L.A. Guitar Quartet rejuvenates the classics

It only seems fitting that a guitar quartet whose sound transcends genres and instruments would be born from the diversity of southern California. Audiences have found difficulties in defining the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet as classical, pop, or somewhere in between. But John Dearman, William Kanengiser, Scott Tennant and Andrew York, the four University of Southern California alumni who form the quartet, have no qualms. The quartet may only be composed of three guitars and a unique seven-string guitar, but it produced a concert full of percussion and full string orchestra sound.

The Quartet began with "El Baile de Luis Alonso," arranged by their University of Southern California professor, Pepe Romero. Kanengiser, soloist and professor at USC's Thorton School of Music, introduced Stravinsky's "Pulcinella," which he described as a neoclassical composition with Stravinsky's "sense of humor peeking around the corner. It was written for a small chamber orchestra, but it seems to be fairly happy on four guitars." "Pulcinella" managed to be an expressive, romantic, and playful guitar interpretation while still remaining refined and at times reminiscent of courtly harpsichord plucking.

One of the highlights of the concert was "Hasta Alicia Baila." The song introduced the audience to the band's creative use of their guitars as percussion instruments. Sounds varied from heavy, hollow beats to tinny taps and plucks, racing in irregular, urgent spats of percussion performed with Latin flair. The song featured an amazing percussion sequence that built drama with the urgent echoes of slaps on wood. The beats, which seemed dictated by a dancer's rapid movements, both shocked and mesmerized the audience. At the song's finish, the audience hooted and clapped loudly for the percussion inventions that would grace the rest of the concert.

After a sequence of varied arrangements, such as Chick Corea's lively, tropical "Spain" and the modern, freewheeling "Icarus," the concert officially finished with "Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2." The performance was a testament to the diversity and richness of sound that the quartet managed to coax from only four guitars. If the previous songs had been opportunities to demonstrate the band's inventiveness and panache, this composition showcased the band's skill and style.

Probably the most memorable part of the evening was the Quartet's encore, a rocking version of Pachebel that they laughingly explained was named "Pachebel's Loose Canon." The piece began with Pachebel's well-known, soft, lilting chords but then transformed into an energetic rendition jumpstarted by Tennant's daring percussion slaps on his guitar. A high, new melody threaded its way in, and the song sped up into a hyper, stringy version that sounded like a banjo-led country ditty. The members hopped from genre to genre, melding Pachebel's melody with reggae, swing and rock beats that led to a hard, synchronized strum and an exclamation of "Pachebel!" from the band members. The song closed in a cheery, pop version of the Canon that sounded familiar, yet catchy, like a classic top-40 tune.

This spirited performance was exemplary of one of the quartet's greatest talents: adapting classical compositions to four guitars in a way that makes the songs its own while still keeping their integrity as orchestra pieces.