A Tale of Two Guitarists

  Local classical guitar enthusiasts had the rare opportunity this past weekend to experience two extraordinary but very different guitarists in two beautiful recital halls. On Saturday March 2, the North Carolina Symphony,as part of their Great Artist Series, presented Eliot Fisk at the A.J. Fletcher Opera Theater and the night before Elon University in conjunction with The Piedmont Classical Guitar Society presented Benjamin Verdery at Whitley Hall on the Elon University campus.

  Eliot Fisk is not just one of the greatest guitarists in the history of the instrument he is a phenomenon. Long after you leave one of his recitals you remain in a state of both awe and disbelief. Mr. Fisk walked onto a beautifully lit stage, bare except for a raised platform and a lone chair. He is a most gracious performer and puts the audience at ease with brief but enlightening remarks before almost all of the works on his program. Neither pedantic nor condescending, his manner immediately bridges the performer v. audience chasm and then we’re off on what can only be described as an exhilirating ride that no one present will soon forget.

  The program began with Grand Solo, Op. 14 by the Spanish composer Fernando Sor, a contemporary of Beethoven. A work in the style of an opera overture, it was played with great energy. The remainder of the first half of the program was taken up with Baroque works and gave the audience the opportunity to hear one of the unique aspects of Mr. Fisk’s playing. While attending Yale University, Mr. Fisk studied with Ralph Kirkpatrick, one of the most celebrated harpsichordists and Scarlatti scholar. As a result his playing of Baroque pieces is filled with ornamentation that is both exciting to listen to and historically accurate. A set of keyboard variations by Frescobaldi was up first. This is a work that is popular among guitarists since it was first transcribed by Andres Segovia. A lovely minor theme is followed by 6 short variations. Next was 3 Scarlatti sonatas transcribed from the harspichord to the guitar. These sonatas are favorites for guitarists since almost all of the nearly 550 of them work quite well on the guitar. Mr. Fisk displayed his amazing technical facility and ornamentation in these works. The first half concluded with another trancscription, this time from the unaccompanied Sonatas and Partitas for violin by J.S. Bach. A highly ornamented Adagio is followed by a fugue. This is one of Bach’s most famous fugues which exists in versions for both lute and organ. A very delicate and pastoral Siciliana precedes the final Presto which is a misnomer for the incredible speed that Mr. Fisk performed this movement. The audience seemed to be out of breath and in a bit of shock as the first half ended.

  The second half began with three Spanish pieces all transcriptions from the original piano score. "Torre Bermeja" and "Sevilla" by Isaac Albeniz are staples of the guitarists’ arsenal and Mr. Fisk played these with great energy and freedom.

   Next up was a fascinating rendition of what is usually the very beautiful, simple American folksong "Shenandoah". An arrangement/set of variations of this was written for Mr. Fisk by Robert Beaser, chairman of the composition department at the Juilliard School of Music. Presented simply at first, this familiar tune is transformed into an incredible virtuosic display both in terms of composition and execution. The program ended in a performance that can only be described as "you had to hear it to believe it". Most readers are familiar with Paganini’s 24 Caprices for solo violin of which the 24th is the most famous, used by Rachmaninoff , Lutoslawksi and countless others as themes for their compositions. Mr. Fisk has transcribed, and recorded, all 24 for solo guitar and he played four of them in Raleigh to conclude the program. His playing was so seamless and precise that you would think that it had to be played with a bow.

   A rousing standing ovation exploded from the stunned audience and he returned for 3 encores; the popular Recuerdos de L’Alhambra by Tarrega, the Prelude from the E major unaccompanied violin sonata by Bach and a stirring Flamenco selection to end the evening.