What the press say!
Antonio at Chelsea Bridge - 2008 REVIEWS
- Antonio Forcione: "En la Alhambra me inspiro y compongo"
- Manfredonia, al Re Manfredi Antonio Forcione e Roberto Cingolani
- Robert McNeil - We need noodling, wah-wah, twiddly bits and as much...
- Antonio Forcione and Adriano Adewale
- A tour de force
- Una Botta di Vita al ConteStaccio con Antonio Forcione e Rocco Papaleo
- Antonio Forcione en "Maestros en Guitarra"
- ARCHIVES
Antonio Forcione: “En la Alhambra me inspiro y compongo”
Ideal Digital - Dec 9, 2008
Dicen de él que es el mejor guitarra acústica del mundo y a juzgar con el mano a mano que hizo con Charlie Haden en el disco ‘Heartplay’ podría ser perfectamente cierto. Pero el guitarrista italiano Antonio Forcione no hace mucho caso a estos titulares por más que sus conciertos sean deslumbrantes (también le llaman “el Jimi Hendrix de la acústica”). El reputadísimo músico reside desde hace años en Londres y estará en Granada (Eshavira, miércoles y jueves, 23h) en dos conciertos excepcionales por la cercanía con el espectador. Un lujo al alcance de la mano.
Dio sus primeros conciertos en Granada junto a Eduardo Niebla hace ventitantos años…. Y en un titular de prensa de la época los calificaban de “Impresionantes” ¿recuerda aquellas noches aquí?
- Claro que sí, hubo una gran energía eléctrica entre nosotros y un público muy joven y entregado, fueron dos noches… eso, impresionantes.
¿De entonces vino su fascinación por La Alhambra como para dedicarle una composición?.
- En las primeras giras que hice por España pase algún tiempo en Granada y junto al calor de su gente, el Sacromonte etc…La Alhambra me atrajo con mucha fuerza; cada vez que paso por Granada voy a visitarla una vez más, ahora repetiré, la última vez fue por la noche. A veces me siento y dibujo o compongo en sus jardines, me inspira mucho.
- Por cierto que en ese tema canta el ahora muy famoso ‘Cigala’. ¿hasta que punto le interesa el flamenco?
- Oí al Cigala en un disco antiguo de Vicente Amigo y cuando preparé el tema ‘Alhambra’ para el disco ‘Touch Wood’ pensé en él porque tenía el color de voz que estaba buscando. Para mí el flamenco es una expresión artística muy alta. No toco flamenco pero me siento cercano a sus guitarristas y cuando toco me siento motivado por su actitud.
- Otra de sus piezas es ‘La pasionaria’ ¿le interesa el personaje histórico?
- Bueno…es una composición de Charlie Haden, preciosa por cierto, pero… lo siento, de sus características históricas no sé gran cosa.
-Le recuerdo con mucho sentido del humor en sus conciertos ¿Qué porcentaje de humor hay en sus música?
- El humor es una parte importante de los colores que hace que los seres humanos seamos más humanos, es parte de mi personalidad y tiene que salir cuando toco.
-Que digan de uno que es el “mejor guitarrista acústico del mundo” obliga a…
- Este tipo de expresiones se los inventan los medios y no les presto mucha atención.
-Su ‘Heartplay’ es un mano a mano con Charlie Haden ¿cómo fue la experiencia?
- Muy grande, cuando Charlie me llamo para hacer a dúo unos estándares yo le dije que prefería algo diferente, como lo que él hacía con Gismonti o Garbarek. El jazz es un lenguaje pero a mí me interesan más sus dialectos, así que hablamos Charlie, su mujer Ruth y (risas) hasta su perro Jackson, y preparamos otro repertorio, ensayamos un día y lo grabamos en el Californian Art Institute y en dos pistas, una para la guitarra y otra para el bajo. No podré olvidar la tensión al hacerlo ¡ni el alivio cuando acabamos!
-En su discografía hay bastantes discos en directo ¿tanto necesita el calor del público para superarse?
- El público añade una dimensión diferente a la grabación porque hay un intercambio entre músicos y audiencia, una interacción que es un sentimiento mágico.
-¿Qué tipo de instrumentos le gustan?. Se lo pregunto porque en la foto que ilustra la entrevista aparece con una extraña pieza de 15 cuerdas.
