Zagreb Guitar Quartet, 13 May at Chicago Cultural Center, Preston Bradley Hall

Date: Sunday, May 13, 2007, 6 PM

Location: Chicago Cultural Center, Preston Bradley Hall, 78 East Washington Street
Admission is free.

Downloadable materials:
Concert program + press kit: in pdf, doc or OpenOffice (odt) format.
Print-quality jpg photo.
All bundled in one zip or tar.gz file

The Zagreb Guitar Quartet will perform a selection of contrapuncti from Bach’s The Art of the Fugue; two works dedicated to the ensemble by contemporary Croatian composers Miroslav Miletic and Tomislav Uhlik; Five Gypsy Dances by Spanish impressionist Joaquín Turina; Jewish songs originating from diverse areas such as Bosnia and Uzbekistan which bring a unique flavor to the Quartet’s repertoire; and pieces from two among the greatest jazz pianists of all time: Scott Joplin and Oscar Peterson. All of these compositions (except for the Croatian compositions) were arranged for four guitars by the Quartet’s founder, Ante Cagalj.

Ante Cagalj is one of the most renowned European guitar teachers; his work has influenced the careers of several generations of Croatian guitarists, among whom are the members of the Quartet and soloist Robert Belinic who is famous as the first guitarist to win the prestigious Young Concert Artists International Auditions in New York in 2002. Čagalj’s students have won more than 20 international and 50 national awards. Čagalj, a guitar composer himself, has transcribed a lot of music originally composed for organ, piano, harpsichord, violin and orchestra for guitar solo and guitar ensembles. All of these have assisted in creating and maintaining the unique image of the Croatian guitar school which is considered among Europe’s finest.

Zagreb Guitar Quartet is an experienced ensemble of young musicians - Tomislav Vasilj, Krunoslav Pehar, Melita Ivković and Mak Grgić - whose work has greatly contributed to the recognition of the quality of the Croatian guitar scene within the European framework. The Quartet has given a multitude of concerts in Croatia and in other countries, from Canada to India and from Russia to South Africa. It has successfully appeared at several prestigious international competitions, enriched the guitar quartet repertoire by premiering ten works dedicated to it by contemporary Croatian composers, and gave the world premiere of Johann Sebastian Bach’s The Art of the Fugue arranged for four guitars, receiving a rave review from the well-known magazine Classical Guitar editor, Colin Cooper: “one of the most extraordinary and vivid guitar experiences I can remember”.

Listen to the Zagreb Guitar Quartet at Last.FM or CdBaby

Posted on April 25th, 2007 in Quartet News |