Flute, guitar offer earthy duo

By CHRISTOPHER BLANK

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 10, 2000

ST. PETERSBURG -- With so few musical compositions out there for flute and guitar, it might seem the instruments don't work well together. But in Sunday afternoon's concert at the Museum of Fine Arts, Gary Schocker and Jason Vieaux showed a sell-out crowd that not only do the instruments work, they are almost perfect compadres.

As the first performance in the museum's summer concert series, the pairing of wind and wood created a pastoral, somewhat Spanish-flavored atmosphere. Under Schocker's deft fingers, his flute rang out with the Baroque arpeggios of a Bach sonata and the schizophrenic leaps of his own composition.

On classical guitar, Vieaux was more than just accompanist to Schocker. The 10 pieces -- many of them arranged by the musicians themselves -- gave the guitar some room to romp. Vieaux's solo piece, Augustin Barrios' Wals, Op. 8, was a showy choice.

The lovely sound of the two instruments performing in unison made the recital a unique experience. Both the flute and the classical guitar are soft instruments, not in volume so much as their organic tenor.

The flute, whispery and hollow, rode atop the fleeting plucks of the guitar's nylon strings like a leaf riding the ripples of a mountain stream. Since the guitar's notes were the first to fade, Vieaux's arrangements kept the strings burbling under the sustained notes of the flute.

The effect was earthy and sentimental, characteristics reflected in the performers'faces. Schocker, who might be mistaken for a flute-playing George Clooney, took a natural stance on the stage. Vieaux had an ease to his playing style, occasionally closing his eyes as if in contemplation.

This was the second performance of the New York-based musicians at the museum, and the premiere of their newest program which featured an adaptation of Greensleeves, Bach's Sonata in E-Minor BWV 1031, Bachianas Brasilieras #5 by Heitor Villa-Lobos, and an original composition called Short Stories by Schocker, who said he had composed the Stravinsky-esque piece for high school students.

The classical guitar's roots in Spanish and Latin music naturally demanded a few relevant nods, and the duo finished their show with works by the Brazilian composer Celso Machado, a jazzy piece reminiscent of Jobim. They closed with Zequinha de Abreu's Brazilian treasure Tico Tico.