Sérgio Assad — Variaciones sudamericanas sobre un estudio de Fernando Sor — Mateusz Kowalski

Brazilian-born Sérgio Assad was born four years after Ponce’s death. He is a direct heir to the art of performance of Andrés Segovia himself, whose student, Brazilian Monina Távora, was Sérgio’s teacher. He studied composition with Brazilian composer Esther Scliar. As a soloist and also performing in a duo with his brother Odair, in the repertoire he often includes his own works, of which he wrote over 50. The list of his guitar works contains more than 300 titles. Assad strongly identifies with the Latin American musical culture, which is visible in the work on both Astor Piazzolla’s iconic works and his own Variaciones sudamericanas sobre un estudio de Fernando Sor, commissioned by the International Guitar Competition in Antony (France) in 2017. Etude Op. 35 No. 17 by Fernando Sor, as a source of inspiration, appeared immediately and spontaneously, as the composer himself admits. As his starting point, he decided to use the variant developed by Andrés Segovia and Napoléon Coste, a version he had got to know as a student. ‘The étude has an excellent form consisting of three small, contrasting sections and a finale bringing a modified reprise to the first section. The harmony is also captivating. [...] I liked the idea of juxtaposing two stylistically different waltzes — a Brazilian and a Venezuelan one. Then I incorporated my two other favourite styles: Argentine Malambo and Candombe from Uruguay. Finally, the Canción emerged and it evoked associations with many Latin American regions […].’ Mateusz Kowalski, who was the winner of the first prize in this competition, in accordance with the rules and regulations, chose and performed three variations together with the theme: Vals venezoelano, Canción and Candombe.

Zdjęcia / Photos: Bartosz Kolaczkowski
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