(229 Hac itt Sotto TEN SICAL nes , Hg uae 2006 Fingernails: Vass WhirelS SeIA7 by Rico - aa Aniello Desiderio 2005 Wall.to Wall Guitar” Festival; Illinois; nore Gea NewayYor2006 aq — ik ce) >| = -) FEBRUARY = Editorial Consultant: Colin Cooper Features Editor: Oliver Meche Reviews Editor: Tim Panting = Music Editor: Nal Sita | Managing Baitor: Maunee }. Sunmerfeld ‘News Editor: ‘Therese Wassily Saba VOLUME 24, No.6 al Guitar News ~ Compiled by Thérése Wassily Saba Events, Festivals and Competitions Concert Diary Aniello Desiderio ~ Interviewed by Thérése Wassily Saba Wall to Wall Guitar Festival - by Julia Crowe Lessons (No.4) ~ by Neil Smith Flamenco Festival London ~ by Thérése Wassily Saba Duo Lenz = Interviewed by William Yeoman Fingernails: The whole story ~ by Rico Stover Ivor Mairants Guitar Award 2005 ~ by Colin Cooper Music Supplement ~ Eulited by Neil Smith Finding the next audience ~ by Colin Cooper Concert Reviews Record Reviews Music Reviews Book Reviews Rincon Flamenco No.40 ~ by Paul Magnussen 56 Letter from New York ~ by Julia Crowe 58 Gruppetto 59 Letters to the Editor 60 Classical Guitar Teachers 61 Classical Guitar Societies ‘COVER PHOTO: COURTESY: JORGEN NIMBLER Contributors: Julia Crowe, Zbigniew Dubiella, Paul Fowles, Allan Clive Jones, Paul Magnussen, Jorge Morel, Matanya Ophee, David Russel. Maria Isabel Siewers, Rico Stover, Mauirice J. Summertield Graham Wade, Luis Zea Reviewers: Colin Arenstein, Peter Argondizza, John Arran, Jane Bentley, Viadistay Blaha. Detlev Bork, Raymond Burley, Colin Cooper. Geoff Cox, David Crily Chris Dumigan, Lorraine Eastwood, Paul Fowles, Sandra tiambleton-Smith, Derek Hasted, Harvey Hope, Jonathan Jackson, Abigail James, Allan Clive Jones. Linda Kelsall Barnett, Stephen Kenyon, Jan de Kioe, Steve Marsh Emma Martinez, Michael McGeary, Joe MeGawan, Roger Niven, Timn Panting Danielle Riboullault.Peter Ruetier, Ned Smaith. Teddy Watts, Fabio Zanon Advertisements: Simon Christie, ‘defined asthe following count 'SSW 0960.820x ASHLEY MARK PUBLISHING COMPANY Classical Guitar Magazine wnt HE UDEV NGA GUIDETO FINGERNAILS DANCE CLIN 4 Fingernails ~ page 30. ee Cen rans neither the editors nor the pub- eer rape paca iarpeemene render Pe arene tare praeeesteANIELLO DESIDERIO Interviewed by THERESE WASSILY SABA WHEN a guitarist has been successful for many years, it sometimes comes as a surprise to dis cover that they are still quite young. That was certainly the case with the Italian guitarist Aniello Desiderio, who apparently was only 15 years old when I first became enamoured of his Playing. Over the years he has studied and worked with so many important figures in the guitar world that he is very much part of a long standing tradition and at the same time setting @ forward-looking path for young guitarists to follow. Apart from his touring as a soloist Aniello plays tn a number of different ensembles including the World Guitar Ensemble, Passione Napoletana and more recently, the newly formed Tango Passion ensemble. Tinterviewed Aniello Desiderio at the Koblenz International Guitar Festival in May 2005. He was there (0 give a solo recital and master- classes. However, from October 2005, he has been teaching at the Koblenz Guitar Academy, which accepts guitarists for undergraduate and post-graduate courses, as well as individual Anielo, whenever I sit in on your masterclasses, T notice that you are as equally absorbed in teaching music as you are when performing it What do you thing the young players need to focus on in their playing these days? 1 strongly believe that we all need more per- sonality in the guitar world, We had giants like Bream, Segovia, Williams and others, who in many ways supported our instrument. When you went to their concerts, you always had the impression that you were in front of a big per- sonality. Today I'have the feeling that we worry about too many things. People come to your concerts not just because they want listen to the same pieces but because they want to lis- len to your way of playing, That's why during my masterclasses | always try to draw out of my students what they have inside and then try to work on that. I do everything in my power to create a class of guitarists who will believe in themselves in order to be musicians. Has the technical level of players changed a tot in recent years? Of course, we can all hear this, but the prob- lem Is that sometimes we are so concentrated on technique that we forget that it is important to use’ It to make music Do you follow a particularly Halian approach to teaching music? Emotions, imagination, love and desire — are they Italian things? Classical Guitar Magazine Anlello Desiderio Which repertoire do you recommend the most? 1 think each person needs to be presented with and to practise all kinds of music, so that in the end they ‘can choose repertoire which is closest to their per sonality. Studying the repertoire from all centuries is important for anyone