William Kanengiser: Classical Guitar and Beyond by Bill Bay; LAGQ Live!

by Doug
Witherspoon
Review by: Randall Zwally
Notes, Second Series, Vol. 64, No. 1 (Sep., 2007), pp. 128-129
Published by: Music Library Association
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/30163063 .
Accessed: 15/06/2014 09:13

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

Music Library Association is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Notes.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 188.72.126.88 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 09:13:06 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
128
amount of work and concentration that
goes into orchestral playing. Karajan claims
that Americans are fond of saying "I want
to sit in the cockpit."
The second movement of the Beethoven
is rehearsed by an unnamed student.
Karajan corrects him when he states the or-
chestra needs to make a connection. First,
he says, they need to hear the right sound
quality. Like a sculptor, they must select the
materials they will use to sculpt. One time
he asks the strings to sustain one note while
they get the sound he wants in their ears.
Karajan remarks that the barline is the
curse of our music. The legato line suffers.
During the second variation, Karajan asks
two players to play the tune while the oth-
ers play the variation. Here Karajan again
William Kanengiser-Classical Guitar and Beyond. DVD. Directed by Bill
Bay. Pacific, MO: Mel Bay Publications, 2006. 21487DVD. $24.95.
LAGQ Live! DVD. Directed by Doug Witherspoon. Pacific, MO: Mel Bay
Publications, 2005. 21047DVD. $29.95.
William Kanengiser's remarkable mastery
of the classical guitar extends far beyond
the world of the concert soloist. His talents
are just as extraordinary when applied to
the roles of ensemble performer, com-
poser, and arranger. This comes through
loud and clear in two recently released
DVDs from Mel Bay Publications.
William Kanengiser-Classical Guitar and
Beyondis primarily a performance DVD but
it also reveals fascinating information about
the performer as well as the compositions
he presents. Kanengiser takes time to intro-
duce the viewer to the most important ele-
ments of each of the fifteen compositions
before he performs them during this 151-
minute DVD. These verbal "program notes"
can considerably enhance the viewer's un-
derstanding and appreciation of each work.
The first half of the DVD presents
Kanengiser's performances of works from
the standard classical guitar repertory.
Pieces by Sor, Aguado, and Giuliani are
played with clarity, authority, and tasteful
expression.
In the second half of the performance we
are treated to pieces written by composers
influenced by the Spanish culture, world
music and jazz. Great works by Rodrigo, de
This content downloaded from 188.72.126.88 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 09:13:06 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
NOTES, September 2007
illustrates the line of the melody at the
piano: phrasing, preparation, working
through the first phrase, finding the high
points.
The performance of the Beethoven be-
gins with a view from behind the conduc-
tor. The camera shows more of the orches-
tra as an ensemble and less of individual
players. Karajan most often has his eyes
closed as if he is in communion with the
gods (or Beethoven!). The orchestra in-
tently participates in re-creating this mas-
terpiece. This video reveals Karajan as a
dedicated servant of great orchestral music.
JOAN O'CONNOR
Universityof Houston
Falla, Hand, and Domeniconi are lavished
upon the viewer with all the power, sensitiv-
ity, and poignancy that those great compo-
sitions deserve and require. Kanengiser
does not hold back; he lets us have it all.
But his great tone quality and accuracy
never suffer regardless of the fast tempos
and his passionate involvement.
A delightful and enlightening feature
of this superb DVD is an interview with
Kanengiser. The viewer learns about his
years of being mentored by classical guitar
master, Pepe Romero, at the University of
Southern California (USC). Kanengiser,
who is now a member of the guitar faculty
at USC, also shares some extremely useful
advice concerning learning new pieces,
conserving motion in playing, and making
effective use of practice time.
The piece de resistance, however, of this
DVD is a segment in which Kanengiser
makes a humorous presentation at a recent
convention of the Guitar Foundation of
America. He proves himself to be a superb
impersonator as he presents his impression
of famous classical guitarists and how they
might discuss the future of their art.
Whether or not one is familiar with the
artists being parodied, this segment will
Video Reviews 129

