Welsh guitar phenomenon Gareth Pearson is considered a virtuoso in the guitar world. He has developed a distinctive style to his playing earning him the greatest accolades from world renowned players and music critics; he has be called a genius by Jan Akkerman, and Tommy Emmanuel was inspired to write a song about him which is named “The Welsh Tornado”.
Gareth first started playing the guitar at the age of fourteen after watching footage of “Tommy Emmanuel live at Sheldon Concert Hall St Louis”. Having a new keen interest in the roots of fingerstyle guitar music, Gareth started listening and learning from the recordings of Merle Travis, Chet Atkins and Jerry Reed, gaining inspiration and influence towards his own guitar style. Within 5 months of practicing a repertoire of songs, he started attending open mics, folk clubs and guitar clubs, taking the music to the people.
By the time he was sixteen, Gareth fulfilled his dream by supporting and playing alongside his mentor Tommy Emmanuel in Wales. It was there that Tommy invited him to play at CAAS (the Chet Atkins Appreciation Society Convention) In Nashville Tennessee.
In 2008, Gareth got invited to play at the Montreal Jazz Festival for the first time, and ever since then his musical path led him to play for thousands of people all over the world in countries like UK, Ireland, Netherlands, Germany, France, Italy, Finland, Russia, Canada, U.S.A ect.
Currently Gareth is signed to the American based Guitar Label Candyrat Records. He was the first UK guitar player to be signed by the label. Collaborating with Candyrat Records promoted Gareth to 'invade' the internet universe which has given him over 3 million views on YouTube and Facebook.
“I really respect Gareth's abilities. He's a great young man and a great ambassador for the acoustic guitar.”
“I’m Gareth's number one fan! What a guitarist! His original compositions hit the ears like cool spring water on a hot summer's day. His stage show has everyone up on their feet. Fingerstyle guitar is in good hands for the next generation.”
“Not only is Gareth one of the most amazing guitarists around, he is a really nice guy and funny as hell!”
“My friend Gareth Pearson is a huge talent and in his genre, one of the best young players around. I mean there's many roads that lead to Rome, but this one is definitely a great one. I can see a great future for him.”
“Those who have seen him play will agree that Gareth Pearson is a special talent. Fingerstyle pyrotechnics combined with explosive lead runs make Pearson one of the most exciting acoustic musicians gigging today.”
June 13. 19:00 Estonia Concert Hall
The world’s first electric guitar masters orchestra
La Primavera, A. Vivaldi Allegro
Adagio
Allegro
El Verano, A. Vivaldi Largo,Presto
Presto
El Otoño, A, Vivaldi Allegro
Adagio
Allegro
El Invierno, A. Vivaldi Allegro
Adagio
Presto
Intermezzo sinfónico, P. Mascagni (4:15)
Dance of the Knights (Romeo & Juliet), S. Prokofiev (3:20)
Danza ritual del fuego, M. De Falla (4:00)
Asturias, I. Albéniz (4:50)
William Tell’s overture & The Barber of Seville, G. Rossini (6:40)
Encore (sujeto a cambios)
Adagio, Clarinet Concerto, W.A. Mozart (6:30)
Extract from The Magic Flute, W.A. Mozart (3:50)
Tristch-Trastch Polka, J. Strauss II (4:30)
Sabre Dance, A. Kachaturian (4:20)
Bohemian Rhapsody, F. Mercury (5:20)
Peter Gunn Theme, H. Mancini (3:00)
Homenaje a Paco de Lucía, P. Salinas (7:00)
The world’s first electric guitar masters orchestra
SINFONITY is where heavy metal meets the hardcore classics as performed by Spain’s hottest guitar gods.
SINFONITY’s incredible energy, white hot spine-tingling sound and outstanding musicianship landed them a contract with Sony International to release their first album in Europe and the US.
The orchestra, which emerged from Spain, comprise some of the most highly acclaimed and distinguished guitar players on the Spanish scene today. With breath-taking skill and virtuosity, these musical pioneers reinterpret the works of a variety of classical composers as we've never heard them before. The artistically audacious and innovative way they fuse rock, heavy metal, and classical is nothing short of alchemy.