to grow as a musician and to understand the different ways of playing. You come fiom a musical family don’t you? How many children are there in your family? Si, Ihave two brothers: they are both musicians. Gennaro is a violinist and Gaetano is a pianist. ‘The passion for music came from my father: he was a musician in a rock band and they were very famous in Italy in the 1970s. Which instruments did your father play in the rock bana? Francesco, He played drums and was a singer too. His idea was io make a group with me and my brothers to form a rock band. So I started with electric guitar: How old were you then? Twas six. The thing is that one day he came home with at least two records, including Nareiso Yepes uplaying the Concierto de Aranjuez, and Pink Floyd, The Wall. When I heard the Concierto of Rodrigo I completely fell in love with the sound of the classical guitar: the melody and the orchestra. I started crying because I wanted to change to the classical guitar. On the electric guitar, had you been playing chords with your dad? Si, sl. I have home-recordings in which I play electric guitar with my brothers and my father. My father also wrote some pieces. Are your brothers older or younger? Gaetano is older. I'm number two and Gennaro 4s the youngest. Did Gaetano play piano in the band? Was that the idea? Yes, the keyboard and Gennaro also played the guitar; so we had two guitars. ‘One on rhythm and the other on lead guitar? Yes. Gennaro also decided to change to the clas- sical guitar. But the problem was that when I was eight and Gennaro was six we entered a national competition in Italy. I won the first prize, and Gennaro also did, but got two points less than me. When we got back home Gennaro was so angry with me he took the guitar. said something like, “I'm better than you,” and he hit me on the head with it. At that point my father decided to change Gennaro’s instrument to the violin. Is he happy about that now? Yes, very happy. Does he talk about that story? Yes, many times. We still have that guitar. Gennaro now plays all kinds of music but espe- cially jazz, Gactano is more of a classical player. ‘We used to play together and Gennaro and I had some tours around Europe. At the moment I play with my brothers on two different projects: "Passione Napoletana’ and "Tango Passion’. The ensemble for Passione Napoletana has guitar, piano, violin, drums and percussion, bass and accordion. We were very successful last year at the Ludwigsburg Festival in Germany. We played Neapolitan songs in different styles. Next week I'm going to be in Istanbul with ‘Tango Passion’ which includes Gennaro, Gaetano, and another Neapolitan musician called Gigi Sigillo who plays the double bass, and a very famous bandoneén player called Romulo Larrea. We will play a programme of Piazzolla. Are you using scores that you got from the archive? We made the transcriptions together from the recordings, but especially with Romulo Larrea, 12 because he used to play this kind of music with orchestra and other groups. He's Argentinian, but he lives in Canada, Very complicated. So you're going to Istanbul? We are going to Istanbul and to the Reinghau Festival in Germany. Tm going to play some Neapolitan pieces with Gennaro. My brothers will play the Histoire Du Tango with orchestra and some arrangements which Gennaro has made and Romulo will play with his daughter, Wwho 1s a singer. We will end the concert all together with orchestra and the quintet. Then Romulo and | will play the double concerto for guitar, bandoneén and orchestra by Piazzolla with the orchestra, Have you played that double concerto before? No, I've never played it, This is a very new pro- ject Is it diffieutt? ‘The most difficult thing with Piazzolla is the ensemble work — the dynamics and the musi- cality, Most of the time it has this free rhythm becatise you are alone with the bandoneén. You have to do many things which seem far away from the ‘real’ tempo, but you have to stay together at the same time. I am really looking forward to it On the quartet CD you gave me, is it Gennaro singing? No, the voice is mine. When you're in the ensemble with your brothers, who usually sings? I still worry about singing ‘live’, but if we decide to do it, Ill sing, So you're a secret singer! No, no, I love these old Neapolitan songs. I like to do tt, Which are your favourite Neapolitan songs? Well, there is one song called Voce ¢ Notte - The Voice of the Night. There are many songs, but that is the one which I find most beautiful. Returning to when you were eight years old, and you played in the competition, did you also play classical guitar together before Gennare broke the guitar? Yes, we played in duo. At least we started with that idea, but he was too strong for me. I am the quieter person. Which etty did you grow up in? In Napoli, Naples, My first teacher was Pietro Piscitelli, I studied Carcassi, Giuliani, Carulli and ‘Aguado, so I played