String quartet strikes chords with Romero, Pujol, Grigoryan and co.

Festival Theatre, Adelaide Festival Centre

July 19, 2014

A gala is always a potential smorgasbord of Festival fare and last night’s offering was no exception. On this occasion the special guest was the Australian String Quartet and it provided the opportunity to show off three completely different ways of taking the guitar into new musical territory.

First up though was a rather different way of extending the rep – a massed guitar orchestra of 26 no less, bringing back memories of those popular balalaika ensembles of Soviet days. The Brisbane-based Aurora Guitar Ensemble are past and present pupils of their irrepressibly enthusiastic conductor Paul Svoboda and their pleasure in making music is palpable.

They played a range of easy-on-the-ear compositions, all by their bottom-wiggling music director himself. The likes of Alegria (a Cirque de Soleil-ish pastiche with retro 60s syncopations and an added Moroccan episode) and Celtic Crash (a hint of Riverdance plus body percussion by Svoboda) were typical offerings. Best though was Echoes of Rain Shadows with its imitations of violin pizzicato on the guitars. Tomorrow night will see the Auroras augmented to 80, thanks to the addition of over 50...