Concert News: Los Angeles Guitar Quartet
LAGQ (from left to right): William Kanengiser, John Dearman, Matt Greif, Scott Tenant
Los Angeles Guitar Quartet
Presented by The Sheldon and St. Louis Classical Guitar
Thursday, November 8, 2018 at 8:00 PM
The Sheldon Concert Hall
(3648 Washington Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63108)
On November 8, 2018 the Grammy Award-winning Los Angeles Guitar Quartet will be in St. Louis for a concert at The Sheldon Concert Hall! St. Louis Classical Guitar and The Sheldon Concert Hall and Galleries have teamed up to present this incredible ensemble for one night only.
LAGQ is one of the most multifaceted groups in any genre. The LAGQ is comprised of four uniquely accomplished musicians bringing a new energy to the concert stage with programs ranging from Bluegrass to Bach. Their inventive, critically acclaimed transcriptions of concert masterworks provide a fresh look at the music of the past, while their interpretations of works from the contemporary and world-music realms continually break new ground. Programs including Latin, African, Far East, Irish, Folk and American Classics transport listeners around the world in a single concert experience.
The first half of their St. Louis program features works by Rossini and Bizet, as well as an original work composed for LAGQ by Robert Beaser. Beaser wrote his “Chaconne” just this year. About the piece, Beaser writes,
“I have long been intrigued by the sonic possibilities of writing for multiple guitars, and when approached with the idea of composing a work which could be performed by either guitar quartet or guitar orchestra, I immediately set out to find a way to create something which could be satisfying for both.”
The second half of the program begins with arrangements of Elizabethan music that would have been as popular as a tune by the Beatles way back in 1599. LAGQ concludes the program with a second commissioned piece, this time by legendary jazz guitarist Pat Metheny. Metheny composed “Road to the Sun” for the quartet in 2016. Here’s what Metheny has to say about the guitar,
“Guitar is an interesting instrument. Across virtually all genres, it remains an ongoing research project - in the best possible sense. It is an instrument that in general is somewhat undefined by any single approach. There are seemingly infinite ways to deploy the potential of what it offers. And in multiples, those potentials grow exponentially.”
For a sneak peak of the entire program with program notes by William Kanengiser Robert Beaser, Scott Tenant, and Pat Metheny, click here.
We hope you’ll join us for this special Thursday night performance!