Benjamin Kunkel
Wade Oden
Joseph Hagedorn
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Benjamin Kunkel |
Wade Oden |
Joseph Hagedorn |
With its superior imagination, artistry, and musical mastery, the Minneapolis Guitar Quartet has made its case as “one of the major guitar ensembles in the world” (Soundboard Magazine) since its formation in 1986. As one of the very few guitar ensembles performing the majority of its repertoire from memory, the foursome—Joseph Hagedorn, Maja Radovanlija, Ben Kunkel and Wade Oden—moves with ease through original works for guitar quartet to its own brilliant arrangements, and from major commissions to unexpected collaborations.
The equally high skill level among the four musical partners results in performances with unbroken, interwoven clarity of lines, distinct voicing, and laser-like purity. “More than a guitar quartet, more than superb musicians, and more than a great chamber group,” says composer/performer Daniel Bernard Roumain. “They are ambassadors of sound, style, and substance.”
Some of the most sought-after of the MGQ’s exceptional arrangements are Ginastera's Danzas Argentinas, Piazzolla's Windy, Debussy's Petite Suite and the extremely popular folk-based music of Finnish performer/composer Maria Kalaniemi. Mussorgsky’s “Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks” from the composer’s Pictures at an Exhibition is an audience encore favorite. Web magazine minor7th.com called the MGQ’s recording of the full piece “the best arrangement of these 16 movements I have heard … While staying true to the original sense of the pieces, the Quartet brings fresh colors and lyricism.”
New projects include an arrangement of Old Castle, by the river, in the middle of the forest, a contemporary jazz piece by Japanese composer and pianist Hiromi Uehara; Iberian Quartet, a three-movement piece commissioned for the MGQ and flamenco dancer Colette Illarde by composer Ben Abrahamson; and their own pop arrangements of Purple Rain by pop star Prince himself a Minnesota native, and Friday on My Mind by the ‘60s Australian group, The Easy Beats.
These diverse ventures represent the quartet’s intention to bring distinctive and imaginative experiences to its audiences. It has developed three productions with flamenco dancer Colette Illarde—including Abrahamson’s new work that fully delves into the flamenco realm. Other Illarde collaborations feature the MGQ’s own arrangements of music by the great Spanish composers Joaquin Rodrigo and Enrique Granados. Coupled with Ms. Illarde’s choreography, these programs reflect the extraordinary vitality and diversity of Spanish culture. The quartet also has created a full program with Gao Hong, master of the Chinese pipa (akin to a lute), which successfully traverses both character and culture from East to West.
The MGQ has performed its many programs in recital throughout the United States and Mexico in such cities as Seattle, Chicago, New Orleans, Los Angeles, Baltimore, Omaha, and Boston. The quartet also has been featured at Princeton University, the Il Encuentro Internacional de Guitarra at the National Arts Center in Mexico City, San Francisco’s Omni Foundation Dynamite Guitar series, the Round Top International Guitar Festival in Texas, and several times at the Guitar Foundation of America Festival. Concerto appearances include the Austin Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra and Columbus Symphony, among many others. In spring 2015, the quartet will be performing at the GuitarArt Festival in Belgrade, Serbia.
The cultural accessibility of the guitar makes it a natural for the MGQ's various educational and community engagement programs like its popular "Guitar Talk" for all ages. As Artists-in-Residence with Minnesota Public Radio during the 2014 season, the MGQ performed for elementary school students throughout the Twin Cities. The MGQ's newest offering is its “Guitar Ensemble Crash Course,” a 90-minute class introducing participants to the "hands-on" experience of guitar ensemble playing, culminating in a live performance. All members of the Minneapolis Guitar Quartet are regular teachers and collegiate faculty members and frequently conduct master classes and workshops at festivals and universities throughout the United States.
The MGQ has been heard on the nationally syndicated radio program Saint Paul Sunday, and on National Public Radio’s Performance Today. The quartet also has garnered unanimous international critical acclaim from its five CDs on the Albany, GSP, and innova labels.
For more information,
please visit
www.minneapolisguitarquartet.