provide the viewer with a howling good
time of continuous belly laughs!
This brings us to the second DVD, LAGQ
Live! Kanengiser is a founding member of
the Grammy-winning Los Angeles Guitar
Quartet (LAGQ) that has been performing
together for over twenty-five years.
In its ninety-seven minutes, the DVD pre-
sents a recent live concert performed by
the ensemble in Saint Louis. The other
members of the quartet-John Dearman,
Andrew York, and Scott Tenant-are also
highly accomplished guitarists who have
distinguished teaching and performing
careers.
The program covers broad ground. It in-
cludes arrangements of works by J. S. Bach,
Tchaikovsky, and Liszt, plus pieces written
for guitar ensemble influenced by the musi-
cal traditions of such diverse cultures as
West Africa, Indonesia, Scotland, and
South America.
The musicianship and effective interplay
between the performers in this concert is
just superb. The playing is so clean and
tight that it often sounds as if one gigantic
multi-stringed guitar is playing. The quality
of this quartet's playing is legendary and
this DVD certainly helps to perpetuate that
reputation.
Kanengiser proves that he is also a gifted
composer and arranger in this concert. His
composition, Gongan, effectively imitates
the sound of an Indonesian gamelan by
having the players attach alligator clips and
plastic discs to their strings for the perfor-
mance. His arrangement of Chet Atkins'
Blue Echo (which imitates the sound of an
"echo" amplifier) is simply spectacular. His
arrangement, "Pachelbel's Loose Canon," is
delightfully hilarious as it takes the familiar
piece through pop, Latin, bluegrass, jazz
and rock variations.
There are a few noteworthy addenda to
this DVD. Pepe Romero gives his "blessing"
to the quartet's work. The group is shown
playing in a studio recording session. The
members discuss how they are able to struc-
ture their rehearsals in order to maximize
results.
If, as some say, we guitarists are "all
thumbs" then I give a rating of "ten thumbs
up" for both of these delightful, entertain-
ing, and educational DVDs. The camera
angles provide wonderful views of the per-
formers' playing techniques, and the sound
quality allows the viewer to hear all the nu-
ances and subtleties of the artistic perfor-
mances. Consider this as the most enthusi-
astic endorsement possible for these two
opportunities to experience the artistry of
William Kanengiser and his LAGQ!
RANDALLZWALLY
Messiah College

Itzhak Perlman in the Fiddler's House: A Journey to the Heart of Klez-

mer. DVD. With Red Buttons, Fyvush Finkel, Samuel Sanders, Leopold
Kozlowski, Brave Old World, Kapelye, The Klezmatics, The Klezmer
Conservatory Band. Directed by Don Lenzer and Glenn DuBose.
[England]: EMI Classics, 2006, [p1995]. 0946 3 68609 9 2. $24.98.
If you ever wondered what klezmer music teenth century, the hammered dulcimer
is, this video will introduce you to the often played with a violin or flute. Later in
sounds and the history of some perfor- the century they were included in larger
mances, with rehearsals, as well as scenes of bands. In the early twentieth century, the
Prague, and shots of dining on Polish violin was replaced with a clarinet or trum-
Jewish food. pet in order to be heard in larger venues.
Klezmer means "instruments of song." The violin is still present in the popular
Klezmer music, "folk instrumental music of musical Fiddler on the Roof Klezmer musi-
the East European Jew," includes "liturgical cians most often perform at weddings and
and Hasidic music, folksong traditions, in the Yiddish theatre (liner notes).
Yiddish theatre music, art music, and popu- The video starts at a festival in New York
lar song." Much of this music has an City, then continues on to Cracow where
Eastern Romanian flavor. In the nine- they explore the streets, and the cemeteries,

This content downloaded from 188.72.126.88 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 09:13:06 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions