Grammy award-winning guitarist Sharon Isbin will showcase the world premiere of composer Karen LeFrak’s “Miami Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra” with the Miami Symphony on Sunday, Jan. 14 at 6 p.m. at the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami.
Sharon Isbin performs with the Miami Symphony Orchestra at the Adrienne Arsht Center on Sunday, Jan. 14. (Photo by Henry J. Fair)
“The concerto is a natural fit for Miami, given that there are strong influences from the musical styles of Latin America as well as Africa, and Europe in the concerto,” says LeFrak, who resides with her husband in Miami during the winter months.
“I composed ‘Miami Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra’ in three movements with each movement featuring a characteristic dance rhythm that became a part of Latin American music.”
LeFrak titled the first movement “Bailamos,” showcasing the Guaguanco, a form of the Cuban Rumba dance. The movement is played with a large percussion section of the orchestra, featuring bongo drums, claves and congas.
“Romantico,” the second movement, is a tango dance that originated in the border area between Argentina and Uruguay.
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Composer Karen LeFrak's “Miami Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra” will be performed Sunday, Jan. 14 by the Miami Symphony Orchestra.
“Festivo,” the third movement of the concerto, again features the same percussion instruments heard in LeFrak’s first movement.
“The third movement features the rhythm of the bembe, a 6/8 rhythm that is common to the people of West Africa. In the words of the Yoruba people of Nigeria, bembe is translated as ‘celebration,’ a wonderful way to end the concerto.”
Central to LeFrak’s concerto is the predominance of the classical guitar as a solo instrument in all three movements. LeFrak wanted classical guitarist Sharon Isbin as her first choice to perform the world premiere of the concerto.
“I have such a high respect for Sharon (Isbin) and the extraordinary skill and heartfelt emotions that she brings to every performance. I know of her familiarity with both Latin rhythms and dances.”
She says the musician has been committed to the piece.
“Sharon has been so respectful of the composition, rehearsing it with me, measure by measure to make sure I am comfortable with her nuances which are always right.”
Isbin, upon learning about the world premiere of LeFrak’s “Miami Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra,” eagerly anticipated that performing the composition will become one of her treasured performances.
Grammy award-winning guitarist Sharon Isbin will showcase the world premiere of composer Karen LeFrak's “Miami Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra” with the Miami Symphony on Sunday, Jan. 14 at 6 p.m. at the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami. (Photo by Henry J. Fair)
“What Karen (LeFrak) wrote is magical and a perfect fit for Miami. I have literally waited my entire life to perform with guitar on such an impressive body of work. I am so excited to play the entire concerto with the Miami Symphony,” said Isbin.
Isbin performed LeFrak’s first movement “Bailamos” on Labor Day this year with the National Symphony in Washington, DC.
Rounding out the performance of the Miami Symphony will be 19th century composers Felix Mendelssohn’s “Calm Sea and Prosperous Journey” and Edward Elgar’s “Enigma Variations.”
Mendelssohn’s “Calm Sea and Prosperous Journey” was inspired by two poems written by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe about the calm sea. The composition features string instruments, oboes, and flutes and concludes with a fanfare of trumpets.
Elgar’s “Enigma Variations” is his composition of 14 musical variations that is dedicated to his friends. The work has been scored for an orchestra featuring bassoons, clarinets, flutes, horns, organ, strings, timpani drums, trombones and tubas.
In addition to performing classical guitar, Isbin has collaborated in other genres, including performing on a 20-city “Guitar Passions” tour in 2014 with jazz musicians Stanley Jordan and Romero Lubambo.
Classical guitarist Sharon Isbin. (Photo by Henry J. Fair)
She has recorded 35 guitar albums in many genres, including Baroque music, Spanish/Latin and jazz fusion.
Isbin became the first classical guitarist in 28 years to win a Grammy Award in 2001 for her album of folk-inspired music on the classical guitar and an additional Grammy as best instrumental soloist in her album recorded with Jpan Baez and other singers.
She also broke ground as a teacher at the prestigious Juilliard School, becoming the first person to found the classical guitar department in 1989.
“I’m very proud of all I have accomplished in my career and look forward to new challenges in the future, especially to be performing the entire ‘Miami Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra’ with the composer (Karen LeFrak) in the audience,” said Isbin.
LeFrak has composed over 300 compositions featuring prominent guitar and piano solos as well as scores for ballets and children’s works. She has recorded eleven albums and is an acclaimed author of four children’s books introducing children to classical music.
The Miami Symphony performs at 6 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 14 at the Knight Concert Hall of the Adrienne Arsht Center, 1300 Biscayne Blvd. in Miami. Tickets range in price from $39 to $139 and can be purchased at arshtcenter.org or by calling 305-949-6722.
