Friday, March 9, 2018, at 7:30 PM
Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway at 95th Street, New York City
A true cosmopolitan, a Brazilian master at home in the concert halls of four continents; the 1996 winner of both the GFA and Francisco Tarrega International Competitions
“A member of the highest echelon of living guitarists … fluent technique, great beauty and variety of sound, finely controlled emotional response, and stylistic sensitivity.” — Gramophone
Program:
SCHUMANN Kindersonate, Op. 118a
BOBROWICZ First Grande Polonaise, Op. 224
BRITTEN Nocturnal, Op. 70
TORROBA Sonatina
BELLINATI Emboscada
RODRIGUEZ Coral del Norte
LAURO Virgílio
CASSÉUS Dance of the Hounsies
RAMIREZ Balada para Martin Fierro
BARRIOS Danza Paraguaya
Fabio Zanon is one of the pre-eminent guitarists of today. As a solo and chamber player, author, conductor, teacher and broadcaster, he has sought to expand the perception of the guitar in the concert scene.
Born in Brazil, he started his musical studies in early age with his father, and completed his education at the São Paulo University and at the Royal Academy of Music in London. His most significant teachers were Antonio Guedes, Henrique Pinto, Edelton Gloeden, and Michael Lewin, and he also attended the Julian Bream master classes in London.
Although not greatly drawn to competitions, his career had a significant impulse after he won both the Guitar Foundation of America Competition in the United States and Tarrega Competition in Spain within weeks of each other in 1996. He has received many awards for his concerts and recordings, the most unexpected being the award as best concert performance of 2006 in Brazil for his debut as an operatic conductor.
He has performed in some of the most prestigious halls of Europe, Asia, and North and South America, and released several recordings to critical acclaim. An inspiring teacher, he has taught at most of the major conservatoires from Los Angeles to Moscow. In 2008 he was appointed a Visiting Professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London.
He has performed more than 40 different works for guitar and orchestra, and his chamber music repertoire and partners range from the most traditional to the most adventurous. In 2009 he released Yanomami, a CD for choir and guitar with Coro Cervantes. His next release was a live recording of Francis Hime’s massive cross-over Guitar Concerto with the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra. In 2009 he also published his first book, Villa-Lobos, to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of the great Brazilian composer.