a mixture of the technical pieces and the musical pieces. Then after some years I was really lucky because an important Classical Guitar Magazineprofessor from Rome called Bruno Battistl d’Amario came to the Conservatorio of Naples. I was lucky with professors, because | always had the right one at the right time. With d’Amario I really matured, especially from a technical point of view. I was ten and beginning to understand how to study technique. This is the most impor: tant thing — how to study and solve technical problems through practice, I matured with him for over five years. What sort of pieces were you playing after those fe years? When I looked at the more difficult pieces it was easier for me to learn them. In my repertoire T already played pieces like Giuliani's Grande Ouverture, the Rossinianas and Bach suites. 1 also entered many competitions, both national and international with d'Amario. Fortunately, I ‘won all of them, Yes, there was quite a collection of First prizes: the international competitions in Cuba, in Tokyo. the Tarrega Competition, San Remo and the Guerrero Competition in Madrid, Very impressive! But the impression I got from someone who always listened to me play, was that at that time I really needed to move away from the idea of being a ‘Bambino Prodigio’, a child prodigy, and try to enter into a greater understanding of the music I was playing, not just to learn endless pieces of music; that's very dangerous. It ts difficult because otherwise there's no chal- lenge. Absolutely. I had one audition with Salvatore Aceardo when I was 14. And he said to my: father, “This guy is incredible, but he needs to stay in his room and really study the music in order to understand it, At the moment he’s like a horse that just wants ( wander around freely. So you were a wild horse, were you?! ‘Si! That's why Twas lucky in that period because I found my other teacher, Stefano Aruta. Where's he from? He's from Naples, and was very close friends with some of the most important people in the guitar world like Leo Brouwer and Robert Vidal. It was thanks to him that I decided to go to the compe- tition in Cuba when I was 16 or 17 in 1988. What happened next? When Brouwer came to Naples I went to his masterclass and he sald to me: ‘You must come to Cuba for the competition’. So I decided to go. I will never forget those days I spent there. Not only because I won the competition, but also because it was the first time that I met the per- sonalitics in the guitar world who made a real strong impression on me. There was Gareth Walters and Colin Cooper, Roberto Vidal, Eli ry Kassner, Maria Luisa Anido, Costas Cotsiolis and of course, Leo Brouwer. Thave to say that my career started when I won Cuba; and afterwards, when I went to Volos, there were lots of young players there like myself: Zoran Dukic was there, Pablo Marquez and Marco Soclas. I saw that for this generation ‘of musicians to be in Volos was very important. soon started to get invitations to play concerts around Burope and the USA. Then I started giv- Ing masterclasses. When I went to Esztergom in 1989 I remember you playing the Chaconne very well. In those days there weren't so many festivals and when we went to them we were like hungry guitarists. No, we were lucky then, I have to say. We were like sponges and today things are more difficult. Iwill never forget that period between the ages of | 17 and 24; it was really important for us. Anyway, from that time, I continued to study. with Stefano Aruta, who, like d’Amario, no longer brought up technical just musical things. Twas lucky as well because Brouwer accepted me as one of his students. As a result of an audi- tioned masterclass in Savona, Italy, in which Brouwer decided which students could take part in an extended two to three week masterclass, he chose me. That was very important, How many of you were in the masterclass? ‘There were about ten of us. He spoke about everything, not only about the guitar. It was incredible. I remember the lessons with Brouwer because even when I was sure about a piece I wanted to play for him and it was already com- plete in my mind, he would always say one or wo little things. Just one or two little details could completely change a piece. This helped me how to understand and use my musicality. It was a very important learning process. Did you graduate from the Conservatorio in Naples? No I studied in Naples for five years and then left to study with Aruta. I graduated from Alessandria’s conservatory and got the maxi- mum mark, Angelo Gilardino was there but never studied with him. I went to Alessandria because I wanted someone in the jury for my diploma who was really serious and professional about the guitar and Gilardino is a person whom you can really trust. After Volos. I started my international career, Slowly, of course, I got invitations to play at all the other festivals around. | also continued with, competitions. I