Basking In CSUN-Shine

Classical guitar aficionados living in the San Fernando Valley are lucky because Cal State Northridge is a stronghold of classical guitar culture and pedagogy.

One of the public benefits of a good guitar department is a juicy guitar recital series. Such a series opened last fall with noted Russian guitarist and composer Nikita Koshkin and continues Saturday with internationally respected guitarist Julian Byzantine from Australia. The intensity of guitar activity in these parts, which might be taken for granted by locals, isn’t lost on the visiting guitar luminary.

“There’s so much musical activity in the guitar area here in Southern California, it’s amazing,� he said this week from his brother’s home in Sherman Oaks. “I’d say it’s the strongest I’ve seen anywhere.�

Byzantine comes to California by way of a long, slow westerly tour that began in his hometown of Brisbane and took him to Southeast Asia in December, then to Europe and now here, before heading back. A Londoner by birth, he has been in Australia since the early ‘80s and heads the guitar department at Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University.

He studied with the great John Williams, and his resume includes recitals at Carnegie Hall and work with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Byzantine’s palette of musical interests is broad, and one of his best-known recordings consists of Baroque guitar music.

At CSUN, his focus will be on music written since 1960, which doesn’t necessarily translate to atonal or otherwise difficult listening fare.

Diversity comes naturally and honestly to the guitarist. “Like a lot of players,� he said, “I go through phases of things we particularly want to explore and other times, we do different things. Recently, I’ve been particularly interested in Spanish music. I’ve always loved Spanish music, some of the well-known things, like Granados and Albeniz, but also some of the lesser-known works by composers like Maurice Ohana.�

At CSUN, he will play music by Ohana, as well as his own arrangements of pieces by Piazzolla and “Usher Waltz,� the wonderful quirky gem by Koshkin, loosely based on Edgar Allan Poe. “It’s one of my favorite pieces, written with such a broad sweep of the brush, as it were,� Byzantine said. “It’s very dramatic and it has a lot of irony and humor in it, as well. That really appeals to me.�

One of the highlights of the upcoming program will be the U.S. premiere of “Imagenes des Abril� by Argentine composer Maximo Diego Pujol, whom Byzantine describes as “the leading guitar composer in Argentina today.�

Closer to Byzantine’s home turf, he’ll also perform a piece called “Kakadu� by renowned and multifaceted Australian composer Peter Sculthorpe. Life in Australia suits him fine, apart from the sense sometimes of geographic isolation. “To do work in the states or in Europe, you have to build it into a tour,� he said. “You can’t just go and do a one-off. That’s one disadvantage, but otherwise, I’m happy working there.�

BE THERE

Julian Byzantine performs Saturday at 8 p.m. at the CSUN Recital Hall, Room 158, 18111 Nordhoff St., Northridge. Tickets are $12. (818) 677-2488.