By Laurence Peter BBC News

Classical guitar virtuoso David Russell explains why his choice of instrument is helping to revive and spark new interest in the music of composers such as JS Bach and his contemporaries

In today’s crowded music market the classical guitar sometimes struggles to make itself heard alongside other guitar genres.

But this versatile instrument is helping to introduce new listeners to the music of Bach and other outstanding composers of the Baroque period, such as the Italian Domenico Scarlatti and Bach’s German friend Silvius Leopold Weiss, who was a celebrated lute player.

David Russell is a leading exponent of Baroque music – one of a few classical guitar virtuosos who are rediscovering masterpieces from that period and transcribing them.

Read the full article at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13229108

Raffaella and Odair are in the New York area because they are taking part in a Leo Brouwer tribute concert that is being held on April 23rd at the 92Y in New York City. The full fare of guitarists include:

Benjamin Verdery, Odair Assad, Canadian Guitar Quartet, Ricardo Cobo, Eden Stell Guitar Duo, René Izquierdo, and Raphaella Smits.

And the program is:

• Paisaje cubano con lluvia for Four Guitars
• Canticum 1968
• Elogio de la danza
• Estudio sencillo No. 6
• La Espiral eternal
• Un dia de noviembre
• El decameron negro
• Ojos brujos
• Per suonare à due for Two Guitars
• Cambio el ritmo de la noche from Canciones remotas (arr. Canadian Guitar Quartet)
• Estudio sencillo No. 7
• Hika, “In Memorium Toru Takemitsu”
• Sonata del caminante

If you are in the area I hope you will come along to what will surely be a very entertaining concert. Ben Verdery will be giving a pre-concert talk at 7pm. I will surely be at the concert, so if you are a reader, please come and say hello!

Buy Tickets Here

The Louisville CLassical Guitar Society & the University of Louisville is presenting a guitar festival and international competition, May 26th through 30th, 2011 at the School of Music in Louisville Kentucky.  See the above link for more details.

SPONSOR Boston Classical Guitar Society

WHO Rafael Aguirre [Spain], Olson/De Cari Duo [NYC], Maarten Stragier [Belgium], Nathan Kolosko, Jose Lezcano, BCGS Community Guitar Orchestra, Back Bay Guitar Trio, others

WHAT Festival 21: New Music for Classical Guitar; concerts, master class and lectures

WHERE Old South Church, 645 Boylston St., and First Lutheran Church, 299 Berkeley St, Boston

WHEN Saturday April 16, 2011, 10:00am – 10:00pm

ADMISSION Festival Pass: $60 general admission; $50 seniors; $10 Discount for BCGS & Church members; Student price $35. Order at www.bostonguitar.org or call (818) 640-7047

INFO 917-693-5603; wallacecomposer@gmail.com; www.bostonguitar.org

On April 16 the Boston Classical Guitar Society (BCGS) will present Festival 21 in celebration of 21^st century music and all that is new in the world of classical guitar.  This year features one of the most exciting virtuosos to come out of Spain in decades, young Rafael Aguirre.  With phenomenal technique and elegant interpretive voice, Rafael will perform Joaquin Rodrigo’s newly discovered work Toccata, lost in archives for 75 years, as well as selections from Leo Brouwer’s Nuevos Estudios Sencillos, the world premier of Daniel Real’s Estalacticas y stalagmites and other Spanish works. The BCGS Community Guitar Orchestra will give a short prelude to Aguirre’s concert with the world premiere of A Journey through Eastern Villages in which composer/director Scott Borg captures the essence of three very different cultures: Japanese, Javanese and Chinese. The concert is at First Lutheran Church, 299 Berkeley St. Boston.  Tickets: $15-25 at the door or online at www.bostonguitar.org.  Festival Pass is $60 general admission; $50 seniors; $10 discount for church or BCGS members; $35 students.  Both First Lutheran and Gordon Chapel (used for daytime events) have stunning acoustics for guitar and are easily accessible on the T.

The day begins at 10:00am at Old South Church, 645 Boylston St. with an open rehearsal of three community guitar orchestras: Timberlane High School, Keene State College and BCGS prepare for the afternoon and evening concerts.  The groups will perform Frank Wallace’s New England Sextets in the Members’ Concert as well as Borg’s work in the evening.  Bring your guitar for the next class – at 11:00am Nathan Kolosko will direct a workshop on “prepared guitar.”  Nathan will discuss the history of “prepared guitar” techniques through a survey of the  literature and players that employ them. He will demonstrate these techniques and bring materials for participants to try their hands at playing in a short score for “prepared guitar” ensemble.

