Concierto del Fuego

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Concierto del Fuego (Concerto of Fire)

A guitar concerto composed especially for Ms. Temo written by Loris Chobanian in the flamenco and classical styles. It is a 3 movement Concerto approx. 21- 22 min. in length.

Interviews and performance clips -Concierto del Fuego

Marija Temo with ASO- Concierto del Fuego- CNN Interview with Temo, Loris Chobanian (Composer), and Tom Rodriguez (Luthier)

Marija Temo in WVIZ/PBS interview on her multi-talents & guitar concerto, “Concierto del Fuego“. The composer, Loris Chobanian is also interviewed about his concerto and his comments about Marija Temo.

Concierto del Fuego premiere performance videos

1st mov. Duende
2nd mov. Llanto del Cante
3rd mov. Juerga Flamenca

Program Notes- Concierto del Fuego
Press Quotes – Concierto del Fuego
Click to purchase and download the CD of Concierto del Fuego

Concierto del Fuego is standard orchestration. Contact Marija Temo for booking.

Marija Temo with ASO- Concierto del Fuego- CNN Interview with Temo, Loris Chobanian (Composer), and Tom Rodriguez (Luthier), “Courtesy of CN8, the Comcast Network”.

The first Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra by Loris Ohannes Chobanian, Baldwin- Wallace Composer-in-Residence and Professor of Composition and Guitar, was written and performed by the composer in 1970. Concierto del Fuego for Guitar and Orchestra was written thirty years later for his former student Marija Temo. The two concertos use very diverse compositional approaches. The new guitar concerto draws its inspiration from Spanish flamenco music, a specialty of Temo in addition to her career as a classical guitarist.

At an early age, his instrument the classical guitar, composer Chobanian developed a strong interest in and fascination with flamenco music. He visited Spain and listened to all the available flamenco guitarist recordings of the masters. Among them the recordings of Ramon Montoya stood out as an ideal. In 1955, Chobanian began to perform the classical guitar regularly on Baghdad TV, and after 1960 he performed on TV in Baton Rouge, LA, and in East Lansing, MI. Occasionally he also performed flamenco pieces, but his performances of flamenco were more of the classical guitar type.

The true fiery spirit of flamenco can best be realized with a team of singers, dancers and guitarists. Concierto del Fuego (Concerto of Fire) attempts to capture that spirit. Before starting the concerto Chobanian set special challenges for himself. His aim for this work was to write a three movement concerto based on the flamenco idiom. The work was to create true fusion between the materials performed by the soloist and the orchestra rather than to present the flamenco guitar accompanied by unrelated orchestral material. The musical textures of both the soloist and orchestra contain numerous elements of the cante jondo style and the orchestra at times sounds like a giant guitar. Unlike traditional flamenco music, there are constant changes of tonal centers.

The structural material of the concerto is also influenced by Arabic and Armenian music. Chobanian was born to Armenian parents in the Middle East. These influences are not contrived but rather a true legacy from the Middle East to Spain. In fact when flamenco guitarist Carlos Montoya heard that Chobanian had lived in Baghdad, he said, “You have come from the land of my ancestors.”

The three movements of the concerto progressively become shorter. The first movement has a grand, Sonata Allegro form and there are constant changes of character. In the opening measure of the movement, the guitar soloist establishes the rhythmic energy of the composition and in the following few measures the different but contrasting ideas are presented. The strings introduce a melodic theme which is based on a simple motive. This motive is used throughout the composition. The Cadenza in the first movement is by Marija Temo. In the second movement, the soloist’s thematic material is reminiscent of the singers in flamenco presentations. The third movement is influenced by the character of the flamenco dancer. The percussionists imitate the tapping of the dancers’ feet and at times the wood blocks imitate the clapping of hands. The dance figure introduced at the end of the first movement is featured dramatically in the last movement in a Rondo form.

Concierto del Fuego was made possible with the support of the Bascom Little Fund.

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A few Press Quotes of Concierto del Fuego:

“Receiving its East Coast premiere, Loris Chobanian’s Concierto del Fuego featured flamenco guitarist Marija Temo. Fiery and dramatic, she performed as though she owned the piece. (Indeed, she has claim to it: Chobanian, a Baldwin-Wallace College professo, wrote the concerto in 2000 for Temo, his former student.) The guitarist played in poetic stanzas; one minute her fingers would strum with the velocity of a bullet train and another minute they would linger through heartfelt melodies. With percussion instruments simulating the stomping and clapping of flamenco dancers, the ASO functioned as a large guitar, duetting with the soloist.” – The Washington Post, Washington DC

“ …Temo electrified a sellout audience with Chobanian’s Concierto del Fuego (Concerto of Fire)…” – The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio

“Guitar Concerto of the Century.” – National guitar magazine, Soundboard, Guitar Foundation of America

“As an artist, she is precise, brilliant and supremely fiery in her playing. The concerto offered her ample opportunity to display both her flamenco and classical chops, as well as her creativity in the complex cadenza she devised for the first movement.” – The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio

“Marija Temo is the person in the world who could combine flamenco and classical guitar at such a high level of artistic interpretation and ability,” Chobanian stated. -WVIZ, Cleveland Public Television

“There is no doubt that this concerto will be the next successful guitar concerto of the century,” says Temo. “The world is in need of a new guitar concerto and I am honored to be the first guitarist to premiere such a work.” – National guitar magazine, Soundboard, Guitar Foundation of America

“It is the first guitar concerto written in flamenco style that successfully unites the elements of flamenco with orchestra. It is a work influenced by the rhythms of flamenco and all aspects of flamenco dance, guitar and song but applied in classical form that is extremely original in sound, Temo stated.” – National guitar magazine, Soundboard, Guitar Foundation of America

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