Saffire (music)
| Saffire | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Saffire: The Australian Guitar Quartet |
| Origin | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Genres | Classical |
| Years active | 2002–2007 |
| Labels | |
| Associated acts | Grigoryan Brothers |
| Members | |
| Past members |
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Saffire or Saffire: The Australian Guitar Quartet were an Australian classical music group, which formed in 2002. It consisted of four guitarists Anthony Field, Slava Grigoryan, Gareth Koch and Karin Schaupp. Leonard Grigoryan, Slava's younger brother, replaced Field in 2005. The members also worked as solo performers and in other ensembles. Their debut album, Saffire: The Australian Guitar Quartet, was released in June 2003, which peaked at No. 46 on the ARIA Albums Chart and No. 1 on the related ARIA Classical Chart. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2003 it won the Best Classical Album category. They released two more albums, Nostálgica (October 2004) and Renaissance (September 2006) before disbanding in 2007.
Saffire were a four-piece guitar ensemble initially formed for a one-off classical music performance at an outdoor concert in Sydney in 2002. Founder members were Anthony Field, Slava Grigoryan, Gareth Koch and Karin Schaupp. The quartet decided to continue and recorded an album, Saffire: The Australian Guitar Quartet, together in January-February 2003 at Ghostgum Audio, which was produced at Jumpstart Productions, Brisbane by Isolde Schaupp (Karen's mother). Field, Grigoryan and Schaupp each used a classical guitar, while Koch used a flamenco guitar and an eight-string classical guitar.
In 2003 The Age's reviewer caught their first gig in Melbourne and observed that "the enjoyment these four derive from one another's company imbued the music with vitality as well as virtuosity; passion as well as precision. Their enjoyment spilled off the stage and into the audience, too, making this... an immensely satisfying and pleasurable experience."
Saffire: The Australian Guitar Quartet was released in June 2003 via Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)'s Classics record label. Neville Cohn at OzArtsReview felt "Although some of the selections on this CD are rather thin musically, they are presented with care and skill – and not a little virtuosity – and the sound engineers have done a splendid job of realistically capturing the combined sound of the four classical guitars... Of a remarkably eclectic compilation, it is Stanley Myers' instantly recognisable 'Cavatina' from the Deer Hunter that fares best, its haunting, bittersweet measures beautifully presented... There's a world premiere recording: Richard Charlton's 'Stoneworks'... [which] will be listened to with more than usual interest by musicians hoping to expand their repertoires."
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