Schedule

FREE for the first time in our Festival's history, this six-hour Marathon (taking place on MLK Day) celebrates the classical guitar in North and South America, contrasting rich traditions with bold experimentation.

About the curators: A founding member of the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, William Kanengiser displays his broad musical interests in solo performances ranging from Mozart to Bartok, and his recordings showcase his love of Jazz, Middle Eastern and Carribean styles. Badi Assad hails from a legendary musical family of guitarists-composers; an innovative guitarist as well as brilliant singer and percussionist, she fuses pop-jazz with worldbeat in a sensuously Brazilian sensibility.

 2-5 PM: Las Americas, part I:  North America

William Kanengiser has invited four brilliant guest artists to help celebrate the guitar of North America.  David Mozqueda, a young virtuoso from Gaudalajara, Mexico, will present masterworks by Ponce and Olivas, as well as arrangements of popular Mexican folksongs. Colin Davin, prizewinner in the GFA competition and modern-music specialist, will present compelling works by Joan Tower, and with flutist Daniel James, a new work by Alaska-based composer Conrad Wilson.  Connie Shue, an emerging artist specializing in women composers, will play works by Canadian composer Dale Kavanaugh, Brazilian Clarice Assad (Badi’s niece) and John Anthony Lennon. The phenomenal Naumburg Award-winner Jorge Cabellero will play the first of his two sets in the Marathon, presenting some of the most important American guitar compositions by Elliot Carter and John Major, as well as the stunning Sonata #1 by Cuban master Léo Brouwer.  William Kanengiser will close out the afternoon by presenting an eclectic mix of Mexican, Cuban and American works, ranging from folkloric to contemporary to jazz-inspired.  

7-10 PM:  Las Americas, part II:  South America

 For the second part of the Marathon, Badi Assad has crafted an evening of propulsive rhythm and sensuous melody from South America. The award-winning Brazil Guitar Duo will open the evening with pieces by Villa-Lobos, Piazzolla, Gismonti and others. Samba master Romero Lubambo will bring his technical fireworks and serious Brazilian groove to a set of popular pieces by Jobim, Garoto and others. Jorge Caballero will return to the stage to present some of the most important South American compositions for guitar, including works by Barrios, Antonio Lauro, and the seminal Sonata by Ginastera. Making their NY debut, the incredible Duo Siquiera/Lima will present fiery duets by Brazilian, Argentinian and Ecuadorian composers.  The grand finale of the Marathon will be the inimitable Badi Assad, who brings a lacily feminine sensibility to her stunning world-beat fusion of pop, jazz and Brazilian music.