Australian Guitar Quartet | Bach, Bossa and Beyond
February 13, 2025, City Recital Hall, Sydney, NSW
The members of the Australian Guitar Quartet (AGQ) are Vladimir Gorbach, Andrew Blanch and Leonard and Slava Grigoryan. The Grigoryan brothers were part of Saffire, that existed in the early 2000s, and was the only other group that appear to have been known as the Australian Guitar Quartet. In my view the key qualities for inclusion into an internationally recognised ensemble, and one that will be clearly recognised as Australian, are skill, musicianship and the ability to combine with, and respond to, the other members of the group. All four members have exceptional abilities and have spent many years as soloists or partnering with other musicians. While they have only been a quartet for a few years they have developed a keen sense of togetherness that shines through even the most complicated rhythmic music.
The City Recital Hall, in the heart of Sydney, is ideal for small ensembles and has excellent acoustics. Being relatively quiet instruments classical guitars sometimes benefit from subtle amplification. Although this seemed to have been applied a little too much in the opening work by Piazzolla, it appeared to be largely resolved for the remainder of the concert. The venue provides a good view of the performers from anywhere in the hall and the multi-generational audience filled almost the entire level 1. I noted the presence of many fellow guitarists.
This was the second time I had seen the AGQ perform in Sydney and this program contained a number of items from the first concert but included a major new work Road to the Sun by Pat Metheny the American jazz guitarist and composer. The Bach Brandenburg No 6 worked extremely well on guitars, requiring a well-developed technique in performing fast passages. This was particularly well demonstrated in the dialogue between the various guitars in the final movement. The Bach was followed by selections from the Carmen Suite by Bizet. These were beautifully played with many audience members nodding along to the very familiar tunes.
The main work in the second half was Road to the Sun composed during Covid and was premiered by the dedicatees – the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet. A challenging work for both the players and audience, the piece had multiple themes over six movements and required the musicians to use extended techniques. The applause at the end was a little muted but I certainly think it is worth hearing again. The dynamics of the Metheny were followed by a sensitively played and more relaxed rendition of the Luiz Bonfá classic Manhã de Carnaval.
The concert concluded with the intricate off-beat rhythms and percussion of A Furioso by Paulo Bellinati. The audience applauded vigorously with many giving a standing ovation. The players gave an encore – the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet’s Pachelbel’s Loose Canon – a delightful romp through musical styles. A thoroughly enjoyable concert!
Australian Guitar Quartet has shown that they are exemplary musicians with a fine approach to ensemble playing. I am looking forward to hearing more from them.
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Guest reviewers: Bob Harrison and Karin Brown
Both educated initially in the sciences, music has been a bedrock underpinning our lives. We both independently learnt classical guitar in our teens and since then have continued to play for our own pleasure. Bob spent his working life in applied science and Karin worked and volunteered in diverse areas. Both are now retired and continue to enjoy playing guitar at an amateur level. They both enjoy all sorts of music from classical, folk, jazz, world, even pop – anything that strikes them as good.
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Photo credit: Irena Pernickova
