News Archive
PRESS RELEASE – 20/07/2007
Dundee Summer Festival plays to the note of FOUR!
The Dundee Summer Festival welcomed its own quirky sportsman to the city centre recently as the Open Golf Championship got underway at Carnoustie.
Agnus the Golfer, a live mannequin, demonstrated her unique backswing to City of Discovery lunchtime shoppers and visitors from the window of Waterstone’s Book Store, 80 High Street in Dundee City Centre.
Agnus the Golfer also appeared to meet kids in the City Square, Dundee on Saturday 21st July on stilts. The stilt walking entertainer wowed kids of all ages with a golf swing to be proud of.
The Dundee Summer Festival’s programme of events and theme ‘If Music be the Food of Love, Then Play On’ in its last weekend, 19th–22nd July, has seen four long weekends ablaze with new music, food events and promotions.
New for this year’s Festival was the introduction of The Festival Club which saw eateries in Dundee offer live entertainment to accompany diner’s meals.
In association with The City of Discovery Campaign, The City Centre Action Group and The Evening Telegraph residents and visitors to the city have been invited to Re-discover Dundee and enjoy the events and experiences.
Musical events this weekend include GoDundee Bands – The Floor and The Regulations, 20th July, Dundee City Square; and a Musical Evening with Alan Robbie, 21st July, now at Discovery Point, Discovery Quay, Dundee.
Food events include: German Market 13th July – 29th July, Farmers Market 21st July and The Festival Club involving a variety of eating places throughout the city.
There is something for everyone in various venues in and around the city centre. The 2007 Festival sees host a mixture of free and ticketed events in both indoor and outdoor venues around the city.
City of Discovery Campaign Chair Lord Provost John Letford is very pleased the Campaign is able to be part of the joint committee organising the Dundee Summer Festival and hopes that both residents and visitor to the city will enjoy the programme of musical concerts and ‘food for thought’ activities. He said, “There is so much to see and do in Dundee and by pulling together new and existing events into one definitive programme gives everyone a much better idea of what they can get involved in this summer.”
City Centre Manager Lorna McKenzie said, “The farmers and German markets all bring a great buzz to Dundee city centre with there different flavours and elements that really draw in the crowds. The Dundee Summer Festival is a great way of encompassing the joy of food and music together – two pastimes that stir big emotions in people and I hope that residents and visitors alike will enjoy the programme.”
Visit www.dundeefestival.com for further details
PRESS RELEASE – 09/07/2007
Dundee International Guitar Festival 2007
Musical Chalk and Cheese at Festival
Review by Garry Fraser, DC Thomson
The Dundee Guitar Festival is well known for it musical diversity and the two concerts on Saturday 6th July were complete musical chalk and cheese.
J.S. Bach and traditional Scots music are from opposite ends of the spectrum but on their own are immediately satisfying.
Tomasz Zawierucha is a player of intensity, feeling and expression and the two works by Bach performed on Saturday lunchtime reflected all these emotions. Most of Bach's solo works have been transcribed for various instruments by these lose nothing of the brilliance of construction or the technical expertise they demand. The suite in A minor for lute and the violin partita in A minor are cases in point.
Tomasz’s performances demonstrated that he is up with the best exponents of this form of music with a faultless performance. Each work consisted of five movements, but it was the suite that contained the most demanding....a fugue of impressive proportions and a sarabande in which he seemed to caress every note from his guitar. As if to prove his career is not one track, his encore of Tarrega’s Cappricio Arabe, a work from the usual guitar repertoire, was equally good and well presented.
The evening concert came courtesy of The Island Tapes, which featured live guitar and vocal music played to silent films of life in the 20’s and 30’s in St. Kilda, Orkney, Shetland, Harris and Skye. I wasn’t sure if this was my cup of tea but as the evening wore on I was captivated not only by what was on screen but by the music below.
Vocals were by the superb Alyth McCormack, whose voice would sweep the floor at any mod, and festival director Alan Neave performed Hand Ba’ at Orkney with Peter Maxwell Davies’ Farewell to Stromness perfectly apt for the occasion.
There were also excellent contributions from the other memebers of the quartet on stage, Ian Melrose and David Allison.
Of all the films, it was the St Kilda sequence that was the most impressive, with the voice-over of a former inhabitant describing life before the island was evacuated.
This is a brilliant concept and something that you would certainly want to see again.
Visit: www.dundeefestival.com and www.dundeeguitarfestival.com
PRESS RELEASE – 08/07/2007
Rousing End to Dundee Guitar Festival 2007
Review by Garry Fraser, DC Thomson
Over the years, the walls of the Marryat Hall have echoed to the sounds of many different forms of music, but rarely have they been subjected to the sound generated on Sunday night by the performers of the last concert in this year’s Dundee Guitar Festival.
