Scott Cmiel

Scott Cmiel is Chair of the guitar and musicianship departments at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Preparatory Division and Director of the guitar program at San Francisco School of the Arts.

Articles By This Author

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Review

Exhilarating World Tour With Guitarist John Williams

Scott Cmiel - October 19, 2010

Classical music advocates often take a Eurocentric view of music history that leads them to question the importance of the guitar and its repertoire. John Williams deftly reverses the logic, maintaining that a global 20th- and 21st-century perspective the guitar makes a more vital contribution than any other instrument. Williams made his case on Sunday in a recital received by a packed audience.

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Review

Master Guitarist Manuel Barrueco Spotlights Two Protégés

Scott Cmiel - May 3, 2010

Manuel Barrueco gave a panoramic view of the history and future of the classical guitar in the 20th and 21st centuries in a marvelous recital Thursday at San Francisco’s Herbst Theatre.

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Review

Guitarmen Always Ring Twice

Scott Cmiel - March 1, 2010
A well-known guitar legend quotes Chopin as saying, “Nothing is more beautiful than a guitar, save perhaps two.” Mark Eden and Christopher Stell, the Eden Stell Guitar Duo, gave evidence on Saturday at the Veterans Building Green Room with their magnificent sound, vivid interpretations, and telepathic ensemble.
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Review

Songs of His Fathers and Forefathers

Scott Cmiel - January 12, 2010
The San Francisco Bay Area has one of the largest and most enthusiastic audiences in the country for the classical guitar. Internationally acclaimed artists are regularly featured by San Francisco Performances and the Omni Foundation, while young talent is often presented by smaller organizations.
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Preview

Xuefei Yang

Scott Cmiel - November 10, 2009
Xuefei Yang

When Chinese guitarist Xuefei Yang was 15, John Williams heard her play in Beijing and was so impressed that he gave her his own guitar. Yang has g

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Review

Inspired Guitar

Scott Cmiel - October 19, 2009
Pixinguinha is a name revered in Brazil but relatively unknown elsewhere. Alfredo da Rocha Vianna Filho, better known as Pixinguinha, was the first and most influential musician in Brazilian popular music.
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Review

Bach, Stewed

Scott Cmiel - October 5, 2009
The Japanese guitarist Kazuhito Yamashita performed an ambitious, all-Bach program Friday at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
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Feature

The Season Ahead: A Preview of Fall Concerts

David Bratman, Georgia Rowe, Janos Gereben, Jason Victor Serinus, Jeff Dunn, Lisa Hirsch, Michelle Dulak Thomson, Scott Cmiel - September 6, 2009

With autumn upon us, the Bay Area's classical music groups are tuning up for hundreds of intriguing events. San Francisco Classical Voice asked several of our critics and editors to comb through the performance announcements available to date and pick their favorite choices for September through December.

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Review

Twin Spirits

Scott Cmiel - March 16, 2009
The twins Peter and Zoltán Katona have created a guitar duo noted for spirited interpretations, amazing virtuosity, and an uncanny ensemble that many attribute to their shared genetic heritage. The brothers from Budapest move and breathe together, and they mark changes of mood with an exchange of glances that highlights their musical decisions.
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Review

Honoring a Pioneer

Scott Cmiel - March 3, 2009

The Spanish guitarist Margarita Escarpa offered a recital notable for finely wrought emotion, beautiful sound, and flawless technique on Saturday at the Green Room of San Francisco’s War Memorical Veterans Building.