All Strings Considered

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.