ALTURAS DUO AT THE WHITNEY CENTER FOR THE ARTS

Lisa Whitney and Ghazi Kazmi at the Whitney Center for the Arts have once again outdone themselves by bringing another amazing musical event to the Berkshires.  The performers were pleased and surprised to discover such a high level of attention and appreciation of the Arts in a Bistro setting.

Trying to find the appropriate words to describe the music of Alturas Duo, consisting of Scott Hill on guitar and Carlos Boltes on viola, Charango and Venezuelan Cuatro, is almost as complex as the music itself. 

The addition of guest artist Minta White on flute, playing an assortment of classical and South American Folk Music, making sounds one doesn't associate with the flute also helped make an evening sure to be remembered for a lifetime. 

Scott Hill describes the sounds as a combination of metal, classical and folk music combined into one compilation.  One minute you are listening to calm, relaxing even soothing music and then you are flung headfirst into a mishmash of stops and starts and sounds which, while they do not seem to belong in the same piece fit there perfectly somehow.

Much of the music played that evening had to be memorized in the Oral Tradition, which means that it isn't written down anywhere and was learned over time by going to the countries and learning the music by ear.  These artists are classically trained and play their instruments to perfection. They sounded as if they had been playing together forever.  The music was very complex and well timed.

Add to the mix the World Premier of  “Three Meditations for Flute and Guitar.”  It consisted of "Reflective Pondering", "Restlessness of the Mind" and "Transcendence".  The piece was played by Scott on guitar and Minta on Flute and the presence of the composer, Arthur Hernandez at the Whitney Center for the Arts made it a historical evening.