All Strings Considered

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 all love so much, and you'll hear a seriously old school fandango.

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 about one of the most prevalent structures in pop music. And for you diehard plucked stringers out there, you’ll also hear some excellent playing on mandolin from Eva Scow, and guitar from Chico Pinheiro and Dusty Brough.

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!