UCCA Beijing

String-139 Series: A Musical Conversation with Greek Guitarist Smaro Gregoriadou

2019.12.13
19:30-21:30

Conversation
Location:  Auditorium
Language:  Chinses and English

“Performances much finer than competent, an excellent grasp of the works’ architecture”: this compliment from American Record Guide magazine is just one example of the praise received by Smaro Gregoriadou, renowned Greek guitar soloist, composer and music pedagogue. She takes an approach she calls “Reinventing guitar!” towards the interpretation of music and has used the Kertsopoulos Aesthetics methodology of innovations (instruments, strings, tuning combinations, acoustic applications) to redefine classical guitar’s sound, technique and transcriptions.

 

Smaro Gregoriadou has received honors including a Senior Exhibitioner Scholarship to continue her postgraduate classical guitar studies with Carlos Bonell at the Royal College of Music, London. She has won numerous international music awards both for composition and solo guitar interpretation and appeared as a soloist in Europe, Russia, Canada, the USA and Australia. ALEA III, Ensemble Octandre, Biennale Rome, and many other important artistic institutions and ensembles worldwide have commissioned and premiered her compositions. She is a member of the Greek Composers Union. She has so far issued four highly acclaimed CD albums: Reinventing Guitar! (DE3398), Reinventing Guitar II (DE3419), El Aleph (DE3490) and Sequences (AN-ART RECORDS006).


  

Program (60 mins)

Johann Sebastian Bach 

Cello Suite BWV 1007 orig. in G major

Prelude 

Allemande

Courante

Sarabande

Minuets I-II-I

Gigue


Domenico Scarlatti 

2 Harpsichord Sonatas

Sonata K322/L483 (Allegro) in A major

Sonata K198/L22 (Allegro) in E minor


Manuel Ponce 

Thème varié et finale 


Fernande Peyrot

Préludes pour guitare 

Larghetto

Moderato

Scherzando vivace

Vivo con fuoco


Agustín Barrios 

Air de Zamba (from Suite Andina No.1)

Las Abejas


Štěpán Rak 

Temptation of the Renaissance


Manuel de Falla 

Spanish Dance No. 1 “La Vida Breve”


All works arr. Gregoriadou.

*Repertoire is subject to change based on live line up.

Speakers

Smaro Gregoriadou (Guitar Musician)

Greek guitar soloist, composer and music educator Smaro Gregoriadou attempts a redefinition of the classical guitar’s sound, technique and transcriptions, through her “Reinventing guitar!” approach towards the interpretation of music and use of the Kertsopoulos Aesthetics methodology of innovations (instruments, strings, tuning combinations, acoustic applications). Her artistic work has generated enthusiastic responses worldwide. She has been awarded a Senior Exhibitioner Scholarship to continue her postgraduate classical guitar studies with Carlos Bonnel at the Royal College of Music, London. She is a member of the Greek Composers Union. She has so far issued four highly acclaimed CD albums: Reinventing Guitar! (DE3398), Reinventing Guitar II (DE3419), El Aleph (DE3490) and Sequences (AN-ART RECORDS006).


Du Yipeng (Founder of String-139)

A veteran classical guitar educator with more than 20 years of experience in classical guitar education for adults and children. Graduated from the Mannes School of Music in New York, USA, studied under the famous music professor and Grammy Awards winner Frederic Hand, specializing in classical guitar music education and performance. His students come from more than a dozen countries and regions, and many of them have won awards in international competitions. Du taught at the Beijing International School (ISB) in 1999 and successfully held his first solo concert in Beijing in 2000. He is often invited to participate in various international classical guitar music festivals.

Collaborator

String-139

In 1723, Bach finished his No. 139 cantata Believe in God, God Blesses (Wohl dem, der sich auf seinen Gott, BWV 139) to express his love for the Lord. The name of this cantata perfectly described Bach's life of pure belief. Although new music forms are constantly being created, people have never given up on upholding tradition and faith. As time passes by, when fashion trends become classics, and persistence solidifies into greatness, classical works act as a mirror for people to slow down and reflect upon their true selves.

 

The aim of GuitarW Music Workshop (www.guitarw.com) is to share passion for the classical string music world. Inspired by Bach's commitment to his belief, our goal is to invite likeminded string masters to perform with us, in the “139” musical style, to demonstrate our musical beliefs.