Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country
Founded 05-05-05
January 11, 2007 issue
Douglas James will present a guitar recital Thursday, January 11, at 8:00 p.m. in Broyhill Music Center’s Rosen Concert Hall at ASU. Admission is free. James is director of guitar studies in Hayes School of Music.
He will perform music from the Baroque, Classical and Romantic periods on a 10-string guitar. Included on the program are “Variations on a March by Cherubini, Op. 110” by Mauro Giuliani, “Nocturne Reverie, Op. 19” by Giulio Regondi, “Allemande” and “Courante” by Bach, and “Fantaisie Hongroise, Op. 65, No. 1” by Johann Kaspar Mertz.
The 10-string guitar is an instrument that was quite common in the mid-19th century but is quite rare today, James said. The instrument has a second neck containing four bass strings. The guitar James will play in the performance was once used by the composer Mertz.
James said that while he hasn’t played solo Baroque music in concert for almost 20 years, rehearsing on the 10-string guitar, which has lute-like qualities, makes him want to perform more guitar music from that period.
James has appeared as a classical guitarist throughout the United States as well as in Europe and Latin America. His recent concert schedule has included engagements at the Oberlin Conservatory, the Cleveland Institute of Music, numerous American guitar societies, and the Stetson International Guitar Workshop.
He also has been featured on National Public Radio’s Performance Today, as well as special broadcasts on the major classical stations of Los Angeles, Chicago and New York.
His critically acclaimed CD of Italian Romantic solo guitar music was followed by the release of two duo CDs with Italian guitarist Pasquale Rucco: Early Romantic Music for Two Guitars and A Night at the Opera. All three discs are on the Cala Vista label.