THE ASSADS The Calgary Herald November 11, 2014

Guitar duo Assad Brothers expands our music horizons Assad Brothers masters of rich Brazilian sound BY KENNETH DELONG Although the guitar is today one of the most popular instruments for budding musicians, the number of concerts by professional guitarists in Calgary remains modest. This is a shame, not only because of general interest in the instrument, but particularly because of the wealth of music composed for the guitar that remains known largely to just guitarists.

This was particularly evident Sunday evening with the appearance of the highly regarded Assad Brothers from Brazil, whose program comprised music known only to guitar specialists.

Now in their 50th year as a duo, the brothers wear their years very lightly, their concert lively and engaged, the music fresh and highly polished. Aside from the virtuoso command of their instruments, offered as naturally as one might offer a cup of coffee, the highlight of the concert lays in the musical repertoire itself. As a total program, the concert constituted a primer for North Americans of the rich world of Brazilian guitar music.

The first half of the show featured what might be called the roots of modern Iberian music from the two great figures from Spain, Albeniz and Granados, both of whom were pianists (not guitarists). Their music is distinctive, not only for its folk-inflected melodies, but specifically for their evocation of the spirit of the guitar.

By long-standing practice this evocation has carried over into the world of guitar music itself with many pieces originally meant for the piano. In this case, it included Albenizs Cordoba and Granadoss Eight Poetic Waltzes. All this music is really salon music, and the genial spirit of the Spanish (Portuguese) salon was clearly the starting point for much of the music heard throughout the evening. It gave the concert an air of old-world charm and Latin informality.

If the salon was the dominant element, it was occasionally mixed with influences from American jazz, particularly in the more modern selections, and especially in the pieces by Piazzolla. While Piazzolla has become a household name in recent years, his music is not only redolent of the tango nuevo but of jazz. This was strikingly the case in the items from Piazzollas Suite Troileana, which contained some of the most musically sophisticated harmonies and musical structures of the program, a highlight of the evening for me.

The second half consisted of a brief chronological survey of modern Brazilian guitar music. None of the composers on the program would be familiar to the general classical concert- goer in North America, so it was fascinating to hear the unique fusion of folk, jazz, and popular elements that make up this music a conception of music not really found in the north.

The power and attractiveness of traditional Brazilian music was hypnotic, especially in the brilliantly conceived duo textures in which it was presented most of it the work of Sergio Assad. Much of the virtuoso playing came from Odair Assad, who is a powerful and compelling performer. However, most apparent was the unity of style, purpose, and performance interaction between the two. While there were two guitars, most the pieces sounded as if they were performed on one giant guitar with expanded possibilities.

The concert was a remarkable and rewarding experience. It was warmly received by the large audience and the charming encore completed an enjoyable evening.

The Assads The Calgary Herald November 11, 2014 page 2 of 2 The music, challenging conventional expectations, provided motivation to expand our musical horizons and to embrace the world of Latin-American music, especially the guitar music of our giant neighbour to the south Brazil.

SERGIO AND ODAIR ASSAD

Chicago Classical Review April 30, 2012

Yo-Yo Ma and friends serve up a Brazilian feast to sold-out

audience BY WYNNE DELACOMA

I hope youre feeling the magic

Yo-Yo Ma hadnt even finished the sentence when waves of applause and cheers from the sold-out audience at Symphony Center engulfed him Sunday night. He was onstage with the Brazilian-born guitarists Sergio and Odair Assad, British pianist

Kathryn Stott and American percussionist Joseph Gramley, chatting briefly with the audience before wrapping up an evening

of Brazilian-inspired music.

Magic is an element Ma conjures easily, whether hes performing a marathon of Bach unaccompanied cello suites or the latest music by compatriots on his Silk Road expeditions. And the exceptionally attentive, eager audience was certainly

feeling it Sunday night in the concerts winning combination of laid-back vibe and impeccable technique.

The evening had all the elements of chamber music at its very best: a collaboration among friends who happen to be musical

masters, who know each other well and enjoy having an audience come along as they explore less-traveled corners of the

repertoire. Featuring composers including Villa-Lobos, Jobim, Piazzolla and Clarice Assad, Sergios daughter, the program was crisply paced and nicely varied. We had a chance to hear Stott and Ma as a duo and the Assads by themelves as well as

all five musicians in mostly short works and a few larger-scale pieces like Clarice Assads evocative Back to Our Roots Suite.

Ma and Stott have been performing together for almost three decades. They have been working with the Assads, long-time

stars of the guitar firmament, for 15 years; Gramley is an original member of the Silk Road ensemble that Ma founded in

2000. The fact that Sergio Assad, married to an astrophysicist at the University of Chicago, is now based in Chicago added to

the atmosphere of a happy homecoming for longtime friends and family.

Its no secret that Brazilian music, with its contrasts of smoky, languorous melodies and outbursts of fast, syncopated rhythms, is seductive music. But part of the magic Sunday night was the subtlety of this seduction. In the slower, more

meditative moments during a set of short pieces that opened the evening, Stott and Ma didnt exaggerate the swaying rhythms or lingering melodies. Mas cello seemed to float with otherworldly calm amid a smoky haze in Piazzollas Oblivion. And the occasional dissonances between piano and cello in Camargo Guarnieris Dansa Negra were witty as well as slyly sexy.

In a medley of Three Brazilian Songs by Anibal Augusto Sardinha for guitar duo, the Assads brought elegant shading to the

slow passages while their melody lines twisted like cheerfully tangled vines when the tempos speeded up.

The Assads grandparents emigrated from Lebanon to Brazil in 1895, and the four sections of the Back to Our Roots Suite offered a sophisticated blend of contemporary Brazilian swing and the darker harmonies and pungent rhythms of the Middle

East. Trading his guitar for a sazuki, a kind of lute, Sergio added its leaner sound to the intricate interplay of wistful cello,

mellow, big-throated guitar, driving, syncopated piano and crisp, Indian tabla-style drumming.

The two encores, Piazzollas high-energy Libertango and Clarice Assads The Last Song, summed up the evening. That the audience didnt seem to breathe until the final, hushed note of The Last Song had completely drifted away was magic indeed.

SERGIO AND ODAIR ASSAD

Reno Gazette-Journal April 27, 2012

Review: Yo Yo Ma and company share rich Brazilian music at

Grand Sierra BY GERALDA MILLER

Without a doubt, world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma let everyone who watched his performance Thursday night at the

Grand Sierra Resort and Casino know how much he loves the rich sounds of Brazilian music.

He performed in the Grand Theatre to a sold-out audience with pianist Kathryn Stott, guitarists Odair and Sergio Assad and percussionist Joseph Gramley. It was the final performance of Artowns Encore series of concerts.

Ma thanked the Assad bothers for introducing him and Stott, who has collaborated with him for almost 35 years, to

Brazil.

By the way, were not Brazilian, Ma joked.

But if you had closed your eyes and just listened to the music, you might have guessed that they were.

Ma and Stott began the musical journal Cesar Camargo Marianos Cristal, where they danced perfectly with each other in syncopation. They then slowed it down to a passionate, sultry dance with Milonga en Re by Argentinas tango composer, Astor Piazzolla.

After holding your breath as long as Ma held that last note, he introduced the Assads, joking that he and Stott were the

opening act.

Ma and Stott might not have been the opening act, but the Assads imprint on the evenings rich collection of Brazilian music, with all of its cultural influences, was evident. Sergio Assad, a San Francisco resident who is on faculty with the

San Francisco Conservancy, arranged the evenings program.

The Assads joined Stott for Egberto Gismantis Palhaco, after she introduced them saying, Ive been wanting for 15 years to play with the Assad Brothers.

It was as if they had played together for years.

Ma and Gramley, a mind-blowing percussionist who has performed with the Silk Road Ensemble since inception in 2000, joined the stage to perform three pieces arranged by Sergio Assad before the intermission that flowed from a soft,

smooth melody with Heitor Villa-Lobos Melodia sentimental to the rhythmic dance called the Baiao de 5 and the jazzy rhythms of Guerra Peixes Mourao.

The Assads began the second half of the two-hour concert with such precision in Astor Piazzollas Bandoneon that I kept wondering how it seemed so seamless since they live so far apart. Odair Assad lives in Brussels, where he teaches

at Ecole Superieure des Arts.

The other musicians joined the stage, performing several of the expressive, harmonious and popular bossa nova works

by Antonio Carlos Jobim.

The audience was reminded of Brazils rich cultural diversity with the two final pieces of the evening.

Sergio & Odair Assad

Reno Gazette-Journal April 27, 2012

page 2 of 2

Sergio Assads Tahhiyya Li Ossoulina, with its rich Middle Eastern influence, showed his Lebanese heritage.

The finale was a suite written by Sergio Assad and his daughter, Clarice, which told the story of his grandfathers immigration to Brazil from Lebanon in 1895 and their journey to a melodious ending that is the confluence of cultures and traditions. This was expecially evident with Sergio playing the sazuki, which is the cross between a Turkish saz

and a Greek bouzouki.

After two encores, Ma left the audience holding on to that very last, lingering note until the next one.

