It seems as though the esteemed Los Angeles Guitar Quartet are always involved in something interesting (either collectively or individually), and next week (July 29–31) their travels will put them in Ireland, where they’ll be working and playing with the Irish Youth Guitar Orchestra, under the direction of John O’Shea. The LAGQ and IYGO will be playing a trio of high-profile shows together: Friday July 29 at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Limerick; Saturday July 30 at the CIT Cork School of Music in Cork; and Sunday July 31 at the National Concert Hall in Dublin. The concerts will also feature the Dublin Guitar Quartet and conductor David Brophy. Should be an amazing show!
From Ireland, the LAGQ head over to the European mainland for concerts at the Nürtingen International Guitar Festival and Competition in southern Germany (July 29–August 6; LAGQ play on August 6), and the 25th International Guitar Festival, Courses & Competition in Brno, Czech Republic (August 7–13; LAGQ play August 10). Needless to say, both of those festivals also include many other fine classical guitar performers.
This fall the LAGQ are booked for a variety of dates around the U.S., including an October 20 concert in Denver, Colorado, which will feature the world premiere of a new piece written for the group by jazz guitar legend Pat Metheny.
Here are a couple of videos to whet your appetite for these historic shows in Ireland:
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First up is the LAGQ playing Music from the Time of Cervantes arranged by William Kanengiser.
Then there’s this fine performance by the Dublin Guitar Quartet playing two movements from Philip Glass’ String Quartet No. 2 “Company” on the the WQXR Café program in New York City. The piece appears on the group’s 2014 album, The Dublin Guitar Quartet Performs Philip Glass. (And if you like this, check out the YouTube video of their haunting 2011 version of Glass’ end-theme for the film Mishima!)