Marcin Dylla

Today’s guest Marcin Dylla is the perfect performer to hear from just a few shorts days before one of the biggest guitar competitions in the United States, not only did he win the Guitar Foundation of America's International Concert Artist Competition in 2007, but has won virtually every other major guitar competition in the world; nineteen first prizes. So not only is he an authority on competitions, but he also has an incredibly positive and original outlook on why competitions are so important, and it’s certainly not prizes or fame. Many of today's modern classical musicians have a new look, we have all seen the new breed of classical player with a rock’n’roll/pop-star makeover. To a certain degree this is great, as classical music is in dire need of a youthful and engaged audience. But sometimes on stage this rock-star type presence often means something close to head-banging to Bach. While we all love to see a musician that is engaged in the music they are playing, Marcin discusses when musicians cross the line between being emotionally connected and actually wasting the energy needed to make truly expressive music. Finally you'll hear a live recording of Marcin playing Granados's Valses Poeticos, an All Strings Considered exclusive, along with his exquisite interpretations of sonatas by Antonio José and Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco. Enjoy!