Mario Kurtjak, Kitarske novice
On Saturday, August 28, 2021, the audience was enchanted by the performance of the Montenegrin Guitar Duo, consisting of Goran Krivokapić and Danijel Cerović. Their impressive performance in the beautiful Knight’s Hall of Cekinov Grad was honored by the presence of a delegation from Montenegro, led by Consul Mr. Vojislav Kovač.
The duo performed an exceptionally demanding program, including four suites. Two were compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach (BWV 807 and 811) in their own arrangement, while two were by Astor Piazzolla (Suito Troileano in the arrangement of Sergio Assad and Tango Suito). Remarkably, three out of four were performed entirely from memory.
“In Bach’s English Suite, they approached with uncompromising precision, delivering articulate, fluid, flawless performances with strong accents, clear and beautiful tones, and thoughtful, coordinated phrasing that beautifully rounded off motives and followed the harmonic structure.”
They supported sequences with dynamics, balancing the dynamic relationships between themes and counterpoints. Occasionally, they enriched them with Baroque ornaments in the French harpsichord style, without exaggeration. This was fitting, as these suites are essentially more French than English. While shining in the fast movements with exceptional coordination of fast fingers, they made the slower movements mysterious and colorful, yet equally dance-like.
The second part of the concert was dedicated to Astor Piazzolla, whose centenary of birth is celebrated this year. Firstly, the Montenegrin artists performed a somewhat lesser-known Suito Troileano (especially in a guitar duo arrangement), written by the Argentine tango master in memory of his friend Anibal Troilo, another exceptional Argentine bandoneonist and tango creator, upon his death in 1975….
After this suite, the famous Tango Suite followed, a very virtuosic and demanding piece that Piazzolla wrote for the Assad brothers.
“In the second part of the concert the Montenegrin duo continued to impress with their virtuosity and bravado, admirable coordination, balanced voices, and the softness and warmth of the guitar sound.”
It was a top-notch concert that will be remembered for a long time in superlatives….