June 14. 19:00 St. Nicolaus Church
Beauty of baroque
Heiki Mätlik
Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber ‘The Mystery sonatas’
First performance on the classical guitar of "The Mystery Sonatas" by Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber (1644-1704).
Biber was the master of the German virtuoso school of violin playing. The Mysteries are divided into three cycles. The sonatas are organized into the same three cycles: five Joyful Mysteries, five Sorrowful Mysteries and five Glorious Mysteries. In the manuscript each of the 15 sonatas is introduced by an engraving appropriate to the devotion to the Life of Christ and the Virgin Mary.
The Joyful Mysteries depict episodes from the early life of Jesus, from the Annunciation to the Finding in the Temple. The last four Joyful Mysteries use tunings with sharps that create bright and resonant harmonies. The following Passacaglia in G minor uses a bass pattern which is the same as that of the first line of a hymn to the Guardian Angel. It is considered the most outstanding work of its type before the Bach Chaconne. Guitarist Heiki Mätlik has transcribed these sonatas for guitar in 2012-14.
Heiki Mätlik has performed in the Baltic states, Scandinavia, Russia, Australia, USA, Canada, Japan, Argentina and China.
He has recorded over 50 CDs and DVDs which include complete lute music by J. S. Bach, music by Astor Piazzolla, Joaquin Rodrigo, Julian Arcas, Estonian composer Kuldar Sink, cello suites by Max Reger. His recordings has been released for Warner Music Company (USA), Antes (Germany), Harmonia Mundi (USA), & Alba Records (Finland) etc. He has been a host for TV series at the Estonian Television, such as Guitar Plays (1981-84) and Guitar School (1990-93), as well as for broadcasts at the Estonian Radio. He has performed in Russian, Finnish, German and Australian TV and radio live broadcasts.
Heiki Mätlik is a guitar professor at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre from 1990.
Two rock guitar veterans – Jaanus Nõgisto and Tõnu Timm – have joined to create a fecund musical friendship. Each began his own rock/folk past from the ‘70s. They recently added a mandolin, the lap-steel and alternatively-tuned guitars, as well as a National Tricone to create some fresh breezes in the wide folk world.
The two Estonian musicians have not let themselves be chained to any particular style, genre, or musical community. With both uplifting and melancholy lyrics and virtuosity on their instruments, the two explore all aspects of the soundscape, still remaining identifiable by their personal styles.
The acoustic CD “Eesti Kuningriik” (the Estonian Kingdom) was released in late 2013 and was nominated as a Etno/Folk Album Of The Year. Nõgisto and Timm’s live concerts have charmed the public with their original compositions, as well as with bluesy covers of Steve Earle, Fred McDowell, and even Led Zeppelin. Nõgisto’s roots from the Estonian island of Hiiumaa inspired the addition of a few 100-year-old folk songs about sailors and the women who await them at home.
CD had already airplay at many European radio stations, also at BBC3. It was couple of weeks in World Music Charts of Europe. Also it's been positively reviewed in british biggest folk music magazine fRoots.
Sylvius Leopold WEISS (1686-1750) Suite N° XXV “L’infidèle“
Entrée
Courante
Sarabande
Menuet
Musette
Paysane
Domenico SCARLATTI (1685-1757) Quatre sonates
Carlo DOMENICONI (1947) Variationen (über ein anatolisches Volkslied)
Intermission
Antonio LAURO (1917-1986) Variaciones sobre un tema infantil
Leo BROUWER (1939) Tres Apuntes
Del homenaje a Falla
De un fragmento Instrumental
Sobre un canto de Bulgaria
Ojos Brujos
Zapateo
Astor PIAZZOLLA (1921-1992) Cinco piezas para guitarra (written for Roberto Aussel)
Campero
Romántico
Compadre
Tristón
Acentuado
“A player of extraordinary technical refinement and coloristic resource...”
“A new sovereign on classical guitar scene...”
Roberto Aussel is an extraordinary musician and an exceptional interpreter. Born in 1954 in La Plata, Argentina, he began playing the guitar as of the age of seven.
