<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> <docID>338504</docID> <postdate>2025-02-18 10:11:31</postdate> <headline>Skilful performance from classical guitarist</headline> <body><p><img class=" wp-image-338505" src="https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-18-at-10.08.19 am-e1739833841328.jpg" alt="" width="846" height="564" /></p> <caption>Classical guitarist Stephanie Jones.</caption> <p><span class="kicker-line"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Music / Open Sky, Stephanie Jones. At Albert Hall, February 17. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Reviewed by </span><b>GRAHAM McDONALD</b></span></p> <p><b>Australian born, now German resident, classical guitarist Stephanie Jones is making her first concert tour of Australia for several years. </b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">She spent four years studying at the ANU School of Music under Tim Kain, so she is well known to the Canberra classical guitar community and they turned out in a big way for this concert.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Albert Hall was full, including the balcony, with Jones on the stage amplified just enough so the guitar was clearly audible without overtly sounding as if it was coming through a PA.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The program was a mix of old and new, opening with the Gavotte and Rondeau from J S Bach’s Lute Suite in E major. This was played with precise phrasing and a light and delicate touch. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">She followed this with works by Australian composers, two by Richard Charleton bookending two Caprices by Ross Edwards. These were works of quite different styles, Charleton's gentle lyricism contrasting with Edwards’ more modern and abstract writing with hints of flamenco.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The next three works were from an Argentinian composer whose name I could not catch, one by German guitarist (and Jones’ husband) </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Jakob Schmidt</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and a third from a Ukrainian composer whose name also escaped me. The lack of a printed program did not help here, but all three were interesting works of considerable complexity which Jones navigated with apparent ease.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The centrepiece of the concert was a solo guitar arrangement of Astor Piazzolla’s Las Cuatro Estaciones Portenas (The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires). </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This work was performed here last year by the CSO Strings and originally scored for Piazzolla’s ensemble of </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">violin, piano, electric guitar, double bass and </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandone%C3%B3n"><span style="font-weight: 400;">bandoneón</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. This solo guitar arrangement captured the tango essence of the music in a most impressive performance over 20 minutes or so.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A couple of gentler works finished off this most entertaining and skilfully performed concert. We can only look forward to her next return.</span></p> </body>