BGQ Newsletter No. 1/2007
Dear friend,
You are receiving the first edition of the BGQ Newsletter, a tri-monthly bulletin that brings you the latest news from the Brazilian Guitar Quartet.
Best regards,
BGQ
New BGQ Recording Takes Listeners to Spain
One of the BGQ's earliest dreams has just come true, with the release of their fourth CD by the American label, Delos, featuring Isaac Albéniz's suite, Iberia. This was the first time that this masterwork, considered the most important piece of the Spanish piano repertoire, was entirely arranged for guitar quartet. The quartet’s huge array of possibilities, created by the combination of the six and eight-string guitars, has allowed it to deal naturally with the technical problems that would arise from such a challenge. Furthermore, the BGQ's arrangement accentuates an emotional dimension, which Spain's national instrument – the guitar – could only bring out. To listen to the CD from beginning to end is to take a sound journey through the landscapes, flavors, and traditions of Spain, most notably of Andalusia, the birthplace of the flamenco culture.
Listen to excerpts of the BGQ's newest CD through the links below:
BGQ Performs in Houston for Second Consecutive Year
After a successful début in 2005, the Brazilian Guitar Quartet returned to the Cullen Theater in October 2006, for a concert sponsored by the Houston Society for Performing Arts - SPA. More than a thousand people filled up the hall to listen to the quartet's rendering of six movements from Isaac Albéniz's Iberia, followed by two works by Brazilian composers: Portraits Suite by Radamés Gnatalli and Bachianas Brasileiras No.1 by Heitor Villa-Lobos. Villa-Lobos's work was described as "pure inspiration" by critic Charles Ward from the Houston Chronicle. This concert was part of an international tour, which included concerts in several cities of the American Southwest as well as a performance at the Aarhus International Guitar Festival, in Denmark.
Read the whole Houston Chronicle review (site registration required):
http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=2006_4206232
2006, In Short
The year of 2006 was a busy one for the Brazilian Guitar Quartet. There were a total of three international tours, including performances in numerous important American venues which, for some, were in front of record audiences, both traditional and open-air concerts. The BGQ also took part in two important guitar festivals: the International Guitar Festival of Monterrey, Mexico, and the International Guitar Festival of Tatuí, Brazil, where the quartet also offered masterclasses to young guitarists. In August, the quartet gave the Brazilian premiere of the Concerto for Four Guitars and Orchestra, by Brazilian composer, Ronaldo Miranda, accompanied by the Petrobras Symphonic Orchestra, under Manfredo Schmiedt. The performance was held in the Cecília Meireles Hall, in Rio de Janeiro.
New Partnership and German Debut in February 2007
The Brazilian Guitar Quartet is getting ready for their first international tour in 2007, which will present concerts in the U.S., Germany, and Ireland. The concerts in Germany start a new partnership with German agent, Christine Douvier, who also manages artists such as the Jacques Thibauld, Trio Berlin, the Scottish guitarist, Paul Galbraith, and the Austrian pianist, Anton Kuerti, among others. With this new collaboration, the BGQ takes an important step toward their European aspirations, having now established themselves as one of the most sought-after guitar quartets in the U.S.
Visit the site of German agent, Christine Douvier:
http://www.douvier.de
About the Brazilian Guitar Quartet
Praised by the Washington Post for their "seductive beauty" and "virtuosic gusto," the Brazilian Guitar Quartet has established itself as one of world's leading guitar ensembles. The group’s unique combination, of regular six-string and extended-range, eight-string guitars, allows for the exploration of an original and unusual repertoire. In their almost ten years of activity, the BGQ has performed more than 250 concerts in the Americas, Europe and Asia, often receiving ecstatic audience responses, garnering rave reviews, and meeting sold-out halls.
Highlights of the BGQ's past seasons include performances at the 92 Street 'Y' and the Metropolitan Museum in New York, Spivey Hall in Atlanta, Vancouver Playhouse in Canada, Dumbarton Concerts in Washington, D.C., Chamber Music Albuquerque, Shriver Hall in Baltimore, Festival Internacional de Cultura Paiz in La Antigua, Guatemala, San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival, Round Top International Festival, Hong Kong International Arts Festival, Carmel Bach Festival, Musica Mundi Festival in Brussels, Belgium, Festival Internacional de Guitarra de Monterrey, Mexico, and the Aarhus International Guitar Festival, besides numerous performances and recordings for National Public Radio in Washington, D.C. and Houston.
In 2004, the Brazilian Guitar Quartet were "headliners" at the inaugural World Guitar Congress in Baltimore where they, together with the Baltimore Symphony, gave the world premiere of a specially-commissioned concerto by Brazil's 2001 "Composer of the Year," Ronaldo Miranda. In 2006, the Quartet gave the Brazilian premiere of this work with the Petrobras Symphonic Orchestra in Rio de Janeiro.
The BGQ's discography includes four CDs on the Delos label. Two of them are devoted to Brazilian Music, Essência do Brasil (chosen by Audiophile Audition one of the "best recordings of 1999") and Encantamento (2001). The other recordings present, in their entirety, two great works of Western classical music, Bach's Four Orchestral Suites (2000) and Albéniz's Iberia (2006).
For further information about the Brazilian Guitar Quartet, please visit our site or send us an e-mail.