Canadian
Guitar Quartet
Since their debut in 1999, the Canadian Guitar Quartet has
toured extensively in North and South America, from one
standing ovation to the next, establishing a reputation
as one of the finest guitar ensembles in the world.
"Portrait I”, the CGQ's debut CD, is "…quite
impressive. Their tight ensemble and group virtuosity make
them competitive with the best quartets" (American
Record Guide). "One cannot imagine better ensemble
playing", wrote Robert McColley of Fanfare magazine.
"Real musical depth", said Richard Todd of the
Ottawa Citizen.
On March 24, 2005, their second CD, "Les Scènes
de Quartiers", was awarded "Le Prix Trille Or”
for instrumental album of the year by the "Association
des Professionnels de la Chanson et de la Musique”.
"This is really exciting, exhilarating chamber-music-playing
… If guitars or tangos appeal, then buy this CD and
be delighted", wrote Paul Ingram in Fanfare magazine.
“Portrait II – Orchestral Music for four guitars“
will be the quartet’s third CD on the Eclectra label.
The CGQ has often been featured on both English and French
national CBC networks, on national broadcasts in Chile,
Austria and on a “Classical Guitar Alive” world
wide web cast from the United States. In Canada, they have
appeared at the National Art Gallery, the Palais Montcalm
series, the Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto, with orchestras
and in recital across the country. They have performed at
the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival, Lachine
Music Festival, Montreal International Classical Guitar
Festival, Parry Sound’s “Festival of the Sound”,
the Acadia Guitar Festival, Festival Vancouver and the Hornby
Island Music Festival. Internationally, they have performed
in Brazil, Argentina, Chile and headlined Yale University's
"Guitar Extravaganza”, Chile’s “Entre
Cuerdas” and “Liliana Perez Corey” festivals,
Stetson University’s International Guitar Workshop,
the Mississippi Guitar Festival, the Norfolk Chamber Music
Festival, and the Guitar Foundation of America festival.
The music of Patrick Roux has been performed and recorded
all over the world. The Latin inspired rhythms and virtuosity
make for drama and excitement, while a constant interchanging
of voices among the quartet allow for complex but clear
textures and for live panning and stereo effects on stage.
In 2002, Les Productions d’Oz began the special "Canadian
Guitar Quartet Collection” featuring music by Roux
and transcriptions by Denis Donegani and Louis Trépanier.
“The music of Patrick Roux is always entirely effective
… The result is compelling for its strength, vitality,
breadth, and sheer compositional challenge”, wrote
Geneviève Chanut in Les cahiers de la guitare (Paris).
In 2006, the G8 guitar octet project began with the CGQ
joining the Salzburg Guitar Quartet for concerts in Austria
and Germany and a national radio broadcast from Innsbruck.
G8 continued to delight audiences in Canada in 2007 with
a tour that also included a national Radio Canada broadcast
on Éspace Musique. G8 is now scheduled to return
to Europe in March of 2009 and to Canada in November of
2009. Several new works have been written especially for
this ensemble and a debut recording is planned for a 2010
release.
The CGQ has been featured on a national Bravo! TV special,
as well as in the March 2007 issue of England’s Classical
Guitar magazine. On December 8, 2007, the CGQ’s New
York city debut on the 92nd Street Y’s “Art
of the Guitar” series was enthusiastically received
with several standing ovations. Wrote Don Witter Jr. of
the New York City Classical Guitar Society, “The Canadian
Guitar Quartet made one of the greatest New York City Debuts
of any artistic ensemble in decades … STUNNING !!!”.
The Canadian Guitar Quartet is currently in residence at
the University of Ottawa.
"The Canadian Guitar Quartet tackles all with great
brilliance and an optimal mastery of their instruments …
thereby confirming a secure musical reality of international
dimension" (Guitart magazine – ITALY)
Please visit www.canadianguitarquartet.com
Video Link:
Canadian
Guitar Quartet
The Canadian Guitar Quartet plays Octopus
by Hans Bruderl
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