won the Tarrega Competition in. ‘Spain in 1992, the Guerrero in Madrid in 1994, and San Remo in 1994. Then I decided to stop doing competitions. Well in those days people used to do two or three of them: now they do 10 or more! It’s incredible! Classical Guitar MagazineI think its also dangerous. It is difficult for someone to keep his personality when they are doing many competitions. If they know what they want, and the competition doesn’t affect their personality in a bad way, it’s ok. But for most players, they play in a different way when. ‘they are in competitions. If you do this 10, 15 or 20 times, it becomes dangerous because you enter into that competition mentallty, and is not the right one for when you are on the stage in front of a normal audience. You did the four competitions, didn't you? I did many before, national and international. but not as important as these. I had a strong desire to continue doing competitions because of the prize money and the recordings they offered, but I spoke with Brouwer and Aruta, and they both said to me: ‘No Aniello, now is the right moment to stop doing competitions and really start to develop your own career.’ T suppose if you're always preparing for competi- tions, you don’t think about what you want to play, and, as a player, you are your repertoire. Si, si. Exactly Theresa. For competitions you can prepare one repertoire and use it for ten compe~ titions in one year. Doing that, you just learn how to be on the stage in front of a jury. 1 didn't want this, I wanted to mature and to understand who I was, why I was on the stage, and why 1 needed to stay there, That's why I decided to stop doing competitions. So in your early days, do you remember what your repertoire was for your concerts? What did you want to play first? Brouwer and Ginastera? Brouwer, of course, because he was my teacher at the time, but I also had a very special rela- tlonship with Bach's music, I love his music deeply. | first wanted to start playing Bach. But it was stil not the right moment for me. I need- ed to grow up before playing that kind of music. So I played a lot of Sor and Giuliani and espe- cially the Italian repertoire. Slowly over the years I eame to understand that there are many things I would like to say when playing Bach's music. And little by little I developed a love of 20th-cen- tury music, | fell more liberated when playing 20th century music. But now I'm ready to return to Bach. It’s also different now because for some years I have changed my approach to perform- ing, I have put myself in the audience, and come to understand that maybe it’s better to follow one musical line during a concert programme. So what woulel you consider a single musical line or concept? Single line means that, let’s say. if I play Scarlatti, it's nice to understand that after Searlatt! I ean follow with Italian composers, or Milan or Weiss or Cimarosa. I want to have lines in the same kind of compositions — Omaggi, 16 Sonatas, Suites — or pleces from the same countries in order to help the audience to under stand a group of composers who might come from the same countries but from different cen- turles; oF to help the audience understand a par- ticular style of composition. For example, how different composers used the sonata or the suite. T did a portrait for German television and T decided to follow this musical path by playing only Italian composers from Scarlatti passing by Cimarosa, Giuliani, Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Carulli, to Paganini and Domenicont. We worked on that n 1999, I have played many concerts in Germany in very important halls like the Berlin Philharmonic, the Alte Opera in Frankfurt and the Tonchalle in Ditsseldorf. Mr. Fritz Zetlinger who was director of the portrait, heard me in concert and decided to make a portrait of my life in Naples. It was beautiful because they came to Naples for one week and they fell in love with the city, food and hopefully the music) Did they film your family? Yes. They went to my parents’ house to interview them and then travelled around the city. We made the portrait in two parts: one where I play music by Italian composers, Scarlatti, Giuliani, Carulli, Castelnuovo-Tedesco and Paganini, and then another part which Is biographical. There is ‘along interview between me and the director. We ‘went around Naples: to the place where I stud- ied, and to some of the famous places in Naples. |At the end of their visit I gave a live concert, and. they put parts of that in the movie. ‘They have broadcasted it many times on tele- vision. I was really happy yesterday because it was the first time in my life that 1 met Pepe Romero, And would you believe, the first thing he said to me was: ‘I saw you on the television. ‘That really made me happy because Pepe Romero Is a fantastic player. Has there been a big change in your choice of repertoire over the years? Yes. Each year I need to