William Kanengiser and Alexander String Quartet relive British Invasion
William Kanengiser and the Alexander String Quartet \u2014 British Invasion (Foghorn Classics)
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New Classical Tracks - William Kanengiser and Ian Krouse
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\u201cWhen I was in high school, I was in a rock band called Euphoria. We did all these covers. I had massive hair,\u201d guitarist William Kanengiser says. \u201cEven though I'm a classical guitarist, I have a background in rock, jazz, flamenco and world music. The whole vibe of this recording is something that comes naturally.\u201d
That vibe is the British Invasion of the \u201860s and \u201870s in guitar quintet form, featuring Kanengiser, best known as a founding member of the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, and the Alexander String Quartet.\xa0
Kanengiser joins the Alexander String in their first album, British Invasion. It features incredible pieces inspired by Led Zeppelin, Sting and the Beatles. Kanengiser and composer Ian Krouse talk about how this project came together.
How did the Led Zeppelin-inspired piece \u201cLabyrinth\u201d come about?
Krouse: \u201cI am also a guitarist, although I stopped playing many years ago. Growing up, I was interested in rock music and the Beatles, the Stones and Jimi Hendrix. I played in bands and learned how to do folk fingerpicking, which was my gateway to classical music.
\u201cI don't even remember how it started, but Bill and I were talking, and the idea of me writing a piece for the LAGQ based on a Led Zeppelin song came into view. We both thought, \u2018Yeah, let's do this.\u2019 I jumped right on it and wrote \u2018Labyrinth.\u2019 The original version was for four guitars.
\u201cA few years ago, Bill called me and asked if I would consider making a new version of \u2018Labyrinth\u2019 for guitar and string quartet. The words were hardly out of your mouth when I said, \u2018Absolutely.\u2019\u201d
Kanengiser: \u201cAlthough it's a classical guitar, I strung a second guitar with specialized steel strings. I have steel strings on the trebles and play with a pick. I get to do a bottleneck slide solo in this open rock tuning.
\u201cHe writes a passacaglia in a baroque form. There's a 12-tone fugue on the subject. It's an intense piece. That's the highest level of composition. This is a crossover pop tune and a serious, amazing contemporary composition.\u201d
Tell me about \u201cPrims: Six Songs,\u201d by Sting, and the composer who made it.
Kanengiser: \u201cDu\u0161an Bogdanovi\u0107 has been my dear friend for decades. Sting did a project quite a few years ago where he approached the music of John Dowland. He worked with lutist Edin Karamazov, who is good friends with Du\u0161an. Edin commissioned Du\u0161an to write these arrangements.
\u201cThere's this beautiful letter that Sting wrote to Du\u0161an saying, \u2018You took the broken fragments of my songs and turned them into a flight of nightingales.\u2019\u201d
How did the work of John Dowland end up on this recording?
Kanengiser:\xa0\u201cHe was like a rock star, the Jimmy Page of the Elizabethan age. I knew Ian had written this spectacular piece called \u2018Music and Four Sharps,\u2019 based on \u2018Frog Galliard,\u2019 by Dowland.
Krouse: \u201cI've always enjoyed the thrill of music that picks you up and takes you somewhere else over many minutes. In both pieces, the goal was to unleash energy and passion. \u201c
British Invasion Official Trailer (William Kanengiser & The Alexander String Quartet)
To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or\xa0download the extended podcast on iTunes\xa0or wherever you get your podcasts.
Resources
William Kanengiser and the Alexander String Quartet \u2014 British Invasion (Amazon)
William Kanengiser and the Alexander String Quartet \u2014 British Invasion (Arkiv music)
William Kanengiser (official site)
Alexander String Quartet (official site)