Clasiccal Guitar Summer 2018.pdf

SUMMER 2018

SPECIAL FOCUS: STRINGS & ACCESSORIES

RECORDING CLASSICAL GUITAR VINTAGE JAPANESE GUITARS

DYENS ARRANGES PIAZZOLLA SPANISH GUITARIST MABEL MILLÁN

WIN A HANDCRAFTED YAMAHA GUITAR

DISPLAY UNTIL UNTIL AUGUST 27, 2018

LEO BROUWER REFLECTIONS ON COMPOSING, ARRANGING ARRANGING & CONDUCTING

 THE RA  THE RAMI MIRE REZ Z CO COLL LLEC ECTI TION ON Historr y and Roma Histo Romance nce of of the Spanish Guitar  The House of José Ramirez, Spain's longest established guitar maker maker,, was founded in Madrid in 1882. Over many years it has built and conserved a Museum Collection of  instruments constructed by members of the family and other great Spanish luthiers, many of whom were trained in their workshops. For the first time in this long and distinguished history, new and unique recordings of these highly important guitars, including those that belonged to the legendary Andrés Segovia, are presented here played by Brian Whitehouse, concert guitarist, composer and aficionado. All these wonderful instruments, displaying over two centuries of the luthiers' art, are beautifully illustrated together with detailed descriptions. Photographs and notes relate their place in the history of  music and biographical details are given of the luthiers, players and composers contemporary to their construction. Many interesting anecdotes are told and the project captures, in a highly illuminating way, the spirit of these wonderful artistic creations. A lovely book telling the story of José Ramirez – one of the great names names in the history of  classical guitar. Xuefei Yang Yang – Concert Artiste Written with a deep love of the guitar ... an absolute must.  John Mills – Concert Artiste,

Professor of Guitar, Royal Welsh College of Music A wonderful contribution to the literature and recording history of the guitar.

Carlos Bonell – Concert Artiste, Artiste, Professor of Guitar, Guitar, Royal College of Music Beautifully photographed, sensitively played and well recorded. Charles Ramirez –

Concert Artiste, Professor of Guitar, Royal College of Music An enlightening book for lovers of the guitar and a privilege to be able to share the author’s experience with such an interesting array of instruments.

Classical Guitar Magazine

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Leo Brouwer in a master class at Mannes School of Music. The student is Matthew Kaplan.

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JULIA CROWE PHOTO

SPECIAL FOCUS

FEATURES

STRINGS AND ACCESSORIES

LEO BROUWER

NYLON (R)EVOLUTION

Reflections on his career as a composer, arranger, arranger, and conductor

Segovia, Augustine, DuPont, and the history of modern guitar strings

BY JULIA CROWE

BY MARK SMALL

‘THE ART OF THE GUITAR’

THE FLAMENCO PLAYER’S FRIEND

NY’s 92nd Street Y series celebrates 20 years

A few words about capos BY KATHLEEN A. BERGERON

BY JULIA CROWE

RECORDING CLASSICAL GUITAR Sage advice from three masters of the craft: John Taylor, Norbert Kraft, and Ricardo Marui BY BLAIR JACKSON

ACCESSORY ROUNDUP Sight-reading app, nail care, a “smart” tuner, and more

CONTENTS SUMMER 2018

1971 Alvarez by Kazuo Yairi Model No. 5037, Kani, Honshû

16

48

DEPARTMENTS 10 CG NEWS 10 CG Martha Masters . . . Movie Star?; A new strings database

10

12 VIEW FROM THE 12 VIEW FRONT ROW Mabel Millán and her Grammy-winning Brouwer recording BY THÉRÈSE WASSILY SABA

14 MOMENTITO 14 MOMENTITO Practice makes perfect— or does it?

REVIEWS

PLAY  48 METHOD 48 METHOD  A right-hand  workout with Napoléon Coste’s  Etude No. 23 BY RHAYN JOOSTE

53 MUSIC TO PLAY  ‘Prelude’ and ‘Bourrée’ from Two-Part Etudes BY KEVIN LUTKE

56 ALBUMS  Alan Rinehart plays Mertz’s Mertz’s  Verdi opera medleys, medleys, Sylvie Proulx, Mats Bergström, Mak Grgic, Kazu Suwa, and more 66 PRINT 66 PRINT Roland Dyens does Piazzolla, Thierry Tisserand, João Luiz, Mark Houghton, Dávid Pavlovits, and more

74 STAGE  Women rule at London flamenco fest 76 TOOLS OF THE TRADE La Cañada’s Model 115 is based on an historic Torres BY ADAM PERLMUTTER

MISCELLANY  8 From the Editor 78 Competition and Festival Listings 81 Classifieds & Ad Index

BY GRAHAM WADE

16 FRET WORK  A look at vintage Japanese Japanese classical guitars BY MICHAEL WRIGHT

82 THE BACK PAGE Karl Scheit Archive available online BY THÉRÈSE WASSILY SABA

DOWNLOAD THIS MAGAZINE—FOR FREE!  Visit store.ClassicalGuitarMagazine.com select this issue, then enter the code SM390FR  when  when you check out to get the PDF version for free!

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

CLASSICAL GUITAR GUITAR

CONTENT DEVELOPMENT

 Blair Jackson Editor  Blair Managing Editor Kevin Owens

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TRUSTING LEO BROUWER

Sales Managers  Amy-lynn Fischer, Ref Sanchez

The first time Leo Brouwer was interviewed by Classical Guitar , in a September 1984 story by Gareth Walters (that was issue 13; this is issue 390!), the guitaristcomposer stated that he was emerging from many years working often in the avant-garde, and moving toward what he called “neo-romanticism.” Or as CG  editor  editor Colin Cooper noted in the June ’85 issue— Brouwer’s first cover—the maestro had “shaken off the mantle of the enfant terrible of the avant-garde . . . and reverted to forms which the average ear can assimilate readily.” Which is not to imply that he became complacent in any way. On the contrary, the so-called freedom of the avant-garde (he correctly noted it was “a moment for opening doors”) became its own kind of creative strait-jacket, and escaping that in a sense liberated him to pursue any musical direction he wanted. If he has on occasion brushed up against the mainstream—whether it was his brilliant interpretations of Scarlatti sonatas, or his famous arrangements of seven quite diverse Beatles songs—it was never because he was simply pandering to commercial sensibilities, but rather because he was able to put his own distinctive mark on the works of those composers. In his own pieces, he ranged far and wide stylistically, brought in influences

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seemingly from everywhere , and synthesized his influences and passions into a musical language that is uniquely his: full of unpredictability, often with unorthodox harmonies, melodic twists, and bold rhythmic turns. The genius of Brouwer is that he can make the unconventional pleasingly palatable, and take you to places you never even imagined you wanted to go. In Leo we trust! That he is still challenging our expectations as he approaches his 80th birthday next year is a gift we should all cherish. For this issue’s cover story, New York– based writer-musician Julia Crowe caught up with Brouwer at the Mannes School of Music, during a whirlwind U.S. trip (his first in nearly two decades), and encountered a still-energetic free spirit, full of life, with an interesting perspective on his achievements—and as opinionated as ever. Even with a lifetime of tremendous accomplishments behind him, he clearly feels that he has more to give—to reveal from his soul— and I certainly would not doubt that he will surprise us and delight us many more times. We’d love to hear from you what your favorite Brouwer works are, and if you have any personal recollections connected to “El Maestro” or his music, we hope you’ll share them. We are indeed fortunate to be living in his time. — Blair Jackson, Jackson, [email protected]

DISTRIBUTION —Music retailers please go to Stringletter.com/Retailers GOT A QUESTION or comment for Classical Guitar’s editors? Send e-mail to  [email protected] or snail-mail to Editor, Classical Guitar, 501 Guitar, 501 Canal Blvd., Suite J, Richmond, CA 94804. TO SUBSCRIBE to Classical to  Classical Guitar  magazine,  magazine, call (877) 252-8156 or visit visit us online at ClassicalGuitarMagazine.com. ClassicalGuitarMagazine.com. As a subscriber, you enjoy the convenience of home delivery and never miss an issue. You can take care of all your subscription needs at our online Subscriber Services page (Classical-

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CG NEWS Eugene Simon “connects” with Martha Masters’ guitar in Resonance .

Martha Masters… Movie Star? ver the past two decades, Martha has enjoyed a varied and successful career as a classical guitarist. In the year 2000, for example, she took first place in both the Guitar Foundation of America’s International Concert Artist Competition and the Andrés Segovia International Competition in Linares, Spain. She’s been selectively touring the world and playing around the U.S. ever since, has recorded a handful of albums, and also established herself as a top music educator in Southern California—she holds teaching positions at Loyola Marymount University and California State University Fullerton. Oh, and she’s also the current president of the GFA. Now we can add “actress” to that résumé. Last year, Masters was unexpectedly tapped to appear in a live-action short film called  Resonance  Resonance  by Argentina-born director, producer, and writer Marcos Efron, who is probably best known for making commercials and music videos, but also wowed the Sundance Film Festival with an earlier short film called Common Practice.  Resonance  Resonance, which is slated to be released sometime later in 2018, is centered on a seriously hearingimpaired ride-sharing company driver— played by Eugene Simon (Lancel Lannister on Game of Thrones, among many roles)— who, after a tough day of transporting surly and difficult passengers around Los Angeles, gets a call to drive a classical guitarist (Masters) to a concert, which leads to some personal drama and ultimately a cathartic Masters 

connection between the nearly deaf driver and his passenger, thanks to the powerful sensory balm of Francisco Tárrega’s Tárrega’s Recuer-   Recuer-  dos de la Alhambra. Masters says that when director-writer Efron initially contacted her, “I thought maybe he was looking for me to play the music [on the soundtrack], which I was very comfortable with, but then I realized they wanted a little more than that. They talked about having me maybe coach an actress on how to look like she’s playing the music. So we went through that option, and they looked at trying to book some really high-profile names for the character. In fact, they had somebody, but at the last minute she couldn’t do it, so the next thing you know, two weeks later, I  stepped  stepped in,” she says with a chuckle, adding, “Actually I think it would have incredibly difficult to teach someone to look like they’re playing Recuerdos  Recuerdos.” After agreeing to appear in the film, Masters says, “I had the pleasure of working with Eugene and his acting coach in a group setting, and also in a private setting, which was an incredible artistic experience for me—to have that kind of access to another side of art.” It was two-day film shoot around Los Angeles, with the entire second day devoted to Masters’ character. “Day Two started with him picking me up and filming our driving scenes; that was about half the day. Then, the other half of the day was spent in Griffith Park overlooking the ‘Hollywood’ sign, shooting. “When I enter the story, my lines are all

in subtitles, heavily muted; he can hardly hear my speaking. Everything is from his perspective. What happens is, he runs out of gas and gets stranded up in the hills, but it’s sort of my   fault, because I’m already late for my concert when I get in the car, and when he says, ‘I have to stop for gas,’ I say ‘No, you don’t. We’re going to be fine.’ So after we run out of gas, because I’m on my way to a concert, I get out of the car and start warming up. He comes over and I begin to play  Recuerdos  Recuerdos. At first it’s very quiet [on the soundtrack], but eventually he is able to really connect with what I’m doing, and then the sound just explodes . It’s really a beautifully told story.” By the time of the shoot, Masters had already recorded a version of  Recuerdos in a recording studio at Loyola Marymount, “with one of my former students engineering, and then on-site, when the time came, I was actually playing, but they had a speaker there so I could hear myself and keep the timing the same.” Later, the studio performance was edited into the soundtrack. The finished film is about 15 minutes long, “done for the love of the art,” Masters says. “They enjoyed telling the story and enjoyed the people they were working with. It was a great experience.” A short film like this might show up on the film festival circuit and, if they’re lucky, be bought by HBO or Showtime or Netflix or any number of other outlets. Of course we’ll let you know when hear something about its fate. But I Jackson can’t wait to see it! — Blair Jackson

SBM Unveils ‘Strings Choice’ Database When we planned this issue’s Special Focus on “Strings & Accessories” months ago, we had no idea that there would be actual news to report on that front. By the time you read Mail, the wildly this, however, Strings By Mail, successful online hub for all manner of guitar strings, accessories, sheet music, and more, should have launched its valuable new “Strings Choice” database, in which guitarists—some well-known, others not, and from different genres—reveal the make, model, and year of the guitars they use, the woods they are made from, and (key to SBM’s interests) the strings they have chosen, and why. why. The company offers this example: “If you play on a spruce-top Randy Angella guitar and you wonder who else does and what strings they use, by filtering for ‘Randy Angella’ you would find that Jorge Caballero uses Augustine Regal Red strings on his 1983 Randy Angella, and he made the choice based on the strong presence they give the trebles of this guitar, while adding sustain to the guitar’s basses. Or, if you wonder who else uses the set of strings of your choice, and what guitars they use them on, you can search by strings model and see a long list of players and the guitars on which they put those strings. “Armed with this information, we feel

The LAGQ’s Scott Tennant plays a Savarez ‘Creation’ Cantiga set, model 510MR.

any player can have both the context and the inspiration to guide him or her in establishing a selection of options for experimentation on their own instrument.” Strings By Mail president John A. Wunsch also told us, “Quite a few players, despite a great number of stock options available, end up with a custom combination of strings to fulfill their needs. As a result, this database includes dozens of custom sets, with the necessary relevant information regarding the instruments and woods involved, and the reason the creator of each of these custom sets are using them. Each set is also found as a readyto-purchase set in the ‘Custom Customer Concoctions’ section of our website. “Strings are the true interface between the player and the instrument, so we hope this database helps each player and each instrument reach their fullest potential by building a basis for their choice of strings.” I had a chance to “test-drive” an inprogress beta version of the rapidly growing “Strings Choice” database and was very impressed by its scope, clarity, and ease of navigation. You can check it out at stringsbymail.com, where it is listed at the bottom of the homepage as “Strings Choice Database” under “Resources.” It’s completely free, with no obligation. — BJ 

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 VIEW FROM THE FRONT ROW 

 Young  Young Spaniard’s Spaniard’s Brouwer premiere wins a Latin Grammy BY THÉRÈSE WASSILY SABA

n November 16, 2017, at the 18th Annual Latin Grammy Award ceremony in Las Vegas, Nevada, the great Cuban composer and conductor Leo Brouwer was awarded a trophy for Best Classical Contemporary Composition for his  Sonata  Sona ta del Decamerón Decamerón Negro, performed by the young classical guitarist Mabel Millán on her first recording, Grand Recital . Millán, who is from the town of Montilla, south of Córdoba, Spain, was in Las Vegas, in part to accept the award on Maestro Brouwer’s behalf—and also to soak up the atmosphere, of course. “He got in contact with me before the gala because he should have been attending it,” Millán says. “I have a good friendship with Leo and with his wife, Isabelle [Hernández, an acclaimed Cuban musicologist]. I was with them in Córdoba and they asked me whether I would be going to the gala in Las Vegas and I told them I would.” Brouwer has a strong musical link with Córdoba: He was the founder and conductor of the Orquesta de Córdoba in Spain,

which he established in 1992. And although he is now living in Cuba again, his connection with both the city and the orchestra remains strong: In 2010, a youth orchestra was established in his name—La Joven Filarmonía Leo Brouwer; and in October 2017, he traveled there to conduct the 25th anniversary concert of the Orquesta de Córdoba. Once Millán arrived in Las Vegas, she and the Brouwers “were in contact the whole time, and the first telephone call I made was to them to let them know that he won the Latin Grammy! I went to the red carpet for them.” The  Sonat  Sonata a del Decamerón Decamerón Negro is Brouwer’s third solo sonata for guitar. The four-movement work—“Güijes y gnomos,” “Treno por Oyá,” “Burlesca del aire,” and “La risa de los griots”—is dedicated to Greek guitarist Costas Cotsiolis, who premiered the work on May 18, 2013 at the Koblenz International Guitar Festival in Germany. In Brouwer’s unique, eclectic way, the work brings together some of

WHAT MABEL MILLÁN PLAYS the important musical influences and powerful forces in his life: Cuban mythology; the Yoruban goddess of tempests and strong winds (Oyá); Afro-Cuban rhythms; the music of Luys de Milán and Francisco Tárrega; as well as his own earlier compoAltiplano  from sitions, such as  Danza del Altiplano his Tres piezas latinoamericanas. The title  Sonata del Decamerón Decamerón Negro, is a reference to an earlier, three-movement work for solo Decamerón Negro Negro. guitar from 1981, El Decamerón Millán admits that at the Grammy ceremony, “I didn’t have anything prepared, and when they said the name of the Sonata, I went quickly onto the stage and I was very nervous, but I remember thanking Leo Brouwer and Isabelle. Above all, though, I had to thank the guitar for all it had given me—the person it has made me today; all the traveling and getting to know people— and also for the difficult times. I have had some things that didn’t go so well, such as in competitions, but there is always some compensation—all this recognition, winning the Grammy; it is my instrument. All of this was a magnificent experience.” Still only 24 years old, Millán already has a long list of prizes she has won for her guitar-playing over the years, including the David Russell Award for Young Young Talent in 2008; the First Prize and Public Prize in the 19th Concurso Internacional Fundación Jacinto e Inocencio Guerrero 2012; and a three-prize win at the 2014 Certamen Internacional de Guitarra Miguel Llobet, where she won First Prize, the Public Prize, and the prize for the Best Interpretation of a work by Llobet.  Millán has a twin sister, Celia, a pianist with whom she often performs. I wondered how they came to choose their i nstruments. “My sister Celia had no doubt about wanting to play the piano. For me, I loved the guitar because it is an instrument which is very easy to carry with you wherever you go and you can use it to accompany songs, not only in the area of classical. So for me, it was the ideal instrument and I did all that I could to dedicate myself to it.” Growing up where she did, did her interests in non-classical music include flamenco? “I love it very much,” she says. “I play Paco  Entre dos Aguas a lot with my sisde Lucía’s Entre ter. I love it! Paco de Lucía is someone who I have admired not only for his technical abili-

ties but also for his music and his approach. I used to go to every concert I could to hear Paco de Lucía play—and also [flamenco guitarist] Vicente Amigo. I try  to   to play, but I am not an expert in flamenco. I play some fan-  dangos just by ear and some tonadillas. I play  Sevillana  Sevillanass, which are typical of the region where we live here in Andalusia, but I don’t play flamenco professionally.” I ask who wrote the arrangement of  Entre dos Aguas  she plays with her sister. “We do our own arrangements because there is not a lot of music for guitar and piano. We can’t limit ourselves to the repertoire that already exists; we have to create things ourselves. I think it is a great thing to do with whatever music that you love, to try to arrange it.” I have heard Mabel and Celia play together in concert, and it was excellent. I was excited by their refined musicianship, their incredible closeness in articulation and long-range dynamic control; it was an unforgettable experience. Their successful musical careers are impressive. What is even more remarkable is that alongside this, both Mabel and Celia have been studying law. Mabel explains, “It was just a path we chose as something viable for the future. As musicians, we rely a lot on our hands. And it was also to have an alternate path for earning a living. In Spain, classical music is not so valued, so we wanted to have another form of support, although music is what we like the most.” Is it difficult to combine the two careers? “My sister is working as a lawyer now,” Mabel says, “but at the moment, instead of working as a lawyer, I am studying to become a judge. It’s complicated; it takes five years to prepare for the final assessment. You have a dedicated person who is your guide throughout this. There are three exams and a year-long assessment examination. But certainly, it does leave me freer. For example, if I have a concert coming up, I can decide that for that particular week, I won’t study—although this does put me behind in my studies a little. Now I am about to go to Colombia to give a master class and a concert, and I don’t have that pressure of having to finish work.” With a high level of self-motivation, does she feel that she is also flying a flag for

