GRAMMY-winning Los Angeles Guitar Quartet comes to MSUM stage
Guitar quartet performing Thursday, Nov. 5, at 7:30 p.m. on the Gaede Stage in the Roland Dille Center for the Arts
“The world’s hottest classical ensemble or its tightest pop band?
However it helps you to think about the LAGQ,
keep the emphasis on superlatives for its
unrivaled joy, technical elan and questing spirits.”
— Los Angeles Times
“The Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, aka the LAGQ, is the longest-standing, most active, and arguably most significant guitar ensemble of the last two decades. Critically acclaimed and a favorite of classical guitar audiences around the world, the LAGQ’s combination of individual virtuosity, impeccable ensemble playing, and a repertoire that is simultaneously eclectic, adventurous, and accessible is truly hard to resist. If there is a supergroup in the classical guitar world, the LAGQ is it.”
“One of the finest guitar quartets in the world…If you haven’t heard a classical guitar quartet before, this one won’t just show you what you’ve been missing –they’ll blow you away.”
What more needs to be said? The first quote is from Acoustic Guitar; the second is from Guitar Player. If you were so inclined, you could find dozens of quotes just like it by reviewers all over the world. The point being: No self-respecting guitarist, or person claiming to love the sound of guitar, would miss this group, performing Thursday, Nov. 5, at 7:30 p.m. on the Gaede Stage in the Roland Dille Center for the Arts. The performance is the third event in this season’s MSUM Cheryl Nelson Lossett Performing Arts Series.
The Los Angeles Guitar Quartet is one of the most multifaceted groups in any genre. The group performs programs ranging from Bluegrass to Bach. They consistently play to sold-out houses world-wide. 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 include Latin, African, Far East, Irish, Folk and American Classics that transport listeners around the world in a single concert experience.
Their performance at MSUM builds upon favorites from their 2005 GRAMMY-Award winning Guitar Heroes disc, with pieces by Chet Atkins, Dweezil Zappa, Pat Methany, and Gerónimo Giminez. The performance also includes the world premiere of a new work written for them by Tilman Hoppstock, music by Carlos Rivera and Manuel DeFalla, and music from the time of Cervantes.
LAGQ’s latest album is titled New Renaissance, and was released this past March. Several earlier albums received GRAMMY nominations. Their recording of the Rodrigo Concierto Andaluz and Sergio Assad’s Interchange made it to the top of the Billboard charts; the latter work received a Latin GRAMMY nomination.
The four musicians will also lead a guitar techniques workshop, designed not just for classical guitarists, but for all guitarists, at noon on the same day. The workshop is free and open to the public to observe.
For more information on the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, go to www.lagq.com. For tickets, buy online at www.mnstate.edu/tickets, or call the MSUM Box Office Monday through Friday from noon to 4 p.m. at (218) 477-2271, or buy at the door the night of the performance, if not sold out.