SERGIO AND ODAIR ASSAD

Las Vegas Review-Journal April 25, 2012

Yo-Yo Ma, friends share love of music with audience BY CAROL CLING

You've got to hand it to Yo-Yo Ma.

He certainly knows how to throw a great get-together for his friends - onstage and in the audience.

Those expecting the superstar cellist to hog the spotlight Tuesday night at The Smith Center's Reynolds Hall must have

been disappointed.

That is, until they heard the concert's first beguiling notes, after which they undoubtedly smiled and settled in for a magical musical tour to Brazil and beyond.

Reflecting Ma's ongoing interest in world music - and his evident delight in collaboration -Tuesday's "Viva Brazil"

concert teamed him with four favored colleagues.

Ma's first traveling companion to South America: pianist Kathryn Stott , who's worked with him since the mid-'80s.

Together, they set the tone for the concert, launching with Cesar Camargo Mariano's "Cristal" - featuring Ma and Stott

trading light, playful melodic lines to a pulsating, syncopated beat - and following with the mournful, contemplative

"Milonga en Re," by Argentina's Astor Piazzolla.

After welcoming the audience and noting that "we are so, so happy to be in your gorgeous new hall," Ma joked that he

and Stott were "the opening act for tonight's main attraction, the Assad Brothers."

Once guitarist brothers Sergio and Odair Assad teamed up with Stott for Egberto Gismanti's shimmering "Palhaco ," however, audience members realized Ma's words weren't entirely tongue-in-cheek.

So in sync that it almost seems as though they're one guitarist (albeit one with four hands), the Assads' sly interplay,

delivered with a kind of "try and catch me" delight, melded with Stott's rippling, resonant chords.

Ma and percussionist Joseph Gramley (a member of Ma's Silk Road Ensemble since its 2000 inception) then joined Stott and the Assads for a trio of works arranged by Sergio Assad, including Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos'

soulful "Melodia Sentimental" and Guerra Peixe's jaunty, jazzy "Mourao."

The Assads led off the concert's second half with a medley of bossa nova tunes so crisp and airy you half expected the Girl from Ipanema to stroll onstage. She didn't, but a set of melodies from that tune's composer, Antonio Carlos Jobim,

showcased not only his lilting melodies but the five musicians' overall simpatico.

For the concert finale, the quintet ventured even further afield. In the "Back to Our Roots Suite," by Sergio Assad and his daughter Clarice, sinuous Middle Eastern influences reflected Brazil's immigrant waves - including those of the

Assads' Lebanese grandfather. In the suite, Sergio traded his guitar for a sazuki (a combination of Turkey's saz and

Greece's bouzouki ), boosting the Middle Eastern flavor.

And while Ma's status as host was evident throughout, the concert demonstrated that a journey - musical or otherwise - is always more rewarding when it's shared.

SRGIO AND ODAIR ASSAD

Santa Barbara Independent February 21, 2012

Assad Brothers at the Lobero Theatre BY CHARLES DONELAN

Renowned Brazilian Guitarists Charm Valentines Day Audience on Tuesday, February 14

A large audience packed the Lobero Theatre on Valentines Day for this program, which featured the exquisite interplay of world-renowned guitarists Srgio and Odair Assad, and amounted to an evening-long comprehensive

survey of the development of compositions for the guitar in Brazil. Srgio Assad, the elder brother, served as the

spokesman for the duo, and through his words and the brothers outstanding playing, a whole musical world was revealed. The program began with compositions by some late-19th/early-20th-century pioneers, namely Ernesto

Nazareth, Amrico Jacomino, and Luiz Bonf. The sound that these two musicians create together combines intricate

counterpoint with generous helpings of rubato a daring strategy that would send most musicians straight to compositional ruin. Yet in the hands of these masters, who are reputed to practice up to 10 hours a day to maintain their unearthly level of empathetic communication, the combination somehow miraculously works. Srgio refers to what

they do with these more traditional works as dressing them up, but what it amounts to is a kind of reinvention in which the material bends and folds back on itself in a seemingly improvised dance of echo and self-reference. The first half of the concert concluded with a medley of works by Anibal Sardinha and a dancing pair of excerpts from the Suite

Retratos of Radams Gnattali.

Although the opening half was thoroughly satisfying, and a great introduction to what these gentlemen are capable of with their instruments, it did not prepare one for the sublime heights that were reached almost immediately during the

concerts second set. To begin, Odair emerged solo to play six short pieces written by Srgio. At the risk of clich, Odair is the quiet one who speaks with his instrument, and on his brothers Seis Brevidades, he soared. Free from the demands of the duo format, he wrung every imaginable type of rhythmic change on the dance-like miniatures, completely captivating the returning audience.

The duo pieces during the second half were also more remarkable, as befits the eminent composers involved. First up

after Srgios brief solos was the redoubtable Heitor Villa-Lobos, who contributed two great pieces that spurred the brothers to fiery heights. The work of Antonio Carlos Jobim came next, and again, the two men managed to find

something new to say, and a new sound to suit that statement. It was in this second set, and in particular during the

penultimate scheduled piece, the Palhaco of Egberto Gismonti, that the Assads revealed the full extent of their range and mastery of the guitar. Brazilian guitar music makes some rather large claims on the instruments upper echelons, but too often, the sound is somewhat monochromatic. On Palhaco, the Assads confirmed that Brazilian guitar tradition truly does contain multitudes, and demands the respect of guitar players in every imaginable idiom.

The final offering before the encore was Srgios composition Tahhiyya li Ossoulina, which translates to Homage to Our Roots. Its a tribute to the Assad familys Lebanese heritage, and involves a healthy dose of guitar-body percussion from both players. As a summary of what came before, it worked well enough, but as an intimation of what

is to come from these extraordinary musicians, it was a special treat. Lets hope the Assads return soon to give us more insight into these fascinating Middle-Eastern roots of their Latin American soul.

SRGIO AND ODAIR ASSAD

Santa Barbara News-Press February 18, 2012

CONCERT REVIEW: A Brazilian musical odyssey BY JOSEF WOODWARD

Santa Barbara has been lucky to have occasional visits from the undisputedly masterful classical guitar duo of Brazilian

brothers Srgio and Odair Assad in the past, including a fondly remembered intimate recital in the Mural Room of the County Courthouse five years back. But when the pair played the Lobero Theatre on Tuesday night, part of CAMA's

chamber music "Masterseries" chamber music, they offered a special treat a valentine, if you will to the local music-loving population and perhaps to this hallowed hall itself, where classical guitar greats including the Romero family and Andres Segovia have performed.

While this acclaimed duo has traversed a wide spectrum of classical music in its time, this was the first time, Srgio

told the audience, that the brothers were taking on an all-Brazilian program.

What transpired over two diverse sets of music was a short history of guitar music history, played brilliantly and with the brothers' famous two-as-one empathy. On this special night, the Assads showed us, in effect, where they are coming

from, and surveyed what makes Brazilian music, especially guitar-connected Brazilian music, so magical in the general

world of music.

After 45 years of performing together, the Assads have a uniquely integrated sound together, but each leans into his

own personal sound and even physical approach to the instrument. Srgio follows the standard classical guitar practice

of using a foot stool to bring the fingerboard up in angle, the better to access with the arm. Odair is more the cowboy, foregoing the foot stool and placing the larger curve of the guitar body on his right knee and cradling the guitar at a

sharp angle. Srgio half-joked that while he is the older brother, by a few years, Odair is the better player, and that may

be true by ever-so slight degrees, especially in terms of each brothers' fluidity in their improvisational moments.

Starting at the beginning, the Assads played works of Ernesto Nazareth (1863-1934), who Srgio described as "the father of Brazilian music." Throughout the first, historical and cultural stage-setting set of the evening, they moved

through music by America Jacomino "Canhoto," Joo Pernambuco, Anbal Augusto Sardinha "Garoto," and two

selections from Radam s Gnattali's "Suite Retratos," which is, in itself, a personal homage to such composer precedents as Nazareth.

Along the path of composers lesser-known to average music listeners in the first half, they also covered one of the best-

known Brazilian tunes, Luis Bonfs "Manha de Carnaval," commonly known for the film it was featured in, "Black Orpheus." But the Assad version arrived in a fresh, rethought package of an arrangement, as much a comment on the

legendary piece as the piece

itself.

In the second half of the program, the musical focus was on a handful of hugely important and widely known composer/musicians, notably including the greatest and best-known of Brazilian composers, Heitor Villa-Lobos,

sophisticated song master Antnio Carlos Jobim, and individualistic hero Egberto Gismonti, a living

composer/musician who has uniquely merged "serious music" with indigenous Brazilian sounds and impulses.

Srgio and Odair Assad

Santa Barbara News-Press February 18, 2012

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Rightfully, the second half's list also included pieces by S rgio himself, whose mark as a composer is becoming

increasingly important. In another Santa Barbara angle, his concerto for guitar quartet and orchestra, "Interchange," was

given one of its first performances by the LAGQ and the Santa Barbara Symphony, two years back.