- Me gusta el sonido la cuerda sin trastes, como el Oud, que sugiere un misterio que me gusta mucho. Esa es una guitarra modificada por Bill Pupplet inspirada en el Oud y el Sitar; le pedí que me añadiera 8 cuerdas más y que sonaran por simpatía, la llamé Oud-an (el ‘an’ de ‘An-tonio’) y la he utilizado en piezas como ‘Indian café’ con Trilok Gurtu y en el solo de ‘Alhambra.
- ¿Cómo van a ser estos conciertos de reeencuentro con Granada?
- Tocaré mis temas favoritos arreglados para guitarra sola, ya que hubiese querido venir con mi percusionista, el brasileño Adriano Adewale, y revivir las 20 noches seguidas que acabamos de hacer en un teatro de 400 butacas en el Festival de Edimburgo, pero no ha podido ser.
JUAN JESÚS GARCÍA | GRANADA
Manfredonia, al Re Manfredi Antonio Forcione e Roberto Cingolani
Il Grecale - Sep 11, 2008
Manfredonia – Attesa quasi terminata. Ancora pochi giorni e parte il “Premio Cultura Re Manfredi’, sabato 13 settembre, dalla ore 20 e 30, nello splendido scenario dell’anfiteatro spiaggia castello. Questi i premiati di questa diciasettesima edizione, organizzata anche stavolta dall’associazione Arcadia Nova: la cantante Antonella Ruggiero, il direttore del laboratorio nazionale di nanotecnologia dell'università di Lecce Roberto Cingolani, il ballerino Raffaele Paganini, il direttore artistico del festival della Valle d'Itria Sergio Segalini, la lega Filo d’Oro, l'autore musicale Mogol, il pro-rettore dell’università di Firenze Romano Del Nord, il presidente Coldiretti Puglia Pietro Salcuni, il vicepresidente della camera Antonio Leone, il chitarrista Antonio Forcione, il direttore della testata Rai Parlamento Giuliana Del Bufalo, il pioniere dell’erboristeria Giuseppe Maria Ricchiuto. Ai premiati sarà consegnato il sigillo di Re Manfredi del 1258, un’opera dell’artista sipontino Ottavio Troiano, realizzato dalla bottega orafa artigiana Penko di Firenze. A presentare la manifestazione l'affascinante Elenoire Casalegno. Previsto per il pubblico un parterre centrale a pagamento. Biglietti in vendita presso il bar Impero, l’edicola Al Papiro e la caffetteria Albatros di Manfredonia. Prezzo 15 euro. Posti gratuiti per i meno abbienti, come dichiarato dal presidente di Arcadia Nova Giovanni Tricarico. Durante la serata numerosi eventi: dal teatro alla musica, dalla letteratura alla danza. Momenti di lirica con il tenore Massimiliano Chiarolla e il soprano Alisa Katroshi. Il premio internazionale di cultura "Re Manfredi", si appresta pertanto “ad incantare ancora una volta il suo pubblico con il collaudato binomio fra cultura e spettacolo”, conclude Tricarico. (IlGrecale/Mf01)
Robert McNeil - We need noodling, wah-wah, twiddly bits and as much...
Scotsman - Aug 26, 2008
My controversial thesis is prompted by seeing Antonio Forcione, a Spanish guitar player, at the weekend. The Burd is a fan, but I hadn't heard of him.
Antonio Forcione and Adriano Adewale
Scotsman - Aug 18, 2008
MASTER guitarist Antonio Forcione has returned to the Fringe in top form, in a mesmerising duo with Brazilian percussionist Adewale. An exhilarating exchange of international musical ideas, their show takes inspiration from Zimbabwe, Jamaica and Spain, among other places.
Forcione's plucking and strumming conjures images of people, places and experiences. Adewale, meanwhile, dances a world to life, his shakers, seeds, clay jars and drums evoking birds in the rain forest, fish in rivers, or snakes in grass. At one moment he slaps water in a bowl then blows a plastic tube into it, suggesting an animal drinking at an oasis, the pattering of rain on leaves, or the fall of waves at sea.
Alongside Forcione favourites like Touch Wood and Tears of Joy, there is a great syncopated version of The Police's Message In A Bottle. He also plays a gorgeous ballad using his customised guitar with four extra strings at the top, which works like an Arabic oud lute (he calls it an "oudan", or "oud for Antonio"). The two then spar in a guitar-pandeiro tambourine duel, playfully banging and clapping crazy rhythms on each other's instruments while keeping a fast-running melody moving. It's a treat of a late-night show.
