Zagreb Guitar Quartet took part at the VIPnet Christmas Concert at the Croatian National Theater in Zagreb performing the Concierto de Aranjuez (in an arrangement for 4 guitars made by Ante Gelo) with the Zagreb Soloists and the Symphony Orchestra of the Croatian National Television as well as a performance of the Sting’s Fragile in collaboration with renowned Macedonian vocalist Kaliopi.

The event, which took place on Sunday, 13 December 2009, will be aired on Croatian National Television (HRT2) on Christmas Day (25 December) starting at 8.05 PM.

Georg Friedrich Händel · Suite no. 5 in E‐Major, HWV 430 · Prelude ‐ Allemande ‐ Courante ‐ Air
Jean‐Philippe Rameau · Gavotte et 6 doubles
More baroque favorites from the collaboration of Cagalj and the Quartet. Both works originally written for harpsichord, “arranged and performed brilliantly enough to please even the most highbrow critic and the most passionate music conoisseur. It was the Baroque we love and long to hear, the Baroque sounding at moments as if played on the most precious harpsichord.” – Alenka Bobinsky, music critic

Joaquín Turina · La Oración del Torero “The Bullfighter’s Prayer”
(alternatively: Danzas gitanas, op. 84)
Influenced by his life in Paris, Turina’s dramatic, impressionistic score is thoroughly Andalusian in spirit, juxtapositioning contemplative parts with echoes of a pasodoble (Spanish march-like musical style typically played in bullfights). The entire cycle of Gypsy Dances is inspired by the tradition of flamenco which is danced by Gypsies in Sacromonte, one of the old Arabian quarters of Granada not far from the caves of Alhambra where entire families of brilliant flamenco dancers once lived.

Isaac Albeniz · Sevilla
Always fascinated with the music of Andalucia, Albeniz composed numerous small but beautifully performed portraits of his native Spain. Originally written for piano, Sevilla became a standard part of the guitar repertoire.

Francisco Tárrega – Julián Arcas · Jota Aragonesa
An extended set of virtuoso variations on the Jota (the Gran Jota) from Aragón. Ante Cagalj made this arrangement after two versions by the famous Spanish guitar composers Tárrega and Arcas.

Songs of the Wanderers
Hakotsrim (Harvesters)
Hora Ali (Circle Dance)
Simhat Tora (Rejoicing of the Torah)
Shir hanoded (Song of the Wanderer)
These beautiful songs of Sephardi Jews from Bosnia, Israel and Uzbekistan were adapted for a choir by Croatian composer Emil Cossetto, and the adaptations served as the starting point for Ante Cagalj’s musically lucid arrangements, masterly made for four guitars.

Evgeny Mihailovich Rusanov · Gypsy Suite
A suite of Russian gypsy songs originally composed for solo guitar. “Russian gypsy songs can go from the quietly mournful to the exuberant, and in each of these elements, you retain some of the other, as it were. There’s always an echo of the sadness in the exuberance, and suddenly an underlying quality of juiciness even in the midst of very sentimental texts and music.” – guitarist Theo Bikel on Russian gypsy music

Ivo Josipovic · Samba per chitarre
Homo universalis Josipovic - a university professor, researcher, composer, legal expert and the most promising candidate for the next president of Croatia - originally wrote this piece for the string quartet. This version is made exclusively for the ZGQ by the composer and Ante Cagalj.

Astor Piazzolla · Tristango · Violentango
Two pieces by the Argentinian who brought tango from brothels to the concert halls, pushing the limits of traditional tango with an infusion of jazz and classical forms.

Alberto Ginastera · Milonga
This miraculously beautiful Milonga, the quintessence of southern melancholy, has carried Ginastera’s name around the world.

Celso Machado · Folguedo
A master of ritmos brasilieros, and a virtuoso guitarist, percussionist and multi-instrumentalist who brings joy to his audiences with his subtle mixture of musical inspiration, irresistible rhythm and inspired lunacy - Machado originally wrote this piece for eight guitars. After hearing ZGQ’s performance of his Danças populares brasileiras on the CD Da Fuga a Milonga, Celso decided to make an exclusive arrangement of Folguedo for the Zagreb Guitar Quartet.

Note: all works are arranged for four guitars by Ante Cagalj, except Machado’s Folguedo that was arranged by the composer himself.

Along with their innate passion, the performance of the Zagreb Guitar Quartet shows superior conscientiousness in the concert preparation and a high level of performing together, evident in their brilliant technique and a sense for leading phrases on the guitar, an artistic string instrument enjoying agelong popularity in Croatia.

Zlatko Stahuljak, Vjesnik (Croatian daily newspaper), 29 July 2009.

Read the full article (Croatian only).

Taken from the festival’s website.
More photos coming!

Osor Musical Evenings
Island of Cres, Croatia
Friday, 24 July, 9 pm

ZAGREB GUITAR QUARTET
Tomislav Vasilj - Krunoslav Pehar - Melita Ivković - Mak Grgić

Program (all arrangements by Ante Čagalj):
Jean-Philippe Rameau: Gavotte et 6 doubles
Isaac Albéniz: Pavana capricho, op. 12; Sevilla
Vlado Sunko: Varijacije na dalmatinsku temu (Variations on a Dalmatian theme)
Joaquín Turina: La oración del torero, op. 34
Francisco Tárrega: Jota aragonesa
Oscar Peterson: The Laurentide Waltz; Land of the Misty Giants; Place St. Henri

Program:
Johann Sebastian Bach, Georg Friedrich Händel, Oscar Peterson, Jean-Philippe Rameau, Joaquín Turina and Ivo Josipović

Last.fm Event

The Zagreb Guitar Quartet mourn the loss of the famous Croatian film director and Osor Musical Evenings founder, Daniel Marušić.

Daniel Marušić invited us to the Osor Musical Evenings in 1997 and our collaboration continued to the present day with the quartet playing each year at the festival for 12 years in a row. It resulted in eight first performances of new works by Croatian contemporary composers commissioned by the festival and the ensemble.