Respective talents of Srgio, the composer, and Odair (pronounced "Oh-dah-ear," incidentally) the player came to the

fore as Odair opened the second set with a solo work by his brother, "Seis Brevidades" ("Six Short Pieces"). This

alternately impressionistic and energetic set of miniatures, played beautifully by Odair, can also be heard on his fine

2009 solo album, "El caminante" (GHA). Framing the set, Sergio's attractive composition "Tahhiyya li Ossulina ("Homage to Our Roots)" capped off a musical journey which included strong but rare pieces by Villa-Lobos and

Jobim (in non-bossa mode). Gismonti's jazz-meets-folk-colored charmer " Palhao."

For an encore, the brothers played the night's only non-Brazilian piece, Venezuelan composer Antonio Lauro's "Vals Venezolano No. 3," but the personal connection ran deep, to when the brothers were precocious guitar-playing

youngsters in Rio de Janeiro. Wee Odair played the hard part, Srgio joked, while he opted for the accompaniment role,

but he served as a very active and virtuosic support system here, as always.

Apart from the deservedly lofty perch the duo occupies in guitar circles, really, the Assad brothers by now should be

considered one of the great and reliable pleasures of known classical music. Next time we hear them hereabouts, they

will probably be matriculated more in the realm of "classical" repertoire.

As for Tuesday's special performance treat, we were led into the particular wonderland of Brazilian musical legacies, delivered by two of that deeply musical nation's boldest, yet also continuingly humble, heroes.

SRGIO AND ODAIR ASSAD

Los Angeles Times February 16, 2012

Music review: Guitar-playing Assad Brothers at Cerritos Center BY RICHARD S. GINELL

Brazils Assad brothers - Srgio and Odair - have been known for extraordinarily freewheeling programs, as Srgio has been willing and able to transcribe and arrange just about anything for two guitars. But, at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts Wednesday night, they played what Srgio said was their first all-Brazilian program - thus going against type and reverting to their roots all at once. In any case, it made for a lovely evening, full of luscious melodic

foliage from their homeland.

Much of what the Assads played was not too familiar to a North American audience, but virtually all of it could be

immediately assimilated - from the sentimental waltz Eponina and driving Batuque of Ernesto Nazareth to the rolling samba rhythms in the interior of Joao Pernambucos Interrogando. On recordings, given their tightly knit blend, its difficult to discern who is playing what, but observed live, Odair is clearly more mellow and fluid while Srgio has a steelier, more staccato edge.

One item that was familiar - indeed over-familiar - was Luiz Bonfs Manh de Carnaval, here subjected to an elaborate arrangement by Srgio where the tune was at times almost completely hidden underneath a jungle of counterpoint. But Srgio neednt apologize; his treatment made Bonfs standard seem fresh and challenging.

There were a pair of explorations into the rich archive of Antonio Carlos Jobim - the delicate, little-known Amparo and a faithful, dynamic arrangement of Stone Flower (the latter made famous by Carlos Santana) - as well as Villa-Lobos beguiling A Lenda da Caboclo and disruptively dramatic Choros No. 5.

Alone, Odair Assad gracefully played a suite of short pieces, Seis Brevidades, by his brother, loaded with Brazilian color and good tunes. And to close, the Assads took us even further back to their grandfathers Lebanese origins with Srgios Tahhiyya li Ossoulina, which consciously injected Middle Eastern scales and complex rhythms - the latter drummed percussively on their guitars soundboards.

SRGIO AND ODAIR ASSAD

Santa Barbara News-Press February 10, 2012

IN CONCERT: Twelve Strings and a Stellar Reputation - Over the

past nearly two decades, Brazilian brothers Sergio and Odair Assad,

in concert at the Lobero on Tuesday, have become a power duo in

the classical guitar world, and in music, generally. BY JOSEF WOODWARD

IN CONCERT SERGIO AND ODAIR ASSAD

When:

8 p.m., Tuesday Where: Lobero Theater, 33 E. Canon Perdido

Cost: $33 and $43

Information: 963-0761, www.lobero.com

In the world according to classical guitar, the name Assad has been a towering presence for many years now.

Virtuosic Brazilian guitarist brothers Sergio and Odair have made of their acclaimed guitar duo an internationally

revered sensation, while also pursuing separate musical paths Odair's advancing solo career and Sergio's expanding investment in life as a composer.

But the duo prevails, and has thankfully made Santa Barbara an occasional concertizing stopping point. In 2007, the

duo presented a memorable show in the magical ambience of the mural room at the Santa Barbara Courthouse, part of a

"chamber music in historic places" series. Tuesday night at the Lobero a room that has hosted many important guitarists, including the guitar-luminary Romero family the Assad Brothers return, as part of the chamber music limb of the CAMA season.

Serious guitar fans, and serious music fans of whatever persuasion, are duly advised to be in the house. For a powerful

introduction to the duo's mastery and musicality, proceed to their 2008 Nonesuch album "Jardim Abandonado."

We recently caught up with Sergio, very much in the thick of a brilliant career, with and apart from his sibling.

Your duo has performed in Santa Barbara before, most recently in 2007, in the courthouse mural room. And speaking

of local "appearances," your composition "Interchange" was given one of its first performances by the LAGQ with the Santa Barbara Symphony two years ago. Do you feel any particular kinship with this part of the world?

Actually, I've been living in California for the last couple of years since I joined the San Francisco Conservatory of

Music as a member of their faculty. I've lived in other parts of the world before but I developed a special connection

with California and have a great pleasure being here.

You and your brother play separately and do projects apart, but then come back together in this long-standing duo. Is

the duo the foundation of your musical lives, and is it also important for you to pursue artistic directions of your own?

Srgio and Odair Assad

Santa Barbara News-Press February 10, 2012

page 2 of 3

We started playing together at a very early stage of our lives and did so for many years until the mid '90s. From '96 on,

we started playing with other musicians, but always using the two-guitar combination with special guests. The list is

long but I can name a few like Gidon Kremer, Nadja Salerno Sonnenberg, Yo-Yo Ma and Paquito D'Rivera.

More recently Odair wanted to do some solo work and have been developing his own career. On my side, the urge to

write music is quite high and I've dedicated some time and effort in this direction in the last few years. Although we've

been working apart from time to time, our main goal is still theduo partnership. We still enjoy playing together, even

after doing so for over 40 years.

The Assad Brothers have become such a vital force in the guitar world, and beyond. Has its path so far exceeded your

expectations of what might happen for the duo?

When we started playing the guitar back in the '60s we wanted just to play for fun. Back then, in Brazil, it was unthinkable to pursue a professional musical career as concert guitarists. Life proved us wrong and actually has given

us something completely out of our scope. In that sense the expectations we had were exceeded by far.

Can you tell me about the concept and the design for the program you will be bringing to Santa Barbara this time?

We want to talk a bit about the development of the Brazilian guitar through the course of the 20th century. We arranged

some of the most important guitar standardsin the Brazilian guitar music (canon), giving them our personal vision. For

each one of the arrangements we tried something rhythmically or harmonically different.

Of course, Heitor Villa-Lobos has a looming legacy in guitar music and music, generally. How has his work affected you as a musician, personally, and the larger Brazilian musical sensibility?

Villa-Lobos has been, by far, the most important classical composer in Brazil. However, the

best representation of Brazilian music is popular music. Brazil has developed a musical history compared to the U.S. While the U.S. has given jazz to the world, the Brazilians developed what they call MPB (Musica Popular Brasileira).

There are many forms of expressions in Brazilian music that goes under this denomination. We've been exposed to this

force since we were children and this certainly has affected us a lot in our development as musicians.

You will also be performing music of the great Egberto Gismonti, who I've always been fascinated by: he seems like one of the rare musicians who really straddles the classical, jazz and indigenous Brazilian music worlds. Is he a

musician you have a particular fondness for?

Egberto Gismonti has been a prominent inspiration for many Brazilian musicians since the '70s. I could compare his influence with that of Ernesto Nazareth, who had the same kind of impact on the creative process of other musicians

100 years back in time.

Brazil has had such a strong role in the evolution of classical guitar as an accepted part of the classical world, in terms of players and composers. Can you give me a bit of background on how this came to be, and how the state of classical

guitar culture in Brazil has evolved in recent years?

Besides Villa-Lobos as a composer, there are quite a few others, but not at the same level he was. Villa-Lobos was a

true innovator and has left an approach to classical guitar that nobody thought before. I can't personally think of the output of Leo Brouwer or Egberto Gismonti being the same if it was not for the strong presence of Villa-Lobos and his

ideas. Villa-Lobos music derives from the Brazilian folklore or from the Brazilian traditional music.

In these fields you will find other minor composers that were guitarists and they really helped to shape the guitar the way it is in Brazil nowadays. In the program we will be playing in Santa Barbara, we pay tribute to a few of them. We

chose standards by Americo Jacomino Canhoto, Joao Pernambuco, Luiz Bonfa and Anibal Sardinha Garoto.

Nowadays, you will find many classical guitarists around the world playing some pieces of these composers, although they are not classical composers.

Srgio and Odair Assad

Santa Barbara News-Press February 10, 2012

page 3 of 3

On the subject of that LAGQ Concerto piece, do you find yourself more involved in composition these days? Is it

important for you, for one, to help expand the literature of new guitar music?

