Photo by Peter Serling
Michael Gordon on four electric guitars
Would the minimal music of Philip Glass or Steve Reich sound good on guitar too? That must have been what the men of the Dublin Guitar Quartet were asking themselves when they founded their quartet in 2001. They vowed to each other to forego the standard guitar repertoire and to devote themselves to contemporary classical music. Armed with four classical guitars and degrees from the Dublin Conservatory of Music and Drama, they tackle the well-nigh impossible works of contemporary composers. Take the piece Amplified (2015) by the New York composer (and founder of Bang on a Can) Michael Gordon, which will have its Dutch premiere at Noorderzon. The quartet will be playing electric guitars for the occasion. They will be exploring the limits of their instruments with Gordon's hypnotic soundscapes. And the entire performance will be amplified by the divine ambiance of the Lutheran Church .... Be sure not to miss it! Noorderzon is presenting this concert in collaboration with Soundsofmusic.