Two brothers, one instrument.

• Author: Mandel, Susan
• Position: Music

Sergio Assad says he is a simple man. He doesn't wear expensive clothes, live in a fancy house, or even own a car. "If I had tons of extra money, I would rather give it away," he says, "because I wouldn't know how to spend it."

He's so unassuming, you'd never guess that Sergio, forty-eight, and his brother Odair, forty-four, regularly get standing ovations at sold-out concerts. They are two of the top classical guitarists in the world. The Brazilian-born Assad brothers have been performing together most of their lives and are widely recognized as the greatest classical guitar duo ever. They've performed throughout Europe, Asia, North America, Latin America, Australia, and Israel and have recorded with some of the biggest names in classical music--Yo-Yo Ma, Gidon Kremer, and Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, to name a few.

Sergio and Odair play the guitar with rare artistry and formidable technique. Their music is full of fire and romanticism, says noted classical guitarist Manuel Barrueco. "They don't hold back," he says. "They don't know what that means, which makes it very exciting."

The Assads perform music so technically difficult, says Ray Chester, music professor at the Peabody Conservatory of Music, that even though he's been teaching guitar for thirty years, he doesn't know how they do it. Most remarkable, however, is their amazing synchronization. In their hands, two guitars sound like a single instrument.

Last fall, the Assads completed their third concert tour with violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg. The threesome recorded a CD of gypsy-inspired music written by Sergio two years ago. The brothers took a break from the tour to perform a separate concert in Baltimore, and Sergio sat for an interview the afternoon of the show. He'd just finished teaching a master class to guitar students at the Peabody Conservatory, who seemed star struck by him.

An attractive man of medium height with kind-looking, dark eyes, Sergio has the appearance of a college professor, only a little more hip in his muted raspberry colored shirt, slate-colored pants, and Hushpuppies. He's somewhat reserved when we meet, but quickly opens up. Even so, he seems like someone not used to talking about himself.

Fame and fortune hold little interest for the Assads. Success has not affected them, friends say, perhaps because it was so long in coming. Neil Benson, of ICM Artists, their U.S. manager, calls them two of the most modest artists that he works with. Sergio says...