The world's smallest orchestra, it is called. The guitar! Because this modest instrument can produce an enormous variety of sounds. It lends a voice to every mood. Today we start with music from Spain, a country that has shaped the guitar like no other. Spirit, passion, wistful melodies by way of Albeniz and Rodrigo, known for the famous Concierto d'Aranjuez. Then we cross over to Italy. The guitar conveys the Italian 'bel canto' (literally: beautiful singing) in the best possible way.
And so two southern worlds meet. Laura Lootens, meanwhile, co…
The world's smallest orchestra, it is called. The guitar! Because this modest instrument can produce an enormous variety of sounds. It lends a voice to every mood. Today we start with music from Spain, a country that has shaped the guitar like no other. Spirit, passion, wistful melodies by way of Albeniz and Rodrigo, known for the famous Concierto d'Aranjuez. Then we cross over to Italy. The guitar conveys the Italian 'bel canto' (literally: beautiful singing) in the best possible way.
And so two southern worlds meet. Laura Lootens, meanwhile, comes from quite close: German-Belgian is her background. This year, the 23-year-old guitarist won one of the most important guitar competitions in the world, the Andrés-Segovia-Competition. She rocketed to first prize but also took the special prize for best performance of the compulsory work. 'An extraordinary talent. She plays with such passion and fire that she elicits standing ovations from the audience [...],' Volksstimme wrote about her. Laura herself: 'Music is so colourful, so versatile, powerful and at the same time so fragile. It is my passion to bring music to life. Nothing reflects my feelings, ideas and fantasies like making music.'
