Greenville News

Paul Hyde, phyde@greenvillenews.com 12:18 a.m. EST November 4, 2015

There’s something special about classical guitars and the dancing rhythms of Spanish music.

They seem made for each other.

“It’s certainly easy to make Spanish and Latin American music sound good on a guitar,” said classical guitarist Joseph Hagedorn. “Guitar is such an important part of Spanish musical culture.”

Fittingly, classical Spanish music will figure prominently in the Minneapolis Guitar Quartet’s program on Friday, Nov. 13 at the Peace Center’s Huguenot Loft.

The group, led by founding member Hagedorn, will feature pieces by Spanish composer Joaquin Rodrigo as well as two Argentinians, Astor Piazzolla and Joaquin Rodrigo.

But the highly eclectic program will also include a perennial favorite by Bach and a recent work by Greenville native David Crittendon.

Crittendon, a former member of the quartet who is now based in Minneapolis, composed “The Sea Between” in 2014. The three-movement suite is mostly original, though it includes an arrangement of the traditional tune “Scarborough Fair.”

“The suite is written in the style of British folk music,” Hagedorn said.

The Minneapolis Guitar Quartet, particularly known for championing new works, commissioned the piece by Crittendon. All of the works on the program were either written or arranged specifically for the quartet.

“We’ve worked hard over the years to create new repertoire,” Hagedorn said.

The quartet will perform in the informal, intimate setting of the Huguenot Loft, with a capacity of only about 200.

One of the featured works by Bach is the Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, widely familiar in its original version for organ and invariably numbered among the Baroque composer’s “greatest hits.”

The group’s concert opens with Piazzola’s highly syncopated, tango-inflected “Windy.”

“We’ve played that for a long time,” Hagedorn said. “It’s one of our favorite ways to start a concert.”

Latin dances likewise infuse Rodrigo’s “Cuatro Piezas” and Ginastera’s “Danzas Argentinas.”

Also included will be two pieces by the Finnish accordion virtuoso Maria Kalaniemi.

The quartet, celebrating its 30th anniversary, has been called “one of the major guitar ensembles in the world” by Soundboard magazine.

Hagedorn and the other three members of the quartet — Maja Radovanlija, Benjamin Kunkel and Wade Oden — all enjoy busy careers outside of the group as private teachers and music professors.

Hagedorn has been on the music faculty of the University of Wisconsin-River Falls for more than 25 years.

The group has been heard on the nationally syndicated radio program “Saint Paul Sunday” and on National Public Radio’s “Performance Today.”

Through the years, the Minneapolis Guitar Quartet has released five recordings.

For the latest in local arts news and reviews, follow Paul Hyde on Facebook and Twitter: @PaulHyde7.

YOU CAN GO

What: Minneapolis Guitar Quartet

When: 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13

Where: Peace Center’s Huguenot Loft

Tickets: $35

Information: 864-467-3000 or www.peacecenter.org