I've been writing more and more in the recent years. To compose is quite vital for me. I'm not really worried about expanding the guitar literature once that is being done by so many other people around the world. Nowadays, most

young composers write something for guitar. In a few years the guitarwill gain more and more respect and will finally

get its deserved spot in the international music community.

What projects do you have on the horizon, yourself and with your brother?

We will be touring with Yo-Yo Ma again quite soon, in April, with music specially designed for the occasion.

We are currently working on new compositions that aim to reunite the Assad family comprised by the Assad Duo, our

sister Badi Assad, my daughterr Clarice and Odair's daughter Carolina. We toured with them last year in Europe and want to bring this project to the U.S. soon.

Next year we will be touring again with Paquito Rivera and probably will run a complete new repertoire with him.

Are you satisfied with the way things are going in your creative life at this particular moment?

Yes, pretty much. It is a great feeling to find out that you have a musical identity and people are expecting to hear new

things you might come up with.

SRGIO AND ODAIR ASSAD

SanDiego.com August 14, 2011

Assad Brothers Guitar Duo at SummerFest BY KENNETH HERMAN

A colorful musical caravan to Brazil and Argentina

For a single afternoona gloomy, overcast Sunday (August 14)La Jolla SummerFest ignored its cherished Mozart, Brahms, Chopin and the other European musical gods it regularly worships to pay homage to the exotic divinities of

South America. And what better acolytes to guide this rite than the esteemed Brazilian classical guitar duo of Srgio

and Odair Assad?

The laid-back but musically adroit Assads offered selections by their fellow countrymen Heitor Villa-Lobos, Ernesto

Nazareth, Antonio Carlos Jobim and by the Argentine avatars Astor Piazzolla and Alberto Ginastera, as well as a pair

of original works by Srgio Assad. But their program was no easy-listening medley of snappy tangos and hummable

Girl from Ipanema melodies. While dance motivates much of South American music, the Assads program also held up the wistful, introspective, improvisational, and dramatic elements that are equally celebrated and manifested in this

rich tradition so geographically close but culturally remote from the U.S.

Their several Piazzolla selections covered the emotional and stylistic waterfront, from the acidic chord progressions and skittish, tentative themes of Bandonon arranged for two guitars to the virile tango pulsations of Verano Porteo, performed with the strings of the Old City String Quartet. With violinist Jennifer Koh providing sleek, expressive nostalgic melodic invention, the Assads evoked wintry solitude in Invierno Porteo, while these same musicians suggested a menacing specter in Escualo (or shark in Spanish).

In a pair of Jobim pieces for guitars alone, Amparo and Stone Flower, the Assad brothers distinctive temperament came to the fore: clipped, unfailingly articulate attacks, crystalline phrasing, subtle dynamic modulations, and the acute

integration of their individual musical lines. By way of contrast, their approach to the guitar is the serene, Apollonian route, rather than the more familiar Dionysian fervor of the Romero family of guitarists, exemplars of the robust

Spanish tradition. Perhaps as a result of this difference, the La Jolla audience took a while to warm up to the Assads,

but, especially as the duo added other musicians to the ensemble, the SummerFest crowd acknowledged the depth of their artistry and showed their approval with enthusiasm.

Clarinetist Burt Hara excelled in his colorful, feisty solo in Ginasteras Malambo, a brilliant movement from the 1941 ballet Estancia, composed for the North American dance impresario Lincoln Kirstein. And in Assads Suite from De Volta As Raizes (Back to Our Roots), Hara suggested the breezy freedom of a klezmer player.

Assads Suite, an expansive chamber work for nine strings, clarinet, flute, and two guitars, mingled Middle Eastern scales and harmonies with South American textures and dance rhythms in a compelling fashion. Because one of the

Assad grandparents came to Brazil from Lebanon, Srgio decided to portray this cross-cultural fetilization musically. We heard three movements of this Suite at the conclusion of Sundays concert. This 15-minute composition struck me as a compact concerto for two guitars, which, with a little broader orchestration and a dash of percussion, could

offer some worthy competition to the ubiquitous Rodrigo guitar concertos that have cornered this market.

Bla Bartks set of six short Romanian Folk Dances, the one non-South American offering on the program, gave violinist David Chan the opportunity to flash his big, assertive sound in some earthy peasant dances, and then turn on a

Srgio and Odair Assad

SanDiego.com August 14, 2011

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dime to spin out delicate themes at the top of his range, accompanied by unearthly guitar harmonics. Bartks perceptive adaptation of rustic music to the concert stage was certainly complementary to the remainder of a program

equally tied to aboriginal impulses.

SRGIO AND ODAIR ASSAD

San Francisco Classical Voice April 10, 2011

Assads Inspire and Challenge BY SCOTT CMIEL

Sergio and Odair Assad have moved audiences and inspired guitarists around the world for over 30 years with

revelatory performances of Latin American music and European classics, original compositions, deep musicality, and supple, almost telepathic, guitar duo performances. In the late 1990s they began to expand their ensemble sound in a series of collaborations with musicians like Dawn Upshaw, Gidon Kremer, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, and Yo-Yo Ma.

Recently, they expanded their repertoire by exploring their ancestral roots in Lebanon.

On Sunday at the Palace of Fine Arts SFJAZZ presented Sergio and Odair Assad, Sergios daughter the pianist/singer/composer Clarice Assad, percussionist Keita Ogawa, and Lebanese singer Christiane Karam in a program

titled De Volta As Raizes (Back to Our Roots) which was musically thrilling, emotionally satisfying and, at least

implicitly, a politically challenging and sympathetic view of immigration.

Sergio and Odairs grandfather immigrated to Brazil from Lebanon in 1895 and, as so often happens, the family connection to ancestral roots was lost in the process of migration and assimilation. The Assads were raised on Western music, from Brazilian chros to European classics, but recently became interested in exploring connections that can be found between Latin American and Arab musical traditions.

The first half of the program was dedicated to music of Latin America and began with Sergio and Odair playing

Piazzollas Bandoneon. They opened with ethereal sonorities that took full advantage of the immense palate of colors available to a guitar duo and later alternated between aggressive tango rhythms and more lyrical, tender passages.

Ernesto Nazareth, a contemporary of Scott Joplin, wrote music which combined the influences of Brazil, Europe,

Africa, and America to create a distinctive and influential style. The duo played his Epnina, a flirtatious but tender

waltz, and Batuque, a rhythmically complex and energetic Brazilian dance. Antonio Carlos Jobim is best known for his 1960s hits The Girl From Ipanema and Corcovado but his later work is in many ways deeper and more subtle. Amparo is quiet and introspective and Stone Flower rhythmically driving. The Assads played with a rhythmic sensitivity to the essence of bossa nova as well as the changing moods of each piece.

Clarice Assad came to the stage and sang Melodia Sentimental by Heitor Villa-Lobos to her brothers accompaniment

and performed Cajuina by Caetano Veloso with percussionist Keita Ogawa. The Villa-Lobos, written in 1958 for

soprano, male chorus and orchestra, was sung like a mournful Portuguese fado and the Veloso was presented with soulful intensity.

The first half concluded with a quartet of the Assads and Keita Ogawa performing two popular Brazilian pieces Baio de 5 by G. Levy and Mouro by Csar Guerra-Peixe. Ogawa is a wonderful percussionist whose usual role on Sunday

was to offer the group colorful and sensitive support but he ended the program with a long, intricate, and polyrhythmic tambourine solo which delighted the audience and brought the first half of the program to a spectacular conclusion.

The second half was devoted to music with Arabic roots. It began with an outstanding performance of Sergio Assads Tahhiyya li Ossoulina, winner of the 2008 Latin Grammy Award for best contemporary composition, and dedicated to Lebanese and Syrian immigrants who settled in Brazil in the 1880s. Lebanese singer Christiane Karam joined the group

Srgio and Odair Assad

San Francisco Classical Voice April 10, 2011

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in songs by popular Arabic composers of the 20th century, the Rahbani brothers and Abdel Halim Hafez el Masloub, as

well as another song of her own composition.

The program ended with De Volta As Raizes (Back to Our Roots) a suite in four movements written by Sergio and Clarice Assad with lyrics by Christiane Karam. An ambitious portrayal of the immigrant experience in four movements

titled Leaving, Hope, Nostalgia, and Happiness, it used every member of the ensemble and featured Sergio playing a

traditional Lebanese string instrument. The music expressed everything the titles promised and created a powerful

feeling of sympathy for the aspirations of immigrants.

The enthusiastic audience was rewarded with an encore of the tender Luiza by Antonio Carlos Jobim sung with lyrics

in both Portuguese and Arabic.

SRGIO & ODAIR ASSAD

The New York Times February 14, 2011

A Soulful, Virtuosic Player Holding the Spotlight Alone BY ALLAN KOZINN

The Brazilian guitarist Odair Assad performs mostly as half of the Assad Brothers, and though his older brother,

Srgio, has pursued an independent musical life as a composer, arranger and player, Odair, until recently, seemed

disinclined to build a solo career.

