The Ashe County Arts Council will present the Rucco-James Duo on Saturday, February 2, 2013 at the Ashe Arts Center. The evening of music will begin at 7:30 pm. The duo of Pasquale Rucco and Douglas James specializes in the guitar literature of the early 19th century performed on authentic instruments of the period.
The two first met and became friends at guitar festivals in northern Italy during the early 1990’s. Rucco and James have now been performing together for over ten years, charming audiences worldwide with their interpretations of music from the first true “golden age” of the guitar.
The duo’s repertoire features some of the most famous of the early 19th century guitar duo masterpieces as well as newly discovered works. Their concert programs include works by the more familiar composers such as Carulli, Giuliani and Sor combined with their lesser-known contemporaries including Filipo Gragnani, François de Fossa, Antoine Baron de Barcó, Frederic Spina, and Antoine de Lloyer.
Their debut CD featured works by Gragnani, Fossa and Barcó as well as Giuliani’s arrangements of Rossini’s popular overtures to Il Barbiere di Siviglia and La Gazza Ladra. This critically acclaimed disc was recently followed by A Night at the Opera, an all-Rossini recording featuring 19th century arrangements of popular opera overtures and the famous La Danza tarantella.
Rucco and James are internationally recognized authorities in the early Romantic style. Combining a historically informed approach with world-class musicianship, they play exclusively on authentic 19th century guitars. Recent seasons have included concerts throughout the United States, Italy and Austria.
Douglas James is Professor of Guitar and director of Appalachian GuitarFest at Appalachian State University. James holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Arizona, where he studied guitar with Thomas Patterson.
Pasquale Rucco is the winner of several European guitar competitions, including the 1989 Arturo Toscannini Solo Guitar Competition for the performance of 19th century music. Since then he has performed regularly in Europe and the United States, both as a soloist and chamber musician specializing in the 19th century literature played on period instruments.
Admission is $12 adults for adults and $5 for students. Tickets are available in advance or at the door. The concert is sponsored by the Ashe County Arts Council. Call 336-846-2787 for more information.
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