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“A unique artistic achievement by one of Ausrtalia’s promising young
musicians. Tawadros combines the oud with piano, clarinet, Bendir
and req to create an astonishing and unique musical language that
defies categorisation. Its not traditionally egyptian, its not
classical, its not jazz. You simply have to hear it.”
- Qantas Magazine, May 2008
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“Angel
confirmed his ability as a composer to fuse and blend convincingly and
unselfconsciously, while rooting the music in that Egyptian heritage”
“Melodies to summon Angels”
“Impassioned improvisations”
“Tawadros was superb throughout…with the gripping beauty of his playing,
his sound was a joy.”
- Sydney Morning Herald, 18-4-2008
| 4 1/2 STARS
"Joseph, whose virtuosity on the
fretless Arabic lute is astounding given that he's only 24, also
shows remarkable maturity and prowess as a composer, arranger and
producer"
- The Weekend Australian, April
12-13, 2008
|
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“The music of Egyptian
born Australian based Joseph Tawadros traverses the boundaries of jazz,
classical and world music, creating this seemingly effortless subdued
fusion of genres and worlds.”
“This is the kind of
exotic jazz that you’d dream of stumbling across late one night in the
Middle East, yet the reality is that you’re probably more likely to see
them closer to home in a concert hall.”
“It’s a really unique
recording (Angel), lush and vibrant with a very much live feel
continuing Tawadros’ desire to take the oud into new uncharted realms.
He does so here, yet he does so with such confidence that it almost
feels like he is merely carrying on a centuries old tradition.”
- Cyclic Defrost
Magazine, Issue 19, 10-4-2008 |
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“Joseph Tawadros again displayed his gift for the oud, as well as
his sly wit, in two restrained sets with his trio”
- The Australian, 11-3-2008
|
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“Tawadros is a master of his instrument, an excellent composer and an
inspired improviser, worthy of being a headline act at any world music
festival”
- The Advertiser, 10-3-2008 |
|
“Immediately, the Egyptian Oud lines
of Joseph Tawdros coax us in with a little mystique, and we are soon
rewarded with a luxuriant soundscape”
-
Beat Magazine Issue 1102, 13-2-2008
|
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“From
the opening track, you are drawn into an aural landscape of another
culture, another life, another mind that seems littered with raw and
unhesitant feeling”
- Tsunami Magazine,
February, 2008 |
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“In his early twenties, Joseph
Tawadros has already reached a career peak few musicians here can
only dream of!”
“He is a phenomenally gifted oud
(Arabic lute) player. Epiphany is his fourth recording and is his
best”
”With Epiphany, Joseph Tawadros has reached a rare level of
compositional and musical virtuousity”
- The Australian,
17-10-2007
|
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“What a wonderful
experience, being transported to the imaginary lands of the Northern
African Continent through the virtuosic performance of two pairs of
brothers - Slava and Leonard Grigoryan and Joseph and James Tawadros”
“Their interesting
rhythms and amazing adherence to complex time signatures was
awe-inspiring”
“a beautiful mix of
improvised and formulated classical, traditional and jazz flavoured
pieces”
“The brothers were
entirely symbiotic!”
“It was refreshing to be
'invited' into the brothers' space. Joseph was endearing and spoke in a
way that 'Broke the Sound Barriers' in the sense that he, and the
Grigoryan brothers didn't seem to take themselves too seriously. They
could laugh and add just enough humor to the performance to allow the
audience to relax. I felt as though I was in their living room being
privileged to experience a family jam-session!”
- ABC
Brisbane, August 2007 |
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“Joseph and James are both virtuoso players, and they play as one
with not a note out of place. Joseph’s compositions are thoroughly
engaging, with a typical evocative Arabic desert feel.”
- NSW Folk Federation, August 2007
|
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“A power trio need not have an
electric guitar, nor threaten your ears’ well-being. Epiphany
captures an extraordinary concert, extraordinarily well. The young
Egyptian-Australian lutenist and leader is already recognised worldwide.
A superb played of the oud, Joseph Tawadros is also an imaginative
composer”
“This very conversational music is
richly varied, playful and serious, too. It sparkles”
- The Weekend Planet,
20-7-2007 |
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“The approach should not surprise.
