Graduation Recital by Guitarist Gideon Whitehead

A graduation recital by Gideon Whitehead, guitar. Gideon hails from Casnovia, Michigan, and entered Curtis in 2012 for studies with David Starobin and Jason Vieaux. His program:

Matiegka: Grand Sonata No.1
Wenzeslaus Matiegka was a Bohemian-born guitarist and composer who lived from 1773 to 1830. His relative obscurity should not be taken as a verdict on his music, as we hear in this Grand Sonata, dating from 1808, and considered one of the most effective guitar works of the Classical era. This expansive sonata’s three movements are marked: Maestoso, Andante molto and Rondo capriccioso.

Bach: Suite in C minor for Lute, BWV 997
During Bach’s time in Leipzig in the 1740’s, he met lute virtuosos Silvius Leopold Weiss and Johann Kropfgans, which renewed his interest in that plucked instrument of Middle Eastern origin. This Suite in C minor is a product of that era. The four sections of the suite include Prelude, Fugue, Sarabande and Gigue—Double.

Moreno Torroba: Sonata-Fantasia
The 20th-century composer Federico Moreno-Torroba wrote over 100 works for solo guitar, mainly based on Spanish folk melodies. His career was greatly influenced by Andres Segovia, for whom he wrote a number of works. The three movements are marked: Lento—Allegro, Allegretto and Allegro.

Music Word of the Week: Lute
“A plucked string instrument with a large half-pear body, frets, and a peg box turned back at a right angle from the neck…The medieval lute came from the Arabic-speaking world in the 13th century, deriving both its form and its name from the Arabic ‘al ud’, which was introduced to Europe during the Moorish conquest and occupation of Spain (711-1492.”) (from the Oxford Dictionary of Music)