by Daniel Hathaway
Turkish guitarist Celil Refik Kaya opened the new Cleveland Classical Guitar Society Series with elegant performances of music by Giuliani, J.S. Bach, Granados, Morel and Rodrigo, including a piece by the guitarist himself, on Saturday evening, October 14 at Plymouth Church in Shaker Heights. Kaya warmed up his audience with a fluent reading of Mauro Giuliani’s Sonata Eroica. [Read more…]
by Hannah Shoepe
The Cleveland Classical Guitar Society will present a night of exotic guitar sounds across an eclectic range of genres, featuring renowned guitarist Celil Refik Kaya. Kaya makes his Cleveland debut on October 14 at 7:30 at Plymouth Church in Shaker Heights.
The program begins with works by Mauro Giuliani, as well as selections from J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations. Bridging the gap to the contemporary portion of the evening will be Kaya’s transcription of Enrique Granados’ Valses poéticos. The second half of the program includes Kaya’s own Sonatina and works by Jorge Morel and Joaquín Rodrigo. Click here for ticket information. [Read more…]
by Mike Telin
To launch its International Series, the Cleveland Classical Guitar Society puts on an annual showcase concert. This year’s edition on Saturday, September 16 at 7:30 pm at Plymouth Church in Shaker Heights will feature Jeremy Collins, Stephen Aron, and the Gruca White Ensemble — Robert Gruca, guitar, and Linda White, flute. The event is free, but donations are welcome.
During the concert, CCGS will present three awards: Volunteer of the Year to Simeon Brown, Student of the Year to Damian Goggans, and the Cleveland Guitar Award to Loris Chobanian, honoring an individual who has made a tremendous impact on the classical guitar in the Cleveland community.
The Cleveland Classical Guitar Society (CCGS) announced the appointment of Brian Gaudino as their first director of education on August 30th 2017. Gaudino will be focusing on expanding and deepening the CCGS program that currently teaches guitar to over 200 students every year. [Read more…]
by Daniel Hathaway
Departing from its normal Saturday evening time slot, the Cleveland Classical Guitar Society closed its International Series with a duo recital by Sérgio and Odair Assad on Sunday afternoon, April 30 at Plymouth Church in Shaker Heights. Though their styles of playing are different, the Brazilian-born brothers have been performing as a duo for 52 years, and know each other so well that they could probably play a recital blindfolded.
by Daniel Hathaway
Chinese-born guitarist Xuefei Yang’s program on Saturday, March 25 at Plymouth Church in Shaker Heights paralleled the life cycle of a flower — budding at the beginning with a lute suite by Johann Sebastian Bach, opening up its petals in pieces by Niccolò Paganini and Xu Changjun, then coming into full, fragrant bloom with a set of Brazilian tunes by Heitor Villa-Lobos, Dilermando Reis, Antônio Carlos Jobim, and Aníbal Augusto Sardinha. [Read more…]
by Jeremy Reynolds
“In China, I was the very first guitarist to enter a conservatory,” said Xuefei Yang. “Now some people call me a pioneer because, looking back, it was a very brave thing to do, even though I didn’t really realize it at the time.” On Saturday, March 25, Yang will play on the Cleveland Classical Guitar Society’s International Series at Plymouth Church UCC in Shaker Heights at 7:30 pm. Her program features music by Bach, Paganini, Changjun, and Brazilian composers including Villa-Lobos.
Yang, who has performed in Cleveland twice before, began studying classical guitar shortly after the Cultural Revolution’s ban on Western music was lifted. She is the first Chinese guitarist to have launched an international career and has performed in more than 50 countries. [Read more…]
by Mike Telin
“The guitar is an amazingly expressive instrument,” William Kanengiser said during a telephone conversation. “I’ve learned from my years with the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet that without the right program, the instrument can begin to sound a bit monochromatic. That’s why it’s important to present a lot of different styles — to show that it’s actually a chameleon-like instrument.”
On Saturday, February 18 at 7:30 pm at Plymouth Church, the two-time Grammy-winning guitarist will perform a program featuring music from Spain and North America. The concert is presented as part of the Cleveland Classical Guitar Society’s International Series.
In addition to programming works that will highlight the “chameleon-like” characteristics of the guitar, Kanengiser said that he also likes to connect the works with a theme. “The first half features music expressing the essential Spanish elements that are such a big part of the repertoire.” [Read more…]
by Daniel Hathaway
Maurice Ravel’s orchestration of Modest Mussorgsky’s 1874 piano suite Pictures at an Exhibition is ear-baggage for anyone who encounters Pictures in other arrangements. Thus guitarist Jorge Caballero and organist Jean-Baptiste Monnot gave us the intriguing opportunity to hear solo versions of Mussorgsky’s music adapted for plucked and winded instruments within 24 hours. [Read more…]
by Carlyn Kessler
“I like to believe that music speaks for itself. People can derive their own meaning from the sounds they hear,” classical guitarist Jorge Caballero said during a recent phone interview. “It’s like writers who find that it’s best not to say anything about their own work — they prefer readers to form their own opinions. I feel the same way about performance.”
On Saturday, November 12 at 7:30, the Cleveland Classical Guitar Society will present Jorge Caballero in his Cleveland debut. The recital is part of the Society’s International Series at Plymouth Church in Shaker Heights.
Born in in Lima, Peru, Caballero is the youngest person and only guitarist to have won the Naumburg International Competition. [Read more…]