“I play an Antonio Marin Montero from Granada, from 2008. Yes, perhaps there are guitars that produce more volume, but my Antonio Marin Montero has timbres and sounds that allow you to make a sound that is very much your own; I love it a lot.” Millán uses Savarez Alliance high-tension (white and blue) strings.

women and their potential? “I don’t know,” she replies. “I have always gone to lots of competitions and there were two or three girls and ten or 20 guys. So perhaps in this regard, when I recorded the Ponce Concerto del Sur , which had never been recorded by a woman. . . . I am also the first woman classical guitarist to have won a Latin Grammy, so I am proud. I don’t know what to call this path, but it is a shame that there is such a distinction made between men and women.” It’s also impressive that Millán’s Grand  Recital  album  album was just her first recording. “I recorded it in Mexico,” she says. “The guitar festival in Culiacán, in Mexico, invited me to perform there and in the following month they offered to record a CD. I really wanted Decamerón Negro to record  Sonata del Decamerón because it would be a premiere recording, and so that people who would study this work would have this recording as a reference. Leo Brouwer was very happy with the recording—with the interpretation that I played.” Plans for Millán to make second recording are still waiting to be finalized. “If I make another recording, perhaps I will leave the Spanish repertoire to one side,” she comments, “a little because I think that is what people are used to hearing me perform in concert, so I would prefer the recording to give a different perspective of my work. Otherwise, they might think that I am limited to one style of repertoire. Perhaps I will record Latin American music, which I like a lot, such as the works of Barrios. Returning to the Brouwer work, she concludes, “I used to think that I didn’t like contemporary music and that perhaps I wouldn’t be able to interpret it well. However, everything that we are interested in, we CG can achieve.”

MOMENTITO

 ?  T  I  S  E  O  D  R  O DE HAM WA B Y GRA

cquiring mastery of a musical instrument (or even partial mastery) is dependent on many factors. But the bedrock of competence is invariably the quality and quantity of the daily practice that the player must apply. This leads on to a whole nest of vipers, posing questions which have to be perpetually answered at various stages of life. A child’s guitar practice, for example, may be somewhat different from that of a student at university or conservatoire. The average youngster might have to be persuaded or directed toward daily practice, helped as much as possible by a parent or devoted teacher. The music student in advanced education is presumed to be more seriously self-motivated and ambitious, aware of the necessity for intense study and maximum effort.

So far, so good. But move the student along a few years into the task of earning a living. For the professional teacher of guitar, it is not always possible to keep up the volume of practice that one became accustomed to while in college. Teaching all day every day in whatever context, whether privately or in an educational establishment, can be exhausting. Add to the mix the responsibilities, pleasures, commitments, and complexities of wives or partners, offspring, providing for a household, etc., and the result can be a massive dose of frustration. To feel one’s playing standard slipping away after the golden days of full-time studying is extremely disheartening. Tensions also arise when the classical guitar teacher is invited to offer concert performances here and there. Then it is

time to burn the candle at both ends, braving marital discontent or crying children, to bang on regardless, absorbing repertoire and practicing the necessary technical exercises. (From such moments the seeds for divorce can be effortlessly dispersed into fertile ground!) Strangely enough, even amateur guitar enthusiasts can feel the strain. I was the director of an annual summer school for 20 years, and the wife of one of our regular participants used to confront me with the words “I hate you!” The reason was that her husband had caught the guitar bug well and truly, and insisted on three hours practice every night after a long day’s work. The poor woman had become a guitar widow. widow. Professional performers are not necessarily immune from such problems. Fortunately, quite a few marry fellow musicians

who understand the addictive, obsessive, and solitary nature of daily practice, or join up with a saintly martyr willing to withstand the pressures of the artist’s life. (All the same, the marital track records of many soloists, orchestral players, and band members, leave much to be desired.) Various flamenco players I have known over the years hardly ever “practiced” at all—they just played all day and most of the night! One in particular, particular, Pepe Martínez, from the hot Spanish city of Seville, preferred to play all night (when it was relatively cool) and sleep during the morning. He liked food, but when he wasn’t eating he was playing guitar—a wonderfully vibrant existence and, moreover, Pepe was surrounded by a large and loving family who embraced his idiosyncratic artistr y. The point is that practice is a bottomless pit of endeavor, patience, and endurance. The workload is infinite. The great violinist Yehudi Menuhin defined the multiple components of practice as follows: “The image of a particular work is projected in various aspects. There is the physiological, physical sensation associated with playing; the digital memory; the visualization of the page where the note occurs in the score; the intellectual knowledge of the structure of a piece or of a movement; the emotional guide to the effective sequence.” (Yehudi Menuhin Music Guides, Violin and Viola,  1976) The practice activities of many leading players are something of a mystery, which the players do not necessarily share with the rest of the world. And why should they? However, Segovia explained many times that he preferred to practice in four periods of an hour and a quarter, just five hours a day, with relaxation between the periods of activity. This provides a useful hint to all of us about how long a specific practice time might be and how many such daily sessions could be appropriate. appropriate. Segovia’s manifesto of practicing was set out in a letter from New York on December 20, 1954, to the pianist, composer, and critic Bernard Gavoty: “Few people suspect what the study of an instrument demands. The public watch the music-miracle in comfort, never dreaming of the asceticism and sacrifices which the musician must perform in order to make himself capable of accomplishing it . . . . But as for us pianists, violinists, cellists, and guitarists—how many hours of pain and self-abnegation, how many

weeks, months, and years do we spend polishing a single passage, burnishing it and bringing out its sparkle? “And when we consider it ‘done to a turn,’ we spend the rest of our life persevering so that our fingers shall not forget the lesson or get entangled again in a brambly thicket of arpeggios, scales, trills, chords, accents, and grace notes! And if we climb from that region of technique to the more spiritual sphere of interpretation, what

anguish we experience in trying to find the soul of a composition behind the inert notation, and how many scruples and repentings we have before we dare to discover what does not lie hidden in the paper!” (Bernard Gavoty, Segovia,  Segovia,1955) I have always found these words encouraging and stimulating. With our daily practice we may not always be certain where we are going. But we can still be determined to get there. CG

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FRETWORK

 t Spli t Personalities

1966 Yamaha Dynamic

A look at vintage Japanese classical guitars BY MICHAEL WRIGHT

or those of you who grew up double-thumbing those marvelous Japanese inventions Nintendo or Sony PlayStation, it may come as a surprise that back in the 1960s and ’70s, Japanese-made products—including guitars—were often viewed with disdain by many American consumers. A lot of that had more to do with Pearl Harbor than the items themselves, and in retrospect it was probably unfair. Indeed, when it comes to classical guitars, Japanese luthiers were already building fine instruments and solving technical challenges that would soon make them major exporters well into the 1980s. Some of these vintage guitars now represent excellent value, whether you’re looking for a concert-grade or very high-quality student guitar. While the somewhat jaundiced American view of Japanese classical guitars during the ’60s and ’70s was partly the legacy of World War II, its roots go much deeper in time. Japanese interest in Spanish guitars dates back at least to 1853, when U.S. Navy Commodore Matthew Perry sailed into Tokyo harbor with a dragon fleet of steam-powered gunships. Japan had been culturally isolated—“sequestered”—since the early 1600s. In reaction to 16th century evangelism by Portuguese missionaries, Christianity was outlawed in Japan, European traders were confined to a tiny island in Nagasaki Bay, and death awaited anyone who left the islands without express permission. Commodore Perry’s mission was to re-open Japan for business . . . with America! Perry’s diplomatic “negotiations” included staging several champagne-fueled blackface minstrel shows—the popular American entertainment of the day—performed by crewmembers who thereby introduced Japan to the guitar and 5-string fretless banjo. These instruments may have seemed familiar—Japan already had a 4-string wooden biwa (fretted lute) and the 3-string unfretted, skin-covered shamisen. Plus, Japanese musical scales were similar to Western scales (although untempered). The influence of Western music and instruments steadily increased through the popularity of military bands and Japanese laborers returning from Hawaiian sugar-cane fields after 1868. Japanese musicians began to study in America and Europe. Morishige Takei (1890–1949) studied in Italy, started the first Japanese mandolin orchestra (1915), and began composing for classical guitar (1919). In 1929, Andrés Segovia toured the islands and classical  guitar  guitar became a national obsession. Hoshino Gakki Ten began importing Spanish guitars from Salvador Ibanez in Valencia, and by the mid-1930s, Japanese acoustic guitar

1968 Kazuo Hashimoto C-30, Maruha

1968 Yusaku Mokuharu, Katsura

FRETWORK Early Johnson map of Japan (1862) overlaid with principal classical guitar making locations.

manufacturers included Hoshino, Kasuga Gakki, and possibly the Suzuki Violin Company, with at least two separate workshops run by brothers Giichi and Sada Yairi. Then came World War II. One of the key objectives in Occupied Japan following the War (which ended in 1945) was to make Japanese industry— including guitar making—a part of the emerging global economy. Among the earliest known modern Japanese classical guitar makers were brothers Sakazo and Rokutaro Nakade, Kazuo Yairi (1932–2014), and Yamaha. Sakazo (1906–1993) and Rokutaro (d. c. 1973) Nakade were the sons of violin-maker Kinpachi Miyamoto (who actually measured Segovia’s guitar back in ’29). In the mid1950s, the Nakades—located in Tokyo— were the first Japanese luthiers to make a pilgrimage to Spain to study traditional lutherie. Many other Japanese luthiers

would follow in their footsteps. Sakazo’s sons Teruaki, Toshihiko, and Yukio became famous luthiers, as did his apprentices Yuichi Imai, Hakusui Imai, Yoshimitsu Hoshino, and Hideo Ido. Kazuo Yairi was the son of Giichi Yairi, who worked for the Suzuki Violin Company in Kiso-Fukushima. Giichi left Suzuki in 1929 and opened his own shop in Kani, just north of Nagoya, where Kazuo apprenticed. Kazuo reportedly began making classical guitars perhaps as early as 1950, as a teenager. In 1965, Kazuo succeeded to his father’s shop and agreed to provide St. Louis Music with Alvarez-Yairi guitars. Giichi’s brother Sada (Kazuo’s uncle) also left Suzuki and opened his first shop in Nagoya in 1932, beginning to produce classicals later, in 1960. Yamaha’s luthiers are mostly unidentified, but they introduced their patented Dynamic Guitar line in 1952, built in Hamamatsu and designed to take either nylon or

steel strings, tolerably good for their time. In 1966, Yamaha brought in Spanish luthier Eduardo Ferrer to advise its luthiers, resulting in their first Grand Concert guitars (GC-5, GC-7, GC-10). In 1973, they brought in Manuel Hernandez to refine the line further. Segovia once perf ormed on a Yamaha GC-71 and used a GC-70 as a practice guitar. But Japan’s most famous luthier was Masaru Kohno (1926–1998), who also studied lutherie in Spain and opened a shop in Tokyo in the early 1960s. He won the Gold Medal at a prestigious guitar-building competition in Belgium Belgiu m in 1967 and his international fame was set. In 1975 he opened a larger shop with his nephew Masaki Sakurai, who continued the brand upon Kohno’s death. Other exceptionally talented Japanese luthiers include Masaru Matano, Eichi Kodaira, Ryoji Matsuoka, Hiroshi Tamura, Seizo Shinano, Mass Hirade, and numerous others.

Ironically, the factors that made Japanese classical guitar making so successful also made it somewhat schizophrenic. On one hand, it was the existing Japanese fascination with classical guitars that created the luthier culture there in the first place. On the other, the industry grew and thrived mainly because it was an export business, providing guitars to meet a seemingly bottomless international demand. The primary reason that Japanese classical guitars exhibit a split personality involves the vicissitudes of climate, as discovered by Shiro Arai (Arai & Co., Aria guitars) when he traveled to the United States to promote Japanese classical guitars in the early 1960s. He brought highend guitars to test the market and within weeks most had imploded due to climatic differences, exposure to heating systems, etc. Upon Arai’s return, Japanese luthiers started using better seasoned lumber, developed their trademark bi-laminated backs and sides—which many Americans derided as “plywood” during the ’70s—and built thicker tops driven by heavier bracing, all designed to help them survive alien environments outside of Japan. As a result, guitars made to be sold domestically in Japan tend to be fairly lightweight, with traditional Torres bracing (seven tapered fans), and have a warm, romantic,  Spanish  character; no surprise, given how many Japanese luthiers trained in Spain! (Other bracing schemes are found, however, especially José Ramirez III’s 1A asymmetrical fans.) Guitars made for export usually feature the much heavier build, which tends to yield a crisp, well-balanced sound, with a very  Japanese character. Identifying which is which is not easy. Guitars intended primarily for sale within Japan include those with labels in Japanese (there are a few exceptions), with the name of the shop’s master luthier (Kazuo Hashimoto, Yusaku Mokuharu, Masayoshi Kikuchi, Sumio Kurusawa, etc.), or with Japanese-sounding brand names (Maruha, Fuji, Zen-On, etc.). However, several luthiers did   export in the late ’70s, including Ryoki Matsuoka and Hiroshi Tamura. This is further confused by most labels being in English; all those occupying G.I.s after the war were potential buyers, as well. To

make matters more confusing, there were a number of Japan-only brands that were Western-sounding, such as Greco and Fernandes. Guitars made for export include those with well-known brands (Hohner, Conn, Ventura, Epiphone) and some not-so-wellknown (Wilson, Westminster, Garcia, Hernandis, Orozco). Trading Company brands could be domestic or export (Aria, Takamine, Yamaha). It’s complicated!

produced in small workshops by relatively small crews of artisans, under the supervision of a master luthier, not unlike in most Spanish workshops. Asturias guitars are produced in a small Fukuoka shop with around 15 people. Tama guitars were made in a little corner of the FujiGen electric guitar factory, itself not a very big facility. Similarly, there’s a perception that Japanese guitars—of all types—were produced in enormous quantities. With relatively small workshops making classical guitars, this clearly was not the case. By the time we got to the early ’80s—ironically just as the prejudices engendered by World War II began to recede (and Nintendo was grabbing popular attention)—a combination of higher labor costs and unfavorable exchange rates caused international customers to shift business to Korean guitar-makers, and in time Korea developed many of its own superior luthiers. While their guitars have their own special characteristics, they are nothing like those split Spanish/Japanese personalities of vintage classical guitars made in Japan. By the early 2000s, Indigenous Japanese biwa and shamisen. classical guitar making began to migrate to other Asian countries Classical guitar making can occur any(for similar reasons), with China now domwhere in Japan, but is concentrated in three inant. Indeed, Hiroshi Yairi, son of the Japaregions on the two main islands. The largest nese luthier Sada Yairi, had a major influence center is in and around Nagoya on Honshu. on the development of the Chinese classical Tokyo is close behind, followed by Fukuoka guitar making industry industr y. on the northern tip of Kyushu. Japanese classical classical guitars continue to be Japanese classical guitars often suffer built to this day, but these are largely highfrom a common misapprehension that, since end guitars bearing the luthier’s name—and name—and many were made for export, they are “faca correspondingly high price tag. It is with tory” guitars, conjuring images of washingthe vintage Japanese classical guitars thatmachine assembly lines. In fact, most were >>> the true values are to be found.

FRETWORK

A Field Guide to Vintage Japanese Classical Guitars f you are going to consider buying or using a vintage Japanese classical guitar, the best advice is to play it first. But, in a world where international trade via the internet is reality, that may not be possible. Here are a few t ips to guide you in your shopping. Vintage Japanese classical guitar model numbers tended to be tied to price and, even if they aren’t, are reliable clues to relative grade. And “grade” relates to materials, construction, and trim. A C-60 will be better than a C-50 or a C-30. C-100s or C-150s will be better yet. Obviously, a guitar with a signed label is more likely to be better supervised and better sounding. Guitars labeled as “Grand Concert” are generally of superior quality. Lower-grade guitars may be made of mahogany or maple. Since virtually

all Japanese classical guitars feature bilaminated (“double-plate”) backs and sides, this rarely has much effect on sound. Better grades feature Indian or Brazilian rosewood, with the amount of figure increasing as you go up the line. Note that Japanese guitar makers used many exotic laminates, which were often presented as “rosewood,” including cocobolo and zebrawood, among many others. Sometimes the inner plate was fancier than the outer, although it could also be mahogany or a plain hardwood. Lower-grade guitars may have a laminated (“plywood”) top; better-grades have solid spruce or cedar. Almost all but the cheapest guitars had tuned tops, which usually sound pretty good. I have played many excellent-sounding laminated-top guitars . . . and they won’t crack!

