KastningSiegfried

The KastningSiegfried Duet Project was formed in 1990, and is an ongoing artistic collaborative between Kevin Kastning and Siegfried, a guitarist and composer based in Portland, Maine. The KastningSiegfried compositions are written in open score, but are performed and recorded by us for acoustic guitar duets. Compositionally, the works fall into one of three basic categories: pieces composed by Siegfried, pieces composed by me, and pieces collaborated upon and composed by us both. The music defies easy categorization. Instrumentation consists of Siegfried on acoustic 6-string guitar, and me on 6- and 12-string acoustic guitars, extended baritone guitar, 12-string extended baritone guitar, classical guitar, fretless classical guitar, and mandolin. The Binary Forms pieces tend to be extended compositions. The Binary Forms series (currently a set of 11 compositions) employ a compositional technique wherein one of us will compose one voice (the score being laid out in a two-voice system), either Voice I or Voice II. The completed single-voice score is given to the other person, who then composes the part of the unfinished voice. Usually, no predetermined guidelines have been specified for the unfinished voice, but there have been pieces wherein the first person has specified certain harmonic or structural elements as a kind of palette for the second person to use when composing their part. This compositional method has produced some very unique pieces.