His recital at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Sunday afternoon made his reticence hard to understand. Not that his

technical polish and strong interpretive intuition were surprising. It has long been obvious from the duos recordings and concert performances that both the Assads are virtuosic, soulful players. But even though their fraternal bond and,

as they have told interviewers, 10 hours of daily practice have helped them cultivate unusual ensemble fluidity, duet

performance inevitably requires a measure of personal interpretive restraint.

Freed of that restraint, Odair Assad proved a remarkably elastic player. In Agustn Barrioss Chro da Saudade and Villa-Loboss Chro No. 1, he emphasized the rhythmic freedom inherent in this quintessentially Brazilian popular form, a quality often lost, or at least compromised, in classical performances. Villa-Loboss Prelude No. 3 and tude No. 10 were similarly unbuttoned: Mr. Assads phrasing is highly personalized, with extreme rubato and articulation so varied as to sound almost improvised.

Leo Brouwers broad-boned Sonata del Caminante was the programs most involved work, and Mr. Assad, for whom it was written, was undaunted by its contrapuntal thickets. And he gave a spellbinding performance of Kevin

Callahans Red Fantasy, an inviting study in chordal melodies, speedy single lines and occasional bent pitches.

Though not at his brothers side, Srgio Assad was not altogether absent. He contributed colorful arrangements of the Invierno Porteo and Primavera Portea, the Winter and Spring movements from Piazzollas Cuatro Estaciones Porteas (Four Seasons of Buenos Aires) as well as his own Seis Brevidades, an appealingly showy six-movement suite. The program also included Memria y Fado, a gently melodic meditation by Egberto Gismonti, and a pair of short character pieces by Alfredo da Rocha Viana Filho, the chro composer better known as Pixinguinha.

SRGIO & ODAIR ASSAD

The New York Times November 25, 2010

Lives of Music and Physics, Lovingly Bound BY NEIL TESSER

In the Printers Row apartment shared by Srgio Assad and Angela Olinto, two Latin Grammy awards occupy an

inconspicuous spot in the office. In the kitchen, Stephen Hawkings latest opus, The Grand Design, rests next to a MacBook containing Ms. Olintos review of the book written for the journal Physics Today.

These objects do not usually coexist in the same part of the time-space continuum, but they say a great deal about an

extraordinary household, and a family that connects three generations of arts and science.

Ms. Olinto, 49, is an internationally known astrophysicist in the department of astronomy and astrophysics at the

University of Chicago. She has expertise in several fields, including high-energy cosmic rays, but she also teaches a

course called Cosmology for Poets. She spends much of her time in Chicago, except when visiting Europe or Asia for a conference, or Argentina for her semiannual visit to the massive Pierre Auger Observatory, which she helped

design.

Srgio jokes that people think hes smarter now that if hes married to me, he must be a smart guy, she said, laughing.

Mr. Assad, 57, is half of what critics consider the worlds leading classical guitar duo, with his brother Odair. He almost won a third Latin Grammy in the ceremonies held Nov. 11; he was nominated twice for Contemporary Classical

Composition. The Washington Post suggested that the brothers might be the best two-guitar team in existence, maybe even in history.

Living on separate continents Odair lives in Brussels they reunite to record and perform, most recently on a short United States tour that took them to Dominican University in River Forest last weekend. Their younger sister, Badi,

also trained on classical guitar but has earned international fame as a pop and jazz artist.

Angela would say I act like a scientist sometimes because Im a space cadet, always in my own world, and the most brilliant and creative scientists are like space cadets, too, Mr. Assad said. But she is very organized herself. So I think she tells me that just to please me.

Clarice Assad, Mr. Assads oldest child (by his first wife), is a highly regarded composer and pianist. At 31, she has already published nearly 40 works. She graduated from Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University

and now lives in New York.

Both Mr. Assad and Ms. Olinto have followed in their fathers footsteps. My dad had been a physicist, though I didnt actually know that when I decided to be a physicist, Ms. Olinto said; he had left the field when she was a young child. She gravitated to the field while attending college in Rio de Janeiro, which she entered at 16, earning her doctorate

from M.I.T. at 21.

Despite her precocity, she said, she was not a genius.

Serge is a genius; Clarice is a genius, she said. Im not dumb, lets put it that way. Genius to me is when somebody totally surprises me and they do that.

Srgio & Odair Assad

The New York Times November 25, 2010

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The admiration is mutual. Shes amazing, very emotional but very logical, said Ms. Assad, who bonded with Ms. Olinto after moving to the United States in 1996.

This is the third marriage for both. Ms. Olinto divorced her two previous husbands, both physicists. I thought, lets try another topic, she said playfully.

Mr. Assads second wife died of cancer in 1994, at 38. About a year later, after the Assad brothers performed at Fermilab in Batavia, he met Ms. Olinto who had moved to the Midwest in 1990 to do her postdoctoral work at Fermilab and a trans-Atlantic romance bloomed. They married in 1998.

Mr. Assad and his brother grew up far removed from the Rio of Ms. Olintos youth, in several small cities in So Paolo state, where their Lebanese grandfather and Italian grandmother had landed among the wave of immigrants to Brazil at

the end of the 19th century.

They lived on a farm and had 16 kids, but my dad was the only one who loved music, Mr. Assad said. He learned to play mandolin from listening to recordings. Our house was filled with music; it was part of our daily life.

As the brothers learned to play guitar and joined in the family musicales, their father determined they should get formal

training.

He thought we were very good and we should become classical musicians, Mr. Assad said. When I was 15, he took us to Rio so we could study. We were raised there, actually; later my father returned to his village. People thought he

was completely crazy. But he created our career. If he hadnt moved us in that direction, wed probably be like him doing something else and playing music on the side.

These days, Mr. Assad spends half his time away from Chicago, teaching two days each week at the San Francisco

Conservatory of Music, where Ms. Olinto joins him as her schedule allows.

She revels in the variety of their marriage.

We have a different life inside the house and outside, Ms. Olinto said. When you are married to someone who does the same thing as you, it can feel a little claustrophobic. I need more stuff. I need other questions. For me, its perfect to move from one world to the other.

SRGIO & ODAIR ASSAD

Performance Today October 13, 2010

Assad Brother Guitar Duo on Performance Today BY AURTHOR

On Wednesday, October 13th, Performance Today will broadcast a performance of the Assad Brothers from San

Antonio:

Jobim: Amparo

Assad Brothers Guitar Duo

San Antonio Chamber Music Society

Travis Park United Methodist Church, San Antonio, TX

February 9, 2009

American Public Media's Performance Today is broadcast on 260 public radio stations across the country and is heard

by about 1.3 million people each week. Each station individually decides what time to air the program. To find out

where and when Performance Today is broadcast in your area, please visit performancetoday.org.

ODAIR ASSAD

Minor 7th June 28, 2010

Odair Assad El Caminante BY KURT ALBRECHT

What can I say? "El Caminante" by Odair Assad is a majestic sweep of classical guitar playing of mostly

modern composers. Assad brings to the disc decades of startling interpretation, and "El Caminante" further

cements his place as one of the masters of nylon string guitar. The opening and title track "Sonata del

caminante" was written by the marvelous Leo Brouwer, who, according to the excellent liner notes,

composed the piece "in a few days." Like many Brouwer pieces, it careens seemingly out of control in

passion and force, only to come lilting down where we can find breath and drink in the rich aural textures of a

composer who finds his match in the power and grace of Odair Assad to bring his notes to vivid life. This is

music at its most sublime and most exhilarating, and Assad inhabits it with a rare occupation. The disc is half

of a premiere for pieces Assad performs, including Brouwers wonder. Egberto Gismonti contributes "Memoria e fado," a melancholic tussle juxtaposing ascending and descending scales. On "Red Fantasy" by

Kevin Callahan, odd meter meets numerous changes in tempo and style, and Assad delivers each nuance with

musicality. Odair debuts "Seis brevidades" by brother Sergio, his long-time playing partner, and a first-rate

composer in his own right. The "brevidades" are brief glimpses into the world of Latin music. The disc also

includes pieces by Astor Piazzolla, Pixinguinha and Agustin Barrios Mangores well-known "choro de saudade" homage to the lyrical traditional music of Brazil. Who better than the Brazilian Assad to weave its

meandering melody? Throughout every piece, Assads playing is technically brilliant and stylistically sensitive, passionate yet not sentimental. This is a disc you will find yourself listening to over and over again,

because there is always more to find from the fingers of Odair Assad.