At 1:15pm Belgium guitarist Maarten Stragier will play a program of 21^st century guitar works. Les Effaceurs, Harvard composer Nicholas Vines’ 5 movement-long tour de force, was commissioned by Festival 21 with the help of the New England Foundation for the Arts. The second half of the program will submerge the guitar in a bath of interactive electronics with Kogarashi, Le Premier Soupir des Fantomes by the up-and-coming French composer Jerome Combier, and a new work by Caroline Park.  When the last electro-acoustic reverberations have dissipated, the Olson/De Cari duo will take stage at 2:15pm with songs from their Science/Music Commissioning Project. “Is no one inspired by our present picture of the universe? The value of science remains unsung by singers: you are reduced to hearing not a song or poem, but an evening lecture about it.” — Richard Feynman.  John Olson and Gioia de Cari are creating music for voice and guitar that celebrates the insights and illuminates the human side of science through song. The Duo will perform works by Champlin and Donahue with texts by Einstein, Bohr, Curie, Donahue, Teilhard de Chardin, Richard Feynman, and give world premiers of Orbits by Andrew Dickenson and Men, Women and Molecules by Frank Wallace, poetry by Roald Hoffmann, Nobel Prize-winning chemist at Cornell University.

After a coffee hour with entertainment by the Keene State College Guitar Orchestra, members of the BCGS will share their passions and creativity over the past year with performances by the Timberlane and BCGS Orchestra,  Aaron Larget-Caplan, Robert Margo with Wendy Silverberg soprano, Jose Lezcano and the popular Back Bay Guitar Trio.

Festival 21 is made possible by generous grants from the Augustine Foundation, D’Addario Musical Foundation and is funded in part by a grant from the MetLife Creative Connections program of Meet the Composer, Inc. and the New England Foundation for the Arts with additional support from the six New England state arts agencies and the National Endowment for the Arts.  BCGS is a nonprofit organization that annually presents four Artist Series concerts, Festival 21, Saturday Sounds Special concerts at Hingham Library and monthly member events with essential support from sponsors, donors and members.  www.bostonguitar.org.

Daytime: Gordon Chapel, Old South Church, 645 Boylston Ave., Boston

• 10:00am Open Rehearsal Scott Borg directing
  BCGS Community, Keene State College and Timberlane High Guitar Orchestras
• 11:00am Lecture/demo and workshop Nathan Kolosko “prepared guitar”  techniques
• 1:15pm Concert Maarten Stragier 21st century solo guitar, new commissions
• 2:15pm Concert Olson/De Cari Duo 21st century song, new commissions
• 3:15pm Coffee break with Keene State College Guitar Orchestra, Jose Lezcano, director
• 4:00pm Members’ Concert Back Bay Guitar Trio, Aaron Larget-Caplan, Jose Lezcano, Robert Margo with Wendy Silverberg and Timberlane High School Guitar Orchestra and BCGS Community Guitar Orchestra, John Zevos, conducting

Evening: First Lutheran Church, 299 Berkeley Street, Boston, MA

• 8:00pm Concert Rafael Aguirre works of Anton García Abril, Lorenzo Palomo, Rodrigo,  Brouwer, de Falla, world premier of Estalacticas y stalagmites by Daniel Real
  Concert prelude: world premier of Scott Borg’s A Journey through Eastern Villages performed by the BCGS Community Guitar Orchestra with the Keene State College and Timberlane Regional High School guitar orchestras, Scott Borg directing

The basics: http://www.bostonguitar.info/performers/11_festival21.html
The stories: http://festival21.tumblr.com/

In an anemic classical music recording industry, its pretty big news that Mr Karadaglic has been signed by one of the most prominent labels in the biz. For guitarists as a whole this is great news but especially for Miloš. I had the pleasure of studying alongside Miloš at the Royal Academy in London back in 2003 and I can not think of a more dedicated and sincere musician to become a banner bearer for our clan! Bravo Miloš!

Here is the original release:

Deutsche Grammophon is delighted to announce the signing of an exclusive recording-agreement with guitar virtuoso Miloš Karadaglic.

This young classical guitarist is preparing his début album for release in spring 2011.

Michael Lang, President, Deutsche Grammophon, said, “We’re thrilled to work with Miloš – he’s a terrific talent, an engaging personality – and we know the time is now to re-establish the classical guitar in the world of music. Miloš is the one.”

The début album by Miloš will pay tribute to the guitarist’s own Mediterranean roots. Featuring music from his Montenegro homeland and from the Balkans and Spain, and by composers such as Granados, Domeniconi and Albéniz, the recording will explore the Euro-Arabian world that his instrument has come from.

