Concerts at the Church

One of the many highlights of Nurtingen Festival was the daily evening concerts. Each concert performed by world renowned, top class guitarists, was much more than I expected it to be. I felt inspired, moved, fulfilled and blown away from head to toe! Every night, they brought me to the happiest place on Earth also known as "guitar heaven" :) It was like being in a dream you never wanted to wake up from! I'm so lucky to have been able to experience such a wonderful series of concerts. Each artist brought something different to the concert hall and I really appreciated that. All of the performers were equally phenomenal, but had something unique to offer. It didn't feel like a competition -who's better, who's the best? I think they were all truly special in each way, and each had their own strength and remarkable qualities. In fact, out of the 9 concerts, not a single piece was played by another.

Photo taken from the back of the second floor. Very intimate and cozy church. About 140 seats.

As you can see from the photos this was a relatively small, cozy and intimate church. I loved it! The sound was amazing and you could hear the softest dynamics without amplification. Every detail was heard throughout the entire room regardless of where you sat, even in the back row! The sound was somewhat lost on the second floor, but it was my favorite place to sit because you had a nice view. Since the first floor was level, you pretty much had to get a front row seat. Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to see very well, unless you're 6 feet tall... which... um... clearly, I'm not ;)

Sitting on the second floor of the church with my friend Takuya. The sound is better on the first floor, but I liked the view from up here. It was my favorite place to view the concerts!

Irina Kulikova

There are many concerts I need to start writing about, so I'll start in no particular order. Today, I'll share my thoughts on Irina Kulikova.

Program, concert ticket, and a view from my seat.

This was my second time seeing Irina on stage. The first time was at Northwestern Illinois University's Segovia Series in 2012. I remember she was great, but I don't remember what she played or much of anything else. I know I still have the program somewhere... If I wasn't lazy I'd go find it right now ;)

The program started out with Bach's Cello Suite No. 1 and I was particularly excited to hear her play this set of pieces because I'm currently working on the first movement, Prelude. She started out by explaining to us that this piece holds a special place in her heart because her mother was a cellist and she often heard her play it when she was growing up. I'm not sure what arrangement she used, but the transcription she played had a few added basses than the one I play.

I fell in love with how she played Bach, so expressively, beautifully phrased, with warmth, elegance, grace, and strength. It was magical. Bach is one of my favorite composers, but if played in such a way, it becomes boring right away. With her interpretation, I enjoyed hearing every single note. Each note was artfully played and a joy to hear. Her rendition of Sor's Fantasia was equally breathtaking and I enjoyed the Russian pieces which were all very emotional, expressive and passionate. Here's the second movement of the Three Forest Paintings by Vassiliev.

Below is a picture of her and her adorable daughter hanging out at Johannes Moller's concert. Off stage she is just like any loving mom :)

Concert Series + Irina Kulikova

Concerts at the Church

Irina Kulikova