Srgio and Odair Assad Washington Examiner April 11, 2010

Brazilian guitarists explore more exotic roots at U. of Md. BY MARIE GULLARD It has been written about Brazilian guitarists Sergio and Odair Assad that no amount of expectation prepares an audience for their perfectly synchronized style of musical interplay and their innovative compositions, many of which have been written by Sergio's daughter, pianist and composer Clarice Assad. The three, along with percussionist Jamey Haddad and vocalist Christiane Karam, will perform Sunday at the Dekelboum Concert Hall at the University of Maryland's Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. Audiences tonight will experience a dynamic twist to their Brazilian sound as the group explores the musical traditions of its shared Lebanese ancestry in "De Volta As Raizes (Back to Our Roots)." "We wanted our music to bring something new to [our] audiences," Sergio Assad said. "In fact, with our music, we are merging two cultures." With their ancestral roots in Lebanon and after the success of Sergio's brilliant piece "Tahhiya Il Oussilina," the group members were inspired to explore the rhythmic similarities that tie Middle Eastern music to the music of Brazil. Sergio and Clarice Assad have composed new music for "De Volta As Raizes," and Christiane Karam has set modern and ancient Lebanese texts to these new works. "Music became an integral part of our Assad family life, but our training focused on Western music, from traditional Brazilian choros to classical music. Our roots in Arab music were lost with the migration and assimilation of our ancestors," Sergio Assad continued. "Recently, we decided to explore this vast and unfamiliar world of Arab music from the point of view of new world citizens whose genes may still have some memory of the sounds familiar to our grandparents. We bring a new sound through the revival of our lost Arabic music gene that is perhaps still present in our subconscious." The university's School of Music is proud to make this concert available to the public. "Sergio and Odair Assad are not only world-class musicians, but also cultural explorers whose artistic expressions have been informed and shaped by both their Brazilian and Lebanese heritage," said Paul Brohan, director of artistic initiatives. "The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center is always proud to present and collaborate with artists of such a stature as the Assads and their partners, artists who commit themselves to explorations like 'De Volta As Raizes' with a simple wonder of joy and sharing."

Srgio and Odair Assad Indianapolis Star March 18, 2010

Assad brothers unite for a lyrical evening of guitar BY JAY HARVEY The guitar is such a well-traveled and adaptable instrument that a selection of music by adept, imaginative players is likely to sound at home in everything it attempts. When there are two such players -- say, the brothers Sergio and Odair Assad -- every point along the way is apt to have the solidity and reassurance of a milestone. Masterpieces are not so much a part of the guitar tradition as is the vitality of the repertoire's best music in representing the instrument's lyricism, peculiar colors and animated rhythms. Born in Brazil and, according to what Sergio Assad said from the stage of the Indiana History Center on Wednesday evening, rarely together as a duo since they now live on different continents, the Assads captivated a large audience with their finesse and rapport. The highlights of the program included a four-movement solo work, with Odair Assad (the younger brother, now living in Belgium) playing Leo Brouwer's "Sonata del Caminate." The work nicely yielded its initial virtuoso flash to the gradual encroachment of a serenade. Clarity and brilliance were specifically evoked in the title of the finale ("Toccata Norestina") and duly executed, as the music moved from the repeated notes and swift figuration of "Danza Festiva" to an intense conclusion. The Brouwer sonata was the piece that owed most to modernism, but it is more characteristic of guitar music to go its own way, evoking the varied terrains where it has put down the most durable roots. This was evident in the program's last work, Sergio Assad's "Tahiya li Ossoulina" (Homage to Our Roots), which honored the brothers' mixed Brazilian, Italian and Lebanese heritage. The piece featured some delicate harmonics, highly ornamented melodies, echo phrases and a plethora of percussive effects. As with everything the Assads played, the degree of coordination was flawless with every slight shift of tempo. Two pieces by Astor Piazzolla, arranged by Sergio Assad (now a U.S. resident), had some of the catchiness of the popular tangos the Argentine composer is best known for. The Assads played them with sharply defined rhythms, an almost orchestral palette of colors and smoothly coordinated forward drive. The older brother's skill as the duo's arranger also was evident in rich settings of Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Amparo" and "Stone Flower" and in a pair of pieces by Heitor Villa-Lobos. Egberto Gismonti's "Palhao" put a sustained emphasis on lyricism -- bluesy and with pastel decorations of its haunting melody.

Sergio Assad

Acoustic Guitar Magazine November 2009

Sergio Assad Interview BY DOUG YOUNG

Known for his groundbreaking classical guitar duo with his brother, Odair, Brazilian classical virtuoso Sergio Assad talks about his

background, composing for the guitar, and teaching.

Once in a great while, talent and determination converge with the right

circumstances to produce unique and extraordinary musicians who advance the state

of the art. The duo of Srgio and Odair Assad is an outstanding example. The two

brothers began to play guitar almost simultaneously as children, developing a rare

rapport as they learned the folk music of their native Brazil from their father before

moving on to study classical music under the tutelage of former Andrs Segovia

disciple Monina Tavora. Now in their fifth decade of performing as a duo, the

brothers think and play almost as a single performer, while continuing to expand the

definition of classical guitar, both stylistically and technically.

Although initially schooled in the Segovia tradition, the Assads repertoire crosses all boundaries, from transcriptions of Bach and Scarlatti to interpretations of folk

music of many cultures, jazz, and Latin music. Though he began his career as a

performer, Srgio has emerged as a prolific composer and arranger, an interest he

developed early on. In addition to expanding the repertoire for two guitars, he also

writes and arranges for a wide range of artists and ensembles, including cellist Yo-

Yo Ma, Cuban jazz saxophonist and clarinetist Paquito DRivera, symphonic orchestras, and even ballets. The brothers awe-inspiring technique and dazzling performances have also inspired compositions written specifically for them by

classical guitarist Roland Dyens, minimalist composer Terry Riley, and the late

tango master Astor Piazzolla.

A quick look at a few of the Assads recent projects helps convey the depth and diversity of their music: they collaborated on a collection of Gypsy folk tunes with

Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, performed Srgios arrangement of the Four Seasons of Buenos Aires with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and were included on the soundtrack of the movie Duplicity, which starred Julia Roberts and Clive Owen. The Assads latest recording, Jardim Abandonado, features the Latin Grammywinning Tahhiyya Li Ossoulina, penned by Srgio as an homage to his Lebanese ancestry, along with arrangements of Jobim and Debussy and a stunning 15-minute arrangement of Gershwins Rhapsody in Blue for two guitars.

Srgio has also been an active educator, teaching in Brazil and giving master classes all over the world. His solo guitar

composition Aquarelle was the required contemporary work for the 2002 Guitar Foundation of America Competition, and he also composed the set piece for the 2008 GFA competition. Srgio also composed a new piece, The Old Palm Tree, for Acoustic Guitar. He is currently a member of the faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

I recently spoke to Srgio about his background, arranging and composing for guitar, and his thoughts on teaching.

Sergio Assad

Acoustic Guitar Magazine November 2009

page 2 of 5

How did your family produce so many successful musiciansyou and your brother, your sister Badi, and now your daughter, Clarice, as well?

ASSAD It all started with my father and my mother. They werent professional musicians; it was their hobby. My father was very keen on the mandolin and taught himself by ear. He built this huge repertoire. He was moving quite a lot, and he would

find others to play with in each place we would go. And if he didnt find anyone, he would teach them.

So your introduction to music was about playing with others? ASSAD The notion of being together and playing was there from the beginning. When I was about eight years old, I wanted

to play the guitar. But my father didnt believe a child could play. Finally, when I was about 12, I got someone to teach me a few chords. It was easy to move from one chord to another. My father was impressed, and we started to play together. The

next day, my brother Odair got jealous. I handed the guitar to him, and actually it was easier for him. We had one guitar in

the house, but that same day my father bought a second one. My father used to go out quite a lot, to play with his friends, but

from that day on, he would stay at home, and he taught us all the repertoire that he could.

He taught you the tunes he knew on mandolin?

ASSAD Basically the harmony. He knew the harmony by ear. Thats the way it is easiest to learnuse your ears. I believe its the best way to approach music. You can learn to name things later, but the sense of harmony, especially, is best achieved if you do it by ear. People often go to the conservatories to learn harmony. They know it on paper, but if you ask them to

accompany a tune, they cannot.

You were learning Brazilian folk tunes?

ASSAD Mainly, it was the Brazilian choro repertoire. The choro groups were usually built with a mandolin or flute as the main soloists and a couple of guitars. Often one of them would be a seven-string guitar. And they each had their own roles.

[With the accompaniment], there are set chord passages, but the good guitarists would improvise.

How did that prepare you for playing classical music later? ASSAD It prepares you to understand harmony very well. So when we started learning, it was Oh, thats the name of that!

How did you move from playing choro to studying classical guitar? ASSAD Our father saw that we had a chance to become professional musicians. He had some friends who played the

classical guitar within the Latin American tradition; the repertoire is mostly the music of Barrios, who influenced many

people. My father had met at least one of his students and was very impressed with the beauty of the classical guitar. He said,

This is so great, you guys should do this. The problem was to find a teacher. We started to learn to read music, but in a very unusual way. He would bring recordingsnot records, we couldnt get them. He had a tape recorder, and he would record his friends and find the score. We would try to connect the [written] music with what we heard.

Someone from Rio de Janeiro recommended Monina Tavora, who had been a coach of another pair of brothers, a classical

guitar duo in the 70s. She was brilliant, a student of Segovia. She knew all the tradition, and she was very strict. She convinced my father to move to Rio. That was a big change, because what we knew was folk music. We got there and she

said, You must throw this out. Which was not good! [Laughs.] We didnt do it, actually, but we had to hide it from her.