Born in Montenegro in 1983, Miloš has already established himself as one of today’s most gifted guitar virtuosos. He began playing the guitar at the age of eight, and quickly won national recognition for his performances. At sixteen, he was awarded a scholarship to study at the Royal Academy of Music where, after graduating with First Class Honors, he went on to complete a Masters degree in Performance.

Miloš said of his signing: “Deutsche Grammophon is a home to many of my musical idols. When I was a child, I remember listening to the great guitarist, Andrés Segovia, and dreaming that one day I, too, might have such a career. Now it is becoming a reality and my dreams are being fulfilled more quickly than I could possibly have imagined. I am honored and excited to begin my collaboration with this fantastic label and hope, through my playing, that I will bring the guitar to a new generation of listeners.”

Musescore – Free music composition and notation software

Of interest to all musicians is a notation program called Musescore. Using a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) style editor this user friendly piece of software could be a great alternative to the complex and pricey Sibelius and Finale. If any guitarists out there have experience with this software please let us know what you think!

http://musescore.org/

More Competition Winners

Srdjan Bulat has won the 11th Julian Arcas competition in Almeria (Spain) and in doing so has received a handsome ten thousand euros, a recording contract, guitar by Juan Miguel Gonzalez and several concerts. Not too shabby

Rafael Aguirre Minarro was awarded first prize at the Koblenz International Guitar Competition in Germany followed by Andras Csaki in second place.
See press release from Koblenz

Craig Ogden, the phenomenal Australian guitarists has reportedly left his valuable 2003 Greg Smallman guitar in the back of a London cab. After several attempts to recover the instrument his record label has offered a 5000 pound reward for its safe return. Any information can be sent to:

lostguitar@classicfm.com

Competition Winners

GFA – Johannes Moller

Cordoba International Guitar Festival – Sanja Plohl

Boston Guitar Fest – Artyom Dervoed

JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Concerto Competition – Artyom Dervoed

Koblenz International Guitar Competition – Rafael Aguirre Miñarro.

Concerts

John Williams – Wigmore Hall London – Wednesday 13 October 2010 – 7:30 PM

Craig Ogden - Royal Albert Hall – 30 September

Simon Powis - New York Classical Guitar Society – September 12

Adelaide International Guitar Festival opens their new website

http://www.adelaidefestivalcentre.com.au/guitarfestival/

Interview online with Ernesto Tamayo

http://www.witf.org/lifestyle/creative-zone/3684-the-creative-zone-

NYC CGS 2009 -2010 Concert Series: Frederic Hand

April 30, 2010

Engelman Recital Hall
Baruch College Performing Arts Center
55 Lexington Avenue

http://www.nyccgs.com/index.php

The World premiere of David Del Tredici‘s Facts of Life

Thursday, April 29, 7:30 pm

David Leisner, guitar

Yolanda Kondonassis, harp

A 35-minute solo guitar piece commissioned for the occasion.  It now carries the  subtitle, “a symphony for solo guitar”, which says it all.  This is a significant moment for the guitar repertoire – don’t miss it!

Joining David on the first half of the concert is the great harpist, Yolanda Kondonassis.  We will perform the gorgeous Sonata: Spirit of Trees by Alan Hovhaness and the elegant, but little-known Fantasia by Xavier Montsalvatge.

http://www.symphonyspace.org/event/5998-guitar-plus-david-leisner-guitar-and-yolanda-kondonassis-harp

New manuscript of Romanza dicovered!

This funny “news release” came from some pluckers down under, in the Sydney Classical Guitar Society. Be sure to read the manuscript!

Leading 19th century music specialists have discovered what academics have confirmed to be the original manuscript of the world’s most famous guitar solo, Romanza. Age has wearied the manuscript and the composer’s name remains lost. However, barely legible musical markings confirm that for decades the performance practices of many beginner guitarists have led the vanguard of understanding of this sometimes complex music. Classical Guitar Review would like to thank Andrew Blanch and the Sydney Classical Guitar Society, who discovered the manuscript, for granting permission to publish this invaluable resource.

Download the PDF here and share this amazing discovery with your friends!

I am searching for six guitarists from around the world who have incredible stories to tell. They will form part of the documentary and may have the opportunity to contribute to the music within the film. I am looking to find passionate people who maybe have developed a unique playing style or have an incredible story to tell about guitar music – how it transformed or changed their lives and more about the mystique and influence of the instrument – the more extraordinary, heart rending or radical, the better!

Guitarists can enter their video pitch via their YouTube (or similar) account for an opportunity to appear in the film. The film is being funded by a crowdfunding business model and there are many ways for people to get involved and help out on this site.

I hope you will follow the journey and become involved in the making of this film and to promote the music of the beloved guitar.

James Smith, Director and Writer

http://www.rayafilms.com/sixstrings/