A CRITICALLY acclaimed guitar duo will be perform the inaugural concert for Newton Abbot and District Society of Arts 75th anniversary season next Friday.

The brilliant Hungarian virtuoso guitar pair the Katona Twins are being welcomed backed by NADSA to Newton Abbot’s Courtenay Centre, a venue they played seven years ago to an enthusiastic packed house.

Born in Budapest in 1968, Peter and Zoltan Katona studied in Budapest, Frankfurt and in London. Their 10th CD was released in 2019, and they have been invited over the years on numerous occasions to record for the BBC and other international television and radio platforms.

They have given recitals in the major concert venues throughout the world including performances at the Carnegie Hall, the Wigmore Hall, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Konzerthaus in Vienna, the Suntory Hall in Tokyo,and the Philharmonie in Cologne.

In 2009, as the soloists of the ‘Night of the Proms’ they performed live to half a million people in arenas across Europe.

The twins have won more than 10 international prizes at major competitions in New York, London, Germany, France and Hungary.

From Bach to Beatles as their concert is called, puts into a nutshell the huge range of repertoire at their disposal, and the variety of music that they will perform for us.

Pieces by guitar composers, virtuoso guitarists Barrios (classical) and Reinhardt (gypsy swing), will be showcased alongside arrangements and original compositions by the twins.

These truly international stars will share not only their flair, but their understated and considerable charm.

In 2014 they treated the audience to an encore, their arrangement of Scarlatti’s Metamorphosis, which proved a dazzling finale. One wonders what surprises may be in store this time.

The concert, sponsored by Estelle McCormick, will be held at the Courtenay Centre at 7:30pm on Friday, September 17.

Tickets are only available online at www.nadsa.co.uk. As audience numbers will be limited to allow social distancing, early booking is strongly advised. Audience members are also asked to please bring your mask with you.