Baltic guitar quartet dazzles

Updated: 2014-11-22 16:46

By Pu Zhendong(chinadaily.com.cn)

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Dressed in tuxedos, four Lithuanian classical guitarists dazzled a crowd of mostly Chinese at the People's Liberation Army's Military Music Hall in Beijing on Monday.

The guitarists, the Baltic Guitar Quartet, are currently on a multi-city tour in the China as part of the Baltic Art Festival.

Comprised of Zigmas Cepulenas, Sergej Krinicin, Saulius Lipcius, and Belgian Chris Ruebens have performed in over 20 countries from Japan to Denmark. They have played in world renowned concert halls such as the Royal Castle in Warsaw, the Southbank Center in London, and the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing. This is their third trip to China since 2012.

This time around, the group is trying something different, they're performing a special piece of Chinese music: China on the fingertips. The piece was composed for this festival.

"We will play with four Chinese artists of Guzheng (a traditional Chinese stringed instrument)," said Lipcius. "Modern Chinese folk music is very exotic for us, so we practice so much to double-check that every note is correct."

Apart from the special piece for the festival, the group's repertoire contains various compositions ranging from Renaissance pieces to modern music. They also perform re-arranged pieces by Bach, Rossini, De Falla different variations of Balkan music.

While the group plays traditional works, Ruebens said the group is working on the "color of sound", to naturally distinguish the quartet from other music groups.

"We can make one sound in many different ways and searching for different possibilities. Guitar is also a very democratic instrument," he said.

In addition to playing music, the group is also well-known for their humor.

"Sometimes, we can mingle this and that to create a sense of humor. It is important for us to have communication with the audience. Some humor can help bring the audience and us closer," Cepulenas said.

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