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Slava Grigoryan: Another Night in London

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: Sony Classical
Released: 1999.10.01
Time:
 60:45
Category: Classical
Producer(s): Al Slavik, Slava Grigoryan
Rating: *********. (9/10)
Media type: CD
Web address: www.slavagrigoryan.com
Appears with:
Purchase date: 2001.10.13
Price in €: 7,99



 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] Freefall (S.Grigoryan/A.Slavik) - 5:59
[2] Incantation No 6 - for Hugh Masekala (W.Lovelady) - 2:10
[3] The Sounds of Rain [Part 1] (W.Lovelady) - 7:45
[4] New Beginnings (S.Grigoryan/A.Slavik/S.Strevens) - 7:04
[5] Incantation No 4 - for Stanley Myers (W.Lovelady) - 2:46
[6] 2am (S.Grigoryan/A.Slavik) - 4:04
[7] The Sounds of Rain [Part 2] (W.Lovelady) - 3:21
[8] Gypsy Hill (S.Grigoryan/A.Slavik) - 4:02
[9] Incantation No 2 (W.Lovelady) - 5:46
[10] Introduction/Incantation No 5 - for Richard T (S.Grigoryan/W.Lovelady) - 5:16
[11] El Nino (S.Erquiaga) - 3:12
[12] The Sounds of Rain [Part 3] (W.Lovelady) - 3:04
[13] Farewell (S.Grigoryan/A.Slavik) - 5:57

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


SLAVA GRIGORYAN - Guitars, Percussion, Keyboards

AL SLAVIK - Bass, Programming, Percussions, Keyboards, Engineer
ROLAND GUGGENBICHLER - Piano on [1], Keyboards, Hammond
SIMON STREVENS - Vocals on [1] & [4]
CHRISTIAN EIGNER - Drums on [1], [4] & [9]
MIKE WESTERGAARD - Programming, Piano on [11], Engineer, Mixing

String Quartett:
RICHARD GEORGE - 1st Violin
CHIRS GEORGE - 2nd Violin
BRUCE WHITE - Viola
ADRIAN BRADBURY - Cello

POLIO BREZINA - Engineer
LOUISE TAYLOR - Engineer, Mixing
WAYNE BAPTIST - Mastering
INGRID KAISER - Photography, Art Dircetion
JENNY SILLIVAN - Design
MICHAEL NAPTALI - Management

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


Until I met Slava Grigoryan last week, I was beginning to despair about the lack of 'cool' in classical music. The much talked-about unease in the record industry at the moment doesn't help the fact that it's difficult to know where to pitch the promotion of classical. The 'listener base' is massively diverse, ranging from the casual fan to the academic specialist, across every demographic. The promotion of an artist or composer in a particular way is almost guaranteed to alienate at least one group of people under the enormous 'classical music listeners' umbrella.

Clearly, people should be absolutely at liberty to pick and choose what they listen to. However, our continual obsession with categorisation and the commercial/specialist dichotomy can mean that classical music as a whole often languishes (both in terms of profile and financial success) between the two stools of somewhat tasteless, tacky marketing at one extreme and 'beardy-wierdy' elitism at the other. The commercial end of classical music is marketed to be cool, but this only draws accusations of 'dumbing down' from the starched traditionalists, whilst they would rather an artist shed as quickly as possible any coolness they might inadvertently possess before anyone accuses them of being commercial. It's a crazy situation because it misses the point.

'Cool' in music means focusing on the music itself - playing and listening to it simply because it is absolutely fantastic, with little or no concern for the social implications. It is due to his implicit grasp of this that Slava Grigoryan, quietly charming, undeniably handsome, fiercely talented and yet just an ordinary bloke really, epitomises the cool in classical, and it's about time we saw more of it.

"I think having different audiences is really important. It's a serious goal of mine to appeal to as many different types as possible," he says when I comment on the stylistic differences between his first three albums for Sony Classical. 'Spirit Of Spain', released when Slava was just 16, comprised a collection of Spanish guitar works by classical composers such as Albeniz and Tarrega. Two years later, 'Dance Of The Angel' featured Argentine tangos and Brazilian bossa novas. It also saw Slava team up with his violinist father for Piazzolla's 'Histoire Du Tango'. In contrast, 'Another Night In London', his most recent disc, includes a rich fusion of jazz, world and contemporary sounds, as well as some vocal collaborations.

The diversity extends to his live work as well. "It was great when I was on tour - in each town I would play a classical show one night and the following night what they call an 'alternative programme'. I'd play the stuff from my last album and have other musicians with me. Really, I loved the variety."

It is clear from the man's easy-going nature that he's indifferent to the perceived problems of making the transition between a concert hall and a tiny platform in a pub. "I like it, it puts both sides in perspective and I think that's really healthy." When asked whether he minds being considered as a 'crossover' artist, Slava shrugs his shoulders. Categorisation doesn't really matter to him, so long as what he's doing gets out there: "There are a lot of people who are really good musicians but shy away from anything commercial. At the end of the day, if no one hears your music, you may as well not be doing it."

So where does all this savvy talk and self-confidence come from? The important thing here, which I haven't really mentioned yet, is that Slava Grigoryan is a phenomenal guitar player. Although he's enjoyed considerable success at a young age, he's far from being the manufactured teen star that occupies the top of the pop charts week in, week out. In fact, his start with music was totally organic.

