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Gifted picker Gabriel Bianco

Gabriel Bianco
Alberta College, 10025 Macdonald Dr., Fri., March 12, 8 p.m.

Gabriel Bianco is one of those musicians about whom people are bound to talk for many years to come. He’s got talent, luck looks, which doesn’t hurt. And he’s French! Can it get any better than that?!

Well, being French is good and Bianco knows it. But when asked about his career, another positive trait of his personality surfaces, humility. He readily acknowledges indebtedness and gratitude to the great teachers he’s studied under from early on, Ramon de Herrera, Olivier Chassain, Judicael Perroy, and to his father, also a musician, under whose tutelage the five-year-old made his first steps into the world of classical guitar. 

While still a student, Bianco spent a decade travelling the international festival and competition circuit, scooping up top prizes in Austria, Germany, France, Poland, and Portugal. His big breakthrough came in 2008 when he won the Guitar Foundation of America Competition,  every young guitarist’s dream come true. While not making you rich instantly, the win translates into a coveted 50-concert North American tour, with recitals in major centres across Canada, Mexico and the United States, plus additional concerts in Brazil, Colombia, and China. Sweet deal, if there is one! It almost sets you for life.

Shall we add Bianco recorded his first CD for the classical giant Naxos last year? The future looks bright for the bright young man.

“Bianco belongs to the ‘new’ generation of classical guitarists,” explains Ernst Birss, vice-president of the Edmonton Classical Guitar Society who invited the Frenchman to perform here. “These newcomers have taken work ethic into a new level. Look at him, he’s just released a strong, well-rounded CD showcasing nicely his very good sense of [melodic] line as well as attractive, full sound. His interpretations of Romantic pieces are particularly appealing. And he plays Bach transcriptions well, too, nor does he shy away from modern compositions. Certainly, he’s a force to reckon with. Like quite a few others in that age group, Bianco’s playing contributes to changing the perception of the art of classical guitar.”

And why?

“The level of technical skill among guitarists,” Birss continues, “has lately been improving by leaps and bounds. This is due to the new educational methods being now advanced — and the rapidly developing educational system as such.

“These people have finally figured out how to play the guitar and they’re not afraid of playing longer pieces, including all the notes the composers wrote!” chuckles Birss. 

“So,” I ask, “the old classical guitar heroes, like Julian Bream, would have had a hard time of it these days?”

“They were brilliant in their own right, but I’m afraid today they probably wouldn’t have made it,” admits Birss.