O R C H E S T R A  C O N C E R T S


SERGIO MOLINA (1967)

THE JOURNEY OF THE WEARY SOULS for four guitars and string orchestra (2004)

This piece was dedicated to Quaternaglia and was written to be played at the "I International Guitar Festival" at Round Top (TX), on February 12, 2005. The debut was performed by Quaternaglia and Round Top Festival Orchestra conducted by Marcelo Bussiki.

Composed for guitar quartet and string orchestra, the concerto has five linked parts which are "Greeting", "Sagacity", "Nostalgia", "Sacrifice" and "Wisdom". Before the last section, the composer included an explosive cadenza for the guitar quartet.

Born in São Paulo, Brazil, the composer has a bachelor and master degree in Composition at USP (São Paulo University), where he was taught by Willy Corrêa de Oliveira. Teacher at Santa Marcelina College and Uni FIAM/FAAM in São Paulo, Molina has been acting as a composer, arranger and performer in various classical and popular music projects. Many of his pieces were awarded prizes in composition contests such as first place at the Federal Justice Anthem Composition Contest in 2002. Among his most important works, we can name Desanoitecimento n.1 and Elegia, both written for string orchestra, Estudos and Variaxial for solo guitar, Motril for flute and guitar, and the pieces composed for Quaternaglia such as Sweet Mineira for four guitars, and the Quintet for Another Time for piano and guitar quartet.

The Brazilian debut of the piece occurred at Teatro da Paz, in Belém (PA), during XIX International Music Festival in 2006, performed by Quaternaglia and Festival's String Ensemble conducted by Antonio Del Claro. This work was presented in São Paulo in the same year by Camerata Vitta conducted by Abel Rocha.


DOWN THE BLACK RIVER INTO THE DARK NIGHT for four guitars, piano and string orchestra (2008)

The piece is dedicated to James Dick and Quaternaglia Guitar Quartet, and the premiere was at "V Round Top International Guitar Festival" (USA) in February, 14, 2009, with Quaternaglia, James Dick and The Round Top Philharmonia conducted by Marcelo Bussiki.  The composer said:

"Down the Black River into the Dark Night is a piece that aims to explore different textures as well as combine a variety of different musical structures.  Its unifying principle is the recurrent use of seconds and minor sixths in tonal and pan-tonal contexts.  Rhythmically, it superimposes diverse tempos as well as views Brazilian popular rhythms through the lens of musical writing. 

The initial idea for the piece originated in a conversation between James Dick and I, in the lobby of Hotel Regente in Belém - Brazil (May 2008), where we discussed the possibility of a new quintet (for piano and four guitars) inspired in the Amazon Forest.  I immediately imagined a possible analogy between the musical ideas mentioned above and a small boat gliding through the silent waters of the enigmatic Black River (one of the most important in the area) in a very dark night. 

The listener can use the following narrative as a reference, even though the piece was not originally meant to be based on a program:

The voyage begins serenely and the passengers are full of expectation and are extremely cautious about traveling in the wilderness.  The silence of the night amplifies the sounds of nature.  The strings octet establishes a flow of continuous sound, parallel to the dark waters of the river, where the uninterrupted lengthy notes suggest the absence of beat and time.  Once in a while, the music made by the inhabitants of the villages at the river bank and the sounds of the landscape join together to produce harmonious sound effects.  The lack of visibility, imposed by the darkness of the waters and the night open the doors of introspection, so memories can surface.  Echoes of Jobim, Ligeti, Reich and Schumann are noticeable in the distance. 

At the end, a storm strikes our travelers in the exact moment where the murky waters of the Black River and the clear waters of colossal Amazon River meet.  The Black River is diluted.  However, some droplets were able to maintain their original identity and can still be heard as they continue their journey to the ocean through the other side of the circle of fifths."

[ back to top ] EGBERTO GISMONTI (1947)

FORROBODÓ for four guitars and string orchestra (2004)

The guitar quartet version of Forrobodó (1999) is the result of the intense cooperation between Egberto Gismonti and Quarternaglia. This alliance produced the Forrobodó album, launched by Carmo/ECM label in 2000. In 2006 the ensemble recorded a live performance of the piece for the DVD Quaternaglia.

Gismonti wrote a version for four guitars and strings in 2004, to be performed by Quaternaglia at the "I International Guitar Festival at Round Top" (TX). The premiere was performed by Quaternaglia and the Festival Orchestra conducted by Marcelo Bussiki (February, 2005).

