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!