All Strings Considered

This year’s Guitar Foundation of America festival and International Concert Artist Competition was held in the lovely city of Louisville, Kentucky and hosted by the University of Louisville School of Music and Dr. Stephen Mattingly. The GFA, now close to its fortieth year in existence, presented an awe-inspiring week of concerts, lectures, classes, and of course, one of the most prestigious competitions in the world. It was a joy to meet so many people dedicated to furthering our art form, so many excellent performers, scholars, and teachers, not to mention partaking in the excellent after-concert hangs sampling bourbon at Dish on Market! Perhaps unsurprisingly, there is simply too much information to share in the span of a single All Strings Considered episode, and so this will be the first of a two-part series. This episode focuses on the past, present, and future of the Guitar Foundation, as well as a few special moments paying tribute to another forty-year legacy: Bruce H

London-based guitar duo, Eden-Stell stopped by my place in L.A. for a coffee and a chat during their last U.S. tour. Mark Eden and Chris Stell have been playing as a guitar duo for more than two decades and today have an impressive catalog of recordings encompassing a wide range of musical styles and time periods. They are frequently invited to give concerts and perform at festivals all over the world. They are the first guitarists since Julian Bream to receive Editor’s Choice in Gramophone magazine for their album “Follow The Star,” a lovely set of works composed by Stephen Dodgson. While they were here we talked about their time studying with the Assad Brothers, about some of their newest projects, about their inspiring experiences with outreach, their particular take on playing duets, and lots more. During the show you will hear an excerpt of Stephen Dodgson’s piece written specifically for Eden-Stell, his Concertino for Two Guitars and Strings “Les Dentelles,” as well as Serg

This episode features Brazilian music from Duo Partido. On their new EP, vocalist Alicia Ramirez and guitarist Dario Griffin bring some really fresh ideas to some Bossa nova classics you already know, alongside a few tunes from the more modern school of Brazilian music. You'll hear selections their new EP, including their excellent interpretations of music by A.C. Jobim, Sueli Costa, Guinga, and others. You'll also hear a little about the origins of Bossa nova, and about a really interesting thumb technique that helps to create some really beautiful and exotic sounding chords. We also continue our search for prospective careers in music that lie outside the traditional combination of performing and teaching. In this case, we take a moment to talk about musical therapy. You'll get a glimpse at Alicia's path in this field and some suggestions for further exploration into music's connection with the mind, about its ability to help and heal in a diverse set of circumstances.

I had a great chat over some of my almost-as-good-as-Scott-Tennant's espresso with the Grammy winning guitarist and composer Andrew York. We talked about a whole series of interesting topics, and you will have the chance to hear lots of new music from his recently released double album Yamour. Andrew shared his thoughts on playing and composing with the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet and a bit about the origins of his piece Sunburst, such as how it ended up on one of the landmark records of the classical guitar repertoire: John Williams's album Spirit of The Guitar. He also gives some invaluable advice to those amateur composers out there, gives a glimpse into his compositional process, shows his incredible appetite for surprisingly varied creative avenues, and even talks about art and software programming.

Let me introduce you to musicologist and classical guitarist Dr. Walter Aaron Clark. Dr. Clark is the founder and director of the Center for Iberian and Latin American Music at the University of California, Riverside, where he is currently on the faculty. Additionally Walter is an accomplished guitarist, holding bachelors and master’s degrees in classical guitar, his M.A. earned studying with Pepe Romero. He’s written numerous books and articles on all our favorites, most recently Tórroba and Albeñiz. For those of you out there that want music, and probably guitar, to be part of your primary career path, but are looking into alternatives to being a touring concert artist or teacher music history might be the way to go. Walter is a great example of this career choice, as he has been able to maintain his connection to the guitar world by writing about many classical guitarists’ most beloved composers. On the show today Dr. Clark will discuss the life of a guitarist-musicologists, we wi

