Brazilian Guitar Quartet to present music by Villa-Lobos

The internationally celebrated Brazilian Guitar Quartet will perform at 8 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 21, in the Ladd Concert Hall, of Skidmore's Arthur Zankel Music Center, presenting a program of music by the late Heitor Villa-Lobos.

Praised by The Washington Post for their "seductive beauty" and "virtuosic gusto," the BGQ has established itself as one of the world's leading guitar ensembles. The group's unique combination of regular six-string and extended-range eight-string guitars allows for the exploration of an original and unusual repertoire. In its 10 years of activity, the BGQ has performed more than 300 concerts in four continents, garnering rave reviews and meeting sold-out halls.

Members of the quartet are Everton Gloeden, Tadeu Do Amaral, Luiz Montovani, and Clemer Andreotti. Appearing at Skidmore in its Filene Concert Series, the four BGQ musicians will also conduct a master class Friday, Feb. 19, at a time and location to be announced.

"I'm really excited about having the Brazilian Guitar Quartet here at Skidmore. All four guitarists have established reputations as tremendous soloists, and as an ensemble, they're unparalleled," said Joel Brown, guitarist and senior artist-in-residence at the College.

BGQ will perform music by Brazil's best-known composer, Villa-Lobos, who died just over 50 years ago. He has been described as "the single most significant creative figure in 20th-century Brazilian art music," and his music becomes more widely played with each passing year. His music was influenced by both Brazilian folk music and by stylistic elements from the European classical tradition.

The BGQ's discography includes four CDs on the Delos label. Two are devoted to Brazilian Music, Ess ncia do Brasil (chosen by Audiophile Audition as one of the "best recordings of 1999"), and Encantamento (2001). The other recordings present two great works of Western classical music in their entirety: Bach's Four Orchestral Suites (2000) and Alb niz's Iberia (2006).

General admission to the concert is $12, or $10 for seniors and Skidmore faculty/staff; $3 for students. Click here to purchase tickets online.