On fan-braced guitars, lower grades might have three fans, intermediate guitars five, the best models seven. The degree of shaping or tapering is another factor. Unfortunately, the number of braces doesn’t, per se, predict how good the guitar will sound! Finally, the amount of trim suggests how much labor was put into a guitar, the assumption being that lesser guitars with less trim take less overall labor than better guitars. Matching marquetry patterns on rosette, tie-block, and headstock strip suggest a higher grade; likewise, fancier purfling. A three-piece neck with a rosewood reinforcement strip is almost certainly of interest. Finally, purfling under the binding on the sides is often a clue to better workmanship. None of these characteristics constitutes a  guarante CG  guarantee e of sonic quality, just clues.

I N TU N E  AT  A T EVER EVE RY FRET FR ET N S CLASSICAL CLASS ICAL GUIT GU ITAR AR CAPO

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n February 2018, the esteemed composer, guitarist, and conductor Leo Brouwer toured the New England Conservatory of Music’s Latin American Fest in Boston, the State University of New York at Fredonia, Harvard University, the SUNY College at Buffalo, and New York City’s Mannes School of Music, as part of a whirlwind tour of lectures and master classes. It  was the Cuban Cuban artist’ artist’ss first first trip to the the United States in 18 years, one that

celebrated the approach of his 80th birthday in early 2019. Last year he  was honored honored with a Latin Latin Grammy Grammy award for Best Classical Contemporary  Sonata del Composition for his Sonata  Decame  Decamerón rón Negro Negro, as recorded by Spanish guitarist Mabel Millán (see page 12), but he did not attend the ceremony. Brouwer has earned nearlegendary status as a contemporary composer for the body of well-loved composition work he has created

for the guitar. He has imprinted his own voice and musical style upon the guitar with his fusion of traditional Cuban music, Afro-Cuban strains, and an avant-garde sensibility, all while conveying a thorough understanding of the instrument’s idiosyncrasies, idioms, and tonal beauty. Several generations of guitarists have now been brought up on his Etudes  Simples  Simples as an introduction to his music, if they did not succumb first to the recorded lure of one of his pieces.

ON COMPOSING Brouwer started his formal composition studies at the Juilliard School of Music in New York City and at Hartt College of Music in Hartford, Connecticut, when he was in his early 20s. He has written an extensive number of solo, chamber, and orchestral works for the solo guitar; guitar duos; and guitar quartets, in addition to works for piano trios, string quartets, and film. In 2005 he established his own publication company, Ediciones Espiral Eterna (eeebrouwer.com), as a way to beautifully present and offer his scores, recordings, and original books, which are printed in Spanish. Managed by his wife, Isabelle Hernández, the site includes El Maestro’s final revision of each score and provides both printed and digital versions of his music. “Frankly, I realized guitar was so beautiful that I studied other instruments and rewrote their music for the guitar,” Brouwer says during an interview in rainy New York, moments before he is to give a lecture at Mannes. “The most difficult instrument is the guitar. A good composer should know the technique of other instruments. The guitar is so beautiful that I do not want to say something rude with it. Who is ultimately the composer for the guitar? The composer himself? Or the guitar?” Brouwer, who was born in Havana in 1939, comes from a family of musicians. His mother was a singer and multiinstrumentalist who played the saxophone, clarinet, piano, flute, percussion, and guitar, and performed on a radio program in Cuba. His father’s uncle was the famous pianist and composer Ernesto Lecuona, who wrote “La Malagueña,” originally from the sixth movement of his flamenco dance–style  Suite Andalucia Andalucia, whose melody quickly became adopted into popular music. And Brouwer’s second cousin, Margarita Lecuano, wrote the Afro-Cuban tune “Babalú,” which enjoyed worldwide fame through actor/bandleader Desi Arnaz’s performances on the popular  I Love Lucy  television show. Brouwer’s father, a cancer researcher, was a skilled amateur guitarist who played flamenco and some classical guitar music entirely by ear. But it must be noted that, in spite of his uncle and cousin’s renown and his own family’s talents, Brouwer himself was mostly self-motivated and musically self-educated from very early on in his career. career. “From the age of five years old, I loved

music,” Brouwer says. “I picked up on the piano’s resonance and I loved the aggression of Stravinsky’s  Rite of Spring . I was about 12 or 13 when I first saw the guitar, and I was self-taught. My one teacher, Isaac Nicola, whom I studied with for less than a year, trained with Emilio Pujol, who studied with Francisco Tárrega. Nicola’s great lesson was to introduce me to the Renaissance and Baroque music that he played. It was a revelation and became my favorite era of music, for its voicings. “The contemporary sound inspires me most, musically,” musically,” he continues. “When I was a child, I was magnetized by the craftsmanship of Bartók, especially his string quartets, and the Stravinsky pieces  Rite of Spring  and  Petrushka. A few years later, when I was almost in my 20s, I studied everything written by these composers. I prefer them to Beethoven, who is a genius. I studied Beethoven’s 32 Piano Sonatas and his concertos. I conduct his concertos still, but my favorite composers when I was 12 years old were Bartók and Stravinsky. “In addition to those two, my musical inspirations include Fibonacci’s Golden Mean and Charles Ives’ songs, which were crazy, not like the usual of their time,” he says. “I like the 2nd and 7th interval dissonance and the polyphony of the Renaissance. My godfather at Juilliard, a cellist named Leonard Rose, had me teach there and I learned the cello at home to be able to write my Sonata for cello. I was 21 years old at the time and used cello tuning on my guitar to write.” Many years later, in 2014, Brouwer dedicated a work to cellists Yo-Yo Ma and Carlos Prieto titled  El arco y la lira, which premiered at the Leo Brouwer Festival in Havana. At first it may seem contradictory that Brouwer finds inspiration in the orderliness of Fibonacci’s golden ratio, while at the same time he appreciates the more dissonant intervals Fibonacci’s Golden Mean derives from Aristotelian mathematics and is a sequence and formula of ratios that defines a classical theory of beauty via symmetry, proportion, and harmony, in a way that can be applied for use in other disciplines, such as architecture, design, and music. The inference can be made that he uses the Golden Mean to find musical symmetry within the dissonant chords, just as the Catalonian architect Antoni Gaudí, who also studied Fibonacci’s ratios closely within elements of nature, used this build.

ing block as the key to creating his strikingly contemporary architecture. “Composition is not calligraphy, but sound,” Brouwer states. “Notation ought not be confused with the actual creation of music. I compose ideas, not themes. I can change musical ideas but I cannot alter themes. Every piece should have a magical moment. This helps to breathe the music. It is not easy. If I have an idea, it immediately takes on ten possible directions. The older I become, I find it more difficult to compose because of the various possibilities and directions any one musical idea can take.” In 1970, Brouwer played guitar in the premiere of  El Cimarrón  by Hans Werner Henze in Berlin and also served as guest composer at the Akademie der Künste/ Berlin Academy of Arts. “I was privileged to know many contemporary figures of music in the 20th century, when I was very young. I was 30 or 31 years old when I was invited to Berlin with composers John Cage, Sylvano Bussotti, Morton Feldman, Franco Donatoni, and Toru Takemitsu, my beloved friend. Cage was not available to be there at the event.” Brouwer describes what became an episodic weekend adventure that could have easily been dubbed, “Like Chocolate for Music.” “Every Saturday we had a weekend together in Berlin. Morton Feldman was a gourmet so he was constantly taste-testing to see if the cook, Franco Donatoni, was any good.” Rather ironically, at least in comparison to his culinary approach, Feldman helped develop the school of indeterminate music, which believes some aspects of a musical work ought to be left open to chance or, at least, to an interpreter’s choice. “Franco Donatoni had one rule, very superb, for cooking: No sauce is perfect until every flavor is equalized so you cannot distinguish the ingredients. This was fantastic,” Brouwer says. Interestingly, early on in his pursuit of avant-garde music, Donatoni speaks of his musical intention to eliminate the perception of ego and instead seek unity in a work of art that can no longer be equated with self-expression. “Sylvano Bussotti was the barman,” Brouwer says. And, of course, Bussotti is well known for devising a musical notation that forgoes traditional staffs, clefs, and notes in favor of lurching doodles and spectacular ink-blots, comparable to a winestained napkin.

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“I was the disc jockey, so I played records by the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, and The Wall  by  by Pink Floyd,” Brouwer says gleefully. “The possibility of conversing with these great maestros of the 20th century, who were all in their 60s while I was in my 30s—this was very beautiful for me.”

ON ARRANGING Brouwer has written many arrangements over the course of his career, probably the most well-known being seven songs by the Beatles, to which he offered his own distinctive mark. “The day that John Lennon was killed, everyone was touched deeply,” he says. “A Japanese boy who was in tears asked me to write something. So I composed seven small arrangements of Beatles songs. These have dozens of recordings. What I did was speak on the style in each song. I didn’t touch the songs themselves but I did touch everything else—the accompaniment, the style, everything. I arranged each one as an exorcism of style, dedicating one to Bartók, one to Hindemith, and so on. Each arrangement was done in séance style, dedicated to one particular composer. composer. “I also completed an orchestration for John Towner Williams called War of the Galaxies  Galaxies  [based on Williams’  Star Wars Wars music themes], which was supposed to be used in a series of films. But only one or two series aired. And so I kept it and conducted it several times, my own version, entitled  Symphonic Suite Star Wars Wars—not —not the one used for filming. I have many arrangements like this. “I’ve also arranged music for my beloved friends, Piazzolla for example: his  Adiós Nonino Nonino.. I put it on a CD with him playing it and I also did the world premiere of his double concerto. Composing is my main work, after many other things. I don’t know which is my favorite arrangement! This is a difficult question. “My music is always in evolution, and now what I do is put together my early period, some Rembrandts of Cuban folklore. My music and the avant-garde period

in general for my colleagues was not of fered in the proper way. The avant-garde music from the ’60s, our avant-garde music, has a great problem for history and for music. “Tension and consonance was avoided by Pierre Boulez and many other colleagues,” Brouwer explains. “As Palestrina says, ‘If one voice is moving, the other is steady and vice-versa.’ The equilibrium of everything in life is binary—day/night, man/ woman, yin/yang, black/white, and so forth. This was my theory since I was 13 years old. I always composed with this idea in mind. Maybe my music is creative, of course, because I am completely involved with the great generation of John Cage. The avantgarde music from 100 years ago sounds quite different, given today’s version and its loss of tension and rest. “I am not doing any arrangements of others’ music at this moment because I do not have time enough for composing.”

ON CONDUCTING Brouwer has held the position of General Manager of the Cuban National Symphony for the past ten years. He founded the Orquestra de Cordoba in 1992, located in the Andalusia region of Spain, and served as its leading conductor for nearly a decade. He has also led the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, the Scottish National Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Chamber Orchestra, and the Mexico National Symphony Orchestra. Conducting is a skill that he developed early in his career and cultivated further when he found that he was no longer able to perform guitar professionally. “I started conducting a little bit in Cuba and observed the many different styles to conducting. Some Some practice in front of of a mirror. This is not a conductor but a clown. I know many and will not name them,” Brouwer Brouwer says. “I will continue my work with conducting. When I had my accident that ruined a tendon in my finger in 1980, I stopped doing recordings for Deutsche-Grammophon. My tonmeister , my sound engineer for that project, Heinz Wildhagen, also worked for the Bergen Philhar-

monic [in Norway]. It was an experience I will never forget. “After recording these four albums, I accidentally destroyed the tendon. I was going to perform a concert at the 92nd Street Y in New York on April 26, 1980, as part of a guitar music season called the Virtuoso Guitar Series, which included some of the best guitarists of that time, such as Alexandre Lagoya, Narciso Yepes, and Andrés Segovia. “I was but [comparatively] a child at the time and they were all old and masters. If I canceled, it would have killed everything related to me and my music. So I decided to play. I stayed at Manuel Barrueco’s house and, because of the issue I faced with the tendon on my right-hand finger, I altered, in a single night, the technique I’d developed over 20 years to one where I played guitar using three fingers. “I gave one of the best concerts in my life. And fortunately, it was recorded. I never knew it was going to be recorded. Last year, a Canadian man, who owns a big CD shop in Toronto—this man searched for 20 years my live recordings and surprised me with a copy of it, which I adore. Incredible. “My error is that I continued touring throughout the USA, Mexico, and Japan and, upon returning to Cuba, my finger had become atrophied with a nodule.”

ON WRITING MUSIC FOR FILM Brouwer heads the department of music at the Instituto de Arts Industria Cinematograficos in Cuba and has been writing prolifically for film since 1960, acquiring over 60 score credits for various films over the decades. In this context, it is perhaps ridiculous to point out just a few pieces, but possibly Brouwer’s most famous compositions for film include Un día de noviembre, noviembre, the title piece of a 1976 Cuban film directed by Humberto Solás, and the suite Brouwer wrote for the internationally successful Water for Choco-  1992 Mexican film  Like Water late, late, directed by Alfonso Arau. A spirited

folk song composed by Brouwer and Arau, “Crush the Grapes,” was also used in the soundtrack for Arau’s 1995 American drama  A Walk Walk in the Clouds. “The main impulse for the film  Like Water for Chocolate  derived from an early copy of the book written by Laura Esquivel, the author, who is a close friend of mine,” Brouwer says. “I was over for dinner and she showed me one of the few copies she had printed before it became published officially. I read it in one evening in entirety and suggested to her that it must go to film because the story she’d written was a masterpiece. “When I compose for film, I offer my opinion of the scene. I work mostly with the film editor and we discuss the contents of the scene but I never see the film. When Tuesday the I worked on the film  Hanoi, Tuesday

13th [1968], directed by Santiago Alvarez, I was told the scene I was writing music for depicted a scene in North Vietnam of people bicycling by just as a bomb falls. He told me it would th en show a dead Vietnamese mother and her crying baby. I thought about it and told the editor to remove the sound of the bomb and crying baby. I suggested we replace these sounds with just one long sustained note. He wanted to keep these sounds, but I insisted. We won two prizes in Germany’s Leipzig Documentary Festival. I never saw the film.”

ADVICE FOR YOUNG GUITARISTS When asked what advice he has to impart to young guitarists, Maestro Brouwer emphasizes a need for open-minded explo-

ration of other artistic media as a way of providing a steady flow of inspiration and enlightenment. “Young guitarists must hear all kinds of music and all kinds of instruments,” he says. “Forget how the guitar is played and recorded. It does not serve to imitate. Expand the culture you have, always, with reading, seeing films, good quality art films. Look for the relationship between architectural designs, painters, writers. If you are in the United States, you must read everything from Walt Whitman to Paul Auster. You could read the same in France and Spain or wherever, but I am mentioning great artists in the history of the United States. Young musicians also need to especially see French, Italian, and German independent films from the mid-20th century and avoid the commercial Hollywood products. “I started writing my  Etudes Simples in ’61 for children and beginners, for the reason that most etude studies we had were impossible for beginners; the worst for children. Carcassi and Sor wrote very good music, but the rest of it was very difficult for children to play. Carcassi wrote for simple fingers. So I decided to write etudes for which the problems are only one, and the rest is easy, easy, so you concentrate on one aspect of technique and that’s it. Also, I suggest using a capo for younger musicians and those who are physically smaller, to keep arms positioned organically near the body.” When asked if there is any other kind of guitar music that he personally enjoys, Brouwer responds enthusiastically, enthusiastically, “I love heavy metal guitar. Heavy metal guitarists have no inhibitions and they play like gods. They play freely and do not look at the fretboard, which wastes time. They understand the palette of sound and harmony. Compared to classical guitarists, rock and CG jazz guitarists are very open.”