Born in Khazakstan in 1976, he emigrated to Melbourne, Australia in 1981 with his family. Music has been part of his life since the very beginning. "My mum was the first muso on her side of the family, but on my dad's side, it goes back four or five generations. My grandmother's family all lived together in one room in Moscow, and they were all musicians of one kind or another. They used to practise in shifts, getting a hour each." If music was in the family, was there pressure for him to be a musician as well? "No, not at all. My parents wanted me to get involved and wanted it to be a part of my life, but not just that and nothing else. My dad bought me a guitar and that was pretty much it. I never really wanted to play anything else."

Slava's father, Eduard, himself an accomplished violinist and a member of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, has clearly been a great influence on him. "My father taught me the guitar from the beginning. He knows the guitar better than any guitarist I know - the actual instrument and how it works, which makes him a fantastic teacher as well as arranger. We've recorded together and we play gigs together, which I love." Eduard Grigoryan's arrangements for his son appeared on 'Spirit Of Spain', but perhaps most significant in Slava's recorded output thus far is the arrangement of Piazzolla's 'Histoire Du Tango' for violin and guitar that appeared on the 'Dance Of The Angel' album. The symbiotic musical relationship makes for inspiring listening and the genuine respect between the two men is palpable. Slava's next recording project will include his father's arrangement for guitar of Tchaikovsky's piano work, 'The Seasons', and should appear around April next year. "I'm really looking forward to it," he says "it's great music for a start, but it's always a joy to play any of my dad's arrangements. Also, dad was a lot to do with my eclectic taste in music. I was really lucky that he's a wonderful jazz musician, so I grew up listening to more jazz and fusion than classical, and ended up playing it from an early age."

I wonder who else has been an influence on him, and point out the comparisons that have been drawn between him and John Williams. He casually but very politely deflects this question: "The guitarists I really admire are those who've made a success by going their own way. Paco de Lucia is just the God of flamenco, and Pat Metheny is incredible. John [Williams] was of course an influence when I was younger, but we're quite different as musicians, although we're friends. It's strange though, the coincidences with us - both taught by our fathers, both brought up in Melbourne, even the first track on both our first albums has been the same! I like the fact that he branched out, with that whole Sky project and I admire him, but if there are similarities it's not because I looked at him and thought 'yeah maybe I could do that too'."

Perhaps the main similarity between the two men is that they've both created the freedom to explore musical areas outside of the standardised boundaries, whilst at the same time commanding respect from those critics and experts within them. Slava has performed with orchestras as celebrated as the LSO, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Concert Orchestra, the Australian Chamber Orchestra, the Northern Sinfonia, the Israel Symphony Orchestra, the Klagenfurt Symphony Orchestra and the Dresden Radio Chamber Orchestra. He has played all over the world, to rave reviews and awe-filled audiences, and has, at the age of just 24, already produced three albums, which demonstrate his consummate skill and instinctive musicianship. And at the same time, he's played gigs in pubs in Sydney, with just as much enthusiasm.

"I love mixing it up," he says "and I'll always do that. If I do something for a long time then feel the need to change direction I will, and there's nothing wrong with that." He is, of course, absolutely correct, and has every right to say so, given his ability to excel at whichever area of music he turns his hands and his guitar to.

If you haven't yet heard Slava's playing, check out his CDs and certainly go and see him live at the first opportunity. Whatever your taste in guitar music, this man is certain to impress with his authoritative performances and intuitive talent. Perhaps classical music's brightest hope for cultivating a 'cool', balanced, and positive image, he surely has a sparkling career ahead of him.

Catherine Pate




Australian guitarist Slava Grigoryan delivers a new album of contemporary classical guitar, lyric pieces with a subtle vocal track.

Most of the album was written and recorded in London over a three year period Slava spent in the great city.

The two albums Slava Grigoryan has recorded for Sony Classical – The Spirit of Spain (SMK63581), and the more recent Dance of the Angel (SK 63011), reflect the guitarist's effortless virtuosity and scintillating musicianship, both in the standard repertoire of the classical guitar, as well as crossover material.

Drawing on the expertise of Austrian bassist/composer/producer Al Slavik, Slava has composed and co-produced this new work which sees a change in direction in his ever-widening career path.

"The album is a fusion of various styles, not fusion meaning flared pants, but fusion meaning a drawing together of different types of music" – Slava Grigoryan.

ANOTHER NIGHT IN LONDON marks another turn in Slava's already diverse career path. Features compositions from Slava, co-producer Al Slavik and English composer William Lovelady.




Baltimore Classical Guitar Society

The Baltimore Classical Guitar Society features a range of music this season, from flamenco to a fiery guitar quartet to a rising young star, all at Catonsville Community College except for the Barrueco concert which is at Peabody. The season opens Sept. 19, with the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, which has enthralled audiences throughout Europe, Asia, and the U.S. with its spirited mix of Renaissance to contemporary, exotic to traditional American music.

Only twenty-one years old, Kazakhstani-born Australian guitarist Slava Grigoryan was the youngest ever finalist in the Tokyo International Classical Guitar Competition at age fifteen. He will perform on Oct. 17. The first guitarist to sign exclusively with Sony Classical since that company contracted with John Williams over thirty years ago, Mr. Grigoryan has seen both of his CDs sit for weeks at the top of the Australian classical charts.

Born in Paraguay, Peabody alum Berta Rojas has brought her lyrical gifts to such far-flung cities as London, Salzburg, Bonn, Rome, Budapest, and Buenos Aires and performs on Feb. 13.

Another Peabody alum, Marija Temo brings the color and intensity of flamenco to the area on March 13.

Peabody faculty member and international superstar Manuel Barrueco performs on April 17 at Peabody's Friedberg Concert Hall. Through performances on four continents each season, Mr. Barrueco enraptures his listeners with "...a warmth and a singing quality that would undoubtedly have made Segovia smile."

The New York Times
  

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