From the outset, Tawadros has displayed an imaginative
improvisational style, playfully drawing on the musical tradition of
his oud-and-violin-virtuoso grandfather”
- The Sunday Age,
17-7-2007
|
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“The amazingly accomplished Joseph
Tawadros obviously delights his live audience. The crisp, warm sound is
extremely appealing and the visceral quality lifts the spirit. As the
ancient rhythms and traditional movements unfold early on, Tawadros
allows contemporary riffs some elaboration without sounding inharmonious
or peculiar”
“How lucky we are to have this young
man born in Cairo but raised in Australia developing his natural
affinity with the Oud so open-mindedly. Innovative, accomplished and
marvellously rich, this album will provide the appreciative listener
with endless hours of satisfaction”
- The Independent
Weekly, 10-7-2007
(Epiphany CD review) |
|
“From the outset, Tawadros has
displayed an imaginative improvisational style,
playfully drawing on the musical
tradition of his oud”
- The Sunday Age,
17-6-2007 |
|
“Joseph Tawadros needs only to
strike a single note and the richness of the sound he extracts from his
oud floods from the speakers. The instant that single note becomes part
of a melody, you are transported to North Africa, thanks to the scales
and the slides between notes on this fretless Arabic lute”
“Tawadros improvises with flair”
“Tawadros has astutely programmed a
diversity of moods so the album, as a whole, becomes an exotic, rather
sad and very rewarding journey”
- Sydney Morning Herald,
John Shand, 23-24 June, 2007 |
|
“5 STARS! At 23 – with three albums,
two ARIA nominations and a recent Freedman Fellowship already to his
credit – Egyptian born Aussie oud player Joseph Tawadros certainly
has been making his mark”
“Remarkable proficiency”
“He is not only technically
impressive, but also emotionally inspired”
”An extraordinary recital from start
to finish.”
- Limelight Magazine,
May 2007
|
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“Joe Tawadros’ The Oud, The Bad &
The Ugly thrilled the audience with their hypnotic, psych-tinged, funky
instrumentals which seemed to blend acid jazz and world music
effortlessly”
- Beat Magazine
Melbourne 4-4-2007 |
|
“the brilliance of our own Joseph Tawadros have ensured most music
lovers are aware of the magic to be generated on that fretless lute,
the oud”
- Sydney
Morning Herald 26-1-2007
|
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“By playing a number alone- giving an opportunity to appreciate the
exceptional fluidity of Tawadros’ melodic invention and imaginative
exploration”
- The Adelaide Advertiser, 14-3-06
|
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“Australia is home to one of the
most remarkable younger players of one of the older lutes.
Egyptian-Australian Joseph Tawadros is already a bona fide virtuoso,
in his early twenties”
- Folk Australia,
25-2-2006
|
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“The ACO was joined by exciting Egyptian born oud player Joseph Tawadros”
“The highlight of this adventurous evening of music-making was the
collaboration between Tognetti’s troops and the amazing Tawadros
brothers. Playing mainly compositions by Joseph, the audience came alive
with the insistent rhythms and dazzling improvisations of the taqasim”
-The Manly Daily, 24-2-2006
|
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Masterly mix
“By no means alternative-lifestyle world music fans, took to this
unlikely combination with genuine enthusiasm”
“The Tawadros brothers are fine musicians and Joseph has mastered
the intricate art of taqasim to a high level for a man of 22…the
exceptional freedom of his improvisations, while still respecting
the boundaries of traditional style, is most impressive”
-The Adelaide Advertiser, 22-2-2006
|
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“The rapturous audience response to the Egyptian oud player Joseph
Tawadros at the end of each half owed most to the immediacy of his
playing, which gave his virtuosity a sense of spontaneity, catching the
vivid moment as it flies”
“Joseph Tawadros's playing was most interesting in the slow
improvisatory introductions (as in Remembering Baghdad), where
the embellishments were most unfettered and the sound had a haunting
quality, both distant and intimate”
“In faster music, such as Oasis in quintuple time, there is a thud and
jangle as the music builds in intensity through repetition and
embellishment”
“Outrageously joyous notes by Tawadros and the orchestra ended it”
-Sydney Morning Herald, 20-2-2006
|
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“Then came new works for oud, string orchestra and Egyptian
percussion. The oud, an Arabic string instrument was brilliantly
