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Classical guitar has an intricate, rhythmic and romantic sound. Imagine that richness times four and you have the Grammy-award-winning Los Angeles Guitar Quartet. The group joins the Grand Rapids Symphony as part of its Richard and Helen DeVos Classical Series, April 17 and 18, at 8 p.m. in DeVos Performance Hall.
Audience favorites, Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake,” and Sibelius’ “Finlandia,” are also on the program. The concert is led by guest conductor Hannu Lintu, who was recently named chief conductor of the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra in Finland.
Audience members will be swept to faraway lands by this program inspired by folk music from Finland, Spain and Russia.
Celebrating their 28th year on the concert stage, the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet has made more than a dozen recordings. Their CD, “LAGQ: Latin,” was nominated for a Grammy in 2003 for Best Classical Crossover Recording, and their CD, “Guitar Heros,” won a Grammy in the same category in 2005. Known worldwide, they are masters of the classics and renown for their ability to blend world music and contemporary styles.
The group includes John Dearman who plays a unique seven-string guitar with extended upper and lower registers. Along with being the newest group member, Matt Greif has a background in jazz, rock, flamenco and bluegrass, as well as classical. Acclaimed soloist, recording artist and professor at the University of Southern California, William Kanengiser is one of the few guitarists to have won the Concert Artists Guild New York Competition. And Scott Tennant, who has been performing since the age of 12, is a world-class artist, author and teacher.
The LAGQ will join the orchestra for Joaquin Rodrigo’s “Concierto Andaluz,” which the LAGQ premiered with the San Antonio Symphony in 1967. Born in Spain, Rodrigo lost his sight at age three during a diphtheria epidemic. He received his first music lessons at a school for the blind at four and started playing piano and violin at eight years old. He went on to study in Paris and built a reputation on composing music that beautifully blends classical and Spanish styles. This highly rhythmic work takes listeners on a wonderful tour of Spain lead by the guitars and the orchestra.
Tchaikovsky wrote some of the world’s most popular ballets: “Swan Lake,” “Sleeping Beauty” and “The Nutcracker.” Amazingly, “Swan Lake” was his first attempt at writing a full-length ballet, but was not an immediate success. During its first production, the conductor was inexperienced with Tchaikovsky’s sophistication. The costumes were shabby and the choreographer considered much of Tchaikovsky’s music not suited for dancing, so he substituted other music. The first performance only included about 30 percent of Tchaikovsky’s original score. After Tchaikovsky’ death, a more experienced choreographer produced “Swan Lake,” leading to its everlasting fame.
Also a much-loved work, Jean Sibelius’ “Finlandia,” features the sound of national pride. Composed between 1899 and 1900, when Finland was still under the rule of Russia, the piece served to help build a distinct national cultural identity for the Finns. The piece was among seven compositions that Sibelius wrote for a newspaper pension fundraiser, but the real intent was to rally support for a free press when Russia’s hold on Finland was tightening. The last of the seven works was titled “Finland Awakens,” and later revised by Sibelius and retitled “Finlandia.” The piece serves almost as a second national anthem to Finland. Audiences will recognize this work with its triumphant beginning and reflective hymn-like quality in the middle.
Another work by Sibelius, his Fourth Symphony, is also on the program. When he working on his Symphony No. 4, European audiences were talking about the avant-garde composers of the day, such as Arnold Schoenberg, Igor Stravinsky and Gustav Mahler, who were changing classical music by creating daring and strident harmonies, and bizarre rhythms. That was not Sibelius’ style, yet when people first heard his fourth Symphony they labeled it “modern.” While he might have disagreed with that observation, he was pleased with this Symphony and wrote sometime after its premiere, “...even today, I cannot find a single note in it that I would remove, nor can I find anything to add. This gives me strength and satisfaction.”
Tickets start at $18 and can be purchased by calling Ticketmaster at 1-800/982-2787, online at ticketmaster.com or in person at the Symphony office, open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, at 300 Ottawa NW, Suite 100.
“Upbeat,” a free pre-concert conversation sponsored by BDO Seidman, LLP, is at 7 p.m. in the DeVos Place Recital Hall.
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