L to R: Bill Kanengiser, John Dearman, Ben Verdery, Verdery, Pat Metheny, Hanna Arie-Gaifman, Scott Tennant, Matthew Greif

‘ART GUITAR’ Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the 92nd Street Y’s Concert Series he Art of the Guitar series at Manhattan’s 92nd Street Y is celebrating its 20th year as a showcase for classical guitar artistry that goes beyond concerts to include the premieres of commissioned new works and even onstage interviews with guitarists. Yale guitar professor Benjamin Verdery has served as Artistic Director of Art of the Guitar since 2007, after its initial launch in 1998 by Juilliard Guitar Department chairperson Sharon Isbin. Under Verdery’s tenure there have been 16 premieres of new works for the guitar by composers such as Egberto Gismonti, Roberto Sierra, Carlos Rafael Rivera, Tan Dun, Sérgio Assad, Stephen Goss, Frederic Hand, Chen Yi, Johannes J ohannes Möller, Gyan Riley, and Verdery Verdery himself. hi mself. This year’s season included the New York premiere of a new untitled work for

guitar and string quartet by rock band The National’s Bryce Dessner, co-commissioned by the 92nd Street Y and performed by Verdery and the St. Lawrence String Quartet. And solo guitarist Jorge Caballero performed the world premiere of a piece called  Midsummer  Midsummer Love. “Over 20 years, Art of the Guitar has delighted the community of concert-goers and expanded the scope of the instrument for future generations of classical guitarists,” says Hanna Arie-Gaifman, Director of the 92nd Street Y Tisch Center for the Arts. “Audiences are consistently thrilled and inspired by the breadth of talent that the extraordinary musicians bring to our stages, not only as performers but as purveyors of virtuosic repertoire from every major style of music. In the spirit of curiosity and personal enrichment which 92Y

by Julia Crowe

embodies, our audiences also enjoy a closer connection to the music with free preconcert talks before every guitar concert, given by Benjamin Verdery.” Verdery.” Verdery, who is entering his tenth year of curating the series next season, says, “It has been an honor for me to work at one of New York City’s greatest cultural centers, and I have really loved all the wonderful people I have been fortunate to work with. Hanna [Arie-Gaifman], of course, has been a total joy to work with and has taught me much.” His enjoyable pre-concert lectures can be found on YouTube as “Guitar Talks with Benjamin Verdery.” Past artists include Eliot Fisk and Paco Peña, David Russell, Christopher Parkening, Raphaella Smits, and the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet. “Initially, we held the first couple of

lectures in our gallery space, which is adjacent to our stunning concert hall,” Verdery says. “As the word spread, we had to move the lectures into the main hall. After one or two seasons, I thought, ‘What if I did a pre-concert interview with each artist?’ I figured they could only say no. The first interview of this kind was with Paul Odette. He was so incredibly generous in his answers and, of course, brilliant. So we continued asking artists to interview and, with very few exceptions, they’ve said yes. “One event we continue to present is the Guitar Marathon,” he adds. “It consists of two lengthy concerts—one in the afternoon and one in the evening.” The first Guitar Marathons were curated by New York–based music producer David Spelman. “David brought together a wonderful group of artists from all different genres,” Verdery says. “One that I will especially not forget is the very first Guitar Marathon in 2007 when I met Andy Summers [best known as guitarist for the rock band The Police], who became a dear friend and collaborator.” The 92nd Street Y Guitar Marathons have continued with specific themes and curators over the years. “For example,

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Sérgio Assad curated an extraordinary Marathon celebrating Brazilian guitar music,” Verdery notes. “That is the moment when New York City guitar-lovers got to hear the now-legendary Yamandu Costa. This past year I curated a Marathon dedicated to the art of guitar arrangements and transcriptions that have shaped our instrument from the past to the present. The incredible guitarists and great friends who participated included the Assads, the Brasil Duo, the Vida Quartet, Ana Vidovic, Jorge Caballero, Paul Galbraith, Max Zuckerman, and myself.” Verdery has also created several tribute concerts in the series. “With Hanna’s help and suggestions, we’ve brought together performers who share a special connection to the artist we are honoring,” he says. “For example, in the case of the Julian Bream tribute, we opened the concert with Fred Hand, who studied with the maestro. In our Brouwer tribute, we were able to have Odair Assad perform the sonata written for him, and the Eden Stell Guitar Duo, whom we featured in this program, performed the most brilliant interpretation of  Per Sone a  Due I have ever heard. “Hanna has also shown me the value in

nurturing a young performer. If a particular performer resonates with our audience and is someone we feel is developing as an artist, we will tend to bring them back. There are certain artists over the years who are real Y staples and, unsurprisingly, are beloved around the world. We do have a 92Y guitar family and the list is always growing. Many of our guests also perform at local high schools during their visit. The artists get to share their art and lives directly with students, in a less f ormal manner than the concert hall,” Verdery says. Another project that is dear to Verdery is the annual 92nd Street Y Guitar Day. Day. “The 92nd Street Y also has a thriving music school, as part of the Gilda and Henry Block School of the Arts. At the beginning of my tenure, we instituted Guitar Day as an event that is free and open to the public, offering free mini recitals, lectures and classes, and a variety of performers. Last year, with director Yana Stotland, we celebrated women guitarists by featuring Kaki King, Jiji Kim, Sheryl Bailey, Bailey, and Ann Klein. What is so special about Guitar Day is that it enables artists, students, and guitar enthusiasts to share their ideas and love for the guitar. All you have to do is show up!” CG

RECORDING

CLASSICAL

GUITAR Sage advice from three top engineers: John Taylor, Norbert Kraft, and Ricardo Marui B  Y   B  L A  I  R  J   A C  K   S  O  N  

F

or more than 30 years before I took over as editor of Classi-   (in December 2014), cal Guitar  (in my main job was working as a writer and editor of  Mix , the leading American recording and sound magazine. I wrote literally thousands of articles, big and small, about nearly every aspect of the sound world, from nuts-and-bolts pieces about the making of this or that album, to the intricacies of recording sound effects for blockbuster films, to forums with engineers about every imaginable topic dealing with sound. It’s a wonderful community of brilliant and artistic people who are completely committed to the pursuit of quality. quality. Just like all of you. Because I’ve spent so much time in studios, watching sessions and talking to engineers, producers, and musicians about what they do, I reflexively listen to albums (and watch films) paying acute attention to the quality and nature of the recording and how (or if) it affects the presentation of the music. A badly recorded album is a sad thing—a wasted opportunity. So I’m happy to report: Over the past three years that I’ve been immersed in listening to classical guitar, most of the hundreds of albums I’ve heard have been well recorded, even though the circumstances of their creation vary widely—from a single stereo microp microphone hone placed near the guitar in an acoustically unremarkable room, to ambitious projects utilizing multiple microphones and expensive signal processing equipment in spectacularly ambient chapels, concert halls, or professional recording studios. But in all my years of writing about recording, I’ve never penned an article specifically about capturing the sound, power, and subtle nuances of classical guitar, so I decided to seek out three top engineers in the field to educate me (and you) about what their job entails, how they do it, the philosophies behind their methodologies, and the equip-

ment they use. I know that more and more guitarists are putting out their own albums these days; perhaps they will learn something from the way these three masters work their magic. I sent all three engineers the same questions and was thrilled to receive such thoughtful, articulate, and illuminating responses. English engineer John Taylor recalls that his first sessions “were ones where I was in the firing line of the microphones, as a member of the Omega Guitar Quartet, back in the late 1970s.” Those sessions were recorded by John Bower, who had engineered Julian Bream’s RCA albums since the early ’60s, and Taylor was instantly hooked on recording. Unlike most audio engineers, “I had no training in recording studios, but started out as a classical guitarist who happened to have studied physics at university,” says Taylor. “As such, I had a natural curiosity about the theory and practice of recording, recording, which I picked up from books and magazines.” His first “serious” recording was of his own quartet, and then he was off and running, evolving to become one of the top classical engineers and producers in the UK. His extensive guitar credits include David Russell, Eliot Fisk, Tom Kerstens, Ricardo Iznaola, Nigel North, Eleftheria Kotzia, the Eden Stell Duo (and spinoff Vida Quartet), Roberto Moronn Pérez, Xuefei Yang, Juan Martin, Fabio Zanon, Paco Peña, and more. Austrian-born Canadian guitarist Norbert Kraft is arguably the most prolific classical-guitar engineer and producer of our time. Besides his successful (ongoing) career as a guitarist, for which he has travelled the world and recorded more than a dozen albums, and as a principal at Naxos Records (where he is Artistic Director for the label’s Guitar Collection), he has recorded—and usually produced—scores of classical-guitar albums by both up-and-coming players (first albums by GFA and other compe-

tition winners) and established masters. It’s a stunning list that includes such notables as Ricardo Gallén, Ana Vidovic, Zoran Dukic, Pablo Villegas, Nigel North, Jérémy Jouve, Antigoni Goni, Ali Arango, the Brasil Guitar Duo, Adam Levin, Shin-Ichi Fukuda, Anabel Montesinos, Marco Tamayo, and Irina Kulikova, to name just some. He remembers his first recording sessions as a performing guitarist as “nervewracking and high-pressured affairs, and it never seemed that we had enough time to get to the musical essence of my playing before the producer barked: ‘We have it; time to move on.’” Later, when he started recording other artists for Naxos, “I kept that memory clearly in my mind, never to make them feel cheated or impinged on musically.” Kraft, who records many non-guitar classical albums as well, says that when he was a teenager he was interested in electronics and actually wanted to become a recording engineer: “I laughingly say I simply took a 30-year detour, detour, performing and teaching at university level, in preparation for the level of work I do now.” Brazilian engineer Ricardo Marui is also a classical guitarist, and from 1990 to 2004, “I often played as a chamber musician, and I recorded a few CDs in that period. My first commercially released recording as a musician was in 1993—an album where I played in a duo with a violinist. Since I was also a trained electrical technician and systems analyst and had an easy time handling new technologies, I was actively involved in the production of my own recordings, and even edited my own tracks.” He began engineering for others in 2002 (a cello record by Zygmunt Kubala); a disc by Gilson Antunes became his first classical-guitar recording. Since, he has worked with Marcelo Kayath, Sérgio Abreu, Marco Pereira, Fabio Zanon, Jorge Caballero, and others, several of those for the high-quality >>> GuitarCoop label.

RECORDING CLASSICAL GUITAR How has the way you record classical guitar evolved through the years—if at all—and is it changes in equipment or recording technique that have affected that evolution? CLASSICAL GUITAR:

JOHN TAYLOR: There

have been a few big changes over the years, beginning with the advent of digital recording and CDs in the early ’80s, and since then the increasing sophistication of analog-to-digital conversion, digital editing, and all sorts of new digital tools for manipulating or cleaning up audio. Personally, I have no great nostalgia for analog tape recording, which at its best could sound warm and clear, but suffered from many problems, such as “print-through,” which caused pre- and post-echoes on music with a wide dynamic range, such as classical guitar. This might seem an odd thing to say of such a quiet instrument, but in fact the full dynamic range from the quietest touch on a string to the loudest rasgueados is a challenge to reproduce reproduce successfully in a recording. recording. Unfortunately, digital recording got off to a bad start for audiophiles by promising “perfect sound forever” but delivering some recordings that were so starkly clean that they were as much fun to listen to as taking a cold shower while biting into a lemon. But I have to say that, even from the start, my own experience with digital recording was positive—for the first time

I was able to make recordings that were hard to distinguish from the live feed from the microphones. And these days the best digital converters give a beautifully sweet and transparent sound. However, in terms of the capture of the sound with microphones, I would say that there have been no major advances in the last few decades, unless you count multichannel surround sound, which has never caught on as a mainstream medium for classical music. Many of the microphone models from top manufacturers such as Schoeps, Neumann, and AKG are almost unchanged since the 1970s or even earlier, earlier, except perhaps for lower-noise electronics. And some engineers are even prepared to pay a fortune for ancient tube mics from the 1940s or ’50s, which they believe have never been matched for their unique sonic character—though I’ve never been tempted myself. I’ve spent much of my working life as a one-man team of engineer and producer resisting various temptations—especially the temptation to use ever more elaborate multi-mic setups, and to use all the digital tools now available for “enhancing” the sound in various ways, or for eliminating every tiny flaw or extraneous noise in the playing. After all these years, what I like most is to record as simply as possible, using the minimum number of mics—if possible, just one for each stereo

 JOHN TAYLOR

channel—carefully channel—carefully placed in a venue that’s just right for the music being recorded. And what’s more, if I can see the project through to a final edited master that has no signal processing whatsoever—EQ, reverb, compression, etc.—I’m very happy to leave it like that! This is such a minimal approach that many recording engineers would regard it as a dereliction of duty. But here I feel I have an advantage, in that the engineering is only one part of my job of seeing through a whole recording project. So I’m happy to keep the “engineer” in his place if he ever tries to justify his existence by getting too elaborate or clever for his own good! NORBERT KRAFT: I

would say that aside from becoming more efficient and better at prioritizing details, I learned after the first few years not to “get in i n the way.” In my keen desire to get the best out of my artists, I would sometimes become overly zealous—not by trying to change the way they shaped the music, but by simply trying to get more of their own creativity to work better. This sometimes backfired, and the player would clam up rather than become more free. So a real aspect of my work has to do with the psychology of the situation, and learning to recognize when the artist can’t be “urged” any further. further. Some players, on the other hand, really thrive on this and welcome all musical suggestions, which

then becomes a truly creative musical partnership on the session. This is especially true when I record chamber music, and I really get a charge out of feeling that I am an integral part of the performance, rather than just a bystander. One might think that once the mics are set, I simply sit back and let the players have at it. But my real session work is similar to that of a film director, guiding and shaping the performance from a perspective that the artist cannot possibly have. I am hearing as a “listener,” rather than from the players’ perspective on the stage, and the mics actually “hear” differently than the performers. With regard to mic techniques, purists will say that “one microphone” is best for the cleanest, most natural sound; or at least just one point-source for the stereo pair, such as in an M-S recording setup. I have used this to good effect, and still do for part of my setup, say in piano recordings, or when I have another set of omnidirectional mics in the far-field. But generally I use only a pair of omnis for 95 percent of my recordings, resorting to more mics only when the situation requires. In general, more is much less when it comes to microphones. What I do play with a lot is the different character of various mics. I have some lovely tube mics, as well as some rather “clinical”-sounding mics at the other end of the spectrum—all of which claim to be

“flat” in response. But we all know that every mic has its own character. It’s not unlike the different characters of various instruments. Most guitarists have several guitars, even from the same maker, each of which has its own personality, personality, suited to different musical genres. RICARDO MARUI: 

The first change has to do with my concept of what it means to record. In the beginning, I thought that a good recording should be as close as possible to the real sound of the live inst rument— that is, that the sound of the speakers should be exactly the same as the sound I would hear if the musician was playing right in front of me, in the same room. Through the years, though, I realized that beyond the physical and acoustical impossibility of achieving this, there are many other factors that make a recording valuable to the listener. People have in their memories the sounds of albums that marked their relationship to music; recordings that are forever part of their memories. Although we are now in the 21st century, with regard to classical guitar, people have as references the legendary recordings of Segovia, Julian Bream, Duo Abreu, and many other exceptional artists. The playing on these recordings is marvelous, but from the point of view of physics alone, they do not try to reproduce the live sound of the instrument, and for this they are no

RICARDO MARUI

NORBERT KRAFT

less spectacular. Another thing that has changed, this time regarding recording technique, is that as I became more selective with respect to the acoustic quality of the spaces in which I recorded, I also developed some of my techniques for capturing the sound of the instrument. In spaces where the acoustics were less favorable, I used to use directional microphones closer to the instruments, as well as microphones that were a little further away—in an effort to compose a stereo image of the sound—but the audio of these [distant] microphones could rarely be effectively used. Today, working in better spaces and with better equipment, I can record the sound of the instrument, and the space as a whole, using omnidirectional and figure-8 microphones. By figure-8 microphones, I’m referring to ribbon microphones, which have become my favorites for recording classical guit ar. ar. Here are a couple of interrelated issues: Can you briefly talk about the challenge of capturing both the full range and subtle nuances of the guitar? And when you choose to record a guitarist in a relatively reverberant environment, such as a church or concert hall, is your miking approach different than if you were recording in a conventional studio? CG:

RECORDING CLASSICAL GUITAR RECORDED BY JOHN TAYLOR 

very rarely record in a dry studio and nearly always use acoustic venues. These vary, of course, depending on the instrument—piano or string quartet require a different acoustic than Baroque orchestra, or opera, etc. The great challenge is to find the “perfect” venue for whichever instrument is involved. For guitar, I found a truly magical space right at the beginning—some 24 years ago—and have always recorded myself and other guitarists there. [St. John Chrysostom Church in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada] When entering the space for the first time, some of my younger artists look with dreamy eyes and call it “the Naxos church.” It is a bit of an odd-shaped building—a church of about 600 seats, very high at the altar, where the performing area is, and with five segments at the lower rear wall that reflect back to the stage as almost a sort of horn effect, making the reverberation quite long and complex. This gives me the freedom to come quite close to the instrument and capture the essence of its sound, almost like hearing the wood “breathe” as it’s played; magic indeed! There is an art to finding the right “bloom point” for each instrument, and mixing that direct sound with the right amount of reverberation, depending on whether the result should be more “dry,” such as for contemporary or Classicalperiod music, or a more “Romantic” effect with more reverberation.

RECORDED BY NORBERT KRAFT

RECORDED BY RICARDO MARUI

KRAFT:  I

TAYLOR: 

I have nothing against studio recording per se, but my specialty is to record in “real” spaces such as churches and concert halls, which is still a wellaccepted way of producing classical music CDs, at least here in the UK. Of course, many orchestral and chamber-music recordings are made in large studios, which are similar to concert halls and have a desirable acoustic character of their own, but these tend to be very expensive for a mere guitarist to hire. More commonly, we would be talking about a small recording studio with a very dry acoustic, or a home studio without much space—and my own limited experience of trying to record in such places has been discouraging enough to keep me booking those churches, despite all the possible frustrations of planes passing over, lawnmowers, and various

Eliot Fisk   Segovia Canciones  Populares

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Marcelo Kayath  Suites & Sonatas

Roberto Moronn Perez  Segovia Archive French French Composers

 Adam Levin  21st Century Spanish Guitar 1

Jorge Caballero  Albeniz

forms of wildlife in the background! What I have always felt—and this applies to all acoustic instruments, not just the guitar—is that it’s a mistake to imagine that the instrument has an inherent sound that can be picked up by a close mic, or an array of close mics, unrelated to the space around it. In real life we don’t put our ears near the bridge, or over the soundhole, or close to the fingerboard. We listen to the whole instrument, at a comfortable distance, in a room where the sound travels in all directions and reaches our ears at slightly different times from all these directions. And if the room is spacious enough to give a warm “glow” around the notes, so much the better. Now, I wouldn’t go as far as to say that you’ll get a perfectly good recording by putting up a pair of mics several rows back from the stage in a concert hall—such a recording would almost certainly sound impossibly dim and distant—but I do believe you can capture the full range and subtle nuances of the guitar, with a pleasant feeling of openness around it, by placing the mics carefully at an intermediate distance. Not

so close that it sounds raw and claustrophobic, nor so far away that it sounds like an empty room with someone playing the guitar in it, but close enough that the guitar sounds clear and present, with that enveloping glow of the acoustic all around it. MARUI: When

I began to work as a sound engineer, there was a consensus that classical-guitar recordings could only be done in large spaces, like churches or auditoriums. However, with the development of reverb devices—the more advanced models of which not only electronically alter the sound, but also simulate spaces in such a way that, if well employed, they’re able to achieve a sound similar to that of a larger environment— recording in studios not only became viable, but opened up a greater set of possibilities for the musician. I still believe that the sound of a space with exceptional acoustics is difficult to be rendered by an electronic reverb device. Despite the advancements I described, I always explain to the musicians that record with me the important differences

between recording in a studio, a church, or an auditorium. In the studio, besides the possibility of achieving a totally balanced acoustic environment, the primary advantage is noise cancelling. This makes the process of recording much more productive, as there are no interruptions caused by extraneous noises from airplanes, cars, and animals, which invariably appear in the worst possible moments. On the other hand, a space with exceptional acoustics gives the musician a feeling of enormous comfort, as he or she is able to hear the sound with an ambience and color that is remarkably similar to what the final result will be. The musician who records in a studio, thus, only has the flat sound as his reference, with no effects, and has to imagine what will happen to the sound he is currently producing. This can often make the musician lose his or her references in relation to phrasing, color, and articulation, especially if the person has little experience with studio recording. I think the best of all worlds would be to record in large spaces with balanced acoustics and noise cancelling, but this is not always possible. Does the particular guitar and/or the player’s style affect your mic choices?

