Photos from the Zadar concert at eZadar.hr

The leading internet portal in Zadar Croatia, eZadar.hr, features the text with two photos, as well as the photo gallery.

Posted on April 20th, 2008 in Quartet News |

Upcoming: Ljubljana, Rijeka, Zadar

There are three upcoming concerts next week in Slovenia and Croatia:

April-14: Ljubljana (Slovenia), Šentjakobsko gledališće, Krekov trg 2, 8 pm. Free entrance.

April-16: Rijeka (Croatia), Filodrammatica, Korzo 28/I, 8 pm. Free entrance.

April-17: Zadar (Croatia), Hrvatska kazališna kuća Zadar, Široka ulica 8, 8 pm.

Program:

Georg Friedrich Händel: Suite no. 5 in E-major, HWV 430
Jean-Philippe Rameau: Gavotte et 6 doubles
Johann Sebastian Bach: Preludes and Fugues: BWV 531 & 541

Tomislav Uhlik: Quartetto concertante
Joaquín Turina: Cinq danses gitanes, op. 84
Celso Machado: Folguedo

Posted on April 10th, 2008 in Quartet News |

Upcoming Zagreb Concerts

Zagreb Guitar Quartet:

Tomislav Vasilj - guitar, soprano guitar
Krunoslav Pehar - guitar, alto guitar
Melita Ivković - Seven-string guitar
Mak Grgić - guitar

will hold two performances in Zagreb:

# 2008-February-29: Zagreb (Croatia), Croatian Composers Society, Berislavićeva 9, 7 pm. Concert for Croatian-Austrian Society (Kroatisch-österreichische Gesselschaft zur Förderung kultureller und wirtschaftlicher Beziehungen)

# 2008-March-12: Zagreb (Croatia), Croatian Passion Heritage Celebrations (Pasionska baština), Church of St Catherine, 8 pm.

Program:
Ave Crux, spes unica!

Georg Friedrich Händel: Suite No. 5 in E-major, HWV 430 (Prélude-Allemande-Courante-Air)
Jean-Philippe Rameau: Gavotte et 6 doubles

Johann Sebastian Bach:
Contrapuncti 1 & 4 from Die Kunst der Fuge, BWV 1080
Preludes and Fugues: G-minor BWV 578, C-major BWV 531, G-major BWV 541, G-major BWV 550

The Passion Heritage Celebrations is a cultural association formed in 1992 which promotes good values as the basis of European and Croatian culture. It is held before Easter and the program includes many musical and theatre shows, as well as fine art exhibitions (info phone 242 15 37).

Posted on February 26th, 2008 in Quartet News |

Happy Holidays!

We wish you all the best! Watch us playing Oscar Peterson’s Laurentide Waltz in Osor Musical Evenings:

Posted on December 24th, 2007 in Quartet News |

Photos from Athens

We’ve just posted photos from our recent concert in Athens!

Posted on October 8th, 2007 in Quartet News |

The Brilliance of The Art of Fugue

Zlatko Stahuljak of the Croatian daily newspaper Vjesnik reviews the Quartet’s concert at the Osor Musical Evenings:

Brilliant performance of the Zagreb Guitar Quartet

Studious approach and playing experience

Read the full story in HTML or PDF (Croatian only).

Posted on August 21st, 2007 in Quartet News |

Blog posts about the Zagreb Guitar Quartet

Alan Coady’s Musical Blog:

Apart form those mentioned already, my personal favourites include the Zagreb Guitar Quartet. They seems to have captured the holy trinity of ingredients here (arrangement, performance and recording).

Youjustdontget.us with a short video clip from the quartet’s concert in Chicago.

The Way IT IS:

in the evening had a chance to hear a guitar concert by Zagreb Guitar Quartet.. a young croatian team.. they played pieces from Bach and other classical stuff. It was terrific. They had a wonderful synchoronization and their sound was good too.

Posted on May 20th, 2007 in Quartet News |

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 |

Croatians strum on MacLeans Blog

View the backstage photos from the Quartet’s concert in Ottawa and learn how Mak’s strumming hand has longer nails.

Posted on March 26th, 2007 in Quartet News |

Guitar Masterclass in July

Ante Čagalj will hold a guitar masterclass from July 9-21 on the island of Korčula, Croatia. More info and application form on the official Upbeat International School website.

Posted on February 26th, 2007 in Čagalj News |