After studying with master Jorge Martinez Zarate, his principal teacher, Aussel was awarded first prizes at some of the most prestigious competitions in the world, including the international guitar competitions of Radio France, Porto Alegre (Brazil) and Alirio Diaz in Caracas (Venezuela).
Since then, Aussel's renown as an international concert artist has continued to spread, and he appears regularly in Europe, South America and especially since 1990, the United States (Boston, Los Angeles, San Fransisco, Dallas, New York).
Presently, Aussel teaches at the Musikhochschule of Köln (Germany) and manages brilliantly to combine this demanding task with an active world-wide career every year.
His repertoire ranges from the Baroque to contemporary music and includes folk and popular pieces from the various Latin American countries. Keenly interested in 20th century music, he has collaborated with several composers, many of whom have written for him: Marius Constant, Marlos Nobre, François Rossé, Norbert Leclerc, José Luis Campana, Francis Schwartz, Juan María Solare, Francis Kleynjans, Bob Wander, Carlos Grätzer, Edmundo Vasquez, Pascale Jakubowski. In 1981, Astor Piazzolla wrote his well-known Five Pieces for Guitar to Aussel, his first compositions for this instrument.
In addition to performing and teaching, since 1983 Roberto Aussel has been in charge of a collection of guitar music for the Paris publisher Editions Henry Lemoine.
In 1999, Aussel won the prestigious prize of “KONEX DE PLATINO” offered by the Konex foundation of Buenos Aires, Argentina. In 2016 he was awarded with “Premio Honorifico” in Spain.
A natural singer from Minas Gerais in Brazil, she has two recorded albums and a career that sails between two continents.
Nêga Lucas draws her trajectory through the musical journeys she made from her native land until she arrived in Barcelona. This way she opened herself to other adventures whether they are flying to lands previously unexplored, such as India, Spain and Morocco, Nega puts together her early samba years in Brazil with Latin, Afro-Brazilian and jazz music. Turning your work into a hybrid full of colors like a chameleon.
DANIEL MARQUES
As the leader, producer and arranger of Orquestra Frevo Diabo Daniel won in 2010 the most important prize in Brazilian music, the “Prêmio da Música Brasileira”. His last duo album with saxophonist Rodrigo Ursaia was listed in 2016 as one of the best instrumentalists of the year (www.melhoresdamusicabrasileira.com, 2015) and won The Akademia Music Awards (Los Angeles/New york) prize for best album at the same year. Currently he is the producer of the Explorative Music Festival in Berlin.
Since 2008, he has performed yearly at the festivities for the birthday celebration of princess Viktoria of Sweden.
Daniel has performed in solo, duo and trio formats and alongside orchestras in more than 200 worldwide cities throughout Europe, USA, Asia and South America visiting China, India, Italy, Portugal, Finland, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Spain, Estonia, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Czech Republic, the Caribbean Islands, Montenegro, Serbia, Panama, Russia and Belarussia in festivals such as the Copenhaguen Jazz, Shunde OCT Jazz, Calcutta Guitar Festival, APAP in NYC, SXSW in Texas, Chicago World Music Festival, Tampere Guitar Fest, Mir Guitar Festival, Uppsala Guitar Festival, Guitar Art Festival, Haapavesi Folk, Nisville Jazz among others.
Marques has played and recorded extensively with renowned Brazilian artists such as Hermeto Pascoal, Paulo Moura, Guinga, Carlos Malta, Robertinho Silva, Zé Paulo Becker, Thiago Amud, Yamandu Costa, Nelson Faria, Gilson Peranzzetta, Armandinho, UFRJAZZ, Nicolas Krassik and Jovino Santos Neto among others. And international ones, sometimes sharing the same bill in different venues: Haapavesi Kamara Orkesteri (FI), Paco de Lucia, Randy Brecker, Stanley jordan, John Williams, Charlie Hunter, Incognito, Oscar Herrero, Dmitri Illarionov, Dominic Miller...
