North East Guitar Festival
The Sage, Gateshead | 18–26 October 2012
North East Guitar Festival at The Sage, Gateshead presents
the unique diversity musical styles on the guitar
flamenco | Brazilian jazz| gypsy jazz | classical |rock & roll
With music by
Django Reinhardt/Stéphane Grappelli |Astor Piazzolla |Alberto Ginastera
J.S. Bach | François Couperin
Stephen Goss | Litha & Effy Efthymiou| Sérgio Assad
.
The North East Guitar Festival,in the architecturally magnificent setting of The Sage Gateshead, with river views of the Tyne and Gateshead Millennium Bridges, presents the complete range of guitar styles, including rock & roll, blues, classical, flamenco, jazz, Brazilian and acoustic, as well as the baroque lute. Organised by IGF, which has a long tradition of bringing the world’s most distinguished guitar players to its festivals in London and Bath, this festival has now become a much-anticipated annual event in the North East.
The programme this year features internationally famous performers such as Djangologie, Wilko Johnson with support from the young Welsh band Virgil & The Accelerators,internationally renowned lutenist Nigel North, Grammy-award winning classical guitarist David Russell, Brazilian sensation Badi Assad, flamenco guitarist David Carmona, the Spanish guitarist Javier García Moreno, and the guitarists Johan Löfving and Daniela Rossi, who are featured in the Young Artist Platform.
The North East Guitar Festival opens with Djangologie – James Birkett and Giles Strong (guitars), Emma Fiske (violin) and Mick Shoulder (double bass) – a swinging gypsy jazz ensemble with all the spirit, humour and joy of music that gives irresistible pleasure. To mark the release of their new CD, this concert will feature classic works from Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli’s Quintette du Hot Club de France such as Nuages, The Sheik of Araby and J’Attendrai, interspersed with some new compositions to create an exciting mix of the old and the new. (The Sage Gateshead, Hall Two, Thursday 18 October, 8pm)
Join us for a night of savage Rock & Roll and manic, incendiary brilliance from Wilko Johnson – the legendary former guitarist of Dr. Feelgood and Ian Dury and the Blockheads. With his distinctive driving and choppy guitar style – with electrifying, jerky stage moves to boot, Wilko Johnson defined a pre-punk British R&B sound which has earned him cult status among guitarists. Played with a no-plectrum, percussive style, Wilko’s guitar parts often sound like the work of two players as he helms his current band – a powerhouse trio with Blockhead Norman Watt-Roy on bass and Dylan Howe behind the drum kit. Virgil & The Accelerators with 20-year-old blues-rock guitarists Virgil McMahon, his brother drummer 18-year-old Gabriel McMahon and the bassist Jack Timms, from Aberystwyth in Wales will warm the atmosphere at the start of this exciting night; they made their London debut in September 2009 and have been establishing a secure following playing covers of Hendrix and The Bluesbreakers as well as their own material.
**VIP tickets are available for £35 and include entry to the sound-check, a book reading, meet & greet and show entry plus a signed tour poster. (The Sage Gateshead, Hall Two, Friday 19 October, 8pm)
Internationally renowned lutenist Nigel North has an unparalleled career as a performer of early music for nearly 30 years. Through his outstanding virtuosity as a soloist, accompanist and ensemble musician, his knowledge and deep understanding of the music, Nigel North has inspired and educated a generation. This concert launches the second recording of the lute music of the great Baroque composer and lutenist Sylvius Leopold Weiss, a friend and exact contemporary of J. S. Bach which is part of his highly acclaimed series for BGS Records. This is a rare opportunity to listen to and study with Nigel North in the UK. His concert features the lute music of Johann Sebastian Bach and Sylvius Leopold Weiss. (The Sage Gateshead, Hall Two, Saturday 20 October, 8pm).