The concert was labelled “Flamenco Flow” and this became a torrent of marvellous song, dance and spectacular guitar playing that enthralled a huge audience.
Having never experienced anything like this before, I was astounded by the powerful guitar playing and dazzled with the strength-sapping dancing that was served up in sensational style.
Scotland’s Andrew Robinson is reasonably new to this form of music, but superb playing belied his inexperience. His “Alba Flamenca” started the concert, with him playing some of his own compositions. Vocals were courtesy of Danielo Olivera, but it was the dancing of Isabel Munoz and Felipe de Algeciras that stole the show. Style, elegance and stamina merged into one.
Ricardo Garcia’s Flamenco Flow filled the second part of the concert and it was obvious from the start that he is a master of his art. The list of accolades given to this remarkable guitarist reads loud and long and they are all well-merited, because he is an exceptional performer. Garcia has taken flamenco music to new heights with his eclectic mix of jazz, traditional Spanish music and African beat. It was a superb performance with double-bassist Neil McFarlane giving excellent support.
With tapas and rioja served at the interval, a distinctly Spanish evening was complete and it brought this year’s Festival to rousing end.
Visit www.dundeefestival.com and www.dundeeguitarfestival.com
PRESS RELEASE – 06/07/2007
Dundee International Guitar Festival 2007
Review by Garry Fraser, DC Thomson
For guitar enthusiasts the length and breadth of the UK, all roads led to Dundee this weekend for the 16th Dundee International Guitar Festival.
Back after an absence of one year, this festival features some of the top names in their field, master classes for enterprising guitarists young and old and a series of recitals to titillate the taste buds of any guitar aficionado.
Graham Devine’s concert on Friday lunchtime in the Marryat Hall set the ball rolling and initiated a high standard of performance that was to continue throughout the weekend.
His deftness of touch was immediately evident in David Kellner’s Fantasia in D, where amongst other things he managed to produce pianissimo passages that were beautifully sculptured. Two transcriptions of piano works by Satie were just as good and were followed by Granados’ Valses Poeticos, which contained a wonderful variety of tone and tempi. However, it was the Cuban Leo Brouwer’s homage to Havana that was for me the best work in the programme. The Hummingbird and the Colibri Tree and Stroll in Havana were just two wonderful pen pictures brought to life in marvellous fashion by the performer.
This excellent performance set the scene for a festival of finesse and style and guitar playing at its finest, which inadequately sums up the exhibition displayed in the Caird Hall yesterday evening by the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet. One mere glance at their programme was enough to convince you that this was going to be no ordinary concert. A Rossini overture and a Bach Brandenburg Concerto aren’t works you would normally associate with a guitar quartet but the arrangements were astounding and the performances out of this world. Both works were as tight as could be, showing four players in total understanding and perfect concord.
De Falla’s El Amor Brujo had more diversity in colour and atmosphere and was a continuation of the brilliance that has preceded it, giving you an idea of the versatility of this ensemble.
A Brazilian section followed, including works by Villa-Lobos and Bellinati, and this heralded a Celtic Fare, thanks to the influences of traditional Scots music on one of the quartet at an early age. Fantastic fare, indeed, and more marvellous entertainment.
This was the LAGQ’s Scottish debut and for such an accomplished world-class ensemble to appear at the Dundee Guitar Festival gives enormous credit to the organisers.
Visit: www.dundeefestival.com and www.dundeeguitarfestival.com
PRESS RELEASE – 05/07/2007
Summer Festival Goes to the Shops
City shoppers are to be treated to songs from some well-loved musicals as the Dundee Summer Festival takes centre stage at the two major shopping centres this month.
Tread the Boards Youth Music Theatre – fresh from its sell out production of Disney’s High School Musical at the Gardyne Theatre in May – is performing a Summer Showcase the Overgate and Wellgate centres in July.
First up is the Overgate this Saturday (July 7th), with the Wellgate following on July 21st. The show will take place between noon and 4.00pm on each of the two Saturdays, with songs from a number of shows including High School Musical and Les Miserables.
The group of 9–19 year olds is presently in rehearsals for its September production of the school edition of Les Miserables at the Whitehall Theatre.
Music lovers are also in for a treat on Saturday when Dundee Guitar Festival director Allan Neave will be one of four musicians performing for the Caird Hall performance of the highly acclaimed “Island Tapes”, which features live music accompanying five silent films recording life on St. Kilda, Harris, Skye, Orkney and Shetland. Allan has recent first-hand experience, having just returned from a tour of the Highlands and Islands.
He will be joined by fellow guitarists David Allison and Ian Melrose and singer Alyth McCormack. The Guitar Festival also sees a performance by international guitar stars the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet on Friday, July 6th. Both performances begin at 7.30pm.
Visit www.dundeefestival.com