The combination of flute and guitar can produce a wide variety of musical colors, moods, and expressions and is popular among performers, composers, and listeners. Today, the Hawaii Concert Society will conclude its 2023-24 season when the Cavatina Duo, often acknowledged as the finest such combination in the world, performs at the University of Hawaii at Hilo Performing Arts Center.
The Cavatina Duo has captivated audiences for over two decades with its electrifying performances in major venues and festivals around the world. However, its members, Eugenia Moliner (from Spain) and Denis Azabagic (from Bosnia), did not originally intend to perform together. “Eugenia went to study in the Netherlands, because she had heard that there was a great flute school there,” says Azabagic. “In the summer of 1991 war broke out in the former Yugoslavia. I went to the Netherlands to avoid it. I went to the same conservatory, so that’s how we met.”
The Cavatina Duo’s concert will include music by composers from the baroque to the modern. The baroque pieces are Telemann’s Fantasie’s Nos. 1 and 2 and Marais’ variations on the ever popular theme, La Folia. The concert wil conclude with Borne’s spectacular “Fantaisie Brillante on Themes from Bizet’s Carmen.” Although most of the program is for flute and guitar, the audience will also hear guitarist Azabagic perform Tarrega’s masterpiece, Capricho Arabe.
Concertgoers can also expect the musicians to talk to the audience, and to each other, during the concert, in between the pieces. Azabagic explains, “I don’t think this undermines classical music, the seriousness of it, or the greatness of it. It loosens up both the performers and the public if you find something to joke about or to notice about the place where you play. Whatever comes up kind of spontaneously, we talk about.” Moliner adds, “You have to show your human side. I like to show the public my personality.”
Today’s concert begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets ($25 general, $20 senior, $10 student) are available at the Most Irresistible Shop in Hilo, Basically Books, the UHH Box Office, and the East Hawaii Cultural Center. Tickets will also be available at the door. For more information call 959-4064, or visit www.hawaiiconcertsociety.com.