CG:

TAYLOR:  I’m

rarely asked to record any guitarists other than classical players, and although the classical guitar repertoire ranges very widely, I find that most players still want a recording that sounds realistic and natural, whatever the music. So the differences in the choice of mics and their placement tend to be fairly subtle. Generally, I find that the distance of the mics from the guitar can’t be changed very much without upsetting the balance between direct and ambient sound. You can certainly make it more intimate by coming in a little closer, or more spacious by moving the mics a little further back, but not by too much either way, or you’ll run into the problems of dryness in the one case, or “emptiness” in the other. other. One of the biggest issues in the classical guitar world is the question of what instrument to use, and guitars built to a radical new design can sound very different from a traditional model. Generally, the two best-

known modern developments are latticetop—Greg Smallman, etc.—and sandwichtop [also known as “double-top”]— Matthias Dammann, Gernot Wagner, etc. Despite their differences from each other, both have in common an aim to enhance the guitar’s acoustic responsiveness, particularly by reducing the mass of the soundboard. Put simply, they tend to be louder, bigger-sounding instruments, but that’s not the whole story, as the liveness of their response can be unforgiving of the slightest error of touch, especially in a recording. Also, there tends to be a clear difference in the overall character of the sound between traditional, lattice-top, and sandwich-top guitars—so much so that, however hard they try, some people struggle to love all three types at once! My own view is that while the more acoustically efficient types of guitars can be just what’s needed for playing chamber music with other instruments or filling halls where a traditional guitar would sound rather feeble, they don’t give any clear advantage for guitar-only recordings. recordings. Personally, I still like to hear a really good traditional spruce-top guitar, played by a guitarist with a keen ear for all the flexibility of color it can offer. But then, all good players know how to get the best from their chosen instruments, and I certainly wouldn’t turn down a job on the grounds that the guitar is t he “wrong” kind! MARUI: Yes,

style is especially important. When I’m recording non-classical guitarists, I generally go for a closer capture. I like the final result of such recordings to sound intimate, as if the musician was playing in your living room. In these cases, I tend to use cardioid microphones like the Neumann KM 184. In my classical-guitar recordings, I tend to go for microphones with a smaller diaphragm. I generally achieve better results using this type of microphone—although another thing that I’ve learned over the years is that, when dealing with audio, there is not a single solution that works in every situation. For non-classical guitarists, too, a good microphone with a large diaphragm placed near the bridge of the guitar also leads to interesting results. CG: This

last question is for all the guitar-

ists out there who can’t afford a proper recording session with an engineer and multiple mics, etc., but perhaps would just like to make a decent recording of themselves in their home environment. If you had to record a classical guitar with a single low- to mid-priced microphone, what might you choose, and where would you place the mic in relation to the guitar? MARUI:  First

of all, in a household environment, the musician will rarely have a space with acoustics good enough that one might want to capture the sound of the space as well as that of the instrument. So, in that case, it is better to focus on capturing the sound straight, as neutrally as possible. This can be done, f or example, by recording in front of a cabinet or a dresser with blankets. I hesitate to cite brands of microphones at low cost because I know that people reading an article like this tend to buy products simply because they were mentioned in an interview. But if I had to choose a low-cost condenser microphone, under $90, that works well for recordings of guitar—I even have a pair of them that I’ve used a couple of times—it would be the AKG Perception 170. If I’m not mistaken, I think that microphone was recently updated by AKG and is sold now as the AKG P170. TAYLOR:  This

is a very reasonable question, especially these days when musicians can reach a wide audience far more easily by posting videos on YouTube than by recording CDs. Unfortunately, I have to pass on this one, because I just don’t have the experience of using the low- to midpriced mics currently on offer. And with mics, it’s really essential to hear them in use before deciding whether they are right for the job—it’s no good taking anyone else’s word for it, or hoping that reviewers on the internet share your preferences about sound. Another thing I advise people is that it’s not just the mic itself that matters, but where you put it. Any mic is likely to sound unpleasantly boom-y if you place it right over the guitar’s soundhole, especially if it’s a directional type, such as a cardioid mic, which will overemphasize the low frequencies when placed close to the source. If you have a pair of mics to create a

RECORDING CLASSICAL GUITAR

stereo image, it’s worth spending time experimenting with different configurations of the two mics—their distance apart, if any, and the angles they point in—as well as their placement relative to the guitar. Finally, I’d suggest that it might be worth their while to check out their local area for any spacious rooms, halls, or churches with a nice acoustic for guitar music that could be available to try out for a test recording. If you’re really lucky, you might even find a place that you can use for free, where the real sound beats any artificial reverb that you might add to a boxy-sounding recording recording in a small room.

“dynamic” microphones, the dynamics are simply not sensitive enough and generally cannot reveal the depth or subtleties of the classical guitar; they usually make the guitar sound tinny and compressed. This is where the biggest investment ought to be: If the source sound is poor, there is no way to “fix it in the mix.” Then, if at all possible, use a pretty live space of a certain size. You might think that a “live” room, such as a hallway or tile bathroom, can provide this, but the room does need to be big enough to avoid multiple early sound reflections. If you have access to a good potential music producer—perhaps a colleague, teacher, or someone with the ears and musical knowledge you trust to help make you sound your best—this will take a huge burden from you while recording, and free up your concentration for the task of playing. It will be more like a performance than being under a microscope.

KRAFT: I

have not personally researched or heard any of the lower-budget home equipment, so I’m not able to give much specific advice here. But a definite must is a condenser microphone, or maybe a ribbon mic. Contrary to the name, with

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Recording is certainly a different art form than live performance, and the two should not be confused nor compared. With all the tools and references references that we have at our disposal, it can be a powerful means of expression. There is no substitute for the live performance, the living creation at the moment before your very ears! But also, the expertly recorded performance is one in which the artist can take some risks, make great dynamic effects and new interpretive statements, statements, and, not the least, is a record for all time of a moment in his or her musical achievement. Despite the current financial state of the recording industry, artists need to be heard, and listeners will always be there to hear them. For LOTS more specific information about the engineers’ microphone and signal processing choices, editing, and even dealing with breathing noises, go to classicalguitarmagazine.com/recording.

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INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION & COMPETITION Frost School of Music UNIV ERSI ERSITY TY OF MIA MI

MIAMI, FL JUNE 17–22, 2019 Hosted by Dr. Federico Musgrove Stetson and Professor Pro fessor and Program Director Rafael Ra fael Padron

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NAL CONCERT ARTIST COMPETITION

INTERNATIONAL YOUTH YOUTH COMPETITION COMPETI TION |

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GUITARFOUNDATION.ORG

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SEGOVIA, AUGUSTINE, DUPONT,

rom the mid 20th century to the present, classical and flamenco guitarists have been able to take for granted the availability of a range of affordable, high-quality guitar strings produced by a variety of manufacturers. But all who played the guitar’s ancestors (vihuela, lute, Baroque guitar, and Romantic-era guitar) beginning 200 years ago, and players of the modern guitar through the late 1940s, were not so fortunate. Among the many things for which we can thank Andrés Segovia is his work with Albert Augustine on the development of modern

classical guitar strings. str ings. As we shall see below, Augustine and those with whom he worked brought revolutionary changes to the guitar world in 1948 with the development of nylon treble strings and much-improved basses. It’s no exaggeration to say that the nylon guitar string’s replacement of the centuriesold gut string is the most significant and universally accepted innovation innovati on in our instrument’s development since those introduced by luthier Antonio de Torres (1817–1892). Time will tell whether recent advances, such as alternative bracing systems, sandwich tops, relocation of sound holes, side sound

ports, elevated fingerboards, non-traditional tonewoods, or some yet-undiscovered concept will be universally accepted and have the transformative effect that nylon strings have had.

SEGOVIA’S TAKE Today’s Early Music specialists who use gut strings in their quest to faithfully reproduce repertoire from historic periods, and others who use them for their own esoteric reasons, understand the difficulties gut strings posed to the performer. For those who have never tried them, the

AND THE HISTORY OF MODERN GUITAR STRINGS

BY MARK SMALL

article “Guitar Strings Before and After Albert Augustine” penned by Segovia for The Guitar Review, No. 17, 1955, paints the picture: My troubles increased when I began to give public concerts. If I came to the stage more nervous and worried than is usually the case with a novice artist . . . it was because of my lack of confidence in the strings. They were hardly ever perfectly in tune, the gut strings became unraveled, and the basses lost their resonance.

Segovia also describes embarrassing interruptions onstage due to his gut strings breaking. After criticizing unnamed “knavish” manufacturers for the poor quality of their strings, Segovia offered praise for strings made by the Pirastro company of Germany. They tuned up better and lasted longer than others available to the young Segovia. According to the Pirastro website, the string company was founded in 1798 as “Giorgio Pirazzi and Sons” in Italy, and later moved to an area outside Frankfurt, Germany. In 1890, Gustav Pirazzi (grandson

of founder Giorgio Pirazzi) formed a partnership with Theodor Strobel, and created the company name Pirastro by combining the first four letters of their surnames. The company continues to flourish as Pirastro GmbH, but does not currently list gut guitar strings among its offerings for orchestral stringed instruments and harp. Around 1924, Segovia began his affiliation with German luthier Hermann Hauser, who knew people at Pirastro. Segovia asked Hauser to persuade the management at Pirastro to be more consistent with the thickness and uniformity of their guitar

strings. The Maestro reports that the collaboration between Pirastro, Hauser, and himself resulted in improved quality and increased sales of Pirastro guitar strings owing to Segovia’s burgeoning career and the growing popularity of the guitar guit ar.. Segovia fled Spain after civil war erupted there in 1936, and made Montevideo, Uruguay, his home base until the end of WWII. He possessed a supply of strings, but it was running very low by the time the war ended. According to Segovia’s Guitar Review  article, during a visit to New York during the Christmas holidays in 1946, he met General Charles Lionel Lindemann, a counselor with the British Embassy in Washington. Hearing Segovia speak of his need for strings, Lindemann told Segovia that he had friends in the DuPont family and asked if the nylon material DuPont engineers had developed might work for treble strings. Lindemann arranged for Segovia to receive samples of nylon from DuPont. Segovia described trying the nylon for the first string on his guitar: “When it had reached its proper pitch and I heard its clear sound, although it had a faint metallic accent that distinguished it from gut, I knew at once that a fuller and happier life was to open up for my beloved guitar.”

FROM STOCKINGS TO GUITARS Some of the accounts of the advent of nylon strings present different scenarios and timelines from those presented by Segovia in Gui-  tar Review. We can confirm that nylon was developed by DuPont in the late 1930s and became commercially available in 1940 for     S     E     I use in toothbrush bristles, women’s stock    Rings, and fishing line. During the war years,     O     Showever, nylon production was devoted     Salmost exclusively to military applications.     E     CAccording to a few accounts, New York     C     Ainstrument maker Albert Augustine had     &been seeking an alternative to gut strings     Sin the early 1940s and began experimenting     G     N     I with some nylon material that he found in     Ran army surplus store. He had worked to     T     Sdevelop nylon guitar strings for a few years

before he met Segovia. The stories converge after Segovia is introduced to Augustine through mutual friend Vladimir Bobri, an illustrator, author, author, and guitarist who founded the New York Guitar Society and served as the editor of its magazine, Guitar Review. In consultation with Segovia, Augustine was able to tone down the metallic sound of the nylon treble strings. All accounts say that DuPont could not be persuaded to enter the guitar string manufacturing market, but the company did agree to supply nylon to Augustine. Segovia prodded him to work on the bass strings next. Augustine used nylon for the core of the bass strings, as opposed to a silk thread core that was used in the pre-nylon days. He experimented with different metals for the wrapping of the bass strings and tried various polishing methods until he achieved a sound that pleased his ears and Segovia’s. He was now ready to begin production. Augustine reached out to Olinto Mari, president of La Bella/E. & O. Mari strings, and began manufacturing his new strings at Mari’s factory in Long Island City, New York. It was a good choice to work with E. & O. Mari because of their long experience in the field. The Mari family had been making strings since 1640 in Italy, and brothers Emilio and Olinto relocated

Segovia and Augustine

A WORLD OF STRINGS Worldwide there are hundreds of companies, large and small, who make and/or distribute classical guitar strings, both custom-made and manufactured. Many brands are available through major online dealers such as stringsbymail.com, juststrings.com, guitarsalon.com, and stringsdirect.co.uk, but here are direct links to a small selection of U.S. and European string makers, whose websites offer more information about their products:

operations to New York in 1913. In 1947, Albert Augustine Ltd. was established and began producing strings of various tensions in packaging bearing a photo of Segovia and a poem penned by the maestro praising Augustine strings.

MODERN CHOICES Since then, numerous companies have entered the classical guitar string market and many have tried newly developed materials. For instance, D’Addario offers a variety of treble strings made from clear nylon, black nylon, monofilament composite material, and titanium. Their website describes the latter as a “contemporary treble material with attractive purple hue,” with a brighter tone than traditional nylon. D’Addario produces basses labeled 80/20 Bronze (with winding composed of 80 percent copper and 20 percent zinc), Silver-plated Copper, Multifilament Nylon Core, and Multifilament Composite Core. French string maker Savarez was the first to develop treble strings made from fluorocarbon material. While they are often referred to as “carbon” strings, that’s an abbreviation of the full name. They are not made from carbon but from the polymer polyvinylidene fluoride (PVFD). A perusal of various blogs reveals that some players feel that carbon strings approximate the sound of gut strings. Many find that these trebles project and sustain better than nylon and are great for playing live. Other users report that carbon strings can be harder to play and sound strident, and hence don’t recommend them for recording. Aquila USA (headquartered in Italy) has introduced their Nylgut line of strings

albertaugustine.com aquilacorde.com aranjuezstrings.com blackdiamondstrings.com condehermanos.com (Felipe Conde) daddario.com (D’Addario) gallistrings.com ghsstrings.com hannabach.com/en klassiksaiten.de (Hense)

made from a synthetic material. The Aquila website states that these strings can “imitate the acoustical characteristics of gut without the typical defects such as high cost, short string life, and severe instability to changes of climate.” Japanese virtuoso Shin-Ichi Fukuda uses these strings on his Romantic-era guitar for live performances, but chooses from Aquila’s line of modern gut strings for recording. A web search brings up other makers of gut strings including Gamut Académie Strings, Boston Catlines, Damian Dlugolecki, and Pyramid, among others.

VIRTUOUS CIRCLE Today, many successful string manufacturers give financial support for classical guitar performances and education in an effort to further the art of the classical guitar. guitar. The late Rose Augustine (1910–2003), wife of Albert Augustine, worked with her husband in the manufacture of strings until his passing in 1967, when she took over operations and continued to grow the company. She also turned her attention to the growth of classical guitar and its players. She quietly supported gifted young guitarists and helped finance the New York debuts of such performers as Sharon Isbin, Eliot Fisk, David Starobin, and Manuel Barrueco, to name a few. She also commissioned new music for the guitar from composers George Crumb, John Duarte, Lukas Foss, Aaron Copland, Gunther Schuller, and more. In 1979, Rose established the Augustine Foundation to continue supporting classical guitar concerts and festivals, and commissioning new guitar music. Shortly before she died in 2003 at 93, a board of directors was elected to continue the foundation’s

 jpstrings.com (John Pearse  jpstrings.com Pearse)) labella.com (includes Pepe Romero strings) luthiermusic.com optima-strings.com philippebosset.com royalclassics.com (RC Strings) savarez.com thomastik-infeld.com

grant-making work honoring the legacy of the Augustines. According to the D’Addario Foundation website, Jim and Janet D’Addario launched the Debuts and Premieres Series in New York City to support up-and-coming classical guitarists in 1979. Two years later, the D’Addario Foundation for the Performing Arts was established to expand the reach of the program beyond New York to other cities. In 1993, the foundation began offering grants to support classical guitar events as well as music education to underprivileged youth. In the early years of the new millennium, the name was shortened to the D’Addario Foundation, and the organization focused on supporting nonprofit music education and instruction programs. In 2011, the foundation celebrated its 30th anniversary with a performance series at Carnegie Hall to support young guitarists, featuring Celil Refik Kaya, Johannes Möller, Thibault Cauvin, and others. D’Addario continues its generous philanthropy in many areas of the classical guitar world. La Bella/E. & O. Mari, Inc. sponsors classical as well as jazz and rock artists in clinics, artist appearances, and residencies. The company also supports guitar festivals and competitions, and provides scholarships and awards to promising players. Similarly, Savarez, Hannabach, and other string makers offer their support for a range of artists, music events, and education. What began in the 1940s as an effort to improve the tools of the guitarist’s trade has widened to become a virtuous circle that has benefitted not only the sound and playability of our instrument, but the entire CG classical guitar ecosystem.

