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by rick grant
rickgrant01@comcast.net
Today, there are legions of guitar masters in all genres–from blues to jazz to classical–who set high standards of artistry. However, Dusan Bogdanovic and Andrew York, who performed at the Great Guitar Gathering last Friday night, have eclipsed them all as performers and composers. They are at the pentacle of guitar artistry. Their extensive musical knowledge and composing talent place them in a class by themselves–guitar further out!
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For Don Casper’s guitar students at Douglas Anderson School of The Arts (DASOTA)having Dusan and Andrew conduct workshops and perform live serve as the ultimate inspiration for the students to excel. Armed with a well rounded musical education, these aspiring guitarists can go to the genre of their choice, knowing that they can handle any challenge.
At this 14th Annual GGG, as tradition dictates, Don Casper directed his mighty 52 piece guitar orchestra through a program of challenging compositions, including a piece written by Andrew York, titled Attic. Rarely can the public witness a 52 piece guitar orchestra playing live. It’s quite spectacular to hear the subtle nuances and counterpoint as the various sections of guitars take on the role of other instruments, specially arranged for this performance. The group performed a selection of modern and classical compositions with well rehearsed verve, showing off Don’s hard work at teaching these students. Man, just getting that many teenagers into one place is an accomplishment.
After a short break to get the 52 chairs and music stands off the stage, Dusan Bogdanovic took the stage. Over his prolific career as a composer and performer, Dusan has explored many different musical languages from various cultures, distilling them into his improvised style that uses complex structures and time signatures. When he tried to explain his first composition, I was sitting next to Don and I leaned over and said, “Hey, that sounds really difficult.” Don replied, “Yeah, I’ve been trying to learn it for weeks.”
At certain points in his performance, I could hear many different influences. Amazingly, he sounded like two guitarists were playing. This major dude has written over fifty published compositions ranging from guitar to piano solo works to chamber and orchestral ensemble pieces. Yet, he graciously gave of his time to help Don’s students with their progress.
Over his long and prodigious career, Dusan has collaborated with the Falla Guitar Trio, James Newton, Milch Leviev, Charlie Haden, Miroslav Tadic, Mark Nauseef and other top guitar cats of varying genres.
As I listened to Dusan’s performance, I noticed that his compositions change continuously in mood, rhythm, and technique. His music took me on a musical journey to exotic locations in Africa and South America as well as Dusan’s native Yugoslavia, now broken up into the Balkan States. This eclectic style of playing is beyond exotic–it enters the realm of esoteric innovation. Remarkably, Dusan leaves plenty of room in his pieces for improvisation which really held my interest. In the past, classical guitar artists would never play a note that wasn’t written on the score. Dusan has broken that taboo and taken guitar playing into uncharted territory.
After the intermission, Grammy winning guitarist, Andrew York performed. Andrew was a member of the famous Los Angeles Guitar Quarter (LAGQ)) which recorded successful albums and toured internationally. Andrew’s compositions have been recorded by musical luminnaries including John Williams, Christopher Parkening, Scott Tennant, and William Kanengiser. Like Dusan, Andrew crosses over many different genres as a virtuoso classical and jazz guitarist.
Andrew opened with a suite which meandered through many moods and tone colors. His technique changed continuously and was never boring. My impression of Andrew’s playing is: It is definitely more accessible to general audiences because it is more melodic and less darkly dissonant sounding than Dusan’s complex structures.
Nonetheless, both these guitar titans have accomplished many different disciplines, applying them to their emotionally charged compositions. In other words, they’re equal in skill and talent. Frankly, though, I favor Andrew York as a player simply because his music is less pretentious than Dusan’s dark trip into discord. My rhetorical question is: At what point do difficult structures become an exercise in complexity for its own sake? Only Dusan can answer that question.
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