Classical guitar champion Sharon Isbin on a career of firsts, succeeding in a male-dominated musical scene and fighting for her instrument
- As she returns to Hong Kong to perform for the first time in 25 years, with the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong, American reflects on her storied career
- A tireless promoter of the classical guitar, and a teacher at the Juilliard, she is mindful of the girls she inspired to take it up, and wishes there were more
It has been 25 years since Sharon Isbin last performed in Hong Kong. When she made her debut at the Hong Kong Arts Festival in 1994, the classical guitarist – then 38 – was already more than two decades into her career and had 12 albums to her name.
A quarter of a century later and she has more than doubled that number, including this year’s Souvenirs of Spain and Italy, a collaboration with the award-winning Pacifica Quartet from the US state of Indiana.
The album explores some of the best music for guitar from both countries, from the Baroque era to the mid-20th century; one of those 11 works – Luigi Boccherini’s Guitar Quintet No. 4, G. 448, Fandango – Isbin will perform on Friday evening with the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong (CCOHK) as she makes a long-awaited return to the city. She will be joined on stage by flamenco dancer Nina Corti.
The Boccherini work, Isbin says, “is a really delightful three-movement work that ends with a wonderful dance, a very fiery fandango, which was considered racy back in the 18th century. It’s very rhythmic and exciting.”
In addition to a collection of Romanian folk dances by Bela Bartok and Ernesto Halffter’s Sinfonietta, Isbin will also present Joaquin Rodrigo’s dance-filled Fantasía para un Gentilhombre, a “vividly depicted portrayal of musical sunshine” as Classic FM put it.
