Once upon a time, I played the piano daily and performed regularly with a guitarist in a piano guitar duo. When the guitarist moved to Boston to pursue his doctorate in music, I got replaced by a string quartet and an orchestra.
One of the most famous guitar concertos is the second movement of the Aranjuez. The first time I came across the Aranjuez Concerto was on holiday in Cartagena, Colombia. The Cuban guitarist put the score in front of me to sight read all three movements with him. This concerto became a staple of my piano guitar duo. The orchestra reduction for piano was addictive. The third movement was most challenging for the juxtaposed meter. Our duo sounded even better with a cellist.
Invitation to free concert
This Sunday, my piano part of Vivaldi’s Lute Concerto in D will get replaced by a guitar orchestra. The good news is that I will be playing the classical guitar. It’s the first piece I found for piano and guitar, bringing back poignant memories of how we began.
Please join us to welcome the Year of the Dragon on Superbowl Sunday with an afternoon concert of the New England Guitar Orchestra followed by an early dinner in nearby Chinatown with the performers.
Sunday 2/11/2024 at 3 PM EST
Church on the Hill
The Boston Society of the New Jerusalem, Inc.
140 Bowdoin Street, Beacon Hill, MA 02108
Free parking in the Church’s garage after the 11 AM service ends. We will be rehearsing until the concert starts.
If you missed the concert or simply want to revisit, watch the uncut video recording below.
The one-hour concert was livestreamed (below). Due to wifi lag time, it’s not in sync.
The Programme
The guitar orchestra (formerly named Boston Guitar Orchestra) has members from New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. Our programme includes works by Bach, Haydn, Mussorgsky, Piazzolla, Tarrega, Vivaldi, and three living composers: Sir Karl Jenkins, William Kanengiser, and Jürg Kindle.
Download the single sheet concert programme (and print 2-sided landscape, US letter).
We will open with a trio by Haydn which we have not performed before and Palladio.
Watch this short clip for our rehearsal of Kindle’s Kalimba. Do you see our soloist Thatcher Harrison? He will be playing the guitar part, while the piano part (below) will be replaced by the guitar orchestra. The concerto is in three movements.