Scott Cmiel, in the San Francisco Classical Voice, has posted a review of the Oct. 11, 2008 concert at the San Francisco Conservatory.
Tanenbaum is without peer in this music. He captured every mood to perfection — ebullient opening, mournful solo, building determination, and painful conclusion — with an amazing command of color, time, and empathy.
With the Guitar Foundation of America coming to San Francisco for the first time in less than a month now, I wanted to tell the story of my becoming the co-artistic director. Not long after the San Francisco Conservatory’s move to the Civic Center became a reality, several GFA leaders approached me about making an application to host the festival at the new facility. I have directed two festivals before - the 2nd American Classical Guitar Congress in Winston Salem, North Carolina and the Lou Harrison 80th birthday Festival at the Conservatory - and I knew that taking the whole thing on with my schedule would be impossible.
Meanwhile, Richard Patterson, an entrepreneur par excellence and the host of the longest running and certainly biggest classical guitar series in the country (omniconcerts.com), had been wanting to take a year off from touring during his son’s last year of high school and do something in town. So he decided to make a proposal as Convention director, and he approached me right away about being co-Artistic Director. (more…)
2008 has been a tough personal year so far for David Tanenbaum. On January 10 he lost his beloved father, Elias Tanenbaum at age 83; on February 3 his good friend Jorge Liderman at age 50; on April 16 the luthier Thomas Humphrey at age 59; and on April 21 his former teacher Aaron Shearer, aged 88. You can read Mr. Tanenbaum’s comments at the following pages:
Join some of the world’s greatest guitarists as the Guitar Foundation of America comes to San Francisco for the first time ever. It will take place at the new Conservatory facility as well as the Veteran’s Building.
The San Francisco Conservatory of Music Guitar Department will grow to around 40 students in the 08-09 academic year, and it will welcome Sergio Assad as a new Professor of Guitar. The Department recently inaugurated the bi-annual Wesley Day Solo Classical Guitar Recording Competition, in which the winner gets a fully funded cd production and a tour of California campuses. The winner of the first competition was Tanenbaum’s Bulgarian student, Antoniy Kakamakov.
As a new member of the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, David Tanenbaum will be celebrating Elliot Carter’s 100th birthday with performances of Lumien in San Francisco and Sacramento. He will also perform Luca Francesconi’s thrilling A Fuoco with the group.
In February 2009, David will perform in his first tour of New Zealand. He will join the United Guitar Ensemble in German festivals in September, and perform in a Jorge Liderman memorial concert on September 14 at Hertz Hall, U.C. Berkeley.
David Tanenbaum will appear in chamber music festivals in Madison, Wisconsin, San Antonio, Texas and Napa, California; in the Boston Guitarfest; and, as co artistic director, in the GFA festival in San Francisco.
At GFA he will appear in a concert he created called Friday Night from San Francisco on August 8 at Herbst Theater. In that concert he will conduct the U.S. premiere of Sergio Assad’s Trois Brasiliens a Saint Paul, and perform, with Terry Riley, the U.S. premiere of that composers Moonshine Sonata.
He will also perform chamber works of Aaron Jay Kernis and Terry Riley. For concert dates, check the Schedule page.
David Tanenbaum’s 07-08 season included performances in Brazil; Henze’s El Cimarron in Tijuana Mexico; the world premiere of Jorge Liderman’s Imaginary Tunes with Quarteto Latinamericano at Cal Berkeley; a Julian Bream tribute at the 92nd Street Y in New York; and the world premiere of Terry Riley’s new triple concerto for two guitars and violin, Soltierraluna, with the Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra.
He also premiered Five Pieces for Guitar and Electronics by Ronald Bruce Smith in a featured concert at the Festival of New American Music in Sacramento, a concert which was voted the second best of the entire Sacramento year by critic Edward Ortiz. He wrote:
“…Tanenbaum delivered one of the most wide-ranging and intelligently conceived programs for one instrument in recent memory. And he left no doubt that he is one of this country’s best classical guitarists…This outstanding performance was clearly one of the best of the festival and of the concert year. It was delivered with intelligence and urgency, as if Tanenbaum was single-handedly ushering the classical guitar into the open-book realm of the 21st century.”
David Tanenbaum is in the middle of four recording projects:
David Tanenbaum playing Takemitsu’s In The Woods for the SF Guitar Society. Enjoy!
Part 1
Part 2
