Music
story by Jarret Keene
P ORTR A I T BY C H R I S T O P H ER S M I T H
world of classical music is a troubled one. By most accounts, the late ’80s and ’90s were the last golden age of classical music. An arts lover (Bill Clinton) was in the White House, the National Endowment for the Arts was, well, fully endowed, and airport security had yet to become a sideshow for bodyscanning shenanigans. For classical musicians, however, options are increasingly few and far between. Cobo, who teaches privately and at UNLV, feels fortunate enough to have enjoyed what he himself calls “the gravy days.” “Classical music was crazy gangbusters,” Cobo says of those times. “Now we’re in a prolonged recession, orchestras and symphonies are striking or shutting down, and it’s no longer fun to tour the world because of all the security hassles.” For Cobo, playing private events and business functions are the norm these days, which is why his upcoming April 23 concert is a mustsee for fans of classical guitar.
‘Why the heck I live here’
Today’s no golden age for classical guitar, but Ricardo Cobo soldiers on.
The strumming maverick
Amid tough times for classical music, world-renowned guitar virtuoso Ricardo Cobo survives by his own rules The Washington Post calls him “mesmerizing.” The L.A. Times says he’s “superhuman.” American Record Guide says Ricardo Cobo’s performances are “definitive.” In January, he played to adoring throngs at the Cartagena Music Festival in Colombia, Cobo’s native country, where he’s treated like a conquering hero. “The sound of 3,000 people in the town square, screaming for you to get onstage and perform, is just unbelievable, and impossible to describe. It’s in those moments that I realize why I’m doing this,” says Cobo. “It makes you play better. Even in the weeks that follow.” But global acclaim won’t spare you from economic turmoil. In these lean times, Cobo draws more and more sustenance from such moments, since these days the 20
Desert Companion
MARCH//APRIL 2010
For Cobo, who grew up in a Lebanese family with a deep appreciation for music, the guitar has been a source of imagination and creativity from when he first picked it up at age 8. Since then, he’s never abandoned the instrument. “Even as a child, it was pretty clear in my mind that playing guitar professionally was something I absolutely wanted to do,” he says. Cobo has devoted his life to this pursuit. At 12, he entered Colombia’s Antonio María Valencia Conservatory, before heading to the Peabody Institute of the John Hopkins University in Baltimore. Cobo then graduated from the North Carolina School of the Arts, and studied at the postgraduate level at Florida State University. In 2000, he arrived in Vegas to start a relationship with UNLV’s music department. By Cobo’s own admission, the relationship became strained due to constant touring and private instruction. People from all over the world fly to Vegas for a lesson with Cobo. Often they scratch their heads at finding a musical jewel in the desert. “People ask me all the time why the heck I live here,” he says. “When you look around, it’s easy to understand. The surrounding area — Red Rock, Mount Charleston — is beautiful and, compared