You both studied with Tavora, but on solo repertoire? ASSAD No, she thought we should play duets. She determined that from the beginning. My brother was an amazing player;

he was always faster than I was. So I started arranging our material from the beginning. We always shared the same teachers,

but I didnt want to play exactly what my brother played. I thought it was stupid to compete. I wanted to play together, because we were used to playing with my father. So to play together, I would come up with a second part.

How do you arrange for two guitars? ASSAD Most of the repertoire for classical guitar comes from piano scores or harpsichord. The guitar has a more limited

range, so sometimes you have to change keys, or change note direction. This is transcribing, its fairly easy to do.

Arranging is something else. There are two ways of doing it. One, when you get something that is impossible to play on your instrument, but you want to play it so badly that you come up with harmonic solutions that may be close to the original. A

cross between arranging and transcribing is when you just give the idea of the piece. For instance, I arranged [Gershwins]

Sergio Assad

Acoustic Guitar Magazine November 2009

page 3 of 5

Rhapsody in Blue for two guitars. Its impossible to play the notes exactly, but you can arrange it in a way that the listener has the feeling that you did play all the notes.

Arranging is when you put in something of your own. Its like arranging a pop tune: you come up with an introduction, change the harmony, that kind of thing. But sometimes you get stuck. If you have notes in the ninth position, and you need a

note on the first fret, the arrangement is lost if you cannot play that note. With a duo, you can see if its possible to play it on the other guitar, or sometimes you have to change the tuning.

You use alternate tunings?

ASSAD I use a lot of different tunings. I use one that is like a cello, the sixth string is dropped to C and the fifth to G.

Sometimes I raise the fourth string to E. I also use Eb on the sixth string and Ab on the fifth string, which gives you the tonic

and the fifth in Ab.

Do you compose on the guitar? ASSAD I used to do that, but nowadays, I write straight on Sibelius and then check if its playable. Its easier to arrange it later. To use a notation program like Sibelius or Finale doesnt help you write a pieceit doesnt compose for youbut it helps because you can hear it back.

How did you start working with Yo-Yo Ma?

ASSAD The collaboration with Yo-Yo started many years ago. [Odair and I] had a connection with [tango musician] Astor

Piazzolla because we met Piazzolla in the 80s. We played some arrangements of his tunes for him, and he said, I should write something special for two guitars. He wrote a piece called Tango Suite. This piece was a hit; it went beyond the classical guitar world and was played by other people. Al Di Meola recorded it. When Yo-Yo was making his Soul of the Tango, his producer called. They wanted that piece, so I wrote a cello part. We met Yo-Yo in the studio; we never saw him

before. Its an extremely difficult piece to play, but we played it a couple of times, and that was it! I wrote another piece for his last album, Songs of Joy and Peace. Its a great collaboration. Hes a great person and fantastic musician.

Lately, youve been exploring some Middle-Eastern influences? ASSAD I dont know what inspired me to write the first piece, probably nostalgia. We were not educated in a Lebanese tradition; I think it was lost in the first generation. My grandfather was from Lebanon, but my father doesnt speak any Arabic. But I wrote a piece, Tahhiyya Li Ossoulina, dedicated to our ancestors, and that piece got a [Latin] Grammy for [Best Contemporary Classical] composition. That inspired us to get involved in a project that were going to play next year, with my daughter Clarice and Jamey Haddad, a wonderful percussionist, and a wonderful Lebanese singer, Christiane

Karam, who lives in Boston.

How do you collaborate with people across these long distances? ASSAD Its not complicated. Here [in San Francisco], Im a little isolated, but Im never alone. With Skype, I can connect with my friends and family. We cant play together, but I can show them things. The exchange of ideas is possible. I can record and send MP3s easily. I can arrange what people have sent me. Its a great new world. If someone had told me ten years ago Id be doing this, I wouldnt have believed them.

In contrast, you and your brother worked out things face to face? ASSAD Yes, we managed to achieve an understanding that is rare. It takes a lot of years. Wed play ten hours a day. Wed play and play and play, until you understand the rubato of the other personand not just understand, but react accordingly. You create all this freedom on the spot because you know the person very well.

Would you improvise together?

ASSAD We never really specialized in improvising. We can improvise, but we almost always work from a score. The feeling

and the flow is improvised. It varies from hall to hall, because we play with the acoustics of the hall. Some places, you can

space the phrasing much more. You know how much you can let the piece breathe. But you need the people; when you try

the hall empty, it is different. Theres a connection with the audience. You know when youre communicating and theyre receiving. You can feel it. When that is happening, it is magical, for both the players and the audience.

Sergio Assad

Acoustic Guitar Magazine November 2009

page 4 of 5

You are currently teaching at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Is teaching a new experience for you? ASSAD Back in Brazil, I was mainly surviving as a teacher; there were not many occasions to perform, up to the beginning

of the 80s. Then we left for Europe and our [performing] career really started. Occasionally we would teach master classes, but mostly I didnt teach. Theres a great ambience at the Conservatory; they have great teachers.

What musical background do your students have?

ASSAD Most of the students first experience with the guitar was through rock n roll, but then they discovered the classical guitar. The thing with the classical guitar is that when you hear a good player, it is fascinating, because it is one of the most

beautiful-sounding instruments. So they just go, Ah, I have to do that, because they already play guitar, but they didnt know the guitar could sound that beautiful.

Do you encourage students to pursue the traditional repertoire?

ASSAD I tell my students to leave room for their imaginations. If they want to play traditional repertoire, well, it has been

done already, and there are many people doing it. If they want to have a voice, theyll have to try something else.

How much choice of repertoire do students have at the Conservatory?

ASSAD There is some flexibility. If they are working on their undergraduate degree, they have to go through certain

requirements. If they are working on a masters degree, the requirements are less, and the final year, they can do whatever they want. Right now I have a student who wants to play her own music, so she is writing everything.

How do you guide someone in composition? ASSAD I dont think you can teach composition. You can teach the tools, but you cant control how someone is going to create something inside their head. Theres no formula, you cant say, Do this, and youll compose well. If there were, there would be more great music out there. Everything that we have done musically is related to what we have heard in our

life. But sometimes, someone comes along and theirs is out of the blue. Those are the most creative composers. It doesnt often happen like that; people are out there trying, but it is not simple.

Is there some quality that makes a great composer?

ASSAD I think there are two different worlds. My teacher in Brazil used to say, A composer is a composer, a songwriter is a songwriter. You dont need to be a good melody writer, for example, to be a good composer. You can learn the tools, and know so much about colors and orchestration that you can compose pieces that are quite strong without having a talent for

melody writing. And there are many examples of great songwriters who didnt know much about music.

But its not black and white. There are grays in between. My strong side is as a songwriter, because it is what I did as a child, and what I love to do. I have a good sense of melody. No matter what, the first thing that comes to mind is, Is it a good melody? And then I use the elements I know to embellish that. You can create wonderful music with no melody at all, but I would not write something without a melody.

Do you keep a regimen? Do you write every day? ASSAD No, because I have been so busy with arranging and playing with other people. To compose and live as a writer is a

full dedication; you have to face it as a career. I think my daughter will do well; shes committed to that.

I like to write things down, even if I cant work on them for a while. When Im sitting playing guitar, sometimes ideas come. I improvise quite a lot. Im not thinking about anything, just playing music, and some ideas come, Oh, this is good. So Ill write it down, and one day I can use it.

How do you approach composing for someone else?

ASSAD It depends. If I know the person, I know what would be good for them. But pretty much what I use is the collection

of ideas Ive collected over the years. I go to my little pile and go, Maybe this. It may be just a few measures, or even just a rhythm.

Is there a process for developing those? ASSAD Each time, I try to be as creative as I can. Recently I was trying to combine some pieces. You can combine two

things easily, but I like the challenge of combining more. In the Interchange concerto that I wrote for the LA Guitar

Sergio Assad

Acoustic Guitar Magazine November 2009

page 5 of 5

Quartet, the idea was four pieces, one for each player, because there are four individuals with individual tastes. One is more

classical and hes Jewish. One likes flamenco, Gypsy music. One is folk, with some South American influences. And the other likes jazz and can improvise quite well. So I created a Jewish renaissance piece, a Gypsy flamenco piece, a Brazilian

piece, and then a jazzy ballad. They are four different tunes, but they combine in the end.

What do you think of the state of classical guitar today?

ASSAD Classical guitar is at a point that it has never been before. Not in the sense of popularity; that was bigger in the 60s and 70s. But these days there are guitar festivals all over the world, and there are many guitarists, more than ever. And the level is truly amazing. Back when I was a teenager, you could count on one hand the good guitarists. Now they are countless.

And what is strange, is they are younger and younger! You see people under 18 today playing extremely well. That was

impossible 20 years ago. Also, the guitar itself is still developing. There are more guitar makers, and they are trying to make

a better instrument. Its still evolving. There are better guitars than ever.

Are people continuing to compose for the guitar?

ASSAD There are a lot of composers, a lot of young players. The challenge is getting the young composers interested in the

instrument, because they normally grow apart. They have an interest in the beginning, but then as soon as they get in the real

world, they want to write for string quartet, for the orchestra, because of what their future is. But there is a future in writing

for guitar as well. We have to keep these young talents interested in guitar. They are going to do that by having friends who

are guitar players when they study together in the conservatory. Here at the San Francisco Conservatory, we have a link

between the voice and guitar department. We want to try to do that with the composition department as well.

