adrian
11-17-2003, 06:21 PM
Guitarist Denis Azabagic
By SARAH BRYAN MILLER
Post-Dispatch
11/10/2003
"The name of the second piece means 'The Winter is Coming,'" said Denis Azabagic, hunching his shoulders ever so slightly over his guitar, "and it's quite appropriate."
It was cold, as in "devoid of heat on a chilly night," as in "meat lockeresque," on Saturday night at the Ethical Society, where Azabagic was featured in concert by the St. Louis Classical Guitar Society. What little warmth was produced by the three space heaters onstage and the bodies of the assembled music lovers in the audience must have gone straight up that chimneylike roof, while cold air came rushing down the sides and poured along the center aisle like an invisible icy river. I can't have been the only one wishing for a heavier coat, a hat, a lap robe and perhaps a well-equipped St. Bernard.
But guitar aficionados are a hardy lot, and Azabagic proved to be worth shivering for; his music-making is warm indeed. A native of Bosnia who now lives in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, he has a lovely self-deprecating sense of humor, and a fine technique, both which stood him in good stead.
Although the frigid temperature may have affected his tunings, with which he fidgeted regularly, Azabagic's fingers seemed unaffected by the chill. They flew over the neck of his guitar, from the "Aires de la Mancha" of Federico Moreno-Torroba through the "Variations on a Theme by Mozart" of Fernando Sor, with only a few missteps along the way.
Azabagic observed that Guitar Society President Bill Ash had asked him for a "traditional program," and that he was happy to oblige. "But the problem with playing standard repertory is that everybody knows it, and knows if you mess up. Whereas with contemporary pieces, who can tell?"
There were only a few places where he messed up (most noticeably in a very high-ranging section of Francisco Tarrega's "Variations on 'Carnival in Venice'"), and then not very messily. Most of the time, he dazzled. And although Vincente Asencio's "Collectici intim" may not be standard repertoire, Azabagic's performance made a convincing case that it should be. It's a winning work, with intriguing harmonies, and would be worth additional hearings.
The final selection on the program was that Sor take on Mozart, in which the tune played by Papageno's glockenspiel in "The Magic Flute" is stylishly taken apart and put back together several times. It is standard repertoire, and Azabagic demonstrated why it deserves to be.
By SARAH BRYAN MILLER
Post-Dispatch
11/10/2003
"The name of the second piece means 'The Winter is Coming,'" said Denis Azabagic, hunching his shoulders ever so slightly over his guitar, "and it's quite appropriate."
It was cold, as in "devoid of heat on a chilly night," as in "meat lockeresque," on Saturday night at the Ethical Society, where Azabagic was featured in concert by the St. Louis Classical Guitar Society. What little warmth was produced by the three space heaters onstage and the bodies of the assembled music lovers in the audience must have gone straight up that chimneylike roof, while cold air came rushing down the sides and poured along the center aisle like an invisible icy river. I can't have been the only one wishing for a heavier coat, a hat, a lap robe and perhaps a well-equipped St. Bernard.
But guitar aficionados are a hardy lot, and Azabagic proved to be worth shivering for; his music-making is warm indeed. A native of Bosnia who now lives in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, he has a lovely self-deprecating sense of humor, and a fine technique, both which stood him in good stead.
Although the frigid temperature may have affected his tunings, with which he fidgeted regularly, Azabagic's fingers seemed unaffected by the chill. They flew over the neck of his guitar, from the "Aires de la Mancha" of Federico Moreno-Torroba through the "Variations on a Theme by Mozart" of Fernando Sor, with only a few missteps along the way.
Azabagic observed that Guitar Society President Bill Ash had asked him for a "traditional program," and that he was happy to oblige. "But the problem with playing standard repertory is that everybody knows it, and knows if you mess up. Whereas with contemporary pieces, who can tell?"
There were only a few places where he messed up (most noticeably in a very high-ranging section of Francisco Tarrega's "Variations on 'Carnival in Venice'"), and then not very messily. Most of the time, he dazzled. And although Vincente Asencio's "Collectici intim" may not be standard repertoire, Azabagic's performance made a convincing case that it should be. It's a winning work, with intriguing harmonies, and would be worth additional hearings.
The final selection on the program was that Sor take on Mozart, in which the tune played by Papageno's glockenspiel in "The Magic Flute" is stylishly taken apart and put back together several times. It is standard repertoire, and Azabagic demonstrated why it deserves to be.