Jan Fairley
A tour de force
Scotsman - Aug 18, 2008
Fringe favourite Antonio Forcione is back again this year with a new show. We asked famous friends and fans to explain his appeal
BILL BAILEY, comedian
WHEN I first heard Antonio play, I was amazed at his musicianship. He brought the guitar to life in a way I'd never heard before. He was playing solo, yet the music seemed to be emanating from about five other instruments – drums, percussion, several guitars and a tiny, muscular imp playing the bongos. It's extraordinary. I've seen him play since on many occasions, in various countries, and everywhere audiences are entranced. He is technically brilliant, but also has a unique ability to wring every sound and nuance from the instrument. One minute he is delicately plucking the strings, the next he's virtually yanking them off the fretboard, sliding and hammering, to create a whole spectrum of sound that you never thought possible from an acoustic guitar. If you've not seen him play before, then get along. He is unique. You'll probably see me there.
ARTHUR SMITH, comedian
Antonio is like an Italian Zelig, always at every interesting event but in his case he is not doing nothing – he is saving someone's bacon and then frying it up into a delicious osso bucco. His guitar playing, singing and unflappability make him the sine qua non for comics who wish to be tuneful. I wish he were here now to rescue me from my tortuous metaphors.
OMID DJALILI, comedian
He combines the skill, flair and stunning technique of Paco de Lucia and John McGlaughlin, with the looks of a low-rent middle- aged gigolo.
MARTIN TAYLOR, jazz guitarist
In the 1980s Antonio and I toured together in a guitar extravaganza that brought together guitarists from different musical traditions. It was one of the most enjoyable tours I have ever been on – with Barney Kessel, Biréli Lagrène, Juan Martin, Jorge Morel, Vic Juris and Antonio. I only had to play three tunes each night, so I spent much of the time standing in the wings listening and soaking up the wonderful music. Antonio's set was always a high spot, both with the audience and his fellow guitarists.
Antonio possesses all the qualities of a great artist – a complete command of his instrument, a vast knowledge and respect for all musical traditions, the charisma to communicate his music to an audience and the ability to never allow the above fine qualities to get in the way of his creative processes.
MICHAEL MANSFIELD, QC
I HAVE been utterly hooked on Antonio's jazz since the first time I heard him over 20 years ago at the Battersea Arts Centre. Since those early days I have attended nearly every London venue he has played – from the Royal Festival Hall with Phil Collins to his regular appearances at the Dean Street Pizza Express. He is a musician of extraordinary talent. He plays guitar with passion and humour combined, which results in innovative and evocative sounds. What is truly compelling is the wide range of rhythms and textures he evinces – on the one hand, African Dawn and on the other unusual renditions of classics like I Heard It Through the Grapevine. What's more, he's a really lovely guy. Don't ever pass up a chance to see him in full flood."
BOOTHBY GRAFFOE, comedian
THERE'S nothing I can say about Antonio's skill as a guitarist that couldn't be said better by people more qualified than me. I always find he's as exciting to watch as he is to listen to. The fingers are a blur but you can hear every note. Of course, he has advantages over the rest of us – 11 fingers, for a start, on each hand. And being Italian he's been brought up surrounded by spaghetti, so he had to develop accomplished digital dexterity from an early age just to eat.
When I first met him, about 20 years ago, he'd only just started learning the guitar. He was in Edinburgh making a living pretending to be a grape. A lot of young Italian men do it, apparently. They can't get jobs at home as matadors so they come over here and pretend to be fruit. I'm not kidding. He was working with another Italian, Alessandro, who was pretending to be a banana. Together they worked with an American who thought he was an orange. This information can be found in elderly listing magazines.
I was doing a solo show and one night, after the gig, Antonio came over and asked me if I could teach him some chords. I had nothing better to do so I showed him a few tricks. To be honest he was so drunk I didn't think he'd remember any of it but, bugger me, he did. We did an hour together once, years later. I told jokes and he twiddled his fingers about a bit.
He's a joy to be around. It's hard to describe the effect he has on other people. I've had beautiful women physically push me out of the way so they could get to him.
The combination of blinding technical skill and pure passion in his performance is overwhelming. Sometimes, as he takes you from the bridge to the 12th fret in half a nano-second without missing a note, there's nothing else to do but laugh. And cry, too. I've seen a lot of people in tears during his shows, beautiful women, mostly, and guitarists too, who, up until seeing Antonio play, had thought they were pretty good.
