All Strings Considered

Adam Levin came to speak with All Strings Considered about his Fulbright Scholarship to Spain, where he was able to commission an amazing thirty new works from an equal number of 21st century Spanish composers. Adam speaks about this amazing contribution to the classical guitar repertoire, as well as shares his excellent chamber music projects, his teaching style, sense of humor, and lots more!

Coming fresh out of his GFA lecture on the same subject, Dr. Alexander Dunn speaks with All Strings Considered about his new guitar quartets, adapted from quartet arrangements Turina made himself for the then famous Aguilar Laud Quartet. You'll hear about Turina's life during these fruitful collaborations with the Aguilars, coincidentally taking place around the time he began writing his famous solo guitar works. You'll hear Alex, along with Randy Pile, Robert Ward, and myself, play these new works for the classical guitar, as well as Alex's solo arrangement of Ligeti's Sonata for Cello, and his insights into Turina's compositional process and life in the 1920s and '30s.

While Irina was here to judge and give a concert at this year's GFA here in Southern California, she found some time to chat with All Strings Considered. You're going to love her playing, she has a beautiful sound, exhibiting a maturity in her playing that is well beyond her years. She never sounds forced or self-conscious. On today's show you'll hear her recordings of Bach and Jose Maria Gallardo del Rey, as well as a piece from her brand new CD of music by Russian composers. Hear about her journey to becoming the internationally known and respected concert artist, a journey that hasn't always been an easy one. You'll also hear how she prepares for recordings as opposed to concerts, some specific advice for women, her experiences as a new mother and touring artist, and her very personal way of creating her programs.

Evan Hirschelman stopped by to talk about his music, his upcoming technique book Classical Guitar Chops, and his inspired take on extended techniques in his text: Acoustic Artistry: Tapping, Slapping, and Percussion Techniques for Classical and Fingerstyle Guitar. We will listen to Evan's homage to steel-string, fingerstyle guitarist, Michael Hedges, and hear how that composition later paved the way for Evan to write another Hedges-influenced work for the Grammy Winning Los Angeles Guitar Quartet's album, Guitar Heroes. Evan discusses his compositional style and process, speaks on finding an original voice in interpretation, and get to know Evan's recordings, including an exclusive All Strings Considered live performance of his new work, Meditation.

Rovshan Mamedkuliev, Russian/Azerbaijani guitarist and winner of the 2012 Guitar Foundation of America International Concert Artist Competition, stopped by to chat with All Strings Considered right towards the end of his 2013 international tour. Rovshan gave us notes on preparing for the GFA competition, talks about his choice to play the ever-popular "Capricho Árabe" in the competition final, and you'll hear that performance. He also introduces us to his arrangements of piano miniatures by Azerbaijan composer Fikret Amirov, "Ivushka" by Russian guitarist and composer Sergei Rudnev, and the GFA set piece for that year's competition, Andrew York's "Just How Funky Are You."

Departing slightly from the nylon string world to explore contemporary styles with guitarist Richard Smith (although you will hear some nylon string playing from Italian Francesco Buzzurro on their collaborative album). When I met Richard, he was the department chair of the Studio/Jazz Guitar department at USC, and along with USC's fairly new Popular Music program, Smith has since refocused his teaching duties from jazz to emphasize more contemporary and popular music styles. We will reap the benefits of that popular music knowledge here today, as he will give us some great songwriting advice. Smith's forte is in smooth jazz and jazz fusion and he utilizes this genre to explore a great variety of styles, his latest being Argentine tango with a healthy dose of electronica. You'll also hear him discuss the bad rap given to smooth jazz, along with some incredibly poignant suggestions for those determined to pursue a career in music.

Duo Montes-Kircher consists of husband and wife pair, Alfonso Montes and Irina Kircher, who have been playing together as a professional guitar duo since 1984. Their long list of recordings often serve to commemorate their long history together, several of their CDs are actually subtitled with that year's anniversary, three of which are their 10th, 20th, and 30th. On today's show you'll hear about their somewhat unorthodox rehearsal style, several of Alfonso's compositions, about their time studying with Venezuelan legend Antonio Lauro, and about their interesting choice to quit university-level teaching in favor of a more youth oriented approach. You'll also hear about Montes's time as a Venezuelan diplomat, and even how Kircher had to fail the L.A. philharmonic's very own musical director and conductor, Gustavo Dudamel, and in chamber music no less!

Hear Italian virtuoso Aniello Desiderio play stunningly original interpretations of Albeñiz, Scarlatti, Carulli, Vivaldi, and even Paco de Lucía. Desiderio discusses the importance of finding one's own voice as a performer, especially with regard to imagination, emotion, and sincerity. He passes on some valuable wisdom gained from his conversations with Leo Brouwer and cellist Mischa Maisky, he creates a distinction between playing concerts and playing in competitions, and he also expresses his admiration for the recently departed luminary of the guitar world, Paco de Lucía. Finally, Aniello gives us a lesson in authentic Italian cooking with his recipe for Spaghetti alle Vongole (Spaghetti with clams).

