Duo Montes-Kircher consists of husband and wife pair, Alfonso Montes and Irina Kircher, who have been playing together as a professional guitar duo since 1984. Their long list of recordings often serve to commemorate their long history together, several of their CDs are actually subtitled with that year’s anniversary, three of which are their 10th, 20th, and 30th. On today’s show you’ll hear about their somewhat unorthodox rehearsal style, several of Alfonso’s compositions, about their time studying with Venezuelan legend Antonio Lauro, and about their interesting choice to quit university-level teaching in favor of a more youth oriented approach. You’ll also hear about Montes’s time as a Venezuelan diplomat, and even how Kircher had to fail the L.A. philharmonic’s very own musical director and conductor, Gustavo Dudamel, and in chamber music no less!