There are certainly some clear parallels between flamenco and heavy metal guitar playing: the search for an ever more blindingly virtuosic technique, the attraction to complexity, their driving rhythm and aggressive edge. A highly sought after accompanist of flamenco dance and cante, Benjamin Woods is the creator of some really great fusions in this vein. On the show, Benjamin gives some insight into the arduous task of learning flamenco guitar the right way, that being in part the willingness to dedicate a decade of study to just reaching a proficiency level of OK. Hear his open-minded take on some of the more commercial flamenco acts like the Gypsy Kings and Ottmar Liebert. He also talks about his metal roots and you will hear tracks from a plethora of his projects including groups Flametal and Heavy Mellow, as well as his heavy metal classics for solo guitar. So if you’re even a little bit nostalgic for the music of nineteen eighties or nineties, you are going to love hearing Ben’s excell

Unlike any other guitar duo I have come across, the Andreas Kapsalis and Goran Ivanovic Guitar Duo (maybe just the AKGI Duo?) have created a truly distinct sound with their blend of steel string, eight-finger tapping, and the refinement of beauty and refinement of the classical guitar. Their compositional style effortlessly blends jazz, classical, pop, and experimental musical styles, adding a heavy dose of Balkan folklore among other rhythmically complex traditions. During their All Strings Considered interview, Andreas and Goran discuss their very different backgrounds in guitar playing, they give insights into improvisation and composition, and basically made me want to go out and start up a rock band. Andreas recounts his discovery of tapping technique resulting from a serious injury to his left hand and his experiences composing film music, while Goran tells of his classical training at the Mozarteum in Salzburg with Joaquín Clerch and Eliot Fisk, and his explorations into his musical roots

Paul O'Dette truly needs no introduction. One of the leading figures of the early music movement, guitarist, lutenist, and conductor Paul O’Dette has performed in festivals in virtually every major city in the world, he has made over 120 recordings, among those the complete solo lute works of John Dowland, he is a professor of lute and the director of early music at the Eastman school of music, and is the artistic director of the Boston Early Music Festival. It is an absolute honor to have him appear on All Strings Considered. On the show today we hear Paul talk about his rock ‘n’ roll guitar origins, about improvisation that was happening 400 or so years before the invention of jazz, about arranging Bach for the lute and guitar, reentrant tuning, and more. You'll hear a few tracks from his recordings, on both Baroque guitar and lute, of Santiago de Murcia, Dowland, and Bach. For you flamenco guitarists out there, much of the Santiago de Murcia is actually in that 12-beat cycle (compás) that we a

Endeavoring to bring you something new and outside of the usual guitar spectrum, please allow me to introduce you to Latin jazz pianist Danny Green. We spent some time discussing his latest album, A Thousand Ways Home, a collection of tunes that shows Danny’s special synthesis of jazz, classical, and various Latin styles of piano playing. In talking about some of my favorites on the album, we ended up talking about Danny’s compositional process, which is fascinating blend of inspiration and reason. You will also hear the amazingly varied path his piece “Quintal da Solidão” took on its way to becoming a fully realized work, a path that spanned several studios and several countries! It is always interesting to hear musicians speak about creating a career in music, especially in times when that environment is not particularly benevolent towards us, and Danny had some interesting views on that subject. We also get to learn a bit about some Brazilian styles you might not have heard of and

Bill did an amazing prepared-guitar demo, as well as showing me how L.A.G.Q. gets some of those amazing sounds on their self-titled CD. You'll also hear Bill discuss his latest work with Shingo Fujii, as soloist for his concerti written for guitar orchestra (guitorchestra?) and soloist, some tales and a few of his compositions with the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, recordings of Bill playing his arrangements of Mozart's Rondo "Alla Turka" and the truly wonderful Souvenir of Puerto Rico by Gottschalk. Kanengiser also gives us some great stories about his interesting beginning and subsequent journey to becoming the player he is today, about his love for cooking, he does some of his uncanny impressions of the guitar greats like Julian Bream and Pepe Romero, and you'll hear what it was like to work on the cult film Crossroads.