In Brazil, the piece's debut also occurred in 2005, at Teatro São Pedro, in São Paulo, with Quaternaglia and Camerata Vitta conducted by Rodrigo Vitta. Since then, the piece is part of Quaternaglia's concerto repertoire.

[ back to top ] RODRIGO VITTA (1971)

BRAZILIAN LANDSCAPE n. 4 "URBAN" for four guitars and string orchestra (2005)

Brazilian Landscape n.4, entitled "Urban", written by the awarded Brazilian composer and conductor Rodrigo Vitta, was inspired by the works of the Brazilian sculptor Nele Azevedo, who creates little ice people who are placed in chosen spots in big cities. In the midst of the urban chaos, the fragility of the miniatures causes a strange and uncomfortable feeling on the citizens passing by, and that is what Vitta tries to convey.

The first version of the piece - also dedicated to Quaternaglia - was recorded by the ensemble in the album Presença (2004), and this fact motivated Vitta to write a version for guitar quartet and string orchestra. It was performed for the first time by Camerata Vitta, conducted by the composer himself on October 22, 2005 at Teatro São Pedro, in São Paulo (Brazil). One year later, the same orchestra performed the piece again at Museu da Casa Brasileira, in São Paulo, conducted by Abel Rocha.

[ back to top ] LEO BROUWER (1939)

CONCERTO ITALICO (2000-1)

Concerto Italico (2001) is the first concert for four guitars and orchestra written by the Cuban composer Leo Brouwer and it is also one of his most recent works.

It's movements are: I- Las Predicciones de Ítalo Calvino; II- La Nostalgia de D'Anunzzio; III- Vilanela Napolitana. Commissioned by the Italian quartet Guitart, it was performed in Italy, Poland, Cuba and Brazil, where Quaternaglia made its première on March 14, 2004, in São Paulo with the Culture Symphonic Orchestra directed by Lutero Rodrigues.

The piece represents Brouwer's most recent style, the "new simplicity", in which the vanguard experiences and afro-Cuban rhythms melts with minimalism and the influence of popular music.

The second movement includes homage to Chopin mentioning his Mazurka op. 17 n. 4. Quaternaglia had recorded the complete Leo Brouwer's pieces for guitar quartet in its first CD (Quaternaglia, 1995).

Leo Brouwer's Concerto Italico was also performed by Quaternaglia in 2005 at Teatro da Paz, as a part of the "XVIII Pará International Music Festival", with the Teatro da Paz Symphonic Orchestra (OSTP) conducted by the Cuban Elena Herrera.

GISMONTIANA for guitar quartet and strings orchestra (2004)

The concert has six movements, and is a homage to the Brazilian pianist, guitarist and composer Egberto Gismonti.  The Brazilian premiere was in São Paulo, Brazil with Quaternaglia Guitar Quartet and the São Paulo University Chamber Orchestra (OCAM) conducted by the Cuban composer himself in his first visit to Brazil.  About Gismontiana, Brouwer said:

"Writing music based on Gismonti's work was not difficult at all.  I felt like I was writing my own music.  My music and that of the Brazilian maestro are different in style, but the essence is the same.  After having played his music for orchestra, piano and guitar, after witnessing his wonderful improvisations, I wrote Gismontiana from start to finish, almost by heart.  The Brazilian spirit, present in Camargo Guarnieri or in Heitor Villa-Lobos in the first half of the 20th century found a continuator in Gismonti. 

The concerts and symphonies by Guarnieri or Villa-Lobos' Momoprecoce, Erosion or Choros 10, without forgetting their vast work for piano and their guitar studies, constitute inimitable examples that lacked continuity.  That is the problem.  You cannot imitate, but inherit.  That is why a Gismonti emerged in the second half of the 20th century."

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ESTÉRCIO MARQUEZ CUNHA (1941)

CONCERT FOR FOUR GUITARS AND ORCHESTRA (1998)

Concert for four Guitars and Orchestra (1998), written by Estércio Marquez Cunha (1941) specially to Quaternaglia, was conceived following the classic form in three movements. The first movement has a lot of time changes, emphasizing melodic and harmonic aspects.

The second movement is a lullaby, stressing the harmonics writing for soloists and also for orchestra.

The third movement has a rhythmic predominance: here the soloists use a sort of timbre and percussive effects. Although the piece is conceived under the contemporary optics - with the sound texture divided in four different blocks (strings, woods, percussion and guitar quartet), themes with Brazilian characteristics are evoked during the piece, usually under an ironic way.

