Canberra Classical Guitar

LANDSCAPE: Australian Guitar Duets by the Brew Guitar Duo is out now. Canberra guitarists Bradley Kunda and Matthew Withers perform all Australian works by composers Nigel Westlake, Phillip Houghton, Richard Charlton & Robert Davidson, as well as Canberra’s own guitarist/composers Bradley Kunda & Harold Gretton. Copies can be purchased from www.brewguitarduo.com/cd.html

Harold Gretton has won 1st prize in the 7th International Guitar Competition of J.K. Mertz. The contest was held in Bratislava, Slovakia at the end of June 2010.  The prize is 6 concerts, 1000 euros and the complete works of Mertz as published by Chantarelle.Well done Harold!
Harold Gretton holds the first PhD in Performance from the ANU School of Music and is living and studying in Europe with his fiancée, Belgian guitarist Veronique Van Duurling.  Another well done!

Earlier this year, Harold  released his CD “the 20th century guitar,” which is a result of his PhD research at ANU into performance practice.  Visit Harold’s website to learn more and to order a copy. www.haroldgretton.com.  (I’m sure his next CD will include a bit of Mertz!)

A NEW VOICE: Australian guitar music with Vietnamese cultural influences

Le-Tuyen Nguyen will present a lecture-recital of new Australian guitar compositions inspired from the Vietnamese music culture at ANU’s Llewellyn Hall on 31 August at 10am. Traditional folk songs, melodic and rhythmic idioms from various regions of Vietnam are brought to life in harmony with art music of the twenty-first century. Each composition displays the explorations of musical and technical possibilities for the guitar. Creating and finding its own paths to a new stylistic identity, this genre of music has emerged as a new voice in contemporary Australian music.

You can find Le-Tuyen’s program and biography at the School of Music website.

Free admission.

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Minh Le Hoang’s solo CD “The Fall of Birds,” released in 2008, was recently reviewed by Classical Guitar Magazine. Here is an excerpt:

“Unbelievably, and this is happening quite regularly with these privately released recordings, there are no details as to how or where to obtain this disc from. A boring internet search did eventually bring forth the name ‘Coomamusic’ where the CD can be obtained. Is it worth all this searching? Well, the answer has to be a resounding ‘Yes’ for this disc has it all: superb virtuosity in the way Minh Le Hoang handles this technically difficult music and his artistic interpretation throughout is top notch. Hoang is one of the members of the leading Australian guitar quartet ‘Guitar Trek’ and a read-through of his credentials in the sleeve notes shows him to be a force to reckon with.

This is a splendid new release, well recorded and is to be highly recommended.”

Steve Marsh – Classical Guitar Magazine

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Adelaide-based, Ukranian born classical guitarist Aleksandr Tsiboulski’s new CD is being featured this week on ABC Classic FM as CD of the Week with these comments, “Aleksandr Tsiboulski is first-prize winner in numerous competitions including the 2006 Tokyo International Guitar Competition. His playing, which transcends the image of the technically flawless competition winner, has been praised by The Age for its ‘responsive virtuosity’, while the San Antonio Express News admired his ‘beautiful, transparent, lute-like sound’. On his début Naxos recording, he presents a diverse selection of music by leading Australian composers.”

For more info about the album click on Alex’s website or from the Naxos website.

Canberra-based Guitar Trek ensemble (Timothy Kain, Minh Le Hoang, Bradley Kunda and Matthew Withers) performed a terrific  live-to-air broadcast as part of the ABC Sunday Live broadcast program.  The 11 April concert from Llewellyn Hall at the ANU School of Music included the following pieces:

Falla arr McKay & Kain Love the Magician: Ritual Fire Dance; Pantomime
Falla arr McKay & Kain La Vida Breve: Spanish Dance No 1
Mark Isaacs Autumnal Dances (World première)
Ramirez arr Dyens Alfansina y el Mar
Nigel Westlake Six Fish

Classical guitarist and composer Harold Gretton recently released his CD “the 20th century guitar,” which is a result of his PhD research at ANU into performance practice. It includes four major works of the 20th century, all in different styles and reflecting different genres and influences. There is an Australian work: the Black Wattle Caprices by Ross Edwards; one Spanish work: the unique Sonata by Antonio Jose; an Italian work by a major figure of the 20th Century avant-guarde: Luciano Berio; and finally a work reflecting the influence of the inimitable Andres Segovia: the Variations on a Catalan Folk Song by John Duarte.

Visit Harold’s website to learn more and to order a copy. www.haroldgretton.com.

The Brew Guitar Duo released their newest CD “Songs and Dances“  in a live performance at Wig & Pen (how appropriate – a brewery) on 8 November.  The official launch took place on 13 Nov in Canberra at Wesley Music Centre in the first performance of their 2009 Australia Tour.  The CD can be obtained through their website www.brewguitarduo.com.

Congratulations to ANU School of Music classical guitarist Andrey Lebedev who won first place in the Classical Guitar competition in Sydney on the weekend. Results are posted on the Sydney Eisteddfod’s website at www.sydneyeisteddfod.com.au. Well done, mate!

The Guitar Foundation of America (GFA) competition, held in Ithaca, New York, USA on the weekend, has awarded third prize in the XXVII International Concert Artist Competition to Australian classical guitarist Aleksandr Tsiboulski. ANU first-year student Andrey Lebedev also won third prize in the V International Youth Competition in the 15-18 division. Continue Reading »