World-renowned early guitarist and lutenist Paul O'Dette gives us a great lesson on the development of tuning systems, also known as temperament. He takes us from Pythagoras's early discoveries, yes the famous mathematician, up to the present day equal temperament.

Guitarist Capital brings us his great blend of Brazilian music incorporating pop, funk, and jazz influences, with pre-release tracks from his new project Bossa Zuzu, and his solo album "Floats on Flat Tires," and hear Capital extoll the benefits of classical guitar technique applied to all these styles. Capital also discusses his connection to the amazing composer and guitarist Guinga, speaks on Brazilian music, his time in Japan playing hip hop, the Bay area music scene, and more!

Like so many American flamenco guitarists, Juanito Pascual's guitar journey began with a heavy dose of the electric guitar greats like Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton, progressed to jazz, and was inevitably drawn to flamenco. With his upcoming release, Juanito Pascual New Flamenco Trio, he comes full circle to by bringing all those influences together. Today on the All Strings Considered, Juanito talks about his progression through various styles, about being an American taking part in the flamenco tradition, which so often means comparing oneself to players who have been immersed in that complex tradition since birth. He also discusses his struggles with chronic hand problems, his new method book, and you'll get to hear an exclusive pre-release track from New Flamenco Trio, which will be released this February.

Continuing my conversation with John Dearman, here's a short with a few podcast recommendations and other great piece played by his guitar quartet, L.A.G.Q.: Bellinati's A Furiosa.

Using a cappuccino to bribe John Dearman to stop by, I spoke with John about his experiences as a member of the Grammy Award-winning ensemble, the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet. We had a great conversation about how they rehearse, the keys to their success and sheer staying power—the group is now in its third decade—their particular group dynamic, as well as his great suggestions on arranging and transcribing for guitar quartet. Winter is the perfect time to listen to Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite, and with heat waves all over the U.S., it seems all the more appropriate to hear it from a guitar ensemble based in Los Angeles. Additionally, you'll hear the L.A.G.Q. (John Dearman, Scott Tennant, William Kanengiser, and Matt Greif) play selections from their amazing version of El Amor Brujo, a Jobim medley from their recent release Brazil, and lot's more.

Jason Vieaux is an incredibly hard working performing artist and teacher. He is in high demand for solo guitar and chamber music concerts in major festivals all over the world. Vieaux has also been featured soloist with over fifty orchestras, and is a dedicated recording artist having close to a dozen albums to his credit, as well as serving on the faculties of both the Curtis and Cleveland Institutes of Music. On the show today he talks about his new online lesson website, about his upcoming album, Play, which features virtually every classical guitar encore piece in the repertoire, about his recording process, his collaborations with A Far Cry and Julian Labro on his Piazzolla CD, and lot's more.

When I'm learning a new piece or searching the repertoire for something new, or maybe I just can't seem to make immediate sense of a score, I like to listen to a variety of interpretations via recordings. Over the years I've developed my “go to” list for recording artists, stellar players like David Russell, Manuel Barrueco, Scott Tennant, Pepe Romero, and Adam Holzman. Cornering Holzman for a chat at the GFA symposium a couple of weeks ago, I finally had the chance to ask him about some those phenomenal albums. He is among the first classical guitarists to record on the Naxos label, and has recorded several series of complete works from a range of composers, including two discs of Sor, two discs of Ponce, many of Lauro's Venezuelan Waltzes, and most recently Mertz's Bardenklang. Not to mention that every time I see him live I love his playing too, and I'm often struck by his especially engaging approach to composers of the classical style like Carulli, Giuliani, and Sor, as he somehow transforms works I'm tired of, or unsure about, into music I adore. In this episode you'll hear him discuss his preparations for recording, some excellent practice techniques, his current experience teaching three GFA finalists, in addition to picking some great music from his ample library of recordings for us to listen to, including pieces by Sor, Ponce, and Lauro.

To help celebrate Benjamin Britten's centennial this year, Colin Davin discusses his long-standing relationship with Britten's only work for the solo guitar, Nocturnal (after John Dowland), Op.70. Conveniently, the piece was written for Julian Bream, who is also celebrating this year, both his eightieth birthday and his receipt of the Gramophone Lifetime Achievement Award. Davin also brings us a new commission, with Dowland and Britten in mind, from Pulitzer Prize Winner Caroline Shaw. Having just recently debuted Shaw's work Come Again (Again) written for Davin and singer Estelí Gomez, Davin was kind enough to send All Strings Considered an excerpt from the premiere. If your interest hasn't yet been piqued, Davin gives us some great sight-reading advice, you'll hear some great selections from his debut CD, The Infinite Fabric of Dreams, and he describes his impressions of being the youngest guitarist to reach the finals in the prestigious Guitar Foundation of America Competition. Finally, Colin shares his experiences serving as guest artist-faculty at the Afghanistan National Institute of Music, and discusses their current need for guitar faculty.

