The tattooed musician will team up with pianist Henry Kramer for a concert that mixes Prokofiev and Persian-tinged pieces with electronics
Why did violinist Blake Pouliot’s parents keep him from learning the instrument when he was 5?
“They thought I was too busy!” he recalled with a laugh.
Too busy at age 5?
“I was a super enthusiastic kid!” explained Pouliot, 31, speaking from his home in Brooklyn, New York. “I was playing hockey, doing gymnastics, playing piano. I loved sports and being social.
“So, my parents were like: ‘You’re already doing all this. It’s too much.’ But for two years I kept asking and when I was seven, they caved and got me a violin. But I did have to drop something — I think it was hockey.”
The Canadian-born Pouliot has become a rising star in chamber and classical music, performing more and more frequently across the country.
Some San Diego concertgoers may recognize the violinist from his appearances at La Jolla Music Society’s SummerFest over the last four years — and from his guest performance last August with the San Diego Symphony playing Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto at the Rady Shell.
On Friday, Pouliot will perform at the Baker-Baum Concert Hall in La Jolla with American pianist Henry Kramer. In January, Kramer performed — to high praise — at Baker-Baum with another violinist, Guido Sant’Anna.
Pouliot met Kramer at a festival around 10 years ago and quickly became a fan. But it wasn’t until 2022, when the violinist relocated from Los Angeles to New York, that he asked Kramer if they could collaborate.
“We clicked right away,” Pouliot said. “We both love to rehearse and to figure out what we’re trying to achieve. We’ve only been doing this for the past two or so years, but it’s been wonderful.”
‘Embody the music’
When Pouliot was 13 or 14, he tried acting classes, did some plays, TV shows and commercials.
“I was mesmerized by the experience at first,” he recalled. “But I realized: `This isn’t enjoyable to me. I don’t want to be people I’m not.’ It didn’t have the electricity of playing music.”
Known for his physicality on stage, Pouliot considers himself a professional interpreter who communicates the composer’s intentions. Earlier in his career, he was criticized for his theatrical concert performances.
Pouliot is inspired by vocalists. Rather than stand motionless while they sing, he noted: “They embody the music.”
After entering Toronto’s Royal Conservatory’s Taylor Academy at age 10, Pouliot immersed himself in classical music. He graduated from the renowned Colburn School in Los Angeles in 2018.
During college, Pouliot got several tattoos, including a half-sleeve collage of Magritte paintings on his left arm and a collection of literary quotes on his right.
“They remind me of that time of life — when I was that bright-eyed young kid,” he said.
After living in L.A. for 10 years, Pouliot moved to New York to make his increasingly active touring schedule easier.
“I loved L.A.” said Pouliot, whose partner Anthony Picanzi is a film editor and photographer. “But I thought New York would make it easier to include Europe into my travel schedule. Also, originally being born and raised in Toronto, I was ready to be closer to family.”
Through much of his life, the violinist has tended to have non-musical friends — despite his demanding regimen of rehearsals, practicing and recitals. He’s especially sensitive to how intimidating classical music concerts can be.
“People are afraid they’re going to clap in the wrong place,” Pouliot said. “I’ve always tried to let people — especially younger people — feel welcomed at concerts.
“I don’t want anyone to feel excluded from the emotions that classical music is capable of reaching.”
‘Incredible artistic visions’
Pouliot’s Friday concert here has a provocative title: “And Quiet Flows The Don: Hope Born Out of Political Revolution.” The first phrase is borrowed from a four-volume novel by the Russian writer Mikhail Sholokhov.
The first piece, Baozhi Yang’s dramatic “Ambush on All Sides,” is followed by Janácek’s Sonata for Violin and Piano. The program will close with Prokofiev’s Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 1 in F Minor.
“The sonatas each have four movements, reflecting the four volumes of “And Quiet Flows The Don,” Pouliot explained. “The composers were witnessing war. I wanted to show works that came from tumultuous times. And the incredible artistic visions that are created through such difficulty.”
The two world premieres, commissioned by La Jolla Music Society and Carnegie Hall, were inspired by Persian classical music.
Derrick Skye’s “the spark she left behind” and Pirayeh Pourafar’s
“Damon,” were both written for solo violin and electronics. Pouliot counts the two works as one unit.
“I think Persian classical music is fascinating,” he said. “I wanted to work with these two composers who are literate in it. And they’ve put a modern spin on it by adding these electronics.
“A lot of Derrick’s music isn’t measured by time (signatures). It’s my job to craft and curate each section within a time frame — as opposed to (following) bars and measures — to make sure that I sync up each passage within the electronics so that it’s all working together. It’s very difficult, but it’s cool.”
“After concerts, people, especially like younger people, tell me the piece with electronics is their favorite piece. Each work is a different gateway for a different person. And if that’s something that gets them hooked or interested, that’s awesome.”
La Jolla Music Society presents Blake Pouliot and Henry Kramer
When: 7:30 Friday
Where: The Baker-Baum Concert Hall, Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center, 7600 Fay Ave., La Jolla.
Tickets: $45.50 – $87
Phone: 858-459-3728
Online: theconrad.org
Prelude Lecture by Michael Gerdes at 6:30 p.m.