Portland Guitar Festival (7 - 9 March 2002) Redux
by Bryan Johanson

You know spring is back in the Northwest when the days get longer, the rain starts in earnest and the annual Portland Guitar Festival happens again. This year was the 12th annual PFG, and during its dozen years it has brought artists like Manuel Barrueco, the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, the three Davids (Tanenbaum, Russell and Starobin), Jukka Savijoki, Paul O'Dette, Carlos Barbosa-Lima, Jason Vieaux, Antigoni Goni, Ben Verdery, Julian Gray and Ronald Pearl, the Falla Guitar Trio, Ricardo Iznaola, and Ralph Towner. By any standards, this is a pretty impressive list of performers. In addition to this "A" list of classical guitar performers, the festival has annually sponsored an increasingly impressive solo guitar competition. (Past winners from Seattle include Michael Nicolella and Michael Partington) A dozen years is a long time to present such an ambitious festival. The 12th annual Portland Guitar Festival recently concluded and a review of the various events from this year might reveal why it has remained successful and viable.

Unlike past years, this festival was given a theme "The Northwest Connection". As I understand it, each of this year's artists has some connection to the Pacific Northwest. The festival included concerts by Terrell Stone, James Kline, the Acoustic Guitar Summit, David Rogers, David Franzen and Dieter Hennings Yeomans. In addition to the concerts, the PGF featured lectures by James Reid and festival director Bryan Johanson (and your current humble narrator), as well as an instrument makers showcase and the exciting solo guitar competition.

This year's festival had some decided low spots, but overall was an exciting three days of concerts and guitar related events. The opening night was a lute recital by Oregon-born Terrell Stone. Stone now lives and works in Italy, but has long wished for a chance to return to his native turf to play to what was once a home-town crowd. Like many early music concerts presented by the PGF, this open event drew a small but enthusiastic audience. Stone brought his Baroque German lute and performed the music of Weiss, Bach and Kellner. Stone is a committed performer and plays his lute with all the recent authenticated techniques. (I must admit, though that his right hand little finger resting on the soundboard during parts of the performance did give me some cause for alarm. It is a technique I have only seen in beginning guitarists and semi-skilled players.) Nevertheless, his playing was true to much of the music though it lacked energy. (I believe that Weiss was a kick-ass lutenist and his music should be played with equal energy.)

On Friday morning the guitar festival was treated to a lecture/performance by James Reid, Professor of Music at the University of Idaho, playing and discussing the music of Maximo Pujol. Though not well known, Pujol is a contemporary Argentinean guitarist and composer who has written a vast body of music mostly in the style of Piazzolla and Villa-Lobos. It was a treat to be exposed to his music. Reid's excellent lecture was followed by a recital by early music specialist David Rogers. Playing the music of Luis Milan and Fernando Sor, Rogers made some unfortunate decisions about amplification. He was playing a period instrument that was amplified poorly, distorting much of his sound. Although Lincoln Hall Auditorium (the recital hall at Portland State University where all the guitar festival performances happen) is somewhat large and dry, the guitar does sound well in there without amplification. Rogers setup was unnecessary and distracting from what might have been an otherwise enjoyable concert.

The remainder of the afternoon was spent listening to the semi-final round of the solo guitar competition. This is always the most difficult part of the festival for me. I ordinarily sit outside and sweat it out with the performers. This year there were ten gifted young performers from around the country. As a rule I never listen to any of the semi-finalists, and this year was no exception. My reasons for not listening to the contestants are partly practical and partly professional. It takes a lot of precise behind the scenes work to make the semi-final round go smoothly. I need to attend to the competitors, making sure they are treated with respect and courtesy. I also do not want to care about who makes it to the next round. I do not want to have any opinions about who I think played well or badly. I have always been afraid that it would bias me towards treating them all equally and fairly. So all I can tell you about the competition semi- finals is that they happened and four excellent guitarists were chosen to perform in the finals on Saturday morning. More about them when we get there.

On Friday night the featured performer was Northwest native James Kline. Kline is an interesting performer and personality. He is an itinerant performer and has obviously traveled widely. During his recital he played works from his extensive repertoire of mostly Baroque and New Age music. His recital was filled with stories and anecdotes that were as much a part of the show as the music. Jim is an excellent player and is clearly comfortable on the stage. His recital was a real pleasure for everyone there. Prior to the start of his recital, the guitar festival annually presents an instrument makers showcase. Portland is particularly blessed with a vast amount of luthiers making a wide variety of instruments. During this pre-concert instrument show many of the areas most gifted makers had a chance to show their instruments and talk to festival goers.

Saturday morning brought the beginning of the final day of the festival and my own presentation. Titled "The American Revolution", I presented a lecture about the history of the guitar in America. Largely drawn from my recently completed book on the history of the guitar, the lecture was had by all who were there. Following the morning class was a noon-time recital given by Portland resident David Franzen. David is an excellent performer and his recital was an awesome display of his mastery of the guitar. David plays both classical repertoire and flamenco. His flamenco playing is very powerful and brought the audience to its feet. Good show by Mr. Franzen. Following David was the winner of last year's solo guitar competition, Dieter Hennings Yeomans. Dieter is a native of Mexico (its a long story about his name, but both his parents are natives of Mexico as well) and prior to his recital he was visited back stage by the American Consulate from Mexico. She was a charming woman and merely congratulated Dieter on his award and upcoming recital. It was an auspicious sign, and Dieter delivered an outstanding solo guitar recital. He displayed a mastery of the instrument that is unusual in a twenty-year old. (In addition to being young Dieter is also the tallest guitarist I have ever met. Last year he was 6'5'' tall. This year he was 6'7'' tall. I hope he stops growing soon or he will have to switch to a larger instrument.)

Dieter's marvelous recital was followed by the solo guitar competition finals. The four guitarists came for blood and money. They were from Texas, California and Arizona and each presented an inspiring show of courage and talent. As per my philosophy, I did not hear any of them. I know what the outcome was, but I cannot say anything about the programs or the performances themselves. The fourth place winner was Maya Rafajlovic, a Croatian guitarist now studying at the University of Arizona. Third prize was won by sixteen-year old guitarist Max Zuckerman from San Francisco. Second place was won by Valerie Hartzell from Houston, Texas, and first prize was won by Kristian Anderson who now lives in Denton, Texas. The judges were very clear in their decisions during both the finals and semi-finals, making the tough job involved go smoothly and fairly.

The final concert was presented by a Portland-area guitar quartet called the Acoustic Guitar Summit. Each of these highly skilled and diverse performers plays a steel-string acoustic guitar and their repertoire is made up of jazz standards, blues tunes and originals. The large and enthusiastic home-town crowd ate them up, bringing out the best of this home-style group.

For me, the most difficult part of organizing a festival of this size is funding. It is stressful and unpleasant work that takes a sustained, year-long effort. During the festival I watch each of the carefully planned events unfold, calculating how much money each is losing. It is rare that a performer will pay for themselves. During the twelve years that I have been involved, I have seen performer's fees continue to rise at an unbelievable rate. Ticket prices have long ago failed to keep up. An event like this needs careful spending and generous donors. During the past few years I have seen a decided decrease in the number and amount of money given by festival supporters. Its a hard time to give and an even harder time to ask. This year, particularly, we felt the sting of the damaged economy. It is my hope that we will be able to continue to present this annual event since it is a boost to the guitar and the community. Here is hoping.

Bryan Johanson is the director of the Portland Guitar Festival