Thursday, March 4, 2010, at 7:00 PM
Manhattan Theatre Club Creative Center (on the 8th Floor)
311 West 43rd St. between Eighth and Ninth Avenues (see map)
New York City

Note: This meeting will start with open playing time and conclude with Mr. Frandsen's presentation.

Are the interpretive choices made by the celebrated performer more valid than those of the less famous one simply because s/he plays better?

It is often said that "interpretation is merely a matter of opinion and taste." This statement implies that the opinion and taste of any one person is as valid as the next one since interpretation is merely a matter of personal preference. Music is, of course, not a science but an art, and interpretive matters may in the end come down to taste and personal preference, but as Patrick Moynihan reminds us, "Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own fact."

With pieces from the standard guitar literature as a point of departure, this presentation by CUNY professor Lars Frandsen will explore how we may inform our interpretive decisions by applying our knowledge of musical analysis and music history.

Lars Frandsen was a student of the late Danish guitarist Leif Christensen, a pioneer in the historical performance of nineteenth century guitar literature. He later graduated from the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he studied with John Mills and John Williams, and in the United States from the Yale School of Music and the Eastman School, from which he holds a DMA degree in performance and literature. Lars directs the classical guitar program at Brooklyn College, CUNY, and in addition he is the director for the Nyack College Collegium Musicum. He is also director for music theory and ear training studies at Nyack College, Manhattan campus. In addition to the guitar, Lars studied viola da gamba and baroque lute in Germany and Denmark, and he was the assistant to Paul O'Dette at the Eastman School of Music.

NYCCGS Member Events are free and open to all members and first-time guests.