My program “The Dance Album” is not dead yet: we performed it live in the end of August 2013. The concert took place in a very special place: Köismäe tower is one of the numerous towers that surround the medieval city of Tallinn. Corelli Music says about their festival: “Festival “Towers of Tallinn” brings together… Continue reading
The Biggest Road Block of Self-Learners
Guitar is by far the most popular musical instrument in the Western world. Millions of people want to play it. And they do. There is no mystery – anyone can play it. However, the only way to get there is by learning. I have been talking about learning the guitar almost in every post. Recently… Continue reading
Premiere of Piret Pajusaar’s new chamber trio
The soprano-clarinet-guitar trio is not very common. But it has it all: woodwind, strings and vocal. “Päike pärast tormi” (Sun after the storm) is specially composed for our ensemble by Estonian composer Piret Pajusaar. The premiere took place in early spring under tough conditions (10 by Celsius in church!) and since then we have played it… Continue reading
New trio by Indrek Palu
In autumn 2012 we premiered this piece in a cold church in Pärnu. Now, after a few months we gathered again in sunny Tartu to record this piece in a live setting. The composition was a part of Indrek’s composition studies at the Estonian Academy of Music. Performers: Leonora Palu (flute), Indrek Palu (violin), Kristo… Continue reading
Auvergne songs by Joseph Canteloube
This spring and summer I had concerts with a guitar-soprano-clarinet trio. I arranged a series of Canteloube’s Auvergne songs to these instruments. They are very beautiful and soon I will arrange some more and we will prepare to record those. At one concert we recorded something but guitar is a bit too far from the… Continue reading
Jose Lezcano Sonata for guitar and alto violin
After struggling with Arpeggione and Debussy we took up even more difficult piece: Sonata for guitar and viola by Jose Lezcano. First, we waited for the score for a few months and then had already concerts coming up. Did a bunch of rehearsals and finally got the hang of it. Also, the program included a… Continue reading
Chamber Music for Trio
I played a small series of chamber concerts with a very demanding program: Debussy Sonata for Harp, Viola and Flute (of course, guitar replacing the harp), Takemitsu “Toward the Sea” and Schubert’s “Arpeggione”. Here is a video from our performance at the annual festival Fiesta de la guitarra:
4 Concerts a Day, 5 Programs a Week
It has been a crazy week: Sunday, 20th Nov. Opening night of a guitar festival in Tartu. New chamber music program with guitar, flute and viola (Schubert’s Arpeggione, Takemitsu’s Toward the Sea and Debussy’s Sonata for harp, flute and viola). 400 km to drive, home for night. Monday, 21th Nov. Teachers’ courses in Jõhvi, total… Continue reading
Dance Program For Schools
This season started off with a contract with Estonian State Concert to introduce the dance music with guitar, dancer and cajon to children. Sometimes we have 3 concerts a day, some day even more. Here is a short video they shot for commercial:
Visiting Francesco da Milano Grave
Went to Milan last weekend for seeing a ballet in La Scala. We had some spare time the day after and I thought I would visit a place that would somehow be connected to the Italian classical guitar or lute tradition. I thought that although Francesco da Milano was not born in Milano but Monza,… Continue reading