Acoustic guitarist Peppino D'Agostino and classical guitarist David Tanenbaum first played together at the 1998 Schorndorf Gitarren Festival in Germany, which invites one guitarist from each style in the interest of musical integration.
The two guitarists met with great audience response, were immediately invited back, and decided to further explore the meeting of their worlds.
On this cd, rather than just meeting in the middle, the artists spend more time in each style before converging in repertoire that lies comfortably between the two.
The collaboration represents a thrilling adventure by these versatile musicians, both masters of their craft, and furthermore, David is finally learning to cook a good pasta.
PEPPINO D'AGOSTINO Peppino D'Agostino immigrated sixteen years ago to America to pursue his dream as a composer and performer.
Those early days as a struggling street musician (and sometimes house painter and vegetable seller) in San Francisco now seem far behind.
Since then, Peppino has released eight critically acclaimed albums, has composed a soundtrack for a major film and is found on many guitar samplers, videos and books with some of the leading guitarists of our time.
His international touring schedule reaches from The Great American Music Hall in San Francisco to The Atrium in Prague, and from the Vancouver Festival in Canada to the Strawberry Music Festival in California.
Few can match Peppino's combined technical prowess and lyrical artistry on the steel string, and not many are as eager to challenge the limits of their instrument.
Peppino's unique way of playing on the fretboard with the left hand while simultaneously creating percussive effects with the right hand, combined with his use of unconventional tunings, results in a sound that seems almost impossible on one guitar.
The adventure that Peppino started many years ago in Italy as a boy strumming his first chords on an old guitar continues today in America as he strives for the perfect balance between virtuosity and finesse REVIEWS "a poet...among the best talents around" --San Francisco Chronicle "one of the most capable composers among fingerstyle guitarists" --Acoustic Guitar "potentially a giant of the acoustic guitar" --San Diego Times "[a] phenom in the same league with John Fahey, Leo Kottke, Doc Watson and John Renbourn." --Jazziz "...D'Agostino plays steel-string guitar with virtuosity and complexity...Influences are as far-flung as the flamenco work of Paco de Lucia and the pop sensibility of the Beatles, evident in the songs he's written, which brim with memorable melodies." --Chicago Tribune "His sound is warm and buoyant, like the man himself, and his personality shines through." --Escape Magazine "His passionate guitar work and resonant compositions will captivate any listeners...turn up the volume and enjoy." --JazzTimes
DAVID TANENBAUM David Tanenbaum is one of the most sought after and highly esteemed guitarists of his generation.
He has performed throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, the former Soviet Union and Asia, and in 1988 he became the first American guitarist to be invited to perform in China by the Chinese government.
He has been guest soloist with, among others, the London Sinfonietta, the San Francisco Symphony, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Oakland Symphony and Vienna's ORF orchestra.David Tanenbaum has been a featured soloist at many international festivals, including those of Bath, Luzern, Frankfurt, Barcelona and Vienna as well as numerous guitar festivals in four continents.
In 1989, as President of the Second American Classical Guitar Congress, he commissioned five new works, including Rosewood by Henry Brant for 100 guitars.
He subsequently conducted Rosewood in performances that included guitarists of all ages on Finnish television, and in San Francisco, Darwin, Australia, as well as Frankfurt and Iserlohn, Germany.
While his repertoire encompasses diverse styles, David Tanenbaum is recognized as one of today's most eloquent proponents of new guitar repertoire.
Among the dozens of works written for him is Hans Werner Henze's guitar concerto An Eine Äolsharfe, which he premiered throughout Europe and recorded with the composer conducting, Terry Riley's first guitar piece, Ascención, three works by Aaron Jay Kernis, two works by Roberto Sierra, a suite by John Anthony Lennon and a series of pieces by his father, Elias Tanenbaum.
He has toured extensively with Steve Reich and Musicians, was invited to Japan in 1991 by Toru Takemitsu, and has had a long association with the Ensemble Modern of Germany.
As a chamber musician he has collaborated with, among others, the Kronos, Shanghai, Alexander and Chester String Quartets, Ida and Ani Kavafian,dancer Tandy Beal and guitarist Manuel Barrueco.
He recently appeared on a John Williams and Friends concert of the complete guitar music of Peter Sculthorpe in Australia.
David Tanenbaum's recordings, which reflect his broad repertoire interests, can be found on New Albion, EMI, Ars Musici, Rhino, GSP, Audiofon, Green Linnett and Innova Digital Archive.
His Estudios recording is the best seller on the GSP label, and his El Porteño CD of the music of Astor Piazzolla is one of the best sellers on the New Albion label.
His CD Acoustic Counterpoint was picked by the San Francisco Examiner as one of the 25 most important CD's of the music of the last 25 years.
In October, 1999 he recorded the guitar solo in John Adam's Naive and Sentimental Music with the Los Angeles Philharmonic for Nonesuch.
David Tanenbaum is currently Chairman of the Guitar Department at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where he received the 1995 Outstanding Professor Award, and he has been on the faculty of Mills College as well as Artist-In-Residence at the Manhattan School of Music.
His students have won major guitar competitions, such as GFA and Portland, and numerous former students hold university positions internationally.
He has produced many editions of guitar music, including the David Tanenbaum Concert Series for Guitar Solo Publications.
He has also written a series of three books, The Essential Studies, which analyze the etudes of Sor, Carcassi and Brouwer and compliment his recordings of those works on GSP.
REVIEWS "A master of the instrument ...Mr.Tanenbaum played so musically and so expressively that the listener was led directly to the essence of each composer." The New York Times.
"I have never heard such a skillful and musically moving performance, and such mastery." Hans Werner Henze
"Consistent artistry of the highest level, finding something new in each performance." Robert Joffrey
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