What advice do you have for aspiring students? ASSAD I see all these students committed to learning an instrument well and to having a career [as a performer]. It is a

dream, because there is no space for all of them. I think there is less today than ten years ago. But there is more room for

teachers, and there will always be the good ones. If they want to try, I think its good. We tried. We succeeded. Its nice to dreamyou have to try to reach your goals.

Srgio and Odair Assad November 19, 2008

Srgio Assad Wins Latin GRAMMY

Srgio Assad won a Latin Grammy for Best Classical Contemporary Composition from their latest release on

Nonesuch. The composition is the middle-Eastern inflected piece that is the inspiration for their new project in 2010.

Srgio and Odair Assad were also nominated for Best Classical Album. Srgio Assad won along with Carlos Jos

Castro (tie)

Best Classical Contemporary Composition

Barcelonazo

Jorge Liderman, composer (Jorge Liderman)

Concierto Del Sol

Carlos Jos Castro, composer (Orquesta Filarmnica De Costa Rica)

Track from: Orquesta Filarmnica De Costa Rica

[Orquesta Filarmnica]

Non Divisi

Roberto Valera, composer (Camerata Romeu)

Track from: Non Divisi

[Colibri]

Tahhiyya Li Ossoulina

Srgio Assad, composer (Srgio y Odair Assad)

Track from: Jardim Abandonado

[Nonesuch]

Variacin Del Recuerdo

Aurelio De La Vega, composer (The North/South Chamber Orchestra)

Track from: Remembrances-Recuerdos

[North/South Recordings]

SERGIO AND ODAIR ASSAD

RAVE REVIEWS FOR ASSAD BROTHERS NEW NONESUCH

RECORDING AND U.S. CONCERTS

Jardim Abandonado Released September 2007

ON CD

Over 40 years the Assad brothers have acquired a formidable reputation as guitarists who have an extraordinary wide repertoire of

material that transcends all categories. What links them is deft playing

and a stunning interplay.

Album of the week The Independent, UK September 2007

For jaw-dropping audacity, listen to the penultimate track and marvel at the Assads ingenious arrangement of Gershwins Rhapsody in Blue a show-stopper if ever there was one!

Classic fm, November 2007

ON THE ROAD

The Assads' virtuosity left the many guitarists in the crowd, including me, awe-struck. Their speed, their gorgeous tone, their ease reaching over the body of the guitar to its extreme high range, their uncanny musical memories (not a

page of music appeared on the stage), and their ability to play thousands of notes without a single clinker, click or buzz

are the stuff of guitar gods. That godlike technique allowed them to play freely, expansively and sensitively All of these selections, especially those arranged by Srgio Assad, put daunting technical challenges before the guitarists. All

those challenges melted away before the Assads' consummate skill, in an inspiring concert that celebrated the swooping

energy of musical phrases and the irresistible beauty of the sound of two guitars.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel October 2007

There is very little fuss to the stage presence of guitarists Sergio and Odair Assad, who opened the Seattle Symphony guitar series' new season Tuesday night at Benaroya Hall. They enter the stage, sit down and play in a straightforward

manner. They tune discreetly and quickly, get up to acknowledge applause and return to the wings only at intermission

and the end of the concert. The two brothers don't have to make any other gestures because their music gleams with

such innate virtuousity They have such keen empathy for each other, they play as if they were two parts of the same body. They weave solo voices back and forth easily and combine their individual parts seamlessly.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer, October 2007

But a set of seven miniatures for two guitars, "Contos de Cordel" by Egberto Gismonti (premiered in New York on Saturday), stole the show. Well played, the guitar can be an exquisitely delicate instrument, and these pieces called on

every ounce of delicacy the duo could muster. The Assad brothers handled these with virtuosity to spare and with a

light touch that made it all sound easy As performers, these two play like the close brothers they are. They pick up instantly on the other's cues, respond as if intuitively and seem to be wired in to the same operating system. What's

projected is a sort of "uber-guitar," two instruments and one brain.

Washington Post, October 2007

Sergio and Odair Assad

Boston Globe November 15, 2006

Brazilian brothers offer dazzling guitar duet BY KEVIN LOWENTHAL

The Brazilian-born Assad brothers, a guitar duo, perform with almost telepathic unity. Barely glancing at each other,

eyes often closed, they trade lead and supporting roles with astonishing fluidity. With your own eyes closed, it's

impossible to tell who's playing what.

In a Bank of America Celebrity Series concert Saturday night at Jordan Hall, older brother Srgio Assad made the soft-

spoken stage announcements, while ponytailed Odair Assad let his fingers do the talking.

The two opened with three of Jean-Philippe Rameau's "Pieces de Clavecin, " translated from harpsichord to guitars.

They delineated the dancing counterpoint with a flexible pulse, one playing the left-hand keyboard part and the other

the right, switching back and forth.

Two works by Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos were adapted for guitar duo by Srgio. "A Lenda do Caboclo"

began with gentle strumming and ambled along with a raggy gait. "Choros No. 5, Alma Brasileira " was darker and

more rhapsodic, the two guitars playing sweeping, harplike arpeggios.

Next came the evening's first work expressly written for two guitars, Joaquin Rodrigo's three-movement "Tonadilla

para dos guitarras. " The spiky, dissonant first movement contrasted plucked notes with rapid strumming. In a bravura

display, the brothers led each other in a merry chase through the busy textures of the final movement.

Srgio's "Tyyhhiia li Ossoulina, " a tribute to his family's Lebanese roots, paired modal Arabic melodies with European

harmonies. Then "Bandoneon" and "Zita," by Argentina's Astor Piazzolla , opened the concert's second half.

Transferred to guitar, what the pieces lost in thrust and cut they gained in beautifully transparent exposure of their

masterful construction.

The duo returned to Brazil for two songlike compositions from Egberto Gismonti, "Agua e Vinho" and "Infancia" -- the

first slow, sad, and spacious, the second whimsical. A movement from Roland Dyens's "Ct Nord," written for the

Assads, fell too frequently into modern music and guitar cliche s.

The program ended with two entrancing pieces by Brazilian composer Radams Gnattali : "Valsa," a seductive waltz,

and "Corta Jaca, " a bluesy, syncopated jaunt.

A standing ovation brought the brothers back for an encore: Srgio's spare, bittersweet "Farewell," which sent the

audience home, as he said, "with something nice in your ears."

Srgio and Odair Assad

The Los Angeles Times September 7, 2006

Two-man guitar band meets the L.A. Phil

By ADAM BAER

Audiences have come to expect a lot from concert guitarists. Since guitarists rarely stand, or move, and

it's hard to see their fingers from far away not to mention all the "lite" cafe-style fare written for the guitar attending a guitar concert can be a little, shall we say, restful.

With a compelling program, however, and an animated guitar duo as well as video close-ups of their trills and twangy plucks a "guitar meets the symphony" concert is an entirely different animal. And so it was for brothers Srgio and Odair Assad and the Los Angeles Philharmonic conducted by Mischa

Santora at the Hollywood Bowl on Tuesday night.

The Assads, two middle-aged Brazilians who tour together frequently despite separate home bases in

Brussels and Chicago, are the premier guitar duo today. They won a Latin Grammy for a CD of Astor

Piazzolla tangos, and they've collaborated frequently with such top instrumentalists as violinist Gidon

Kremer and cellist Yo-Yo Ma.

On Tuesday, they appeared bearded, wearing black clothes, and throughout the night it was hard to tell

them apart. Which could have been the point: They aren't just soloists but a two-man, multi-voice band

of soloists who play instinctively well together, with consistent rhythmic intuition and soul.

They started off with Rodrigo's "Concierto madrigal," a multi-movement virtuosi piece with historic,

Italian-style madrigal writing and plenty of scale tricks in thirds. Here they impressed not only with their

lightning runs and groovy rhythmic measures but with a meditative, nostalgic movement, as slurred,

two-note groupings descended the scale over a soft string-section blanket, with winds coursing through

the musical space.

It was here too that Santora, a tall, rising young conductor, proved himself more than just a sharp

technical leader. A last-minute substitute for the originally scheduled Miguel Harth-Bedoya, he crafted

subtle interplays between his musicians without having to employ a broad stroke or spread his

considerable wingspan. He later conducted the Assads in music by Piazzolla an Assad arrangement followed by a terrifically exciting two-guitar show-tango and the crowd swooned.

At the end of the night, the soloists left the stage for the orchestra to perform Revueltas' primal and

modernist "Sensemay," the Latin American "Rite of Spring," with all the timbral verve and inventive

punctuation called for in Stravinsky.

Srgio & Odair Assad

The Los Angeles Times September 7, 2006

page 2 of 2

The last purely orchestral work, Galindo's "Sones de mariachi," was a festive street serenade, but it

seemed more like a call back to the Brazilian strummers who had given the beginning of the evening so

much life.

FOR THE RECORDA review of Tuesday night's Hollywood Bowl