“...unrivaled joy, technical élan, and questing spirit.”
—Los Angeles Times
Bill Kanengiser, John Dearman, Matt Greif, and Douglas Lora, guitar
The Grammy Award-winning Los Angeles Guitar Quartet is one of the most multifaceted groups in any genre, comprised of four uniquely accomplished musicians bringing a new energy to the concert stage. Formed in 1980 and consistently playing to sold-out houses worldwide, the quartet performs inventive, critically acclaimed transcriptions of concert masterworks that 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. The quartet’s diverse discography includes the 2005 Grammy-winning Guitar Heroes, the 2004 Grammy-nominated LAGQ-Latin, and their most recent album from 2022, Opalescent. In addition to solo programs, the LAGQ has toured collaborative works with choirs, orchestras, vocalists, and dancers. Highlights include their program Don Quixote, narrated by actor Philip Proctor (featured during the 2009-10 season of the Segovia Classical Guitar Series), and Shingo Fujii’s work SHIKI: Seasons of Japan, featuring a guitar orchestra. In 2021, the quartet received the Artistic Achievement Award from the Guitar Foundation of America.
Program:
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (arr. William Kanengiser), “Danse nègre” from African Suite, Op. 35, No. 4
Phillip Houghton, Opals
Ludwig van Beethoven (arr. William Kanengiser), Adagio sostenuto from Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp Minor (“Moonlight”)
Paulo Bellinati, A Furiosa
Heitor Villa-Lobos (arr. Sérgio Assad), A lenda do caboclo
Hermeto Pascoal (arr. W. Kanengiser), De Sábado pra Dominguinhos
Aaron Copland (arr. William Kanengiser), “Simple Gifts” from Appalachian Spring
Aaron Copland (arr. William Kanengiser), Rodeo
“Corral Nocturne”
“Hoe-Down”
Douglas Lora, Maracasalsa
Preludio
Fuga
William Kanengiser, Air & Ground
Franz Liszt (arr. William Kanengiser and Jon Minei), Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 in C-sharp Minor