change my programme because my moods and feelings are always changing, But I have to say that I have very dif- ficult times with myself when designing these programmes. Part of me wants to show the audi- ‘ence all possibilities, to say: "Look at me; this is what I can do.” But when you're young. that’s a good thing. Yes, but now I want to make music for me, for people, for the love we have inside; to make muste because all of us need something which is, pure; something which is far removed from the bad things which are going on around the world. ‘This means that you should not aim to show your possibilities, but aim to understand that ‘we, as artists, are lucky to have some form of communication which 1s different from words. Classical Guitar MagazineAnother important thing for the guitar in general is that we need to find differ- ent ways to present a pro- gramme on the stage. I have the feeling that the audience is beginning to get red of the instrument. Not tired of the guitar, but of how we are presenting our- selves on stage. There were monster players like John Williams, Pepe Romero, Nareiso Yepes. Julian Bream and Segovia, And then for the younger gener- ation: Manuel Barrueco and David Russell. We need something today. I see too many people trying to fol low these personalities. Bach of us is different and we must be sure about ourselves, otherwise slowly the audience will see that what you play’ is not who you are. Many limes after concerts people from the audience come to me and say they had never heard something like that before and it makes me feel happy. This doesn’t mean, that you are better than others, it just means that you are who you are and nobody’ else can do what you do or be who you are, Aniello Desiderio, far left. When a performer is on stage, you can see every- thing: i's like the workings of a mechanical clock Si. [once played Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez with the RSO Berliner Philharmoniker. I remem- ber being very nervous at Tonchalle because it was such an incredible venue and there were so) many people. After the concert there was party and I met a woman who asked me about the evening. I told her that I was nervous, and she said: “We come to the concert without any pre conceptions, and we want the artist to move us| with his music." I try to use this idea when I am on the stage; to give the audience a part of what, 4s happening inside me. | try to reach the audi ence in such a way that 1 become one with them. That's why I cannot understand how some players can play sometimes 200 concerts per year. Because it’s emotionally exhausting? Even one concert Is sometimes too much, Last year, when you played you were pianisst- Isst-issimo, and this year you seem to be fortis mo fortissimo. Do you agree? Absolutely. I agree. Can you explain this 10 me? It's so difficult in English. First of all it's not pos- sible to go on stage and not feel what I feel at that moment. I have tried many times to say to Classical Guitar Magazine with the World Guitar Ensemble. myself: ‘No, you decide to play in this way, do that and nothing else.” So once you're on stage, it takes over. Yes, I feel what I really feel in that moment. It's not possible to separate me from my guitar, and the audience. I have to express what I feel at that moment. This helps me a lot. Have you ever been, in Naples? No. Tm sure a person lke you will love this city because there are incredible contrasts in it. T come from this city, | am Neapolitan. The city has too many contrasts but that is the reason why I love it, and why, when 'm back from tour- ing, | always have to refill my body with the ener- gy of the city, before starting another tour "The character of the people in Naples is also full of contrasts: we can be sweet and we can be extremely strong, almost with a kind of fire. It ‘would be impossible for me to not have these feelings when I am on the stage playing. These are the main reasons why my pianissimo ts with five p's or my fortissimo is with five fs. When 1 play I live with the music; T get angry with the music, or I fall in love with the music. 1 don't know if there is a Imitation, but for me it’s the reason why I continue to play. For me the music is what I need in order to release what Is inside Discography Debut, Frame Records, Italy 1994 20th Century Sonatas. Brouwer Ginastera, Frame Records, Italy 1995. Maliea Famosa. Aniello Desiderio plays Sc Paganini, Giuliani, Waku Records, Austria 2000. Tangos y DanzasAniello Desiderio with Gennaro Desiderio and the Verdi Quartet. Koch Classics. Germany 2002 José. Dyens, Hath Website: www.aniellodesiderio.de 7LESSONS By NEIL SMITH 4. The Danger Zone IN THE earller articles | mentioned the prob- lem of RSI when practising long-term, and in this article | cannot overemphasise the dan- ger of this, Included here is one of the hard- est exercises you will ever find on a guitar and it could put you in hospital. Be warned! I stayed over at the house of Jacqueline Du Pre's teacher once, and read from that great cellist’s scale book (bass clef of course). 