March 12, 2009
Guitarist to give master class March 22
Grammy-nominated guitarist Paul Galbraith will conduct a master class at 10 a.m. Sunday, March 22 in 213 Music. Galbraith is in town for a March 21 concert at the Benaroya recital hall downtown.
Galbraith’s career was launched when he was 17 and won the Silver Medal at the Segovia International Guitar Competition. Andrés Segovia, who was present, called his playing “magnificent.” This award led to engagements with some of the finest orchestras in Britain and Europe. He toured the U.S. as soloist with the Moscow Chamber Orchestra and performed in Prague’s Dvorak Hall with the National Chamber Orchestra of Chile.
Galbraith’s unique playing position was first revealed at the Edinburgh Festival in 1989. His guitar (designed in collaboration with the late luthier David Rubio) is supported by a metal endpin, similar to that of a cello, that rests on a wooden resonance box. The instrument has two extra strings, one high, one low. Both the guitar’s extraordinary design and Galbraith’s playing style are considered groundbreaking developments in the history of the instrument, increasing its range to an unprecedented extent.
It was Galbraith’s recording of the Complete Bach Violin Sonatas and Partitas (Delos) that was nominated for a 1998 Grammy Award in the category of Best Solo Instrumental Album. This two-CD set was also chosen as one of the two best CDs of 1998 by Gramophone Magazine, which called it “a landmark in the history of guitar recordings.” It received a “Four Star” rating in Stereo Review, and reached the Top 10 on Billboard’s classical charts.
Recent orchestral engagements in the U.S. include concertos with the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, Knoxville Symphony, Santa Rosa Symphony and ProMusica Chamber Orchestra, among others. Recently, Galbraith and the St. Petersburg String Quartet performed the World Premiere at Stanford University of a new work, Rhapsody for Guitar and String Quartet, which they co-commissioned from the acclaimed Georgian composer Zurab Nadarejshvili.
The master class is free and open to the public for observation. For information about the Benaroya concert, contact Rosewood Guitar at 206-297-8788.
