{"id":8869,"date":"2018-01-15T20:04:37","date_gmt":"2018-01-16T04:04:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/?p=8869"},"modified":"2018-01-15T20:04:37","modified_gmt":"2018-01-16T04:04:37","slug":"balance-instinct-and-openness-equal-success-for-the-aquarelle-quartet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/balance-instinct-and-openness-equal-success-for-the-aquarelle-quartet\/","title":{"rendered":"Balance, Instinct, and Openness Equal Success for the Aquarelle Quartet"},"content":{"rendered":"
FROM THE WINTER 2017 ISSUE OF CLASSICAL GUITAR<\/em> | BY TH\u00c9R\u00c9SE WASSILY SABA<\/h6>\n

The Aquarelle Guitar Quartet\u2014Vasilis Bessas, Rory Russell, James Jervis, and Mike Baker\u2014was established 18 years ago, when the members were studying together at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England, with Craig Ogden. With four previous successful recordings on Chandos under their belt and a performance in Classic-FM radio\u2019s annual gala at the Royal Albert Hall, London, they were eager to talk about their highly eclectic most recent album, Aspects<\/i><\/strong><\/a>, and about the chemistry of their quartet.<\/span><\/p>\n

CLASSICAL GUITAR: <\/b>Your latest release, Aspects<\/i>\u2014with works by Gioachino Rossini, Alberto Ginastera, Andrew York, Phillip Houghton, and more\u2014is almost a summary of your work over the past 18 years as a guitar quartet. How do you decide what you are going to record?<\/span><\/p>\n

MIKE BAKER: <\/b>This new disc is really a snapshot of where we are now and, as you say, a summary of our careers so far. We\u2019ve always strived to perform an eclectic mix of music, but on our previous recordings with Chandos, the projects have been much more themed as a package: The first one was purely Brazilian music [Spirit of Brazil<\/i><\/strong><\/a>, 2009], then music inspired by dance [Dances<\/i><\/strong><\/a>, 2010], film music [The Final Cut<\/i><\/strong><\/a>, 2012], and Spanish music [Cuatro<\/i><\/strong><\/a>, 2013]. For this latest recording, we wanted to do something that was more representative of what we do in our live concerts. So we looked back to see which pieces really meant a lot to us as a group, have been well received in concerts, and have progressed our playing. <\/span><\/p>\n

CG:<\/b> <\/i>Do you choose to be eclectic as a solution to keep the four different personalities in the quartet musically satisfied? <\/span><\/p>\n

RORY RUSSELL:<\/b> All four of us have lots of different areas and genres of music that interest us and we are open to the idea of any one of us bringing music that they\u2019re arranging for the quartet to a rehearsal. If it works, we\u2019ll play it. That\u2019s how we\u2019ve always worked\u2014we\u2019ve always been very democratic in choosing repertoire. <\/span><\/p>\n

CG: <\/b>What happens if there is music that one or more of you doesn\u2019t like? <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

JAMES JERVIS:<\/b> I can\u2019t think of a time when that has happened. We have a shared interest in and a respect for good-quality music, and variety is something that everyone enjoys. <\/span><\/p>\n

VASILLIS BESSAS: <\/b>When we play through arrangements, there are some that we end up liking more than others, so we keep them in the program. Also, pieces evolve as we work on them\u2014we start them one way and expect them to go in a particular direction, but sometimes they go in a completely different direction. In the end, we play what works best for the group and for the occasion. <\/span><\/p>\n