played by Egyptian born Tawadros”
“The first, Alamein started with a melancholic sound from the cellos
and double bass, while the strings and oud rode lyrically above”
“With Remember Baghdad, the oud and percussion accompanied by
weeping sounds from the strings, recreated the rhythms and modes of
Arabic music tradition”
“Oasis was catchy with its percussive staccato effects and sound
gaining strength and pace”
“Rose with its slow, rapturous mood, was particularly beautiful”
“Several encores from the string orchestra and Tawadros brothers
left the enthusiastic audience wanting more…it was a delightful and
innovative concert”
-Sunday Herald Sun, 19-2-2006
|
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“Joseph’s oud was beautifully matched by Richard Tognetti’s violin, and
their playing together drew rapturous applause from the audience”
-Sunday Canberra Times, 19-2-2006
|
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“A carefully chosen, thrillingly delivered fusion of Western and
Middle-Eastern works captivated a full house on Tuesday at the
Australian Chamber Orchestra’s 30th Anniversary concert
extravaganza, The Travellers”
“Special guest oud virtuoso Joseph Tawadros - playing from memory –
joined the bowed strings for an evocative arrangement of his piece,
Alamein. This quasi-improvised work, based on Arabic modes, features
of glittering passages of lightning-fast melody and ornamentation
above sustained bass lines, the soloists phrases enhanced by myriad
bowed string special effects”
“Later highlights among many cross cultural offerings from the oud
player was Remember Baghdad, its high frequency drones and eerie
slides calling to mind wailing voices or ominous drone of missiles”
“Respite came with Oasis, a song about the ecstatic state achieved
by musicians through expressive interplay and slowly intensifying
musical embellishment…it is one hell of a party piece”
“Head thrown back and eyes closed in rapture, Tawadros’ accelerandos
seemed faster than humanly possible, his vicious strummed passages
backed by horsehair tearing chords from the ACO as the team built up
to a fortissimo frenzy”
“The ACO and Joseph Tawadros’ boundless energy and enthusiasm
combined with their rigorous performance standards made this ground
breaking concert an absolute pleasure. What a shame they were in
Perth for only one night”
-The West Australian, 17-2-2006 |
|
"An impressive track record as a soloist”
Subtle Colours of Egypt; Feisty duo
“Two Australian-Egyptian masters came to the stage, The Tawadros
brothers, Joseph (oud) and James (Egyptian percussion), brought a heady
confrontation of ancient modes couched in a modern framework, with a
European-style orchestra in the background…Presenting works composed by
Joseph, they glided on their instruments, revealing a precious
virtuosity”
-The Age, 15-2-2006
|
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“The marvelous expressiveness of the oud and Joseph Tawadros’
virtuosic playing easily crossed cultural barriers, making this an
exciting voyage into music that I’m sure most of the audience
experienced for the first time”
-State of the Arts, 14-2-2006
|
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Brothers Steal Eclectic Show
“The highlight is the collaboration with the Tawadros brothers…Joseph
Tawadros provided the atmospheric core of the pieces, by turns sensitive
and spectacular in his fingering and strumming”
“His writing displays a real depth of emotion, with Remember Baghdad
charting an aching lament and Existence reveling in a zest for life and
celebration”
“The memory of the Tawadros brothers remained, clear and enticing”
-The Australian, 14-2-2006
|
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“Aged just 22, Tawadros has brought the warmth and emotive sounds of
the oud to contemporary audiences, gaining critical acclaim with
distinctive improvisations and collaborations”
-Sydney Central Courier, 10-2-2006 |
|
“Joseph Tawadros is a fantastic musician and we’re learning all sorts of
improvisation and rhythm gestures we don’t know” (Richard Tognetti)
-Illawarra Mercury, 9-2-2006
|
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“At just 22, Joseph is already a master of the oud”
-Illawarra Mercury, 4-2-2006
|
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“Exploring new ways to expand the role of the oud in Australian society”
-Fine Music Magazine, February 2006
|
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"From the first few notes of hearing Joseph Tawadros, one is
astonished by his musical depth and stunning technique. This is a
strong sensibility steeped in the history of his birth country and
its musicians, but his is not just an isolated musicianship.
