On Tuesday, January 6, at 7:30 p.m., internationally-acclaimed guitarist Sharon Isbin will take the stage at Benaroya Hall to perform an eclectic program of guitar works. The performance will feature traditional pieces by Enrique Granados and Francisco Tarrega, as well as contemporary works, including John Duarte’s masterful Joan Baez Suite, written especially for Isbin.
The Los Angeles Times hails Sharon Isbin as possessing “superb artistry and mesmerizing finesse.” Isbin has given sold-out performances at New York’s Carnegie and Avery Fisher Halls, Boston’s Symphony Hall, Washington, D.C.’s Kennedy Center, London’s Barbican and Wigmore Hall, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Paris’ Chatelet, Vienna’s Musikverein, Madrid’s Teatro Real and many others. She has commissioned and premiered numerous new solo and chamber works, including pieces by John Corigliano, Joseph Schwantner, Joan Tower, David Diamond, Ned Rorem, Aaron Jay Kernis and John Duarte, whose Joan Baez Suite — which is on this program — was written for Isbin.
Isbin has recorded more than 25 albums in a variety of genres, including Baroque, Spanish/Latin, 20th century and Jazz fusion. Her 2006 recording of Joaquin Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez and works by Ponce and Villa-Lobos with the New York Philharmonic marks the Philharmonic’s first-ever recording with guitar. Isbin serves as Artistic Director of the national radio series Guitarjam and has appeared on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered, St. Paul Sunday and A Prairie Home Companion; on television on CBS Sunday Morning, the A&E Network, as a featured guest on Showtime’s hit series The L Word; and in a variety of periodicals, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, People and Elle.
She received a 2001 Grammy Award; a 2005 Latin Grammy nomination for Best Classical Album; a 2006 GLAAD Media Award Nomination; Best Classical Guitarist award from Guitar Player Magazine; and first prize at the Madrid Queen Sofia and Toronto competitions. Isbin was the first guitarist to ever win the Munich competition.
Joan Baez Suite
John Duarte (1919–2004) wrote the Joan Baez Suite for Sharon Isbin in 2002. The work draws inspiration from the American folk canon, including songs such as Barbara Allen, The Lily of the West and Pete Seeger’s Where Have All the Flowers Gone?, as well as Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas and Schubert’s Trockne Blumen. Of the piece, Isbin says “I am old enough to have known and admired Joan Baez’s work from the earliest years of her career. In writing this Suite it would, however, have been misguided to attempt to arrange the selected songs in the same style and format as hers. The settings represent my own reactions to the spirit and texts of the songs.” -- www.seattlesymphony.org
Comment and add to the story without registration, but keep the comments meaningful please. Links are not accepted.