The Royal Conservatory

Classical Guitar, 2018 Edition (formerly known as Bridges®)

Launching Spring 2018! The fifth edition of The Royal Conservatory's acclaimed guitar series contains classic favorites as well as new, exploratory repertoire to inspire classical guitar students of all ages and levels! Each progressive Classical Guitar Repertoire and Etudes  book (from Preparatory to Level 8) explores a wide range of historical periods and styles; and Classical Guitar Technique offers level-approp level-appropriate riate exercises to develop technical proficiency. The Classical Guitar Syllabus, 2018 Edition  outlines the

curriculum for Preparatory

through to Associate Diploma levels l evels and includes extensive repertoire listings as well as musicianship and technical requirements for each level.

rcmusic.com/ClassicalGuitar

La Sonanta mahogany and bone cejilla

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A few words about capos

f you had three hands, and you wanted to change keys without modifying the shapes of the chords you play, you could simply barre the neck with one of them. But you don’t, so someone, probably sometime in the 18th century, invented the capo. A standard tool of the flamenco guitarist and steel-string acoustic guitarist, and less common in classical-guitar circles, the capo takes its name from the Italian, capotasto, capotasto, which literally means “head of the fingerboard,” or “nut” in English guitar-parlance. Indeed, a capo is, in a sense, a moveable nut. The bar is placed across the guitar neck to change the pitch of the strings uniformly—higher with each fret up the neck—and also allow for a key change without the player having to alter the chord shapes. It acts as a barre, allowing the player to leave the device in place while playing as normal. The primary benefit of the apparatus among flamenco guitarists is that their playing is often done to accompany a singer. Since not all singers have the same pitch to their voices, without a capo there would be three difficult choices: Either the singer is going to have to modify his or her voice to

fit the guitar; the guitarist is going to have to tune the instrument down or up, one string at a time; or the guitarist will have to be able to mentally change to totally different fingerings to match the pitch of the instrument to that of the singer. Often in flamenco, performances happen on the spur of the moment, with little preparation time for the guitarist and singer to make any necessary modifications. That’s where the capo comes in. Instead of the guitarist going through mental or physical gymnastics, he or she can simply place the capo on the particular fret needed for the singer’s voice. Many flamenco singers already know which fret is appropriate for their voice, and they can simply inform the guitarist where to place the capo. The noted Southern California–based flamenco guitarist Ben Woods says, “Playing flamenco guitar as an accompanist for cantaores y bailaores for bailaores for the past 20 years, I’ve had my fair share of capo usage. For obvious reasons, we flamenco accompanists use the capo to bring the guitar into a comfortable range for the singer. Of course, if a guitarist uses the fret-marker dots for orientation, this will be a baffling endeavor! The singer may ask us to put the

BY KATHLEEN A. BERGERON

capo anywhere—I have even put it on fret 7 to play a Solea a Solea,, which does not leave much room to move around, but it certainly gives the guitar a higher register, register, buzzier strings, ease of play with lower action, and that crispy flamenco attack sound we hear and love in so many recordings. “Using a capo was also a very beneficial tool when learning flamenco and spending hours and hours fretting full barre chords with hands cramping,” Woods continues. “The capo alleviates some of the stress and stretches on the fretting hand, saving it from potential injur y. “Personally, I try not to use one any more unless a singer demands it. I nstead, I try to transpose anything I play to the key they are comfortable with. Unfortunately, that means all the pre-practiced falsetas [phrases] in a different key are thrown out the window and you have to rely on instant improvisation for those musical sections in a number. That can be fun, but sometimes results in a crash and burn.” By contrast, most traditional classical guitarists work solo, and the piece of music they plan to play has had its pitch established long before the performer sits down. Still, one does occasionally see

Clockwise from left: Kyser Quick-Change Classical, G7th Performance 2 Classical, D’Addario D’Addario NS Artist Classical

classical players employing the devices, and it’s not uncommon for guitarists in a duo to be capo’d on different frets for a given piece, to more easily facilitate sonorous harmonies. American classical guitarist Marc Teicholz Teicholz notes that the capo can come in handy “when playing Renaissance lute music. If you put the capo on the third fret and tune the third string to an F , you have the tuning of a Renaissance lute—although I often put the capo on the second fret instead, because I like the t he resonance better.” British guitarist and CG  contrib contributing editor Chris Dumigan agrees that using a capo for a lute transcription “makes the key brighter and more lute-like.” He also adds, “apart from that situation, the only piece of music I’ve come across that specified using a capo was a Schotts Segovia Archives edition of the Ponce Prelude in F m, published in 1928. In his edition, Segovia had it in E minor with the indication to put a capo on fret 2, which was

highly unusual, and Segovia never did it again—although he did write to Ponce that ‘the capo softens a bit the sound of the normal guitar and it wins in subtlety and poetry.’” Obviously there are other situations where a capo might fit into a classical piece, including using it as an “effect” of sorts. The composer Bryan Johanson has a striking and quiet piece called The  Magic Serenade  (which has been performed by Bill Kanengiser and others), in which a capo is placed on the seventh fret and includes three different instances where notes are played above the capo, giving the guitar an almost koto-like sound. No doubt there are other modern works that creatively employ the capo, as well. Today there are many brands, designs, and price-points for capos, including those with a piece of elastic, which the user wraps around the guitar neck in order to get a tight-enough fit; others with spring attachments; and more with a screw device for

fastening. Some are even designed to look like the jaws of animals— alligators and sharks, for example. But for the purist, perhaps nothing beats the cejilla, the traditional capo for flamenco guitarists, which uses a block of wood to barre the strings, and has a nylon or gut string attached to one side and a tuning peg attached to the other. The string is wrapped around the neck of the guitar, and the peg is placed in a hole centered atop the piece of wood, allowing you to tighten or loosen the device simply by turning the peg. A number of luthiers make and sell their own cejillas, and some people have even made a hobby of collecting them. Many cejillas feature exotic woods, bone, and even Swarovski crystals, and they make for elegant conversation pieces. It certainly makes for a less expensive alternative to collecting guitars. A Felipe Conde capo, for example, will make much less of a dent in your budget than one CG of the company’s guitars.

Here are a few brands of capos, singling out companies with models specifically designed for classical guitar and/ or flamenco necks. Prices will vary depending on where you shop, but can range from under $10 to more than $100. G7th Performance II, Newport, Nashville Dunlop Trigger Hamilton Traditional K&M 14530 D’Addario NS Artist, NS Classical Kyser Quick-Change Onstage Gear G300 Pearse Ol’ Reliable Ortega for Flat Fingerboard or curved TWCAPO-CR Córdoba NylonString Guitar Capo La Sonanta Cejillas

STRINGS & ACCESSORIES

ACCESSORY ROUNDUP A TUTOR IN YOUR PHONE Here’s a handy way to learn and/ or improve your music sightreading skills: the Guitar Sight Reading Trainer from Rolf’s Apps, for iOS devices. The app supports several key signatures and scales, and is designed to help you find notes on every part of the fretboard based on notes in a staff, on note name and pitch, and notes as they would appear on the fretboard. Also included are many exercises and tests in a graphically pleasing, easy-to-read format. After a while, reading music should become second nature! $1.99 through the iTunes store. Another app, the Guitar Sight Reading Workshop from 5 Diamond Music Services for Android devices, is available through Google Play for $2.99.

SLOW GOING Roni Music’s Amazing Slow Downer  is  is a helpful app (for iOS and Android devices and Mac and Windows computers) that some guitarists have found to be an excellent practice tool for learning pieces. As its name implies, the app will take a piece of music, or just a phrase, and play it at any speed between 25 percent (one-quarter speed) and 200 percent (double-speed) without changing the pitch, as many times as you’d like. It can be used to assist in changing the tuning or musical key of a piece, and it is also a great tool for the sometimes tedious job of transcribing. $9.95–$49.95, depending on platform. ronimusic.com

ZOOM EVOLUTION The Zoom H1 has long been one of the most popular inexpensive handheld recorders on the market. Now the Japanbased Zoom Corporation has redesigned and improved the device, recently introducing the H1n Handy Recorder , which is a perfect tool to record your practices, take verbal “notes,” or carry with you discreetly wherever you might want to capture some audio. New to this H1 upgrade is a more intuitive recording interface that allows for simple thumb navigation and greater flexibility in accessing other features. The unit has a built-in 90-degree X/Y stereo microphone configuration that is effective for singlesource recording (of a guitar!) in WAV audio rates up to 24-bit/96 kHz and MP3 audio up to 320 Kbps. It has many possible musicrelated (and other) uses, and it’s a true bargain at around $120 at many American and European online sellers. zoom-na.com

A RADICAL TUNER The new Roadie 2 Standalone Automatic Smart Guitar Tuner , designed for use with guitars, mandolins, banjos, and ukuleles, is a different sort of tuner. tuner. The product bills itself as an all-inone “tuner, string-winder, and the easiest way to explore alternate tunings.” Indeed it is simple to use: You fit it over each tuning peg and then, within seconds, it automatically turns the peg until the pitch is perfect. It has all sorts of preprogrammed preprogrammed alternate tunings and you can also store your own custom tunings. There’s also a free Bluetooth companion mobile app (not required) which allows for further customization and refinement of the Roadie 2’s features. It’s a bit more obtrusive than a clip-on tuner, but we’ve had one in the office and can attest that it works! $129. roadietuner.com

NAIL TALE Not new, but a classic! Respected musician and Latin American guitar scholar Richard “Rico” Stover (author of definitive works on Barrios, among many writings) is also the inventor of what remains one of the most popular nail care and nail augmentation systems for classical, flamenco, and jazz guitarists, Riconails. Stover’s approach is simple: understand ways to maximize fingernail health (he even has a whole book about the subject); use only high-quality ABS plastic nails; and employ a nontoxic adhesive that is efficient and removable. Not only are ABS nails effective in performance situations and for covering split and broken nails, but Stover recommends using them for practice, too, to preserve the natural nails underneath in conjunction with learning how to strengthen your nails. Emergency Nail Kit: $21.95 ricoguitarnails.com

TOP PROTECTION It’s just a simple piece of Canadian suede, but Bluedog Guitars’ Classical Belly Bodyguard could be a savior to the finish of your guitar’s top. It’s specifically designed to protect the area directly under the bridge during string changes, when snapping/ breaking strings can create little “wounds,” which over time can become quite unsightly (and lower the value of the instrument). There’s There’s a demo of the product on the website. bluedogguitars.com/products

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METHOD

NAPOLÉON COSTE’S ‘ETUDE NO. 23’ A study in right-hand control and thumb independence BY RHAYN JOOSTE

tude No. 23, taken from Op. 38 by Napoléon Coste (1805–1883), is a right-hand study of epic proportions. This lesson will explore its fine control, thumb dampening, and intervals.

OVERVIEW  Coste was ahead of his time and one of the few guitarists whose influence stretched from the Classical period into the Modern era. After arriving in Paris around 1830, at the apex of what’s sometimes called the Golden Age of Guitar, he became a student and friend to Fernando Sor and found himself a contemporary of other 19th century guitar masters, such as Ferdinando Carulli,

Matteo Carcassi, and Dionisio Aguado, all pioneers of the guitar method. Sadly, his arrival in Paris coincided with the beginning of the guitar’s decline, as it lost its popular position to the piano. As a result, and due to an injury in 1863, Coste also had a day job as a civil servant. Still, he continued to teach, compose, and publish guitar works. He also surpassed the guitar’s limitations, by favoring sevenstring instruments (and harp guitars) with 24 frets, a setup that is in creasingly becoming commonplace today. today. Op. 38 is a challenging set of graduated studies, each focusing in on a specific skill. In this case,  Etude No.23   spotlights right-

hand control with thumb independence. The piece was made famous in the early ear ly 20th century through Miguel Llobet’s recording of it, which clocks in at 166–180 bpm (turntable speed dependent). Coste’s influence as a teacher is still felt today, through Segovia and his Twenty Sor Studies. It was Coste’s reprint, and fingerings, of Sor’s studies that Segovia utilized to prepare his.

RIGHT HAND The right hand in this piece is given a thorough workout—it is 68 bars of unbroken 16th notes; although not really unusual, Villa-Lobos’  Etude No. 1  does this as well. What is unusual is the continuous

Micro Study 1

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ostinato bass line, which is to be finely controlled—independently stroke and stop bass strings at will, while playing melody and accompaniment. This dampening is achieved through stopping the bass after a stroke or stopping the string with the side of the thumb, while stroking the next note. Both of these methods require some practice before becoming natural enough to execute alongside all those 16th notes. The first bar of Micro Study 1   is a simple exercise, the main aim of which is to practice thumb control: stroke-dampstroke. The piano up-pedal symbol, an asterisk, has been utilized to show the dampening. The goal is to damp consis-

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tently after every note, on the rest, and in time. Bar 2 defines a faster tempo and an alternative dampening idea, after the last eighth note; this time with the side of the thumb. Micro Study 2  uses the common open string sets from Etude No. 23 and has three aims. The first is to gain facility with the thumb dampening control while coordinating fingers. Once this is achieved, voice articulation is the next aim, so play all voices/fingers evenly—making sure that the finger that coincides with a bass note is not unconsciously exerting extra pressure and volume. Lastly, aim for fine control of each finger’s volume, so that the melody

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can be brought out, and accompaniment lowered, when performing. Remember: The dampening mechanism should be in time with the rests—don’t rush them.

LEFT HAND  Etude No. No. 23 is in A major and appears to

be one continuous movement of notes; however it can be partitioned into A B A, with a short coda (bar 58). Section A is marked by the opening melody, bar 3 onwards, while section B begins in the parallel A minor (bar 21). The melodic material is intervallic, the majority of which is 3rds and 6ths. The harmony, although understated, still has some lovely Romantic progressions,

METHOD Micro Study 3

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such as bars 43–44 where Coste utilizes E major to E diminished; and bars 46–48’s chromatic climbing 6ths back into the A section. There are some vigorous shifts in Etude  No. 23, and Micro Study 3 is intended to practice these. Utilizing 6ths, it addresses some of the shifts in the first section and proposes an alternative fingering, using stretches, to Coste’s. Micro Study 4 is broken into two sections, both aimed at informing and improving LH facility. The first part, Coste’s bar 8, introduces a modern fingering suggestion: the hinge barre, which can be employed in  Etude No. 23 , bars 25–26 for example. The second part, based on bar 36, is all about fingers 2, 3, and 4, and gaining facility moving around various anchor fingers that are

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required in the B section. As with all the micro studies, the bass line still needs to be controlled, so strip it out until the LH feels natural, then add in the bass notes, and lastly the RH dampening.

EDITIONS Op. 38 has remained evergreen in the guitar’s pedagogic repertoire and has been revised and reprinted many times in the early 20th century by such luminaries as Saínz de la Maza and Luise Walker—both brought their knowledge and experience to bear on these challenging pieces. However, keep in mind that Coste also had Op. 38 printed twice during his lifetime, and made amendments between the first print in 1873 and the second in 1880. According to Simon Wynberg, the second print is to

1

be taken as Coste’s accurate version as he revised and corrected Op. 38.

FINAL REFLECTION Although Coste is still generally perceived as very demanding for guitarists—and to a certain degree he is—his oeuvre is a treasure trove of fine concert pieces that are underperformed, compared to, say, his friend Sor.  Etude No. 23 , once learned and pored over, is actually fun to play, not least because it is a challenge. This etude’s renown was such that Barrios was inspired to rearrange it, making it (if possible) even more elaborate, with sextuplets in the melody; he also composed an easy second guitar part for his students. It’s likely he, too, was seduced by its relentless melody CG and ostinato bass line.

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MUSIC TO PLAY 

GOING FOR BAROQUE: KEVIN LUTKE’S ‘TWO-PART ETUDES’  New Jersey–based guitarist guitarist Kevin Lutke tells us a little about himself and this issue’s piece: I come from a musical family and started playing guitar at age 12. However, I didn’t get serious about it until I was introduced to jazz guitar in my late teens. I went to William Paterson University in New Jersey and earned a bachelor’s degree in Jazz Guitar, and that’s also where I was first exposed to classical music. Later, after a period of playing, teaching, and recording (electric guitar), I went back to school to get my master’s in composition from NYU. At that point, my love for 20th century classical music (especially French composers such as Ravel, Debussy, Satie, and Milhaud) became an important influence on my composition style—I tried to incor-

porate 20th century techniques into my jazz writing. I’d always had a fondness for the music of Bach, too, mostly from sightreading material in school. Finally, I started listening to some classical-guitar music, and to my surprise also started composing for solo guitar. I had always loved Ralph Towner’s music and sound, so that’s probably why I chose the nylon-string rather than steel-string. I have always approached learning a new style of music by trying my hand at composition. So, after grasping the basics of fingerstyle guitar, I got as many books of classical guitar music as I could find. Of course, some Bach was always included, and I was especially drawn to his two-part counterpoint, even though it was difficult to play at first. I recorded my first set of solo classicalP ieces in the Ancient A ncient guitar works— Seven Pieces  Modes —on my 2014 CD, Where Are You  Now. The Two-Part Etudes  were the next pieces I wrote. I had written a simple melody as reading material for my students, covering all the natural notes in the first position. The main melody is the top part of the “Prelude” and bottom line of the “Bourrée.” I did a counterpoint to that,

and the other pieces are all variations of that melody. Slight octave adjustments have been made. One of the keys to these pieces is to play in a legato style using open strings whenever possible. Tempos can vary according to your level and preference. I performed the pieces for Paul Galbraith last year and he said they were neo-classic in design. To see the other movements, write to me at [email protected] or or visit kevinlutkesmusicstudio.com.