Combined wit ha sincere curiosity for the Western music tradition
his talents have inspired me to partner him with musicians as
diverse as Neil Finn through to collaborating with the ACO to devise
a program centred around the arrangements of his own compositions"
-Richard Tognetti, Artistic Director of the Australian Chamber
Orchestra, 2006
|
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“Tawadros, 22, is Australia ’s leading oud player…a great improviser”
-Sunday Herald Sun, 29-1-2006
|
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“It’s rich and incredibly vibrant, it sings but at the same time has
quite a percussive sound. It sounds exotic in the sense that it
takes you to a different planet. Its just a piece of wood with some
strings on it, but it’s what the craftsman, Joe, does with it that
matters”
“He’s got good nerves and astonishing intrinsic talents. He’s also a
great composer with a real gift of melody and structure”
-Limelight Magazine, Richard Tognetti, December 2005
|
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“He (Joseph) has taken the instrument (oud) to places its never been”
“He is still exploring…He experiments with harmonics and left hand
pizzicato, neither of which are traditional oud techniques”
“an exceptionally talented performer”
“With fluid and inventive phrasing…melodies still linger long after I’ve
turned out the lights and put out the cat, this is a fine portrait of
superb musicianship”
-Limelight Magazine, December, 2005
|
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“Tawadros’ crossover compositions cover a broad spectrum and he is
equally at ease performing jazz, classical, Indian or Egyptian
music”
“Joseph Tawadros literally has many strings to his bow. At the age
of 22, the Egyptian born Australian has mastered an impressive array
of instruments”
-The West Australian, 16-11-2005 |
|
“Tawadros’ frightening speed, and the precision with which he hits his
notes while doing so (the oud is a fretless instrument!) you’ll
appreciate why his list of fans is a ‘Who’s Who’ of Australia’s most
famous ‘western tradition’ musicians. This is a truly outstanding disc:
a real find”
- Neuphonix Complete
Review - Australian Hi-Fi – Australia, 1-6-2005 |
|
“Young and Brillant!”
-Sydney Morning Herald 3-12-04
|
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“His exhilarating, highly skilled performances have made him one of
Australia ’s most impressive young artists”
“Joseph has gone on to develop a truly unique and distinctive personal
style of his own and raise the profile of the fretless oud in Australia”
-The Advocate, Entertainer, 30-9-04
|
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“He has been responsible for raising the profile of the fretless oud
in Australia , presenting it as both a traditional and highly
versatile contemporary instrument, capable of enhancing many cross
cultural projects”
- The Courier Sun, 29-9-04 |
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“One of the most gifted musicians on the Australian music scene”
“reputation for dexterous playing”
- Rhythms magazine, September, 2004
|
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“Selflessness usually demands a considerable journey on the
musicians part, and is a destination many never reach. Sydney based
oud player has arrived there inside 21 years”
“Tawadros plays modal improvisations known as taqasims. In these
solo performances the form is entirely dependant on the imagination,
skill and beauty of tone of the player, and Tawadros wins on all
counts. With a sound ember-warm, his music tends towards the
elegiac, while the passing quarter tones slice straight to the
heart”
- Limelight Magazine, September, 2004
|
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“One of the most impressive musicians to emerge in Australia in the past
few years”
“His deft fingers release a kaleidoscope of notes and tempos. But he’s
not only a technical whiz. His creative imagination is eloquent in the
improvisational pieces and his originality is evident in his own
compositions”
- The Weekend Australian, August 28-29, 2004 |
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“Tawadros is creating his own traces of light…prodigiously talented”
-Limelight Magazine, August 2004 |
|
“Storyteller”
is the debut CD by a prodigiously talented, young Egyptian-Australian.
