Joao Luiz and Douglas Lora, who met as teenage acoustic-guitar students in Sao Paulo, Brazil, 20 years ago, are carrying on a noble national tradition as the Brasil Guitar Duo.
Joao Luiz and Douglas Lora, who met as teenage acoustic-guitar students in Sao Paulo, Brazil, 20 years ago, are carrying on a noble national tradition as the Brasil Guitar Duo.
The two, who have been termed by critics the heirs apparent to Brazil’s famed Assad Brothers, the international gold standard in guitar duos, will perform Wednesday in Hilo as part of the Hawaii Concert Society’s 52nd season. Their concert, which begins at 7:30 p.m. at the University of Hawaii Hilo Performing Arts Center, will include music ranging from the Baroque to contemporary Brazilian “street music.”
Luiz and Lora didn’t plan on playing together as a career.
It was their first guitar teacher who realized the duo had musical chemistry.
Their complementary musical sensibilities and playing styles eventually led them to a top prize at the 2006 Concert Artists Guild International Competition. Soon, tour dates began piling up and recordings fell into place — including a two-CD set of the complete guitar duos by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco and another featuring the complete Bach Flute Sonatas with flutist Marina Piccinini.
Despite inheriting a duo legacy that includes the Assad Brothers — who also hail from Sao Paulo — Lora and Luiz carved out their own niche. Luiz became an arranger, recasting works of classical and modern composers, while Lora has composed original pieces.
The guitar arrived in Brazil in the 16th century, brought by Spanish sailors. Just as in Hawaii, Latin American countries developed new musical languages for the instrument. This was especially true in Brazil. And just as in Hawaii, guitar music and playing styles continue to evolve today. Indeed, the Duo is on a mission to “bring the music of the streets of Brazil to the classical world.”
The two are adamant about promoting the fact “that Brazil is much more than bossa nova.”
In addition to music by contemporary Brazilian composers including Gismonti, Pereira and Duo member Lora, the Wednesday evening concert will include music by Rameau, Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Villa-Lobos and Piazzola.
“We have the classical background for taking care of the sonorities and the articulations and then, at the same time, we play (classical music) a different way,” Lora explained. “We don’t play it like a German guitar player. We play it like Brazilians.”
Tickets — which are $20 for general admission, $16 for seniors and $10 for students — for the March 5 concert are available at the Most Irresistible Shop, Music Exchange, the UH-Hilo Box Office and the East Hawaii Cultural Center. Remaining tickets will be available at the door starting 6:45 p.m.
For additional information, call 935-5831.