analyticalQ presents

A Piano Guitar Duo Concert

in London, following North Cyprus

LISTEN to sound clips from this concert (MP3)

Programme

Capricho Arabe Francisco Tárrega (1852 - 1909)
Fandanguillo Joaquín Turina (1882 - 1949)
Invocation et Danse Joaquín Rodrigo (1901 - 1999)
Asturias (Leyenda) Isaac Albéniz (1860 - 1909)

Selected piano solo compositions (1999 - 2000) Anne Ku
Full Moon on Maui
Pentamine
Summer Solstice at Sunset
Autumn Shivers
Winter in July

Fantasia pour guitar et piano Hans Haug (1900 - 1967)
Salsa Brasileira from the Happy Hour Sandwich Gerald Schwertberger (b. 1941)
Fantasia for guitar and piano Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895 - 1968)

Robert Bekkers, guitar

Anne Ku, piano

photo credits: Nicholas Kuskin

Friday 30th May 2003

7:00 pm 1st concert
8:15 pm 2nd concert

Vestry Hall, Ranelagh Road, London W5

PDF version (reduced, text only, 2 pages, 115 kB)

Colour Programme (PDF): page 1 (475 kB), page 2 (679 kB), page 3 (892 kB), page 4 (444 kB), all 4 pages (2.49 MB)

Colour Programme (JPG): page 1 (22 KB), page 2 (44 kB), page 3 (60 kB), page 4 (76 kB)

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Programme Notes

Capricho Arabe (Arab Caprice)
Young Francisco Tárrega, having almost lost his sight in an accident, was sent to have piano lessons so that, in case he became blind, he could earn money by playing music. In those days, the piano was the most fashionable instrument, whereas the guitar had lost her prior prestige, often reduced to accompanying singers only. Francisco Tárrega is generally recognised as the person responsible for the rebirth of the guitar for the 20th century and was often called "Chopin of the guitar." Capricho Arabe is a tribute to Moorish history, with echoes of the Arabic lute and guitar harmonies.

Fandanguillo
Born in Seville, Joaquín Turina moved to Madrid where he met Manuel de Falla and became inspired by the emerging musical nationalism of the time. Turina's guitar compositions are rich in their evocation of the Iberian culture and often take their influence from Flamenco rhythms and modes, not least the Fandanguillo which is based on the fandango dance.

Invocation et Danse
Blind from the age of three, Joaquín Rodrigo wrote all his works in Braille, dictating them subsequently to a copyist and later his Turkish pianist wife Victoria Kamhi, who gave up her own career for him. Dedicated to the famous South American guitarist Alirio Díaz, Invocation et Danse was based upon a theme from the short opera "El Amor Brujo" by Manuel de Falla.

Asturias (Leyenda)
Born in the Catalan province of Gerona in northeastern Spain, Isaac Albéniz was exceptionally gifted at the piano as a child, giving his first public performance in Barcelona at the age of four. The legend Asturias from the Suite Española creates the mood of that part of northern Spain. The main theme was used by the rock group The Doors in their song "Spanish Caravan."

Selected piano solos of Anne Ku, who writes
"While visiting my sister in Maui, I witnessed the most beautiful sunset followed by a full moon. This short piece is designed to reflect the simplicity of such a wondrous natural phenomenon. The seven planets aligned themselves on Friday, the 5th of May 2000, thus inspiring the pentatonic sounding Pentamine. The faster Summer Solstice at Sunset was later transcribed for solo guitar by the Indonesian guitarist Jubing. Before long it became cold again in London, feeling like a Winter in July and in October when Autumn Shivers."

Fantasia pour guitar et piano
Born in Basel, Swiss composer Hans Haug studied the piano and the cello. Haug was influenced by Andrés Segovia, who commissioned and performed his works. He dedicated the Fantasia for guitar and piano to the guitarist Luise Walker whom he met at the Geneva Competition in 1956. This edition is by Angelo Gilardino.