Marques won the “Prêmio Maestro Eleazar de Carvalho” for young soloists in 2002, performing the Villa-Lobos concerto for classical guitar and orchestra, alongside the “Orquestra Nacional Brasileira”.
“Daniel Marques is one of those artists that you run into once in a while and you just go: ‘Wow! Where this guy come from?’”
“Edgy and truly innovative”
“One of the most representative Brazilian guitar players nowadays”
“Outstanding!”
“Marques creates a unique, exploding sound full of sparks.”
“Interesting, unique...”
“He represents a cross-section of the so-called 'who's who of Brazilian music.'.”
“Very beautiful your Frevo Orchestra! Congratulations!”
“Impressive! Outstanding work!”
“Very inspired!”
“A musician with an original style!”
“Pioneer of the Frevo outside Pernambuco, Daniel Marques adds a new flavor to it”
“A guitar guru!” - Haapavesi Folk Festival (FI)
GABRIEL GROSSI
Gabriel Grossi is considered one of the greatest harmonica players in the world. A virtuoso musician with remarkable personality developing unusual paths for the insertion of his instrument into the rich universe of Brazilian Music.
Although young, Gabriel has an extensive trajectory. In addition to his well established solo career he is, since 2005, member of the Hamilton de Holanda Quintet, winner of the 2007 best Brazilian group prize and Latin Grammy Awards finalist for three consecutive times. He collaborated in important projects like touring with the late clarinetist Paulo Moura, with whom he played from 2003 until his death, and the singers Zelia Duncan and Beth Carvalho, with whom he recorded CDs and DVDs in 2004.
His debut album, “Diz Que Fui Por Aí” received praises for musical composition and arrangements. The second, “Afinidade” (a duet with the great guitarist Marco Pereira), and the third, “Arapuca” (inspired by the universe of forró) also won critical and audience acclaim, showing that it is possible to combine the tradition of instrumental music with popular taste, promoting his name for a wide recognition.
In 2009 he formed his trio with Guilherme Ribeiro (piano) and Sergio Machado (drums). With this lineup Gabriel recorded “Horizonte”, an album composed during the tour that he performed with the renowned trombonist Raul de Souza. In 2011 he released the CD “Zibididi” with award-winning guitarist Diego Figueiredo, album composed exclusively of new material.
In 2012, Gabriel released two more works, the CD “Villa Lobos Popular”, a duo with pianist Amilton Godoy (Zimbo Trio) and the album “Realejo” with accordionist Bebe Kramer. In 2013 he released an albun titled “Urbano”, with original themes and a very modern approach within the universe of the harmonica.
In the beginning of 2015, Gabriel was called for the great french producer and journalist Remy Kopakopul to do the music direction, production and arrangements for the piece “Krio K” in Paris, a musical theatre about the relation between Rio and Paris in the 20s. In september of 2015 he recorded “Nascente”, released in 2016.
In 2016 Gabriel releases “Nascente” a cd recorded in duo with the great acoustic guitarist Felix Júnior. In this project the duo pays tribute for Hermeto Pascoal and Guinga. Grossi, also keep playing his last works: “Urbano”, “Realejo” (with Bebe Kramer), “Villa Lobos Popular”(with Amilton Godoy paying tribute to Villa Lobos) and “Fole de Boca” (a project that searches new possibilities for the forró).
With 9 albums released, recordings and concerts with big names from Brazilian and worldwide music like: Hermeto Pascoal, Chico Buarque, Ivan Lins, Leila Pinheiro, João Donato, Dave Matthews, Guinga, Lenine, Djavan, Milton Nascimento, Dominguinhos and others. Touring around the world, Gabriel collects an extensive curriculum adding unique experience, receiving accolades from the general public and the ones who really knows what they are talking about:
“I was very impressed with Gabriel Grossi. He is a harmonica player who plays with great ease, and a musician of great explosion. I was also struck by his compositions and his mastery of Brazilian language.”
“He’s a spectacular harmonica player, a musician with a strong personality driven by a passion for music and the harmonica - it fills me with pride to be part of this brilliant CD (Diz Que Fui Por aí)”