Joseph Tawadros was born in Cairo in 1983. His family came to
Australia in 1986. He’s been a concert lutenist since he was 12. A
serious (& seriously good) “classical”/“erudite”/”art” musician in the
Arabic sense, he’s an open-eared, musical adventurer, too. Joseph
Tawadros has already played his oud {the fretless, Arabic lute
which is the ancestor of the European kind} with classical guitarist
Slava Grigoryan, the world’s most prominent tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain,
the Australian Chamber Orchestra & with jazz pianist & composer Mark
Isaacs. He’s likely the only oud soloist to have performed at both the
Sydney Opera House & the Cairo Opera House. Absolutely solo,
“Storyteller” is a set of keenly focused, yet highly improvisatory music
- much of it composed by Tawadros”
“Impressionistic-mysterioso, “Experimental”, solo for the composer’s
oud {fretless, Arabic lute} . Involves quasi-“free” elements, “spooky”
sections, harmonics & intentional string-buzzing, some beating of the
oud’s body & a deal of drama, very haunting, refined & spacious solo”
- The Planet (radio-national 15-6-04)
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“A real Oud Master”
-The Sunday Telegraph 13-6-04
|
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“Boy, He can play! Iraq was the place the oud was transformed in the 20th
Century, maybe it will be transformed in Australia in the 21st
century by young Egyptian Australian oud player Joseph Tawadros”
- The Planet (radio national 8-6-04)
|
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“Storyteller (debut cd) is the oud and nothing but the oud, and with
a player as good as Tawadros that’s just fine”
“a dazzling technique dispensing hair raising tempos, florid
ornamentation, double and triple stopping and ferocious attack”
“an accomplished composer”
“Tawadros plucks, hits, buzzes, races up and down the scale and
gives the impression of having three pairs of hands. Possibly more”
“Tawadros pours out brillant cascades of notes underscored by a get
up and dance percussive rhythm. The playing is exhilarating”
- The Weekend Australian, July 24-25, 2004
|
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“Australia’s leading oud player”
“unique style of oud playing”
-SBS radio (14-4-04)
|
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“Joseph at the age of 19 is a truly great player of the Oud…expressive,
powerful and exciting”
-Asian Music and Dance Festival ’03 Studio, Opera House
|
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“Australia’s finest proponent of the Oud”
“Mystical melodies”
-Carnivale ‘03
|
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“Mesmerised audiences with his playing”
- University of NSW Expo ‘03 |
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“It was like two people speaking in different languages to each other,
however both agreeing about something, each telling there own story in
there own way, and in the end coming back still in agreence with one
another”
“Two instruments, two worlds, two genius”
-Arabic SBS radio, about the collaboration with Mark Isaacs (8-11-03)
|
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“Intense virtuosic & sombre”
-The Planet (radio national 6-11-03)
|
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“Lively and virtuosic”
-The Planet (radio national 2-8-03) |
|
“Tawadros proved just what a beautiful and versatile instrument it
is, especially in the solo half of this concert”
“A premium is placed on rhythmic invention and the emotional clout
of the melodies….Tawadros excelled in both areas, often sustaining
two lines simultaneously”
“His Hallucination on a String was a fascinating, more
abstract piece, exploring such textures as buzzing or muffled
strings, harmonics, and playing beyond the short fingerboard. Notes
arrived in showers, and scattered in several melodic directions at
once”
“Intense and evocative, with passages of hurtling virtuosity”
“Densely rhythmical, with sinuous runs being punctuated with
vigorous strumming”
-Sydney Morning Herald (13-5-03) |
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"A charismatic young Oud player"
“The main objective of taqasim is to reach the point of ‘tarab’, which
is the Arabic word describing the exciting and ecstatic state that a
musician and audience reach in the embellishment of the music, This
Tawadros achieved consummately in the opinion of the audience, which
rose as one to it’s feet”
“Highly skilled……exhilarating”
-Australian Institute of Eastern music Newsletter, Summer ’02-‘03
|
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“(Joseph Tawadros) A pulse in the universe, A tune on earth, A
beautiful heart and mind-that is your soul!”
-Lebanese Australian poet Chafic Ataya, ‘02
|
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“Tawadros on Oud introduced the tune of Waltzing Matilda into a
brilliantly needling improvisation”
“Outstandingly gifted instrumentalist”
-Sydney Morning Herald (10-12-02)
|
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“Tawadros, 19, a Sydney music student who is gaining a keen
following through recitals and festivals”
“Reaching a state of ecstasy”
-The Australian (5-12-02)
|
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“The Slava Grigoryan of the Oud, like Grigoryan the acclaimed classical
guitarist, the
talent of Tawadros has bloomed in childhood and at the ripe old age of
19, the Egyptian Australian was impassioned and inventive in his modal
improvisations”
-Sydney Morning Herald (19-4-02)
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