guitar foundation of america

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!

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!