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 Verdi’s Guitar:  Verdi’s Fantasies by J.K. Mertz on Operas by Giuseppe Verdi

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 Alan Rinehart Rinehart Ravello Records

MERTZ EXPANDS ON VERDI OPERA THEMES A stylish set drawn from both famous and more obscure works BY PAUL FOWLES

ntil the 1985 publication of Simon Wynberg’s ten-volume anthology of guitar works by Johann Kaspar Mertz (1806–56), the opera-based “fantasies” billed as Opern Revue remained largely forgotten, as did various other areas of Mertz’ output. If memory serves, the biggest Mertz “hits” in the post-Wynberg years were, surprisingly, the rather leaden solo guitar arrangements of six Schubert  Lieder  and, unsurprisingly, the barnstorming  Fan-  tasie Hongroise  that opens Trois Morceaux Op. 65. There was a time in the 1990s when this piece appeared to be vying for position with Paganini’s Caprice No. 24 as Nicola Hall’s signature tune. In later years, the  Bardenklänge  Bardenklänge, which occupied two volumes of Wynberg, found favor, most notably in the masterful hands of the inimitable Pavel Steidl. However, the set of Opern Revue, in which Mertz condenses the best-known tunes from operas by Verdi, Bellini, and others, proved at the time to be something of a sleeper. The notes to the present release state there were 34 Opern Revue in all, although Wynberg lists 36 titles (selecting just four for his anthology). Wynberg also

states that, when compared with the Mertz fantasies contained in other volumes, the Opern Revue are “not as musically interesting” and that the “level of difficulty” is lower low er.. It would appear from this handsomely packaged release by Canadian guitarist Alan Rinehart, in which he brings together the six Opern Revue drawn from works by Verdi, that Wynberg was perhaps selling Mertz’s product short. The Opern Revue may not be as flamboyantly virtuosic as Giuliani’s  Rossiniane  (the success of which, following their revival spearheaded spearheaded by Julian Bream, may have contributed to the slow initial uptake of the similarly conceived Mertz pieces), but at the very least they offer an agreeable canter through tunes both half-remembered and universally known, and ranging from the stirring to the sentimental. To the eternal credit of those responsible, Rinehart’s disc comes complete with a list of all the themes in the order Mertz presents them (as opposed to the running order in the original). This is a boon and a blessing for those of us who did not major in opera. Verdi Verdi was, and remains, one of the great success stories of his cho-

sen genre, but it doesn’t necessarily follow that everything he wrote is as instantly recognizable as La Donna e Mobile. Mobile. Using guitars by Masaru Kohno (1975) and Fritz Mueller (2013), Rinehart offers a stylish and, apart from the occasional uneven tremolo , technically secure account of settings that are clearly intended more to please than to thrill. The slightly muted, yet by no means unfocused sound-capture does much to enhance the spirit of understated refinement. This said, there are also moments that dazzle, most notably in the closing bars of  Il Ves-   peri Siciliani, which, rather conveniently, was the last of the Verdi-based Opern  Revue  and proves to be a natural finale. Elsewhere, we find the three Verdi blockbusters— Rigoletto, Il Trovatore, and  La alongside the earlier and not Traviata— alongside quite so familiar  Nabucco and Ernani. Whether or not Rinehart’s recording will spark a wider interest in the Opern  Revue as a whole remains to be seen, but there can be little doubt that this area of the Mertz legacy fully deserves to remain on the map.

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 Aires de Andalucía  Joncol 4 GWK Records Imaginative new approach to flamenco-classical flamenco-classical fusion Duo Joncol, the married guitarists Britta Schmitt and Carles Guisado Moreno, have struck out in a new direction by adding Kurt Fuhrmann on percussion and Anna Colom on vocals to produce a flamenco-based CD that, unlike many flamenco sets, equally covers classical along with the flamenco. The results are fascinating and beautiful. Over half the set is made up of four originals by Moreno, which are wonderful creations. One of the best tracks on the album is the opening Una Luz del Norte , which, despite lasting a little over nine minutes, manages to be consistently enthralling. It begins in a flamenco style on the two guitars, with percussion gradually taking over. Then a pause heralds the entrance of a beautifully warm and, dare I say, say, sexy vocal from Colom. This mixture of flamenco and a hybrid of it is typical of the whole recital. Moreno’s other three works are every bit as good and cover many emotions throughout their considerable length. Of the two works not composed by Moreno, one is an eight-movement suite from El Amor Brujo by Manuel de Falla that includes not only the pieces often heard in two-guitar arrangements, but also several vocal items not heard as often in classicalguitar circles. This is another lovely set. The remaining piece is Albéniz’ exquisite Córdoba, concluding a most imaginative and gorgeously recorded set of magical pieces that has given me a completely new insight into the flamenco sound. —Chris Dumigan

Les Tendres Plaintes—Works by  Jean-Philippe Rameau

 Ancient Greece— Musical Inspirations

 Sylvie Proulx Centaur

 Rody van Gemert (guitar) with Assi Karttunen (harpsichord) Pilfink Records

Baroque keyboard pieces work well on guitar Though a contemporary of J.S. Bach, JeanPhilippe Rameau (1683–1764) is best known in the wider musical world for his many colorful opera-ballets. However, his keyboard music, first published in his Premier  Premier livre de  pieces  pieces de clavecin clavecin (1706), is equally striking and bursting with character and virtuosity. Canadian guitarist Sylvie Proulx has gathered an impressive collection of transcriptions and arrangements from the likes of Venancio Garcia Velasco, John Duarte, and Andrés Segovia, among others (including herself). More akin to the sonatas of Scarlatti than the preludes and fugues of Bach, and still providing considerable technical challenges for the guitarist, Rameau’s keyboard works appear to sit beautifully, especially under this guitarist’s fingers.  Le Rappel Rappel des Oiseaux  Oiseaux , transcribed by Jean-François Delcamp, is a delightful early surprise among the 15 pieces on the recording. The titular  Les Tendre Tendress Plaintes Plaintes  (“The Tender Complaints”) has one of those evergreen rising and falling Baroque melodies that stays with you. All the while, the driving force of Proulx’s playing, full of deft lyrical touches and an inquisitive stylistic approach that never sounds less than fresh, immerses the listener in an ornamented sound-world that is magical. Sauvagess, which was The boisterous Les Sauvage later incorporated in the opera  Les Indes Galantes and is a tune frequently featured on classical radio, is well worth waiting for. A wonderful recording that teems with delights. —Tim Panting 

Ancient and modern music for guitar and harpsichord Traditionally, guitar-and-harpsichord programs have tended to rely on Baroque arrangements, plus maybe a purpose-built modern work by Stephen Dodgson or John Duarte. This said, I have distant memories of a guitar-and-harpsichord recital during Weeks in which every item the Zwolle Guitar Weeks was by a living composer. Starting and ending with the  Seikilos  Epitaph  in two different tuning systems (Ptolemy and Archytas), Dutch guitarist Rody van Gemert unleashes an uncompromising mix of ancient and modern in which London-born composer Graham Lynch figures prominently. The central item on the program is Lynch’s guitar-and-harpsichord setting of the Five Greek Songs harmonized by Ravel, providing a timely oasis of less esoteric musical language. Elsewhere, we experience several Lynch originals, alongside contributions from Harry Partch and Matthew Whittall. Also present is Lynch’s seductive solo guitar arrangement of the ancient  First Delphic Hymn to Apollo by Athenios son of Athenios. The content as a whole offers little, if any, scope for comparisons with alternate versions, but there can be little doubt that Rody van Gemert is a highly accomplished guitarist whose rich and vibrant sound brings the music alive. The same can be said of Finnish harpsichordist Assi Karttunen, whose contributions add a further dimension to the unique textures of this ground-breaking release. — PF 

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 Raffaele Carpino Carpino

 Nadine Rooseleir Rooseleir and Norbert Norbert Leclercq 

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Exciting premieres of five Classical-era works

A full 62 minutes of the Italian composerguitarist Luigi Legnani (1790–1877) is possibly a new experience to many, because although he wrote at least 250 works, the vast majority of them are not well known. Not only that, this recording makes the claim (which I have no reason to doubt) that five of the six works here are premiere recordings, all played from 19th century scores, with all the repeats respected, in order to be as faithful as possible.  Scherzo Op. 10 , published in 1825, opens the recital, and consists of a theme, four variations, and a coda. It is virtuosic but retains a certain stylish quality throughout.  Pot-Pourri Brillant Op. 31, in four movements, is at once lively and tasteful—nowhere did I feel that the acrobatics were empty and flashy, as can often be the case with other composers from this period. Similar in conception and style is the following piece (chronologically and on the recording),  Pot-Pourri en Caprice, Op. 32 , but this time it is in six movements. It has a beguiling opening andante mosso and, unusually, a recitativo  in the fourth movement. This would make an excellent recital piece. The  Quatro Lezioni   are graceful and inventive throughout, while the Tre Balli —consisting of three dances:  Nazionali —consisting “La Mazurka,” “La Gitana,” and “La Cachucha”—are melodic and lots of fun. The  Sei  close a fascinating and Capriccetti, Op. 250  close imaginative recital of lovely music beautifully played by Raffaele Carpino. — CD

 Sei Solo—Sonatas and Partitas BWV 1001-1006  Mats Bergström

Mats Bergström Musik AB (2 CDs) Full Bach works, well played

A mingling of modern and classic duo and solo pieces

Norbert Leclercq (b. 1944) has written many works over the years, but also is involved in various performing projects, including a duo with Nadine Rooseleir. This latest CD—a mixture of eight solos and nine duets—contains 11 works by Leclercq. The opening  Pentagone  Pentagone, a five-movement duet, immediately establishes his modern style, with moments of pungency intermingled with more lyrical passages. The “Prelude” from Bach’s Fifth Cello Suite follows in what is a very nice performance by Rooseleir.  Mandarine  Mandarine, a duet, and  Alinea, a solo played and written by Leclercq, are more melodic, with moments of lyrical despair in the latter. Valse in Am by Chopin, arranged by Leclercq, is nicely played, while Jose-Luis Narvaez’s  Hommage  Hommage au Bateau Ivre, is a wonderfully exotic concoction, full of his very particular gripping harmonies. After de Falla’s  Miller’s  Miller’s Dance Dance come four pieces by Leclercq: the rather acidic solo Norge; the almost child-like duet  Etoile; the modern harmonies of  Prism; and the two  Espaces  Espaces, very chameleonic in their harmonies. A lovely performance by Rooseleir of Pujol’s nostalgic  Preludio  Preludio Triston Triston  precedes three more works by Leclercq: the duet  Random-Hasa  Random-Hasard  rd ; the solo title piece; and the duet Deux Photos Photos. De Falla’s Hommage  Hommage a  Debussy  (from Leclercq) is followed by the final duo, Trois Cycles, closing the CD with a modern touch. —CD

There was a time when the guitar’s dealings with Bach’s works for unaccompanied violin were limited to the fuga  from the First Sonata in its  BWV 1000  lute   lute guise, plus the Third Partita in its alter ego as the Fourth Lute Suite. The boundaries started to expand about four decades ago. In fact, I have a Julian Bream program dated January 21, 1980, which includes the complete First Sonata, except on this occasion Bream took the unusual step of substituting the lute version of the fuga, a move that would have raised many eyebrows in later years. Nowadays, unabridged guitar versions have become so common that the arrival of another no longer hits the headlines. But don’t let this noble presentation by Swedish guitarist Mats Bergström pass beneath the radar. Resplendent in packaging resembling a hardback book, Bergström’s notes offer an illuminating account of how he approached what still remains a daunting task for any musician. Those seeking an entirely new angle may be disappointed, because Bergström eschews any temptation to indulge in originality for its own sake. But what we get are clear, uncluttered adaptations, from which the overly generous expanded harmonies of the past are absent. However, what really counts is the silky and seamless performance. Even in the most intricate passages, it’s clear that Bergström is comfortably within his technical powers, always allowing the music to breathe naturally. Alternate versions may be numerous, but rare is the guitarist who does Bach better than this. —PF 

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Makrotonal  Mak Grgic MicroFest Records A journey into microtonal guitar Rod Serling Twilight Zone  voice-over for those old enough to remember: “Welcome to the world of the microtonal guitar—a fascinating excursion into a sound-world of equal/unequal temperament and ‘mean tone’ tuning, where all is not what it seems, and yet is what it has always been.” It all comes down to the vibrational phenomenon of taut strings, from the first drawn bowstring to the plucked notes of a turtle-shell banjo. Intervals can either sound “right” or “wrong,” and it’s generally a gut instinct as to what is and isn’t. Until Bach utilized the “well-tempered” clavier with his 48 Preludes and Fugues  in all the major and minor keys, musical tuning was a pretty open book. Musicians adapted their instruments and “sweetened” certain intervals with the aid of additional “fretlets” and moveable gut frets. Mak Grgic, a fine player with an adventurous spirit, working under the auspices of noted microtonal guitar advocate John Schneider, plays various guitars here, including experimental instruments by luthiers Daniel Friedrich and Walter Vogt. Detailed technical information regarding the tunings/ frettings of the pieces is given on the MicroFest Records website. Grgic plays works by Weiss and Francesco da Milano, interspersed with contemporary pieces by Schneider, Sean Haywood, Giorgi Dimitrov, and Hakki Cengiz Eren, and culminating with Bach’s Chaconne. The uninitiated must go in with open mind and ear. Most of us think we’re hearing “in tune.” But are we? This is specialized listening material, but worth your time. time. —TP 

Elan Valley: The Music of Barry Mills  Birgit Schwab and Sam Brown (Guitars),  Daniel Ahlert (Mandolin) Claudio Compelling concertos and orchestral works from English composer The music of Sussex, England–born Barry Mills certainly deserves to be heard. Of the pieces on offer here, only two works include the guitar, but one of them—the The Travels of beautiful Guitar Concerto ( The Turlough O’Carolan ) is quite substantial, substantial, in six movements and lasting more than 32 minutes. O’Carolan was a 16th century Irish harpist, popular today with many guitarists, and here Mills has interwoven some of O’Carolan’s melodies with musical episodes of his own, evoking wind, sea, rivers, mountains, and night, to give the listener a sense of the blind harpist’s lifestyle of constant travelling. The music is magical from start to finish, and this concerto really deserves to be discovered and played. The style, naturally, is very Irish-folk and therefore highly accessible, but also gripping. Sam Brown is the guitarist, and he plays the piece wonderfully well. The Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra is conducted by Petr Vronský and, of course, adds much to the piece.  Mandolin The other guitar work is the  Mandolin and Guitar Concerto, in four movements, and again concerned with nature—three of the movements are “Rainfall,” “The Piercing Wind,” and “The Ever-Changing Sea.” The style is more modern, but very tonal throughout, and again full of wonderful moments, effortlessly played by both soloists. The non-guitar pieces are  Mandolin Concerto  and two orchestral works, both in the same lovely, almost ethereal style. A wonderful recording! recording! —CD

Tribute Thanos Mitsalas Clear Note An inspired mixed recital Greek guitarist Thanos Mitsalas would like us to “open our mind and soul so as to experience healing and spiritual regeneration through music.” And I would laud that sentiment, though it may be a tad too much to ask of a humble guitar recording to restore this reviewer’s faith in humanity. humanity. The album contains just over an hour’s worth of classical guitar repertoire, nearly all written in the latter half of the 20th Century, with names familiar to most classical guitar aficionados. Miguel Llobet, the Catalan virtuoso who helped spread classical guitar in the early 1900s through touring and his beguilingly harmonized compositions and variations,  Folias de is represented with his dazzling  Folias  España variations. Rodrigo contributes both Tiento Antiguo  and Un tiempo fue Italica famosa, the latter written in the final stages of the composer’s output for guitar. Mitsalas dispatches that piece’s flamencoinfluenced strums and scalic bursts with a fiery brilliance. Piazzolla gets a look-in with  Primavera and Invierno  Invierno two of his “Seasons”: Primavera  porteño  porteño. Alexandre Tansman’s Variations on a theme of Scriabin is a substantial and moving work, beautifully played. Lesser-known works are Tribute to Keith  Jarrett   by Simone Iannarelli and  Sandy’s  Sandy’s  Portrait  by   by Sérgio Assad. The former oozes delicious harmonies, arcing melodies, and rippling rhythms, and Assad’s composition is a wonderfully healing experience to listen to. A so-called bonus track by Andrew York, Candlelight , reminiscent of Ralph Towner’s sound world, finishes a recording you will likely want to return to frequently. frequently. —TP 

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 ALBUMS

Pinpoints

 Advinanza de la Guitarra Guitarra

Eclipse

Gantriis-Zimmermann Guitar Duo

 Kazu Suwa

 Muriel Anderson

Albany Records

KSR Classics

murielanderson.com

A “rewarding and original release”

A winning Spanish tribute from Japanese guitarist

Space is the place for Anderson’s harp guitar

A 12-item agenda in which only two names— Mompou and Piazzolla—ring an immediate The title is from a short poem of the same The idea for Muriel Anderson’s latest offerbell for me, promises to be a welcome exploname (“Riddle of the Guitar” in English) ing came in August 2017, while she was ration of uncharted ground. Unfortunately, by Federico García Lorca, one of his  Seis playing her 20-string harp guitar on a Nashthe opening Teyatá, by Canadian composer Caprichos, dedicated to guitarist Regino Sáinz ville lawn as a coast-to-coast total eclipse Stephen Wingfield (b.1955), is a tale of de la Maza, which begins, “ En la redonda redonda was unfolding across North America. But mixed fortunes. Although Michael Schelle’s encrucijada, seis doncellas bailan” —“At —“At the that celestial phenomenon was just one of program notes play down the piece’s min- round crossroads, six maidens dance.” many recent occasions we earthlings have imalist element, that’s essentially where On this album, Japanese guitarist Kazu had for focusing skyward: everything from we are, and Wingfield’s writing does genSuwa aims to capture the spirit of Iberia super-blue-blood moons to meteor showerate some hypnotic textures that are ably through its guitar music, from the fantasías ers, and even Elon Musk’s cherry-red sports handled by the performers. But at 11:17, of Luis de Milán to Sor’s Introduct  Introduction ion et et varia-  varia-  car floating around in space. So, what better time for an album of interplanetary music? Teyatá is at least twice as long as its content tions sur l’Air: Que ne suis-je la fougère! Op. 26 , merits. More concise are Svend Hedegaard’s H edegaard’s Manuel de Falla’s  Homenaje  Homenaje, and eight short  Eclipse  borrows several tracks from instrumental settings of Danish songs from pieces by Ángel Barrios (no relation to the some of Anderson’s previous albums— the 19th and 20th centuries, all of which Paraguayan Augustín Barrios). Also here are  Midnight  Midnight Solo, View from Space, and  Night prove subtly atmospheric in the absence of two decidedly non-Spanish composers: Nor-  Lights, for example—but they certainly fit a singer. (The duo’s Kristian Gantriis is Dan- wegian Edvard Grieg (  Ensom vandrer  the theme. And  Moonscapes vandrer   from  Moonscapes, written many ish; Volkmar Zimmermann, German.)  Lyric Pieces Book 3   ) and English composer composer years back, is such a moving standout More traditional guitar territory is Reginald Smith Brindle. piece, any excuse for providing it more playreached in the Hispanic arrangements by It’s a wonderfully eclectic collection that time is welcome. Pepe Ferrer, comprising one vals and three is unapologetically Spanish, which is rather Other selections are pop standards: tangos, culminating in  Decarísimo  Decarísimo  by Piazrefreshing with so many classical guitarists George Harrison’s “Here Comes the Sun” zolla. The duo’s approach to all these pieces today trying to establish a sort of discon- and Don McLean’s “Starry, Starry Night” is rhythmic yet pleasingly understated— nection with the country most associated have been reinterpreted so many times, one Schelle’s prediction that Romance with the guitar. Surprisingly, perhaps, it is might anticipate more of the same ol’-same  Romance de Barrio Barrio by Aníbal Troilo (1914–1975) will “drag you Brindle’s work El Polife Polifemo mo de de Oro, Oro, framment frammentii ol’. But Anderson’s Mike Doolin–built harp out onto the dance floor” proved more than  per chitarra guitar allows her to grasp notes seldom chitarra  that explicitly uses the Lorca a bit exaggerated. Mompou weighs in with poem as its inspiration. available on a six-stringed instrument, and two selections from the Canción y Danza The styles are uncompromising and she makes full use of that range. On the collection, and a gorgeous Cuna that gently often brutal, but nothing short of the magnif- McLean song, for example, several of her leads us into the extended and valedictory icence that is Spain in all its ffantastical antastical glory. glory. higher notes have an almost glockenspiel Nocturnal Procession  by John Frandsen (b. The Barrios pieces are a real find, and well like sound, and work quite well for the 1956), in which the after-dark imagery fully worth the price of the recording. Kazu Suwa tune’s—and the album’s—mellow mood. justifies its 7:44 duration. has found a way to link these pieces together The CD is packaged inside a greeting So, don’t let the unwarranted scale of with a fresh and searching perspective. perspective. This card, complete with an envelope and blank the Wingfield turn you off to what is other- recording is certainly worth investigating. space inside for a note. Perfect for a friend wise a rewarding and original release. release. — PF  —TP  or loved one. — Kathleen A. Bergeron

