by Robert Rollin
Last Saturday night, November 3, the Cleveland Classical Guitar Society presented the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet in an outstanding concert at First Unitarian Church. An especially imaginative highlight was guitarist/composer Robert Beaser’s short, single-movement Chaconne, receiving its world premiere in a version written for the LAGQ.
by Mike Telin
When the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet last appeared in Cleveland in March of 2015, that occasion coincided with the release of their CD New Renaissance. When John Dearman, Matthew Greif, William Kanengiser, and Scott Tennant return to the Cleveland Classical Guitar Society’s International Series on Saturday, November 3 at 7:30 pm at First Unitarian Church of Cleveland, there won’t be a new album, but you can hear the new work that Pat Metheny wrote for them. Tickets are available online.
“We met Pat at a guitar festival in Montana about four years ago,” Kanengiser said during a recent telephone conversation. “Unbeknownst to us, he was a closet LAGQ fan, which was a shock and an honor because we idolize him. He said, ‘Hey, I might write a piece for you guys,’ and we said that would be awesome.”
As it is with busy people, Kanengiser said the Quartet did not hear from Metheny for a while — until an email arrived from him saying that he was indeed going to write that piece. Although the LAGQ members expected to receive a 10- to 12-minute work, a month later the composer/guitarist contacted them saying he had sketched out a 6-movement, 25-minute piece.
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
During its more than three decades as an ensemble, the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet has generated a huge and loyal following. LAGQ’s local fans supplied the group with a large, enthusiastic audience on Saturday evening, March 21 at Plymouth Church in Shaker Heights for a two-hour show that touched nearly every possible corner of the repertoire with the group’s forty magic fingers. [Read more…]
Mike Telin
Launched more than thirty years ago, the Grammy Award-winning Los Angeles Guitar Quartet (LAGQ) plays everything from Bach to Bluegrass. But for their visit to the International Series of the Cleveland Classical Guitar Society, John Darman, Matthew Greif, William Kanengiser and Scott Tennant will concentrate on early Spanish music before moving on to modern pieces and Kanengiser’s arrangement of Manuel de Falla’s “El Amor Brujo.” The concert takes place on Saturday, March 21 at 7:30 at Plymouth Church in Shaker Heights.
Today, March 17, marks the official release date of LAGQ’s latest CD, New Renaissance, most of which will be presented on Saturdays concert. LAGQ’s program will begin with a section titled Music from the Time of Cervantes. “The idea for the album stemmed from a project we did a few years ago with John Cleese of Monty Python fame,” LAGQ founding member William Kanengiser explained during a telephone conversation. “We met John at a concert we did in Santa Barbara, and he wanted to go to dinner with us. We were start-struck. [Read more…]