A husband and wife duo comprised of Bosnian guitarist Denis Azabagic and Spanish flautist Eugenia Moliner. When Cavatina duo is not performing concerts all over the world or teaching as artist faculty at Roosevelt university in Chicago, they've somehow found the time to record five CDs, and are regularly featured in international festivals, along with Denis's ten or so solo CDs, his DVDs, and more. During their interview, Cavatina Duo explains their take on recording CD's in a world where consumers are less and less likely actually go out and buy one, you'll hear how their marriage actually benefits their professional collaborations, about the advantage of studying with a teacher who doesn't necessarily play your same instrument, and of course, lots of great music.

Chapdelaine is the only person to have won both the GFA competition (as a matter of fact the very first one) and the National Fingerstyle Championship. If you happen see Chapdelaine live you'll see him switch effortlessly between the steel string and the nylon string guitars and hear a blend of his autobiographical compositions, his spot-on arrangements of Rock ‘n' Roll classics like “Come Together” and “Hit the Road Jack,” and classical pieces by composers like Roland Dyens, Leo Brouwer, and Bach. On today's episode you'll Mike's take on arranging for the solo guitar, about his impactful and perspective changing run-in with Segovia, and overall I think you'll get the sense that it's never a bad idea to embrace those big life changes by taking those risky leaps into new realms, as Chapdelaine has done over and over again.

John Schneiderman gives us a glimpse into the Baroque lute and Russian guitar traditions, with a little banjo, and the no-nails perspective on playing the classical/Romantic era guitar.

In this second installment of highlights from the 2013 Guitar Foundation of America Festival and International Concert Artist Competition, All Strings Considered brings you music from the solo and chamber music concerts, a mini-lesson from a pair of the technique workshops, and some exciting and newly discovered projects from David Chapman and the guys behind Seconda Prattica. You'll have a chance to listen to lots of new music, new arrangements, and strikingly original interpretations from Rovshan Mamedkuliev, Laura Young, Zoran Dukic, Scott Tennant, and Aniello Desiderio, along with several All Strings Considered exclusives featuring live performances and previously unreleased recordings of Marcin Dylla, Les Freres Meduses, and the Tantalus Quartet. I felt amazingly rejuvenated and inspired by the end of this year's GFA in Louisville. So if you couldn't quite make it to the festival, this episode will most certainly help fill that void. Although you might not quite make it to the end, as it's quite likely you will find yourself needing to hit pause in order to go play your guitar.

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 Holzman's incredibly influential career in teaching. Finally, All Strings Considered has been given a special dispensation to play you some live excerpts from the competition finals – you'll hear select pieces from Chad Ibison (bronze), Artyom Dervoed (silver), and Anton Baranov (gold).

Today's guest Marcin Dylla is the perfect performer to hear from just a few shorts days before one of the biggest guitar competitions in the United States, not only did he win the Guitar Foundation of America's International Concert Artist Competition in 2007, but has won virtually every other major guitar competition in the world; nineteen first prizes. So not only is he an authority on competitions, but he also has an incredibly positive and original outlook on why competitions are so important, and it's certainly not prizes or fame. Many of today's modern classical musicians have a new look, we have all seen the new breed of classical player with a rock'n'roll/pop-star makeover. To a certain degree this is great, as classical music is in dire need of a youthful and engaged audience. But sometimes on stage this rock-star type presence often means something close to head-banging to Bach. While we all love to see a musician that is engaged in the music they are playing, Marcin discusses when musicians cross the line between being emotionally connected and actually wasting the energy needed to make truly expressive music. Finally you'll hear a live recording of Marcin playing Granados's Valses Poeticos, an All Strings Considered exclusive, along with his exquisite interpretations of sonatas by Antonio José and Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco. Enjoy!

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 Sergio Assad's Baiao, works by Rameau and Couperin, and you'll get a sneak peak at Johaness Moller's new duet When Buds Are Breaking. Enjoy!

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. By the way, you may notice their EP was recorded really nicely. Well, that's because it was recorded at Universal Exports Studio, owned and operated by our good friend Kai Narezo.

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 will hear some interesting history about Albeñiz's piece, which is incorrectly titled Asturias (Leyenda), and for those of you who love Spanish music but a little tired of the same old repertoire, Walter gives us some suggestions for new transcriptions and arrangements in the substantial repertoire of Spanish light opera, Zarzuela.