named after Hungarian composer Béla Bartók, Austrian composer Anton Webern, and Czech composer Leos Janácek. Also a guy who was inspired to learn the Banjo by the Beverly Hillbillies theme song.
 |
| Photo credit: William Matthews |
If there was anyone who would be able to bring Jed Clampett to the Classical concert hall, it’s Béla Fleck.
Mr. Fleck grew up in New York City and at the age of 15, was given his first banjo- a gift from his grandfather. It was on that train ride home, when a man offered to help tune that banjo (and suggested he get the book “How to Play the Five String Banjo” by Pete Seeger) that a musical icon was born.
Playing in and alongside countless bands since the late 1970’s, Béla Fleck has carved out a marvelous career in Bluegrass, Rock and almost every other genre of music- EVEN CLASSICAL.
In 2001, he joined forces with Edgar Meyer to play his banjo on the album Perpetual Motion- an album that also featured John Williams, Evelyn Glennie, Joshua Bell and Gary Hoffman. After that, he cultivated a relationship with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra that led to a double concerto, a trio concerto and then a true masterpiece- his first stand-alone banjo concerto.
“The Impostor” has been performed over 50 times worldwide and is one of those pieces that stand alone in greatness.
