Andrew Blanch is at the forefront of young Australian musicians taking their place on the international music stage. The Sydney-based guitarist has won major prizes in ten music competitions both nationally and internationally, including First Prize at the Melbourne International Guitar Competition in 2016.
His debut solo CD Spanish Guitar Music was released last year to international acclaim, with the USA's Soundboard Magazine declaring: "This is one of the best debut albums I have ever heard".
To complete his lounge room tour across New Zealand and Australia, Blanch will perform his final show at the Sydney Opera House in the intimacy of the beautiful Utzon Room with his sensual recital From Latin America and Beyond. Presented by Classical Guitar Festival Sydney tickets start at $42.79 for early bird and are available through the Sydney Opera House box office >> sydneyoperahouse.com/content/soh/events/whats-on/classical-music/2017/latin-america-and-beyond.html
“I performed in the Sydney Opera House's Concert Hall in 2010 as part of the 'Encore Series' showcasing a selection of the best HSC music performances,” says Andrew. “I only performed one piece however, but 7 years later I'm returning for a full solo recital in the Utzon Room.
“I have only recently returned from six years living and studying in Canberra, as well as a short stint in Paris,” he adds. “So to move back to my hometown and perform in one of Australia's most iconic venues, a venue I'm lucky enough to see across the harbour on a daily basis on my morning run, is a little heart-warming.”
But he sees an importance in balancing higher profile concerts with performances that are more community based: "House concerts are a lovely way to enjoy music both as performer and as audience member - and I have been both many times.
“It's a very intimate context, and one particularly suited to the beautiful timbres of the guitar. The recent surge in the popularity of house concerts these last few years heralds a return to the ways the classical guitar used to be enjoyed in the 19th century, in small 'salon' style concerts - as opposed to the trend post-Segovia of the classical guitar in the big concert hall.”
For many of his concerts he’ll be perform the program he curated called From Latin America and Beyond:
“The first half is dedicated exclusively to South American music, while the second half goes ‘beyond’ as they say with works by JS Bach, Ross Edwards, and Francisco Tarrega. The concert provides a smattering of the guitar's beloved favourites, mixed in with a number of works likely to be entirely new to even hardcore classical guitar aficionados - but of striking beauty nonetheless. I’ve tried to pace the concert with a good balance of the energetic and virtuosic, and the sensitive and introspective.”
Andrew has a Bachelor of Music with first-class honours from the Australian National University under the tutelage of Timothy Kain and currently lives in Sydney.
