Programme
| Domenico Scarlatti | |
| Mauro Giuliani | |
| Johann Kasper Mertz | |
| Carlo Domeniconi | |
| Nikita Koshkin | |
| Carlo Domeniconi | |
| Roland Dyens | |
| Manuel de Falla | |
| Hayley Savage |
* with Jiří Sladkovský
Sonate K. 213 |
Domenico Scarlatti (1685 – 1757) |
Giuseppe Domenico Scarlatti was an Italian Baroque composer who spent much of his life in the service of the Portuguese and Spanish royal families. He wrote over six hundred sonatas for the harpsichord. The influence of Spanish music and the guitar can often be seen in the musical and technical originality of his style.
| Grande Ouverture, opus 61 | Mauro Giuliani (1781-1829) |
| Andante Sostenuto; Allegro Maestoso. |
Mauro Giuliani was a renowned guitar virtuoso of the early 19th century. The 'Grande Ouverture' is Giuliani's celebrated piece in the style of an operatic overture; a striking orchestration of form, reminiscent of a miniature Rossini orchestra. It is one of the few pieces he wrote in the so called “sonata-allegro” form.
| Elegie für die Gitare | Johann Kaspar Mertz (1806-1856) |
| Largo; Andante con espressione. |
Mertz's 'Elegie', written towards the end of his life, is considered to be the composer's Masterpiece. The work’s complete exploitation of the guitar's melodic ability, takes the listener on a profound emotional journey with its often operatic intensity. He was a romantic contemporary of Liszt, Chopin and Schumann and married the pianist Josephine Plantin; Mertz’s compositions are written in an emotionally mature style and are frequently pianistic in character.
| Koyunbaba, opus 19 | Carlo Domeniconi (b. 1947) |
| I. Moderato |
| II. Mosso |
| III. Cantabile |
| IV. Presto |
| Moderato (Tempo I) |
Carlo Domeniconi is an Italian guitarist and composer who now lives in Berlin but spent many years living and teaching in Istanbul. The influence of Turkish music plays a large part in his compositions. 'Koyunbaba' was written in 1985 and it is the name of a bay in the southwest of Turkey. Inspired by Turkish folk music, it is in four continuous free-form sections with a coda.
| Tristan Playing the Lute | Nikita Koshkin (b. 1956) |
| Andantino drazioso; Allegretto ritmicamente; Vivo; Meno mossso (pesante e risoluto), presto; Tempo primo; Meno mosso (non troppo); Tempo primo. |
Russian composer Nikita Koshkin wrote the classical guitar solo entitled Tristan Playing the Lute in 1983. The piece evokes the spirit of Tristan from the legend of "Tristan and Isolde", set in a playful adaptation of traditional English lute music. According to Koshkin:
'Tristan was written as a musical joke. It was a period when I was fond of all the stories about King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. Tristan was not only a great fighter, but he also played many musical instruments and had a beautiful singing voice. This is why I thought he could be the subject of a piece to suggest the process of improvising in a characteristic early style that then begins to change to futuristic musical ideas. The first section of the piece is clearly ancient in style; the second is more modern; then the third introduces elements of Eastern music as well as some rock riffs. The idea is that Tristan, during his improvising, is building musical bridges to the future.'
| Variations on an Anatolian Folksong | Carlo Domeniconi |
| Theme, 5 variations and Finale. |
This is one of Carlo Domeniconi’s most successful works which is also based on Turkish folk music. The theme is drawn from a famous folk song written by the blind Turkish folk singer Asik Veysel (1894-1973) 'Uzun ince bir yoldayim' (I am travelling down a long and narrow path).
| Songe Capricorne | Roland Dyens (b. 1955) |
Roland Dyens is a French interpreter, composer, arranger and improviser, with a very sensitive and colourful approach to the guitar. 'Songe Capricorne', (after the sign of the Zodiac) is an original composition, requiring the performer to re-tune the fifth string up a whole step from the normal A to B, an operation described in almost poetic terms, by the composer:
‘Permit me to love well “Capricorn’s Dream”, a piece that, with the least effort (if retuning the fifth string is granted) will let you see a “friendlier” world, materially different from those we usually encounter. Here, praise the campanella, the cascading arpeggios and the harmonic sounds, omnipresent in a world where the harpist’s best new sounds of today and the modal reminiscences of old compete, kindly...’
*Monika was joined in guitar duet by Jiří Sladkovský for the final part of her programme.
| Danse Espagnole from La Vida Breve |
Manuel de Falla (1876-1946) arr. Emilio Pujol |
Manuel de Falla was a Spanish composer who was deeply influenced by flamenco music, though his 'Homenaje Le Tombeau de Claude Debussy' is the only piece he ever set specifically for the guitar. 'La Vida Breve' (The Brief Life) is originally an opera in two acts to an original Spanish libretto by Carlos Fernández-Shaw. Though the opera is not widely performed today, its dances can be often heard in various arrangements for chamber ensembles or orchestras. This piece for guitar duet is one of de Falla’s best known works and has become synonymous with the Spanish guitar, to the extent that we may easily imagine that it could have been written for the instrument.
| Dodecaphonica | Hayley Savage (b.1975) |
| Throwing the Dice |
| Stalemate |
'Dodecaphonica' (2006) was commissioned, composed and premiered for the 15th anniversary of the Long Island Guitar Festival in the USA in 2007. A highly original and innovative composition, Hayley describes the process she used in its construction:
‘Inspired by a recent journey into Eastern music, Dodecaphonica takes its harmonic influence from this part of the world. The title, meaning 12 tones, is the inspiration behind the structure of the composition: 12 strings; 12 note modes with corresponding chords of 12 notes divided into groups of three; and two dice totalling 12 sides. The modes alter on descending, rather like the Indian Rag. To counteract the rigidity of this system, the two dice were thrown randomly and their numbers noted. The pairs of numbers in each throw corresponded with particular modes and chords, affected also by odds and evens, and the results dictated the material I used for each section. The idea of a stalemate is expressed in one section towards the end by the repetition of certain chords, again in specific numbers, followed by a slightly more harmonious conclusion.'