Salsa Brasileira from the Happy Hour Sandwich
The Austrian composer Gerald Schwertberger originally wrote the four part "Happy Hour Sandwich" for a Japanese pianist Mrs. Katayama and later re-arranged it for an Italian guitar piano duo. Apart from the second piece Sentimental Romance, the themes of the first (Prelude - Sauce Tartare), third (Potato Rag), and fourth (Salsa Brasileira) were previously used within his didactic books for piano, violin, and cello, which were intended to motivate young students in their studies.

Fantasia for guitar and piano
Resisting against following the family tradition of a banking career, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco pursued the piano in Florence where he was born. After meeting Segovia in 1932, he began writing works for the guitar. Finished in 1950, his two-movement fantasia for guitar and piano was dedicated to Segovia's first wife, pianist Paquita Madriguera.

Robert Bekkers (http://www.dutchguitar.com)
Born near Eindhoven in the Netherlands, Robert Bekkers took lessons in the French horn and trumpet before turning to the guitar. After a diploma in electronics, he attended the Conservatory of Maastricht where he received his teaching and performance degrees in classical guitar. A scholarship enabled him to study abroad under Angelo Gilardino in Italy.

Robert has appeared as a soloist and with other groups in Indonesia, Curaçao, and Oman, among other countries. In addition to a demanding teaching schedule, he performs with his violin guitar Duo Magenta. Most recently, he gave master classes in North Cyprus where he also served as a judge for the 2003 Eastern Mediterranean University Guitar Competition.

Anne Ku (http://www.anneku.com)
Born in Brunei of Chinese parents, Anne Ku grew up on Okinawa where she was active as an accompanist and organist. In her final year at Duke University, she performed Debussy's L'isle Joyeuse in the Gina Bachauer Masterclasses with Claude Frank. In 2001, Anne started a series of intimate concerts to introduce her music to local audiences in London. She released her first CD "In Pursuit of Flexibility" containing 80 minutes of her piano solo compositions and arrangements in March 2002 at concerts in the Netherlands.

Most recently, she gave a piano guitar duo concert with Robert Bekkers in North Cyprus, where she was also invited to give a piano master class and a workshop on sight reading.

About the World Music Tour

Music is a universal language which crosses international borders, opening the door to self-expression. The World Music Tour is intended to facilitate greater understanding and cooperation among people from all walks of life. The piano and guitar duo of Anne Ku and Robert Bekkers strives to bring their unique fusion of music and authentic cuisine to inspire an intimate environment for meaningful conversation. "It's our differences that make life interesting."

Acknowledgements and Sponsors

Thanks to Yun Kim and Dave for the post-concert reception. Yun Kim's Oriental Fusion Restaurant at 9 York Parade, Great West Road, Brentford (Tel: 020 8569 7223) serves exciting dishes that combine the subtleties of Chinese cuisine with ideas and ingredients from India. Brought up and trained as a chef in India, proprietor and chef Yun Kim speaks Hakka, the same dialect spoken by Anne's mother. Anne and Robert highly recommend that you visit Yun Kim's and try the rest of his highly innovative, exotic cuisine. http://www.yunkim.co.uk

Thanks to proprietor Leong of Tran Oriental Supermarket at 120, The Broadway, West Ealing, W13 0SY (Tel: 0208 357 6711, Open 10 am to 11 pm all week) for sponsoring Robert Bekkers' travel to London. Anne discovered that this compact corner shop on the Uxbridge Road has all the essential ingredients for the oriental kitchen and is the only oriental supermarket in this area.

Thanks to the proprietor Michael and his brother Keith for making available New Inn Pub at 62 St Mary's Road.

Special thanks to Poul Olvoj from Peterborough, Andy Miller from Nottingham, and Ayyub Malik from Brentford for concert support.

Thanks to Piera Borgeot for recording and Ieuan Jones, Concerts Assistant, London College of Music & Media (Thames Valley University) for everything else.

Who or what is "analyticalQ presents"? analyticalQ.com is a platform for self-expression via original art, music, and writing. Since its launch in March 1999, this international web site has served as an incubator for creativity with contribution and feedback from people all over the world.

Programme printed by Poul Olvoj. On-line at http://www.pianoguitar.com