The tonebase Classical Guitar Podcast, with David Steinhardt

Join David in conversation for the season 4 premiere with the Scottish guitarist, Ian Watt! Ian spoke of his competition approaches, and his experience placing 2nd at the Parkening International Guitar Competition at the age of 18. As a lecturer at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Ian is a dedicated teacher and spoke of the importance of studying traditional repertoire during undergraduate degrees. He also spoke of the development of one’s artistic voice, how it should not be rushed or manufactured.

Intro Music: Couperin Les Sylvains (Scott Tennant)

Sonata Mov. IV, Allegro con Brio (Jose)

Invocacion y Danza

Join David for a conversation with the British and Chilean guitarist, Emmanuel Sowicz for the season 3 finale! Emmanuel has placed first in competitions across the UK, Chile, and Argentina. He explained his mental mindset on preparing and performing in competitions, and how he placed first at the "Dr. Luis Sigall" International Music Competition with the flu! After winning the 2018 London International Guitar Competition, Sowicz became a Eurostrings artist, leading to an 8-country European tour and a performance for Arvo Part and Sting! Sowicz spoke of his approaches to transcribing music, to find opportunities instead of limitations from the guitar. He also spoke of the political unrest in Chile, and how incorporating and commissioning Chilean music into his repertoire has been healing on a personal and emotional level.

Intro Music: Couperin Les Sylvains (Scott Tennant)

Scarlatti: Sonate K. 178 in D (trans. David Russell)

Violeta Parra: Gracias a la vida (arr. Emmanuel Sowicz)

-Open Strings Berlin recording

Join David for a conversation with chamber musician and soloist, Matthew Greif! Greif has a unique musical background, playing in his family band as a kid, and later transitioning to classical and jazz guitar. Matt spoke of his solo CDs and passion for improvisation, which led to duet recordings with composer Dusan Bogdanovic. He also spoke in detail on the audition process for joining the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet. Recent projects for LAGQ include commissions from the impressionist composer Allan Willcocks and jazz legend Pat Metheny. Matt talked about the collaborations and unique process of recording these monstrous works with Metheny/Willcocks as producers!

Intro Music: Couperin Les Sylvains (Scott Tennant)

Milano Fantasia No. 30

Allan Willcocks Suite Transcendent: V Danza Diabolica

-Los Angeles Guitar Quartet

Join David for an exciting conversation with Ben Verdery! In this installment of the two-part episode, Ben spoke of his 20th year teaching at his Maui Masterclass and as Professor of Guitar at The Yale School of Music for 35 years. Last year, Thomas Donahue published the book Benjamin Verdery: A Montage of a Classical Guitarist. Ben spoke about his contribution writing an extensive essay on his thoughts/approaches to performing, composing, arranging, teaching, and recording. Ben was humbled from all the colleagues who wrote reflections of their friendship and inspiration. He felt this book portrays the extraordinary classical guitar scene of New York City. Ben tells the story of how he used to be neighbors with master luthier Thomas Humphrey. One day Humphrey called Ben and said you *have* to come downstairs immediately. He ran over to find the Assad Brothers playing in Humphrey’s studio, right before their New York debut: a life changing moment!

Intro Music: Couperin Les Sylvains (Scott Tennant)

Scenes from Ellis Island (Verdery)

-Ben Verdery/Simon Powis guitars, Guilherme Monegatto cello, Hawa Kasse Mady Diabate vocals

Leonard Bernstein Sonata for Clarinet and Piano Mov. 1, Grazioso

-arranged for Guitar and String Quartet (Verdery)

In today’s episode, David is joined by the entertaining and talented Scottish guitarist, Matthew McAllister! A week away from the Big Guitar Weekend (in partnership with BBC Radio 3), Matthew spoke of his work with the festival along with this year's exciting lineup of artists. He also discussed the direction of his own festival, Classical Guitar Retreat: a beautiful week on the Island of Cumbrae. As explained by Matthew, the acoustics of Cumbrae’s cathedral are perfect for the classical guitar: he in fact has chosen to record several CDs on location over the years! McAllister’s recordings are conceptually programmed, producing a meaningful record that steers away from a “Greatest Hits” styled CD. Matt explained his approach to choosing repertoire for both recordings/concerts, and how his programmatic choices sometimes differ while touring in China.

Intro Music: Couperin Les Sylvains (Scott Tennant)

Spatter the Dew (McAllister)

String Quartet No. 3 VI. Mishima-Closing (Phillip Glass)

-McAllister, Neave, Baric, Savaloni

In today’s episode, David is joined by our second flamenco guitarist on the show: Kai Narezo! Along with being a great performer, Kai is a dedicated teacher and talented recording engineer. Throughout their conversation, Kai spoke about his approach and philosophy on teaching the flamenco guitar. He has recently published a new method, Flamenco Explained: The Guitarist’s Survival Guide and has started one of the first university flamenco programs at CSU Dominguez Hills. As a producer, Kai has recorded every video for Guitar Salon International’s extensive library. He spoke about his microphone choices and mixing techniques to produce a clear, realistic, and beautiful sound to help reveal the true character of each instrument. While there is no official Guinness World Record, it is believed that Kai has recorded the most classical guitars out of any engineer!

Intro Music: Couperin Les Sylvains (Scott Tennant)

Bulerias De Kai

Marchena (Sevillanas)

While visiting London, David had a chance to sit down with Mark Eden of the Vida Guitar Quartet and Eden Stell Guitar Duo. Throughout their conversation, Mark discusses his approach to arranging, ensemble programming, and directing The Winchester Guitar Festival (which takes place October 3rd-7th)!

https://www.winchesterguitarfestival.co.uk

Intro Music: Couperin Les Sylvains (Scott Tennant)

S. Assad Pintoe (Eden Stell)

Villa-Lobos Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 (arr. Eden): Aria: Cantilena (VIDA Quartet/Amy Green)

Join David for an exciting conversation with the Welsh composer/guitarist Steve Goss for the season 3 premier of The tonebase Classical Guitar Podcast! Throughout the interview, Steve discusses his compositional approaches/techniques and recent commissions with guitar legends Aniello Desiderio, Zoran Dukic, and John Williams.

Intro Music: Couperin Les Sylvains (Scott Tennant)

Goss: Park of Idols Mov I. Jump Start (Annie Jacobs-Perkins/David Steinhardt)

Goss: Theorbo Concerto Mov IV. Finale (Matthew Wadsworth/Scottish Chamber Orchestra)

Goss: Guitar Concerto Finale: Allegro Molto (John Williams/Royal Philharmonic Orchestra)

In the first installment of a two part episode, David sits down with recording artist and professor of guitar at the Yale School of Music, Ben Verdery. Ben speaks about his exciting, contemporary collaborations with the 2016 American Beatboxing Champion Mark Martin and Andy Summers (of The Police). He also talks about his video productions, and how he captured a magical performance of Bach's Chaconne despite weather postponements and having his car towed the day of the shoot!

Intro Music: Couperin Les Sylvains (Scott Tennant)

From Aristotle (Martin/Verdery)

Bach Cello Suite No. 4 Prelude (BWV 1010)

In today's conversation, David is joined by the Slovenian guitarist Mak Grgic. They discussed Mak's current projects including duets with Adam Del Monte (Duo Deloro), his microtonal record Makrotonal, and his founding of the organization Euro Strings. 

Intro Music: Couperin Les Sylvains (Scott Tennant)

Dahab-Jaleo (Del Monte)

Lute Sonata No. 23 in A Minor (Weiss)