John Lenti

John Lenti specializes in music of the seventeenth century and has made basso continuo improvisation on lute, theorbo, and baroque guitar the cornerstone of a career that encompasses the Metropolitan Opera, symphony orchestras, and baroque ensembles of all kinds, in addition to presenting solo recitals and accompanying soloists in concert. He is a native of Greenwood, South Carolina. His parents were a touring piano duo and as a kid he traveled with them as they performed around the Deep South, thereby gaining an appreciation of the role of classical musicians as bearers of comfort and truth. When at home in Seattle he is primarily a stay-at-home dad since the Northwest’s anti-worker cultural scene has led to depressed wages for local musicians. His musical influences are always shifting–his great teachers, Nigel North and Jacob Heringman, are always in his ears, but this season in particular he has sought to emulate the plummy tonal quality and tidal rhythmic sense of Hungarian-English pianist Louis Kentner, while the dynamic range of Horowitz is never far from his conscience. His favorite authors are Jorge Luis Borges and Sylvia Townsend Warner. John likes cheap wine, fancy sausage, and mid-level cheese.