OWEN O'NEILL, comedian
WHEN Antonio Forcione plays guitar he becomes three people, Antonio the spiritual, Antonio the mental and Antonio the physical. He inhabits his instrument like no-one else on Earth. Watching this man play guitar is like seeing a Dante poem come alive before your eyes, all the laughter, madness, pain, love and ecstasy of the human condition is laid bare, flowing, from the tips of his fingers to the soles of his feet. Literally translated Forcione means "The Force is on you". That's a lie, but that is what it should mean, because that is what this man is, a force to behold, hands like a tarantula and the heart of a lion.
KATE ROBBINS, impressionist and singer
THIS dashingly handsome geezer approaches me in a very loud Italian restaurant. "I believe you are Kate?" he yells over the singer warbling way too loud for people eating risotto. I'm in luck, I thought, then looked at him again. Doh! It's the guitar virtuoso Antonio Forcione not chatting me up at all but asking me if I would mind contacting my cousin Mike McCartney who took a great photo of Antonio jamming with Sir Paul a couple of years ago. He wanted his father to see the photo before he died.
That was the start of my collaboration with the Maestro Forcione. I invited Sir Paul to come and see him perform in London, and he was as mesmerised as all of us. Also Antonio's comedy timing is as good as his arpeggios; he makes me laugh more than any stand-up.
Una Botta di Vita al ConteStaccio con Antonio Forcione e Rocco Papaleo
Musicalnews.com - May 16, 2008
Domenica 18 Maggio al ConteStaccio di Roma il concerto "Una Botta di Vita" in favore di Evio Botta con la partecipazione di Antonio Forcione, Rocco Papaleo
Antonio Forcione en ´Maestros en Guitarra´
ABC.es - Mar 5, 2008
LAS PALMAS. Guitarra acústica, humor y músicas del mundo se unen en las cuerdas de Antonio Forcione, que participará en el ciclo `Maestros en Guitarra 2008´, este jueves, a las nueve de la noche en la Sala de Cámara del Auditorio Alfredo Kraus, en Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
Antonio Forcione vendrá acompañado por Adriano Adewale a la percusión, Nathan Thomson al bajo y la flauta, y Jenny Adejayan, al violonchelo. Junto a ellos forma Antonio Forcione Quartet, donde la improvisación, el humor y la música se unen en una singular combinación donde todo puede ocurrir, dado el arte, la intensidad y la capacidad de improvisación de este artista.
El guitarrista italiano realizó su primera gira a los 13 años por su país natal como guitarrista, baterista y mandolinista. Su talento creció tan rápido como su fama ofreciendo conciertos en Australia, Estados Unidos, Hong Kong o Rusia, entre otros muchos destinos, con públicos tan numerosos como las 300.000 personas que asistieron al concierto ofrecido por el artista en el Wembley Arena de Londres.
Innovación
Forcione apuesta por la innovación. Muestra de ello es su incursión en el mundo de la comedia musical del que ha formado parte como invitado en festivales por todo el mundo llegando a actuar con cómicos como Boothby Graffoe, Djiango Edwards o Stephen Frost, entre otros.
Actuó como director musical e intérprete para el premiado trío `Ole´, y también formó el dúo `Acoustik Maniaks´. Artístico, intenso, e imaginativo, siempre imprevisible, la suya es una celebración de los elementos inesperados, una música de delicadeza rara, humor y pasión.
Pero Antonio Forcione no sólo mostrará su ingenio sino que además lo compartirá con toda la audiencia interesada a través de las clases magistrales que ofrecerá el jueves de cinco a siete de la tarde en la Sala Fuerteventura del Auditorio Alfredo Kraus.
En ellas explicará su percepción de la música y las posibilidades que ofrece la improvisación en unas clases que durante dos horas versarán sobre `La importancia de escuchar de forma activa´, `Relación de la música y el instrumento´, `Guitarras, engranajes y sonidos´, `La relación con la audiencia´ y `Sincronización de la mano derecha y la izquierda´, entre otros temas.
Las entradas para el concierto se encuentran ya a la venta a través de los medios habituales; taquilla Auditorio, el teléfono 902 405 504, cajeros expendedores e Internet. Los interesados en asistir a las clases magistrales, -tanto de manera activa como de libre oyente-, tendrán que inscribirse y adquirir las entradas en la taquilla del Auditorio Alfredo Kraus.