Grisha speaks about his quest to enrich the classical guitar canon by the addition and performance of works by the great composers of the solo flamenco guitar, like Sabicas, Paco de Lucía, Rafael Riqueni, Gerardo Nuñez, Manolo Sanlucar, and others. It's truly inspiring to hear about the role his father had in Grisha's musical training; his search for flamenco repertoire when sheet music was a sought-after commodity in Russia at the time, his patience, his support and dedication. You'll also hear about Grisha's chance to play for Paco de Lucía and Grisha's recordings of two works by Sabicas and two more by Paco de Lucía.

I had a quick phone conversation with Vladimir Gorbach, the 2011 Guitar Foundation of America International Concert Artists Competition winner! Vladimir is currently about halfway through his GFA sponsored concert and masterclass tour, with performances in Oregon, Texas, and Arizona in January 2013, and California, New York, Florida, and Minnesota in February, and quite a few more. It was really interesting to hear about how Vladimir prepared and practiced for the competition, his philosophy on competitions in general, and to hear some of the music he's playing on his tour program. You'll hear him play a Scarlatti sonata, Vicente Asencio's Collectici Intim, and my personal favorite, his amazing interpretation of Piazzolla's Estaciones Porteñas.

So the show is called All Strings Considered and it turns out, guitar isn't the only instrument with strings! Who would have thought? I had a great conversation with my friend Megumi Stohs from the un-conducted string orchestra A Far Cry They play "classical" music like you've never heard it before. They have this amazing democratic way of rehearsing and performing and play more like a rock band than a classical orchestra: they perform standing (except the celli of course) and with an energy and vitality that left me grinning from ear to ear. You'll hear music from Mozart, Tchaikovsky, and Piazzolla and from some of their featured solists like Jason Vieaux (guitar), Julien Labro (bandoneon), and Markus Schirmer (piano).

I got together with my good friend Connie Sheu to talk about her excellent new recording, a full CD of music exclusively by women composers titled The Woman's Voice. You will hear some really amazing music that I can probably guarantee you've never heard by Dale Kavanaugh, Ida Presti, the daughter of Mauro Giuliani - Emilia Giuliani, and Annette Kruisbrink. You may also have heard mention of the Suzuki Method? Connie was among the very first Suzuki Guitar students and gives us a clear and concise explanation of how this revolutionary system of learning works. Connie also tells us about her rather unique response to becoming a mother and the effect that has had on her burgeoning performing career.

Traditionally, the great composers like Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven have also been virtuosos on their instruments- Bach on the organ, Mozart, Beethoven, Liszt, and Brahms on the piano, Paganini on the violin. In the classical guitar world this connection between performer and composer is even stronger, almost to the point of requirement. The list includes almost every guitar/lute composer we know, from Dowland, Sanz, Da Milano, Mudarra, and de Murcia to Tárrega, Barrios, Giuliani, Sor, and the list goes on… In today’s classical guitar world, among the most prolific and successful participants in this tradition of performer/composer is Roland Dyens. His compositions and arrangements have become an integral part of today’s classical guitar repertoire. The maestro was kind enough to give me an hour of his time between concerts and flights to discuss his composition and arranging, his love for the music of Fernando Sor, his improvisations, and lots more.

An Interview with the president of the Guitar Foundation of America, Martha Masters. We spoke about what it's like being a woman in a male dominated career, a little about the importance of music for kids, about performing versus recording, and about some of her favorite music to play. You'll hear her interpretations of J.S. Bach, Regondi, Antonio Jose de San Sebastian, and a duet by Cesar Frank played by her duo, Duo Erato. Enjoy!

Adam and I chatted about his new and second guitar concerto titled, Paisajes (Landscapes), about growing up in Spain (and everywhere else!), about the flamenco/classical guitar split, and Segovia's flamenco past. You'll hear the first movement of Paisajes (Lanscapes), which is an orchestral version of a flamenco Alegrías, the rumba that begins his latest album, his amazing interpretation of Albeñiz's Sevilla, and a great Balkan-sounding tune in 13/8!

I talked with Scott Tennant about Rodrigo's Entre Olivares, his fantastic technique book Pumping Nylon, some of his favorite moments with the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, and his arrangement of Wild Mountain Thyme. We also got some great practice advice and talked about his love of a great cup of espresso.