There are utilized a sort of compositional techniques and introduction forms, from counterpoint to accompanied melodies, from serials parts to measures where the D key seems to reign. On a very well-humored and fun way, the piece shows two codas, once, after the "cluster cadence" which seems to end the opus, follows - suddenly, at this time - the fun "trivial tonal ending". Estércio Marquez Cunha's concert was first performed by Quaternaglia in October1999 in Santos (São Paulo), with the Santos Symphonic Orchestra conducted by Luiz Gustavo Petri. In the same month, the piece was performed in São Paulo with the Culture Symphonic Orchestra conducted by João Maurício Galindo. Born in Goiás in 1941, in Goiás state, the composer Estércio Marquez Cunha is graduated in Piano, Music Composition and Conducting by the Brazilian Conservatory of Music in Rio de Janeiro and PHD in Music Composition by the Oklahoma University (EUA). His teaching activities includes graduation and pos-graduation courses in many Brazilian Universities, such as the Uberlândia Federal University (MG), Goiás Federal University (GO), Carlos Gomes Music College (SP) and Rio Grande do Sul Federal University.

Frequently he is invited to cooperate in some boards of examiners from musical institutions. The musical opus of Estércio Marquez Cunha includes many works for solo piano, pieces for voice and piano, violin and piano, flute, trombone, percussion, string quartets, wind quintets, vocal sextets, choir, piano e orchestra, string orchestra, and chamber ensembles. His guitar works include Music for Soprano, Flute and Guitar nº1, 2 e 3, Music for Guitar Duet, Three Movements for Violin and Guitar, Suiternaglia for 4 Guitars (recorded by Quaternaglia Guitar Quartet in 1995), Concert for Guitar and Orchestra, Music for Flute and Guitar nº1 e 2, Magnificat for Soprano, Flute Guitar and Choir and Lento Lullaby for Voice, Violin, Clarinet, Guitar and Rock, besides the Concert for 4 Guitars and Orchestra. He has written also many works for Musicals and Dance Theatre, such as Choreography Metamorphose, Guarda Noite - Theatre Music, Tempo - Music Theatre, Requiem for Prometheus - Music Theatre, Playing on the Piano - Music Theatre, Christmas - Music Theatre and The Men Job - Music Theatre. Among his main recordings works are besides Suiternaglia, The Images - Christmas Cantata, The Serenade that I didn't do for Voice and Piano, the Magnificat and the Slowly Lullaby.

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JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685-1750)

CONCERT FOR FOUR HAPSICHORDS AND ORCHESTRA BWV 1065
(transcribed for four guitars by Fabio Ramazzina)

This is a single concert written by Bach for four harpsichords and orchestra. It is a Bach's transcription for the Concert for Four Violins and Orchestra Op. 3 nº 10 RV 580, written by Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741).

The transcription for guitar quartet - signed by Fabio Ramazzina, a Quaternaglia performer - is a "transcription of a transcription". This arrangement was conceived for a Quaternaglia concert with the Santo André Symphonic Orchestra conducted by Flávio Florence in June 1996 and has been performed with several orchestras (like the Santos Symphonic Orchestra, Culture Symphonic Orchestra, Villa-Lobos Chamber Orchestra, etc.), in places like São Pedro Theatre, Santo André Municipal Theatre and Ibirapuera Park, among others.

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JOAQUÍN RODRIGO (1901-1999)

CONCIERTO ANDALUZ FOR FOUR GUITARS AND ORCHESTRA (1967)

The Concierto Andaluz was commissioned by Celedonio Romero and dedicated to him and his sons Pepe, Angel and Celín Romero. Written in 1967, it received its premiere the same year in San Antonio, Texas, on November 18th. This concierto was inspired by the music of Andalucia; however, the themes are not authentic folk melodies, but inventions of the composer. The three movements are Tiempo de Bolero, Adagio and Allegretto. The entire work, because of the four soloists and the orchestration, is very colorful and evokes power and energy. Quaternaglia's first performance of Andaluz was in 2001 April 20th, with Santos Symphonic Orchestra directed by Luiz Gustavo Petri. The group was invited to perform also the concert with Santo André Symphonic Orchestra, directed by Flavio Florence, and Brazilian Symphonic Orchestra (OSB), directed by the Mexican conductor Enrique Barrios (Municipal Theater of Rio de Janeiro, 2002).

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