Attending a Guitar Concert here in Kuala Lumpur or for that matter in Malaysia isn't exactly a monthly happening*. Imagine the thrill when we guitar aficionados in Kuala Lumpur heard about the concert by the Spanish Guitar Duo** (as they call themselves), Josep Henriquez & Hang Nguyen. To add to this already exciting news, was the fact that the concert was free! This was all thanks to the kind sponsors, The Embassy of Spain, Kementerian Kebudayaan dan Warisan, and Akedemi Seni Kebangsaan + . The co-organisers were GIM Music & Instruments Corporation and The Acoustic Shack. 

The concert was held on the 11 October at the Akedemi Seni Kebansaan concert hall. As it was a Monday, traffic was very heavy and after a gruelling 2 hours of being stuck in heavy traffic as well as getting lost, we finally found the place. When we got there, the concert had already started and the duo was half way through the Prelude & Corrente by Antonio Vivaldi. Next was a solo performance by Hang Nguyen. Miss Hang was born in Hanoi (Vietnam) and currently resides in Barcelona. This young woman played the Sonata by Joaquin Turina. This piece was performed in a straightforward manner with an admirably clean and nice tone, but lacked the Spanish flavour that I was hoping for. Nevertheless, she showed a lot of promise in her playing. Next was Josep Henriquez's turn to take the stage. After jokingly saying that this was not a competition between the both of them, he played the Rumores De La Caleta by Isaac Albeniz. He was supposed to play the Asturias, but stated that everyone plays that particular piece, so he played another piece for which I can't recall the title nor the composer (could be due to the distraction caused by a fidgety boy sitting next to me). Anyhow, I was left wondering, so what if everyone plays Asturias? Mr. Henriquez's playing of the two pieces was at times perfunctory. 

Next, Miss Hang joined in for the Spanish Dances No.3, 2 and 6 by Enrique Granados. The Dance no.2, had some nice moments there, but the 3 rd and 6th could have been more exciting if played at a quicker pace. After the intermission, the duo performed the Suite Karussel by Milan Tesar (who is a friend of Mr.Henriquez). The suite which consists of three movements, was quite lyrical, but after a while became a bit of a bore. After the suite, Delfin Colome (another friend of Mr.Henriquez), piece entitled Kites (Cometas) was given a world premiere. This was supposed to have been performed in Singapore, with the composer present, but it didn't materialize. This was an interesting piece that incorporated a Chinese pop song in the middle section. The two pieces from Brazil by Celco Machado was nicely played, but again nothing too exceptional. The duo closed with three dances by Manuel De Falla and for an encore they played another piece by Milan Tesar. 

Like I said earlier, we don't get many guitar concerts here in Malaysia, and as the saying goes “Beggars can't be choosers”. This was a pleasant experience, but perhaps the next guitar concert will see us “beggars” here in Malaysia striking gold? ++ Well, we'll just have to wait and see… 

Ernest Thomas
10 November 2004


Editor's note: 
*Sadly, guitar recitals are and have been infrequently organised for lack of funds as well as the amount of red tape one has to go through. We are considered lucky if we get one or two recitals a year! 

** Does the name Spanish Guitar Duo imply 2 guitarists of Spanish origin? 

+ National Arts Academy 

++ If 'striking gold' to Ernest is having 'world class musicians' performing in Malaysia, then we will be striking gold next year. Angel Romero, who has been on the world stage for many years and is a famous name, will grace our shores in June 2005 at the Petronas Twin Towers concert hall . There will also be a performance by Jose Maria Gallardo Del Rey at the Twin Towers a week earlier. Del Rey was an interviewee in the August 2003 issue of the Classical Guitar magazine.