1 believe that this is the first setting of these for guitar ever. If you ever saw Jacqueline play. then you know what absolute string mastery is In person. | never saw anyone else in Britain play like that. In Russia ¥ Finger exercises according 7 VeUarererer sree : fo Du Pré: repeat each mode eight ‘Tsygankov on domra is the same. An absolute and staggering wizard, In the last article, mention was made of the common groupings of 124 or 134 on the left hand, and this exercise puts those combos to the test with a mountain of an exercise. Place the first Anger on the B note and add on the C then add the D. Move over to the 4th string and stay on that as you tap out the next 11 notes. The whole event takes 16 notes as a cycle before returning to the B note. Let the right hand join in gradually, any combination alter: nating, The intention Is to repeat this combi- nation eight times without a pause - a ‘Take care with posture, with finger angles, and especially the 4th finger, which may behave badly by rising and moving in an irregular way If played legato (leaving the fingers on} this is very, very tiring and so a warning: do not over: tax your fingers, stop frequently, especially if you feel even a little pain. Less able players Should move this to the high frets, perhaps 5th position or so: advanced players should use the low frets as marked. Later, the student should employ other right- hand combos and should try trando and apoyando strokes in equal measure. A few min- utes a day might be enough to start. When going onwards for a long session, take care because this exercise can suddenly lock up your hand without any warning. This is no- prisoner material, and no-one on earth should marathon, 24 take this exercise lightly. And I have not forgotten our stant ‘friend’ here, the metronome, How fast are you playing now - the same as always, or faster? Think about what is hap- pening to your tech- nique now, and take care with that left hand until next time. © 2005 Neil Smith Neil Seth Tsa3as4a303 ? Ts 4 times. Take care of finger strain! ete entrants Ara eve ted ee aed DYvTNr Ns Gurrarist! ee ete ad Tasenrshennie tein Corns mr Parent pore vas Lange esata uthier aR ey eee eee Classical Guitar MagazineAN INTERVIEW WITH DUO LENZ By WILLIAM YEOMAN THE AUSTRALIAN-BASED, Duo Lenz, is renowned for its exciting ensemble playing. dynamic stage presence and an eclecticism which doesn’t preclude a substantial commit- ment to home-grown music, the most recent manifestation of which is a new disc devoted entirely to the works of Australian composers including Peter Sculthorpe and Richard Charlton. I recently met the husband and wife team in a restaurant overlooking the Swan River in Perth, Western Australia. It’s late December, and the unusually mild temperatures we've been blessed with for this time of the year are further tempered by the afternoon sea breeze locals refer to as the Fremantle Doctor’ (after the nearby port city) coming in off the Indian Ocean. A short drive along a road winding through leafy suburbs illuminated by the purple, yellow and green of Jacaranda, wattle and eucalyptus brings me to ‘a restaurant looking out over the expanse of the Swan River estuary. Ruth and Richard Lenz are already there, seated at an outdoor table, looking relaxed in their summery wardrobe. Yachts and wooden dinghies are moored to the jetty on which the restaurant is built, bobbing gently under a sky whose clear blue canvas is punctuated by the occasional gull or pelican. Ruth assures me that dolphins can often be seen swimming close by, sporting with passing boats. We make our orders (ice coffees and pastries) and ease into a conversa- tion about the life of a working musician in what has been called one of the most isolated cities in the world. ‘Isolation?’ asks Richard. He looks out over the river's breeze-rulfled waters. “That has its advantages and disadvantages. To stay in work ina city of around 1.5 million with no other major centre for hundreds of miles, you have to be flexible and willing to play for all occasions, If you're willing to take on “func: tional’ gigs (and if it was good enough for Mozart then it’s certainly good enough for us) like weddings, parties and other social gather- ings, as well as concerts, then it’s possible to earn a good living and have a comfortable, relaxed lifestyle. It also encourages a holistic approach to being a musician, that includes teaching, playing and composition in equal measure. You actually start to see the guitar simply as a tool to get your message across, You're a musician, not merely a gul- larist, And it makes every event special. This can be in a formal recital or as part of a func tion, a little interlude at a conference or maybe a concert at a school. We've played at cnor- mous concert here like the 28 