Duo46

"Duo 46 are a photogenic pair who appear on their disc [Untaming the Fury] resplendent in evening dress and designer shades amid the Salamis Ruins on Cyprus. Imagine, if you dare, the publicity stills from a forthcoming archaeological blockbuster starring Hugh Grant and Minnie Driver."- Paul Bowles, Classical Guitar Magazine (UK)
About the Music
The American violin and guitar ensemble Duo46 (a.k.a. guitarist Matt Gould and violinist Beth Ilana Schneider-Gould) have created their own repertoire that warrants standing ovations. Their intriguing mix of music depicts the impressions and experiences of modern-day classical composers, capturing an array of style and emotion, ranging from Classical to Flamenco, Gypsy to Turkish, Jazz to Rock, Folk to Bartok, and New Age to the most Avante-Garde. With literally hundreds of original twentieth-century works for violin and guitar duo, double concertos, trios with piano (aka the Strung Out Trio), and collaborations with guest artists, including computers, this photogenic pair captivate audiences with their new repertoire and artistry.
Performance highlights include concerts in Austria, Canada, Chile, Cyprus, England, Germany, Greece, Italy, The Netherlands, and Turkey with notable appearances at The Guitar Foundation of America Festival (with Manuel Barrueco, David Tanenbaum, Terry Riley and Aaron Jay Kernis), Hermopoulis International Guitar Festival , the Cortona Chamber Music Festival, and Entracuerdas Guitar Festival. Career Highlights include a Barlow Commission Grant, sponsorship from the American Embassy for concerts in South America, ensemble showcases with Chamber Music America, two Grammy entry-listed recordings and appearances at Kennedy Center and Herbst Theatre. Notable performances this season include a debut in South America, and repeat performances in Germany and Italy.
Recording…
“Homage to the Fifties is a substantial contribution to the recording body of chamber music, including the guitar.” - Soundboard Magazine
As artists living in the 21st-century, Duo46 embraces music by living composers. Important advocates of contemporary art music, their recordings often celebrate new chamber music for guitar, most often composed specifically for them. Since the release of the group’s debut recording FMI: Homage to the 50s, their performance of new music has been described as "cutting edge" by the Cincinnati Enquirer and "brilliant and breathtaking" by American Record Guide. Ongoing collaborations with American composers inspired their Untaming the Fury record, described as "spontaneous and fresh" by Strad with "fiery performances" by Gramophone. In commemoration of 9/11, this disc features commissions by emerging and established American composers who are contributing greatly to our national heritage. A track from this CD is included on a compilation recording with the music of Rachmaninoff, Faure, Bernstein and Corigliano. This disc, Communing with Music: Practicing the Art of Conscious Listening teaches the listener how to experience music with a new focus and intensity that will benefit the body, mind, heart and spirit.
Their most recent duo recording, Aires de Sefarad--a commission funded in part by the Guggenheim Foundation-- has been described as "one of the most gorgeous releases of the year" by the Cincinnati Enquirer and features 46 Spanish songs by the late Argentinean-American composer Jorge Liderman. The music was inspired by the composer's visit to the Alhambra in Granada, Spain and the vibrant flamenco dancing and music of Seville, and reflects his impressions of past and present Spain in its vast and varied culture. This recording made the 2007 Grammy entry list for Best Contemporary Classical Composition.
"The pair flaunt their gift for the most spontaneous and fresh delivery from the outset...the works commissioned for the disc [Untaming the Fury] are so varied, inventive and enjoyable, and they are performed with such commitment and flair." (Strad Magazine, June/July 2003)
Since 2002, The Strung Out Trio (a.k.a. Duo46 and pianist Nathanael May) have cultivated this unusual trio making their recording debut with Meyer-Media, Fables, Forms, and Fears: Music of Paul Richards. Included on this disc are two works inspired by the composer’s impressions after a visit to the Mediterranean island of Cyprus for a residency with SOT at Eastern Mediterranean University. This collaborative recording project has garnered four 2008 Grammy Award Contentions for Best Chamber Music Performance, Best Classical CD, Best Contemporary Classical Composition and Best Engineered Album Classical.