David Russell is one of the giants of the classical guitar today. His beautifully polished and refined playing have made him a hero of guitarists the world over. His many recordings for Telarc have met with critical acclaim and have won him numerous awards including a GRAMMY. David Russell is highly sought after and tours the world continuously, both performing and teaching. His programme includes works by José Brocá, Sylvius Leopold Weiss, Jorge Morel, François Couperin, Sérgio Assad, Stephen Goss and a selection of Celtic Music. (The Sage Gateshead, Hall Two, Monday 22 October, 8pm).
Descendent from a long line of gypsy performers in Granada, Andalusia, flamenco comes as a natural mode of expression for the flamenco guitarist David Carmona. He started playing at 7 years old and made his first disc Tratante at age 12 in 1997, as a prizewinner in the Veo-Veo programme of Canal Sur television. In 2009 he won the first prize in the prestigious international Flamenco competition in Jerez. He played as second guitarist alongside the legendary Flamenco guitarist Manolo Sanlúcar for five years, as his young protégé – a training that other outstanding flamenco guitarists, such as Vicente Amigo and Juan Carlos Romero have enjoyed before him. David Carmona is now a regular performer at the major flamenco festivals and flamenco peñas in Spain. This is a unique opportunity to hear his UK debut. (The Sage Gateshead, Hall Two, Tuesday 23 October, 8pm). Supported by the Embassy of Spain.
Javier García Moreno has had a prolific artistic career throughout Europe, the US, South America and Japan including recitals at Carnegie Hall in New York and National Auditorium of Music in Madrid. Numerous prestigious national and international magazines have praised his wonderful interpretations distinguishing him as one of the guitar world’s foremost personalities of his generation. (The Sage Gateshead, Hall Two, Tuesday 23 October, 8pm). Supported by the Embassy of Spain.
A star in her native Brazil, Badi Assad is one of the most innovative, passionate and talented artists active today. Younger sister of the renowned Assad Brothers guitar duo, Badi transcends traditional styles of her native Brazilian music with a mixture of pop, jazz and world/ethnic sounds from around the world. As a result, this extraordinary singer, guitarist and percussionist is successfully forging an exhilarating genre of music that defies categorisation. This is a rare visit from an inspired and inspiring musician. (The Sage Gateshead, Hall Two, Friday 26 October, 8pm).
The Young Artist Platform features Sweden’s Johan Löfving and Argentinian Daniela Rossi, who are this year’s recipients of this award to help establish young classical guitarists at the start of their careers. TheYoung Artist Platform concert series is supported by The Harold Hyam Wingate Foundation, The D’Oyle Carte Charitable Trust and The Golsoncott Foundation.
Johan Löfving from Swedenwon Second Prize at IGF’s prestigious inaugural London International Guitar Competition in 2012, First Prize in the Young Talent Concert at the Uppsala Guitar Festival in 2011 and at the Royal College of Music he has been awarded both the Guitar Prize and the Hilda Anderson Dean Prize. He studied with Professor Sven Lundestad, Bo Hansson, Gary Ryan and Eliot Fisk. He will be performing works by J. S. Bach, Alberto Ginastera and new IGF commissions* by Stephen Goss and Litha & Effy Efthymiou. (The Sage Gateshead, Hall Two, Saturday 20 October, 1pm).
Daniela Rossi from Argentina has performed in solo recitals and with orchestras in concerts across Latin America and Europe. She was a prizewinner in IGF’s prestigious inaugural London International Guitar Competition held in March 2012 at Kings Place, London. She will perform works by Astor Piazzolla, Luigi Legnani, Joaquín Malats and new IGF commissions* by Stephen Goss and Litha & Effy Efthymiou. (The Sage Gateshead, Hall Two, Sunday 21 October, 1pm).
*Over the past 17 years the International Guitar Foundation’s commissioning programme has become Europe’s largest, with a list of 70 commissions of new works to date.
The guitar is the most popular instrument in the world and is celebrated in its mesmerizing variety at this festival: from living folk traditions to thrilling notated compositions; from acoustic historical instruments to the cigarbox guitar. This North East Guitar Festival seeks to promote the range of guitar culture for everyone.
Booking information
Tickets: £5–£29
