The Oberlin Review
<< Front page Arts February 25, 2005

Duo tag-teams Con’s classical guitar studio in masterclass

On a typical night, walking into the Conservatory lounge, one might expect to see a pianist caught up in a score, a soprano hugging somebod, and the occasional passersby. However, Tuesday night was anything but ordinary.  By 7:30 p.m., a crowd of guitarists from all over Northern Ohio had assembled in order to secure their seats for what would be a rare performance.

If you’re a classical guitar major like me, then you already know that 19th-century guitar music is by no means easy. Light-hearted? Yes. Relaxing? Certainly. But simple? You’ve got to be kidding. If you’re not a guitar major, don’t sweat it, you are not alone. So here is the rundown of what you may have missed.

The Rucco/James duo arrived in Oberlin on Monday to teach a self-proclaimed “tag-team” masterclass to the classical guitar studio. Each student performed a work from the 19th-century to be critiqued by romantic-era specialists Pasquale Rucco and Douglas James. They stressed the importance of variety in repetition and expressive playing as well as a balanced tone.

An interesting note is that the authentic 19th-century guitars on which they both performed have a natural balance between the bass and treble strings because they are strung with gut strings.  Modern classical guitars, however, are strung with nylon strings and have coiled basses that are designed to stay in tune better and produce a louder overall tone.

It was immediately apparent in their concert that James and Rucco practice what they preach. A lot. Every phrase was well balanced and each nuance was precise and lovely. Despite distractions, like an unfortunate mid-performance ringing cell phone and squeaky chairs, the duo was able to captivate the audience throughout the night. 

If you were not in attendance, or if you were just inattentive, than you are not totally out of luck.  They do have recordings available on CD which, judging by the quality of Tuesday’s stellar performance, will be more than a bargain if you are a fan of guitar music.
 
 

   


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