REBECCA BYERS – The Corsair
French classical guitar player Florian Larousse played to a sold-out crowd, Jan, 15.at the Ashmore Auditorium. The playlist included music written by 16th Century English renaissance composer John Dowland.
Larousse, 22, began to study guitar at the age of 8 and was taught by Philippe Vanderstiche. He continued studying at the National Conservatory of Paris with Pedro Ibanez.
“When I was a kid, I always loved to play the guitar,” Larousse said. “Not necessarily classical music, but any kind of music.”
He has performed in many competitions all over the world in countries such as France, Germany, Hungary, Portugal, Spain, and the United States.
One of his performances in Spain, the Jose Thomas Competition, earned him first prize and the Audience Choice Award. In 2009, he won an international competition called the Koblenzi. Later that year, he won the first prize of the Guitar Foundation of America International Artist Competition.
“I have done about 10 competitions before I came here,” Larousse said.
The concert began with pieces called Fantasia, Lachrima, Pavan, and Fancy, all written by Dowland. These pieces were all very moving and had the audience mesmerized.
When Larousse finished his last song, he took a bow and the audience gave him a standing ovation and kept clapping. Larousse walked back on stage for an encore performance. He played a song that wasn’t on the roster. The audience once again gave Larousse a standing ovation.
“It feels nice when I get standing ovations from the audience,” Larousse said. “People in the U.S are very nice.”