Dueling Basses

Scott Kritzer, the Performer

After his debut at Carnegie Hall, the New York Times reviewed Scott Kritzer as:

…intelligent and self-assured…with a sure technique and a musical sensitivity, he created an inner life in his playing, a thinking and caring musician. –Bernard Holland of the New York Times

His consummate commitment to technical excellence as the solid structure beneath an unparalleled sense of musicality brought him over two decades of accolades from audiences and critics alike, in concert halls in San Francisco, Frankfurt, Vancouver, B.C., Los Angeles, Sapporo, Washington, D.C., Munich, and New York. He has been featured in Japan’s , London’s and as well as in and in the United States.

Mr. Kritzer has performed concerts in London’s prestigious Wigmore Hall, Lutheran Hall and Sapporo, Japan, and is often found performing on series that have included Itzhak Perlman, Ivo Pogorelic, Cecelia Bartoli and the Emerson and KRONOS String Quartets. In 1996 Mr. Kritzer was chosen by Oregon Senator Mark O. Hatfield to represent the entire state of Oregon in a special performance at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

As a graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Mr. Kritzer studied with and and in master classes with , , , , and Grammy Award Winner . He also attended master classes taught by , , , and , and worked privately with pianist . After graduation Mr. Kritzer was chosen as an assistant to Mr. Lorimer in a year-long master class in North Carolina where he also gave a special tribute performance for the late Andres Segovia.

Hailed a “champion of the living American composer”, by David Maclaine of , Mr. Kritzer has premiered newly commissioned works for guitar in virtually every major US city.

He has also served as Artistic Director to one of America’s oldest and most popular contemporary chamber groups, . Kritzer performed with the as well with the , the Cascade Festival Orchestra and the Coos Bay Festival Orchestra.

Since 1996, Mr. Kritzer teamed up with coloratura soprano and star of European Opera Janet Chvatal with , performing throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe, transforming audience with their unique romantic style. Chvatal is well-known as a “enchanting sensual songstress” for her performances in Vienna for two years as Christine in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera, and opera and concert halls across Europe and North America. She premiered a chamber work piece, Miroirs, written especially for her by Swedish composer Tommie Haglund, for the Musik I Maj International Music Festival.

Kritzer recorded “Classical Guitar Christmas” for , and with Ms. Chvatal on “Songs of the Americas” and “In the Blue Hour” as works for voice, guitar and orchestra. You can purchase these here, or .

What the Critics Say

He possesses an uncanny ability to seek out and commission fresh, invigorating repertoire that he invest with both robust character and poetic nuance. Able to reveal insights without resorting to exaggeration, Kritzer’s guitar takes on all the riot and color of the modern life… Neill Archer Roan, California Center for the Performing Arts

Kritzer took an assured approach in the popular Rodrigo concerto, [for guitar and orchestra] strumming the big chords for the whole hall to hear and biting into the Spanish rhythms. But nothing could equal his work in the dreamy second movement. Kritzer’s lyricism was golden. He refused to rush, letting the solo phrases hang deliciously in the air. Would that more musicians had his courage. David Stabler, The Oregonian

…a guitarist in the best modern American mold, clean and accurate in technique with a welcoming warmth and sensitivity to color… Colin Cooper, Classical Guitar – London

…the large crowd sat transfixed by the captivating performance… even the sound of breathing came to a halt. Robin Bieker, The Downtowner

After thirty years of playing, four years in a guitar performance degree program, and ten years of lessons and master class workshops I was still using a composite of haphazard methods. Scott imparts a proven, systematic, and practical way of learning and performing repertoire. Peter Jespersen, Classical Guitar Student of the Kritzer Method

…he created an inner life in his playing, a thinking and caring musician. Bernard Holland of the New York Times

He possesses an uncanny ability to seek out and commission fresh, invigorating repertoire that he invests with both robust character and poetic nuance. Able to reveal insights without resorting to exaggeration, Kritzer’s guitar takes on all the riot and color of the 21st century. Neill Archer Roan, California Center for the Performing Arts

Scott Kritzer, the Teacher

Scott Kritzer is one of those rare musicians who finds himself equally at home as a performer and an educator. He was a faculty member from 1980-2010 at Lewis and Clark and Reed Colleges in Portland, Oregon. Kritzer now devotes himself to an active private teaching studio where he shares his method developed from over 35 years of performing, studying and teaching. teacher, offers in person and online guitar classes, workshops, and conferences. The Kritzer Method is a master program, proven method for serious students of the classical guitar, based on continuous improvement and promotes long-term playing results. Beginners through professional players benefit from his unique masterful approach to guitar playing.

Kritzer works with students privately and in groups, building a community around his popular, common sense, method. His popular studio offer students a chance to encourage and learn from each other. He encourages the social interchange between students, hosting Guitar Movie Nights, in-home concerts and the Kritzer Studio Guitar Quartet, as well as student performances. This supportive group fills the studio with the synergy of their passion for the classical guitar and desire to reach their full potential.

Students learn core guitar playing techniques for classical and other guitar styles. They work on tone production, including finger independence, balance, and nail care, integration of technique into repertoire, musicianship skills, learning and memorizing music, practice techniques, programming, and performance techniques.

In addition to private and group sessions, Kritzer offers workshops on Theory and Interpretation, How to Learn Music, and his popular Performance Anxiety Rehab (PAR) workshop designed to help the guitar enthusiast overcome their anxieties and fears around performing in front of an audience.

Kritzer founded the successful Classical Guitar Immersion Conference (CGI)  a week-long intensive conference where participants live and study together onsite, working with experts in classical music, better understanding your instrument, performance, styles, and advanced techniques, culminating in a concert at the end of the week presented by the attendees. Click here for general information regarding .

Based in Portland, Oregon, Kritzer’s students have won regional, national and international guitar competitions and gone on to attend such notable schools as The Julliard School, the Royal Conservatory of Music in London, the North Carolina School of the Arts and his alma mater, The .