Duo46 and Friends...
With the addition of a third instrument, Duo46 has expanded to form various trios with Cello, Flute, Mandolin, Piano, Viola, or Computer. New projects include a new collaboration with Israeli mandolinist Avi Avital on works by Minnesota composer Justin Rubin, Italian composer Giovanni Albini and others, and guest appearances with larger chamber groups.
Education and Outreach....
Besides performing and recording, Duo46 has a keen interest in education and research. Concert performances typically include an outreach component for primary and secondary school programs titled Around the World in 46 Minutes, an exploration of cultural diversity through music. While on faculty at Eastern Mediterranean University in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus from 2000-2005, Duo46 established a Visiting Composer Series organizing masterclasses, workshops and lectures, open rehearsals and concerts with invited composers Daniel Asia, Karl Korte, Jorge Liderman, David Lidov, Paul Richards, Russell Sarre, and Allan Segall. Distinguished ensemble residency work includes Harvard, Florida State, Berkeley, the Hochschule for Musik Würzburg and the Landesmusik Akademie Shlitz, Germany, the annual soundSCAPE New Music Festival in Italy, Uludag University in Turkey, the Society of Student Composers, Inc. and the American Composers Forum, among others. These residencies included concerts, master classes, reading sessions, and workshops on a wide variety of topics: music business, composing for guitar or violin, and working and living overseas. Also, in the interest of expanding violin and guitar literature, Duo46 has discovered and accumulated a repertoire of more than 450 original works from the twentieth century, and an annotated bibliography is currently being prepared for publication so that other musicians can benefit and enjoy these unknown works.
About Us...
Beth Ilana Schneider-Gould has been described as "a prodigious talent, poised and introspective, and very impressive" by the Los Angeles Times. Making her soloist debut at the age of 16 with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Beth has since performed throughout the United States including the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall, and Europe with Sir George Solti and the Schleswig Holstein Festival Orchestra. She has performed chamber music with many renowned artists including Lynn Harrell and Yefim Bronfman, has worked under conductors including David Zinman, Neeme Jarvi, Simon Rattle, Kurt Masur, Leonard Slatkin and Christoph Dohnanyi, and has performed at the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute, the Sarasota Chamber Music Festival, the Meadowmount School of Music, ENCORE, Music '98 at Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, and the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival. A graduate of Indiana University Bloomington and the University of Arizona, Her primary teachers have included Linda Cerone, Victor Danchenko, Eugene Gratovich, Conny Kiradjieff, Andreas Reiner, Mark Rush, and Nelli Shkolnikova. Chamber coaches have included Henry Meyer from the Lasalle String Quartet, Paul Katz from the Cleveland String Quartet and Phillip Setzer from the Emerson String Quartet. Beth is a former member of the San Antonio Symphony and a former Lecturer of Violin, Viola and Chamber Music at Eastern Mediterranean University in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
Dr. Matt Gould (B.M. Peabody Conservatory, M.M. University of Arizona, and D.M.A. Arizona State University) has excelled in many international guitar competitions such as the Stotsenberg and Guitar Foundation of America, and has been described as a "guitarist capable of giving performances of great beauty, enthusiasm and control" by Manuel Barrueco. In 1994, Matt created Guitar Plus International, an organization whose mission is to help further establish the guitar as a viable chamber instrument in the 21st- century. In addition to providing a internet database of repertoire and established ensembles, GPI organizes concerts, residencies, reading sessions of new chamber works for guitar. Matt’s primary teachers are Manuel Barrueco, Ray Chester, Michael Decker, Frank Koonce and Tom Patterson. Most currently, Matt is Director of Guitar Ensembles at Arizona State University
Matt and Beth relocated to the island of Cyprus in 2000 to teach at Eastern Mediterranean University, before returning to the US to continue their musical activities closer to home in 2005. While at home in Phoenix, Arizona, Matt and Beth enjoy sharing their knowledge and experiences with students at the Paradise Valley Community College, while enjoying the idyllic weather and beauty of the American Southwest.