Entertainment Centre. We've also done gigs in underground mines and old prisons. I feel the truly open-minded musician is the playing musician, the one that gets the gigs and has a career: but I think that ‘having a career’ (wher- ever that maybe) is a journey in itself and not a destination. So the musician that plays in different countries all the time (which is east er done in a country like Holland, where I'm originally from) is not necessarily more suc- cessful than someone who performs in equal measure but doesn’t tour all that much, That being said, touring is great: it enables you to meet lots of different people and exchange ideas. Ruth takes a sip of coffee and lowers her sunglasses. ‘The distances are a problem though. For example you could fly from Amsterdam to Moscow in the same amount of time it takes to fly from Perth to another city within Australia! So touring can be quite cost ly, which means you have to ask for good fees, ven playing in country towns not far from, Perth is tricky; in the bush, night driving ts hazardous because of the wildlife. A kangaroo or emu can just leap out in front of your car ‘So you generally have to stay overnight in the town - another expense. Not that touring over: seas is without its hazards! On a recent trip to Holland to spend a week with Richard's par- ents, before going to the UK, 1 managed to break my foot. But we went ahead with our planned concerts anyway, despite my having to hobble on stage with crutches!” Task Richard about the duo’s teaching activ- ities, ‘The school system here in Perth is great. and because the guitar is so well established, teaching at both private and government inst tutions provides us with a stable income while still allowing us to work as playing musicians nto tour whenever we want, But as I sug- gested before, teaching Is a big part of oui Classical Guitar Magazinelives here. As far as our general methods are concerned, I guess it’s fair to say we try to combine the approach taken by John Mills (with whom we both completed our post-grad studies), where musicality comes first, with that of Ruth's former menior at the University of Western Australia, John Casey. where there's an initial focus on getting a student to feel confident about his or her playing. There are phenomenal musicians out there who, while still being inspirational teachers, never theless inadvertently stifle a student's creativ- ity by expecting them to simply mimic their own style of playing. Ruth and I like to ask lots of questions to get the students to think for themselves, thereby drawing out what is already there as potential. Of course that’s the literal meaning of edueation “There are also lots of opportunities to com- bine both teaching and performance’, adds Ruth, ‘We often give lecture-recitals in schools, and sometimes have the opportunity to do so in a concert environment, For example, apart from giving a recital at a guitar festival in Frankston (which is just outside of Melbourne in Victoria) we also gave a lecture-demonstra- tion where we played and talked about the vihuela, Baroque guitar and early 19th centu- ry instruments, The audience was very recep. tive, given that this was a festival primarily for folk and blues guitarists.’ And speaking of gui- tars? ‘Our main instruments are built by Perth luthier Paul Sheridan, Paul's guitars feature Smallman-style lattice bracing and Australian timbers like Tasmanian oak for the necks ‘They're really fantastic instruments, very responsive through all the registers and with great projection.” Ruth and Richard recently took part in the Darwin International Guitar Festival. I ask, as a final question, what some of the highlights were for them. “The festival was a great way to catch up with other guitarists from around Australia,’ responded Ruth. ‘But for us one of the highlights was exchanging concerts (as run-throughs) with Paul Galbraith and so get- ting a private recital from this amazing musi- cian! Also being part of the Richard Charlton 50th birthday concert ~ we were invited to play two duets, including Spiral Ellipse. which Charlton wrote for us and which was featured on our first album ‘Illusie After enjoying a spectacular sunset, Ruth and Richard leave me to ponder their more expansive vision of the role of classical gui- tarists in a city where culture is not exactly high on the list of many people's priorities. and just how important it is that musicians see themselves as ambassadors for culture, whatever the context, Just then, a ferry glides past, and in the glare of its lights 1 think I see a silvery shape surface momen- tarily. Classical Guitar Magazine listen. play. create. INTERNATIONAL fei ay Nay ra ene Ce ee ee Other courses available include Rock, Blues, Song Cee een tae Special guests and tutors include: eee ania (@Tom Kerstens @ Gordon Dunn Dn eaten ia (@ Thomas Leb @ Javier Romano Quito ADMIRA YOUNG CLASSICAL GUITARIST OF THE YEAR COMPETITION “Toke paren dhe word foremost competion for young lassie players under the age of 22 years The compeioon Takes place on the -2 August O6 sth ofthis promigous competion in 2005 were Grregors Szczepanias (Poland) 2nd pice Laura Husbands (Gres Btn) 3rd pace Jonas Nordberg (Sveden) Prats were awrded by Borer ond Man the sxe UK derbuesof ara Goto PRIZE: at place: £1000. cop of the range Aamir guar and ‘ed concerts 2nd place: 2500 and an Arita guar Si piace: £250 and an Adira gutar Teale part in ur 2006 competion, or for more inform Emmanuelle Ginn, IGF, Bath Spa Univesity, ‘Newton St Loe, Bath BA? 9BN, "T0125 075 522 Eveginn@bathspa.ac.uk 29FINGERNAILS: THE WHOLE STORY By RICO STOVI IT HAS been said that fingernails are the gui tarist’s “bow”. Fingernails that are healthy, strong, flexible, of the right length and kept in a highly polished state are to the guitarist what a finely crafted bow is to a. string player. Fortunately, achieving optimum nail quality does not cost anywhere near what a violinist must pay for a fine old bow. Fingernails are so basic and impor. tant to the technique of the guitar that they are often overlooked or taken for granted." A great number of guitarists have problems with their fingernails, this writer includ- ed. After grappling with my nail problems for four decades, T have finally found a few genuine solu- tions. Here are some important “fin gernail facts" 1) EVERYTHING chemical that touches your nails affects them, 2) Most nail problems are due to lack of moisture in the nail plate and thinning of the three layers of keratin that make up the nail plate. 3) The growth rate of our nails slows as we age. 4) The natural moisture that our bodies pro- duce which comes up through the nail plate diminishes as we grow older. Fingernail quality will inevitably change (Le., diminish) as we age and we cannot assume that things will remain static and “ok” indefinitely Fingernails are made from a protein called ker- atin, as are the hair and skin (which are softer more flexible forms of it). Keratin is negatively affected by exposure to heat, alkaline sul stances, detergents, solvents, chemicals, even water! Our nails take a beating simply because we wash our hands several times every day. We do not wash our hair several times a day. If' we did, our hair would dry out and become a brittle pile of straw within a few days. And so it is with our fingernails. Day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year - our fingernails keep taking daily abuse ‘and this accumulated mistreatment can eventu- ally result in a frightful state described as "poor nail quality” - fingernails that split, crack, shred, peel, or are too soft or too thin, If you suffer from poor nail quality, you will never have strong healthy natural nafls until you comprehend that LOSS OF MOISTURE and THINNING OF KERATIN are your principal and constant enemies. If you are to have natural 30 nails that are strong, flexible, tough and suffi- ciently long, you must comprehend the following: 1) Understand that replacing lost moisture in your nail plate is something that must be tended to EVERY DAY. 2) The most effective substances for moisturiz~ Ing your nails are natural pure oils from plant sources and oil based products.” 3} Every time you get your hands wet, afler you dry them, apply some kind of oil to your nails. If you are not able to “remoistur- ize” your nails during the day. at least put something on them at night before retiring, 4) Nail health can be improved by orally taking biotin (2000 mil- ligrams daily), MSM (mehtytsul- fonylmethane), flax seed oil for ground flax seeds}, fish ofl, calcium and vitamin E. Remember that it will take up to eight months for the nail plate to entirely replace itself. Do not expect profound results in just a few weeks. It will take nearly a year to transform your nails from bad to good. Nails grow Slowly and you must be patient and unfaltering. ‘The Case for Artificial Nails Many people have given up on hope that they can ever have truly strong natural nails. But everyone needs nails to play well. So what can you do? The only option (until now) is to utilize one of five different artificial nail technologies available: Acrylic systems use powdered polymer and liq- uid monomer, which are mixed together. The powder and liquid react to form a plastic paste. This paste is smoothed onto the nail, where it cures, or hardens, at room temperature. Porcelain Nails are like acrylic nails, except that they use a finely ground, glass-like material in the powder: Gel Systems In gel systems, layers of resin are applied to the nail; these layers combine to form a solid nail There are several different kinds of gels; all of them harden when exposed to light. Some gel systems use layers of different resins, while oth- ers use layers of a single resin. Wraps Fiberglass, linen and silk wraps are all based upon the same process. Layers of fabric mesh Classical Guitar Magazine