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DYENS DOES PIAZZOLLA A parting gift from the late master of arrangement BY STEVE MARSH

The Last Tango: The Music of Astor Piazzolla  Arr. Roland Dyens Les Productions d’Oz, 88 pp.

t was while studying in Paris with Nadia Boulanger that Astor Piazzolla got to hear the jazz musicians who performed in that city. He became captivated with their “swing” rhythms and profusion of musical invention, and that prompted him to try and free the tango of his homeland from its long-established traditional form and imbue it with more modern nuances and rhythmic complexity. It is well documented that this decision spawned a great deal of animosity among the mainstream tango traditionalists; the hostility even resulted in Piazzolla receiving death threats! Undeterred, he carried on with his chosen musical pathway. His name has now become synonymous with this style of music, and today he is one of the most celebrated composers of the modern tango. Roland Dyens was an extraordinary musician. He had an acute awareness of what could be achieved on the guitar, and anyone who has studied any of his compositions and arrangements will know the amount of sophisticated detail he introduced into his scores—the exact stopping of over-ringing harmonies, precise timbre and dynamics, elimination of string

squeak, and more. Indeed, in the preface to this book, there is a list of nearly 40 detailed “instructions” (some of which are redundant to the music in the book; presumably this list is reproduced by the publishers for all their publications of this composer’s music, of which they produce a large quantity). These solo-guitar arrangements of some of Piazzolla’s most iconic compositions must have been a difficult but rewarding labor of love for Dyens. The project took a number of years to complete, with Dyens still revising the manuscripts in the hospital right up until his death in 2016. In total, there are ten pieces, beginning with possibly the composer’s greatest “hit,”  Adiós  Nonino. This is followed by Chau Paris, Chiquilin de Bachin , Libertango  Libertango, Milonga del del  Angel , Ovblivion, and, of course, the Cua-  tro Estaciones Porteñas:  Primavera  Primavera Porteño, Verano Porteño, Otono Porteño and Invierno  Porteño. Piazzolla had a great gift for lyricism, and that is much in evidence in these ten compositions. Throughout, Dyens has tried to remain as faithful to the originals as is possible on just six strings. Compromises

obviously had to be made. For me, when comparing Dyens’ solo guitar versions to some of the sustained melody lines from the original recordings, some of the passion is lacking, but that is a small price to pay for arrangements as good as these. In more ways than one, the book’s title is well chosen. First, as stated above, this was possibly the final work by Dyens, and second, it would be hard to surpass these tremendous arrangements of almost orchestral stature. This edition may well be the last word in solo guitar presentations of this wonderful composer’s music. With this new publication, Dyens again revealed his superb skill in arranging music intended for other instruments and getting it to sound indigenous to the guitar. As stated by Sérgio Assad in the preface, they represent the summit of this remarkable musician’s work and push the limits of the guitar to unprecedented levels. Here are two modern giants in their chosen fields coming together in one publication. The technical standard required to do justice to these presentations is fiendishly high, but to those with the technique to cope, this book is highly recommended.

The Best of Joaquín Rodrigo:  16 Pieces for Guitar

One 4 All 4 One (for four guitars)

The Weeping Willow  Sonata No. 2

(ed. Frederic Zigante) Ediciones Joaquín Rodrigo, 102 pp.

 Sérgio Assad  Doberman-Yppan, Doberman-Yppan, 28 pp. plu s parts

 Nick Fletcher  Les Productions d’Oz, 4 and 9 pp. pp.

Essential Rodrigo, all in one book Here are some of the most famous and groundbreaking pieces written for the guitar by one of its most important 20th century composers. Of the 23 solo pieces Rodrigo wrote, 16 are produced here in chronological order, beginning with the  Zarabanda  Lejana  from 1926, already in a completely individual style quite unlike that of any other guitar composer. (Of course the same could be said of all his guitar music, which, because he never played the guitar, feels utterly different from most of what you might play.) Then comes the fascinating Toccata from 1933, only recently rediscovered among Regino Sáinz de la Maza’s papers, filed away and forgotten for 60 years. This is a virtuosic piece that has an allegro speed of 144 beats per minute, making it extremely difficult. The four pieces that make up  Por Los Campos de España (1938–60) are followed by perhaps Rodrigo’s most famous solo set, the Tres Piezas Españolas from 1954, with the exciting “Fandango” and its constantly clashing semi-tones that are so much a part of the composer’s style. The  Sonata Giocosa  from 1959 is followed by  Invocacion  Invocacion y Danza from 1962, Tres Pequenas  Piezas  from 1963—the easiest piece of the entire book—and finally Pajaros de Primavera from 1972. An added bonus is the composer–arranged  Aranjuez Ma Pensee, an extract of the famous Adagio from the  Aranjuez  concerto.  concerto. Despite the many awkward parts of this music, this is an essential book—but only for very talented players. — Chris Dumigan

Delightful piece will be a challenge for most ensembles The Assad name will no doubt draw you straight in, especially if you’ve read the review of Pulse, the latest album by the talented French group Quatuor Eclisses, that appeared recently in this very publication and described the piece as a gem written specifically for the players. So let’s begin with the caution that this piece is not going to be under the fingers of many ensembles. The work is divided into four sections and an epilogue that run end to end. The real challenge is in the rhythm, rather than the speed or complexity of the handiwork. Performance indications are in a strange mix of Italian, French, and rather poor English, but are clear enough. It’s obvious that considerable energy has gone into the typesetting and attention to detail, but I wonder whether the eventual sales will justify that effort. Guitar Four gets a raw deal, with the sixth string wound way down to A and the fifth string to G, coupled with having the only part with unkind page turns; but to compensate, the rhythms are perhaps a little less scary. Overall the sound is compelling and the dissonances charming, generating a refreshing soundscape. There are pleasing harmonies and a bigger wall of sound than normal tuning could achieve. The rhythm is easier on the ear than it is on the eye, but this delightful piece will be beyond all but the most talented amateur ensembles; suited to a small minority. — Derek Hasted 

A disparate pair of pieces from English composer The shorter of these two works by f ar is The Weeping Willow, which you might believe is a gentle pastoral picture of a beautiful tree, but is far from it—it’s actually a lament for the millions of displaced people suffering across the globe. So the Allegretto and gentle waltz lilt of the opening section sound at first a bit incongruous, but the following passages gradually develop a more reflective, then a sadder set of harmonies that tell the true story. The finger-work is imaginative and has several moments where you might need to double-check to make sure you’re getting it right. A second, semi-tremolo idea takes over briefly before a return to the opening and a suddenly quiet coda replete with harmonics and a downbeat tambura chord full of dissonance and a pianissimo final low E.   is in three short-ish move Sonata No. 2  is ments and is an homage to Mauro Giuliani, whose musical style keeps creeping through the work’s harmonies, particularly the final two movements, which seem rather Classical in conception. The opening “Allegretto giocoso” dives around the fingerboard in a multitude of differing time signatures with hardly a let-up, while the “Adagio maestoso” has some nicely unexpected turns of harmony, and the final “Allegro” is true to its i ts “Brillante” marking. The first work is easier (intermediate) and should be a true crowd-pleaser; the Sonata is a genuine tour-de-force, but not for the faint of heart (advanced). —CD

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Complete Solo Guitar Sonatas Wenzeslaus Wenzeslaus Thomas Matiegka (ed. Stanley Yates) Classical Guitar Study Editions, 153 pp. Outstanding volume of little-known composer’s works Any publication with Stan Yates’ name on it is going to be worth whatever time and effort it takes to get into it, and this tome is no exception. The guitar music of Czech composer Wenzeslaus (Wenzel) Thomas Matiegka (1773–1830) has largely fallen through the cracks, unnoticed by most of today’s guitarists. Born in Bohemia but working nearly all his musical life in Vienna during the early 19th centur y, he produced produced a few more than two dozen solo guitar works (plus other pieces for guitar and other instruments), including 13 guitar sonatas, of which one has been lost and the other 12 are included here. Stylistically, Haydn’s sonata model was the starting point for Matiegka’s, but Matiegka included a number of adaptations that Haydn didn’t make use of, particularly in the three surviving Grande Sonatas, Progressive Op. 17 , where he and in  Sonate Progressive goes considerably further. In his so-called  Progressive  Progressive  sonatas, the title refers to the difficulty of the piece, not any great stylistic difference from, say, his Sonate Facile Op. 16 , with its conservative Allegro-Minuet-Rondo scheme. To generalize, the Grande Sonates are more ambitious and concert-oriented than the other works, and lean away from Haydn and more to the Beethoven models .  Sonate Op. 23   and the  Six Sonates Progres-  sives Op. 31 lean back more to Haydn. All these works are thoroughly interesting and involving, and Yates’ detailed and fascinating 24 pages of historical research and analysis are most enlightening. —CD

Duos—Volume Duos—Volume 2 (for two guitars)

Improvviso e Ritmico (for two guitars)

Thierry Tisserand  Tisserand  Les Productions d’Oz, 16 pp.

Ganesh Del Vescovo Ut Orpheus, 15 pp. plus parts

Solid duo pieces for intermediate players A few years ago I had the pleasure of reviewing the first volume of  Duos, and I remember giving the publication a warm, pleasant review. This second volume eclipses the first one in musical content and warrants a high recommendation. Like the previous book, this one contains four pieces of a contrasting nature. The initial one,  La Sentimentale, is an instantly likeable composition in waltz style, with a catchy melody line above some interesting harmonies. The inspiration for the second offering,  La Danse des Shadoks, came from a very popular animated French television series from the late ’60s/early ’70s, a zany and quirky production that is well represented in this “homage.” The penultimate piece, La Java de Jadis, is another waltz, this time given a swingrhythm treatment and having a slightly menacing air pervading the music, due, in no small part, to the interesting harmonic structure. The set ends with Astrada, a very entertaining composition in the spirit of the blues, once again with a strong melodic line in swing rhythm to hang onto above interesting harmonies. The melody and harmony parts are nicely divided between the two players, and the whole set would be an excellent addition to any informal recital for the intermediate duo. — SM 

A challenging, frustrating work This Italian composer is well represented on YouTube; audio of this piece, honored at the 2016 Michele Pittaluga Guitar Composition Competition, can be found on the Ut Orpheus website. You will either like or loathe his intriguing mix of technical brilliance and non-mainstream musical ideas. The carefully notated “Improvisation” is generously labeled with instructions, and supplemented by a comprehensive appendix in Italian and English. The diagram of places to hit the guitar raised a smile, if only because this is a frustrating work to unlock. The improvisation is free-format, with dashed lines showing where the players must coincide. Between these markers there are harmonics plus a variety of lengthy trills, slides, and multiphonics. “Ritmico” is more structured, and based to a large extent on an accompaniment built from percussive harmonics and notes struck by the left hand, peppered with percussive strikes on the guitar body in five specific places. The tune (for want of a better word) is easier to play than it is to read, with double pull-offs in a static pattern that is part hypnotic and part frustrating. The mix of time signatures will make synchronizing this movement tricky. A center section provides welcome mechanical and musical relief, before a more challenging conclusion. This piece will likely interest a small proportion of guitarists and a small proportion of audiences, but it has been notated with great care to encourage others to play it. — DH 

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Petit Rondeau d’Alamanda

Oxalufã, Oxaguiã (for 4 guitars)

 Suite Pastorale Pastorale (for two guitars) guitars)

 Annette Kruisbrink Les Productions d’Oz, 4 pp.

 João Luiz  Doberman-Yppan, Doberman-Yppan, 16 pp. plus parts

 Mark Houghton Les Productions d’Oz, 30 pp. plus parts

Clever and exciting work requires gamut of techniques This extremely prolific Dutch player has produced over 300 compositions and more than 20 CD recordings. Her work is often highly individual and covers a wide range of feelings and emotions. This latest work is superb from the outset. It is in D major and set in 7/8. The opening main theme has four bars of catchy melody, an unusual juxtaposition of harmonies, and a penchant for leaping around almost nonstop. I immediately thought of a child’s dance when I played it, for the nature of the music seems very innocent and child-like in its journey, and also very extroverted, with its multiple use of hammer-ons, sometimes with whole chords; many occasions of lightning-fast runs of up to 64th notes, together with quick little strums on the odd three-note chord; and later, full-on rasgueado strums over the entire fingerboard. Indeed, practically the whole gamut of guitar technique seems to be used somewhere in this little 88-bar piece. The hardest thing about this advanced work is simply keeping it going at the allegro that it needs, for the player is so often called upon to get from first position to the 14th or 17th frets. This is a very difficult maneuver to achieve. That said, this is a wonderful piece that could easily be a real show-stopper as an encore, so I hope guitarists will soon pick up on it. It’s fabulously clever! —CD

Brazilian piece “pleasing to hear and fun to play” Anyone who shares my belief that Guitar Four is often the least challenging part in a quartet will change their mind when the sixth string is B, the fifth string is F �, and it’s the only part that has no fingering. One un-fingered part is a strange inconsistency, but no stranger than the section marked “Tranquillo” being full of sfz , forte,  and staccato. Before the first two seconds are over, we have spanned four full octaves at maximum volume. But by the time the first eight measures are over, I’ve found two typos in Guitar One. The speed variations are many; some have a metronome mark and some don’t— another inconsistency, as is the sudden migration into 6/8 time with accents indicating waltz time. The peculiar typesetting distracts me: measure 78 has different slurs from everything nearby; it’s another mistake. When I step away from the many quirks in this edition, this piece, written by one of the members of the Brasil Guitar Duo, is clearly within the grasp of a strong amateur quartet. The rhythms are tricky but not mind-boggling, and the use of imitation means that the same motif often reappears in another part. The music is nicely structured with a finale that mirrors the bold and confident opening. The piece itself is pleasing to hear and fun to play, with bold colors and a good use of imitation, but the mistakes need removing. They mar an otherwise appealing piece. — DH 

A lyrical and inventive suite Mark Houghton is a Liverpool-born guitarist/ composer who first came into prominence in 2000 by winning the Chris Kilvington Memorial Prize at Dillington Guitar Summer School. Seven years later, later, he won the CGML Composition Competition in Brazil and has since produced many original works for guitar, some of which have received premiere performances by leading players in the classical guitar world. (He has also written articles for this magazine about composing for guitar ensembles.)  Suite Pastorale  is dedicated to Duo Piacevole (Beverly Henry and Ruth Fielding) and is composed of six movements: “Ballad,” “Mazurka,” “Barcarole,” “Piacevole,” and two “Nocturnes.” All the pieces were originally written as separate items and have been gathered together as a suite for this duo, but the composer does state that they can also be played as individual movements. Three of the pieces are particularly noteworthy: “Ballad” and the two “Nocturnes.” This trio of beautiful, elegant, and charming works perfectly illustrates Houghton’s gift for lyricism and also highlights his inventiveness. The spirited “Mazurka,” with its folk-like lilt, did not really do anything for me, I’m afraid, and seemed to be a little at odds with the rest of the music. But the up-tempo and affable “Piacevole” brings the proceedings to a satisfying conclusion. The technical standard is around intermediate-plus, and for duos seeking a pleasant-sounding addition to their repertoire, this could be a suitable choice. — SM 

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Lejos de Casa;  Sonata

Open Your Head (for guitar ensemble)

Promenade in Dm; Promenade in Em

 Máximo Diego Diego Pujol  Les Productions d’Oz (Lejos), 7 pp.; Lemoine (Sonata) 16 pp.

 David Pavlovits Pavlovits Doberman-Yppan, Doberman-Yppan, 16 pp. plus parts

 Mikhail Sytchev Les Productions d’Oz, 8 and 11 pp.

Satie homage a “rewarding challenge” The title and piece are an homage to Erik Satie and his quirky performance directions. The piece is set in five parts, one of which is recommended to be a bass or electric bass reading treble clef. The other parts are best served with at least two players on each line, to facilitate divisi  and  and tutti  playing.  playing. The composer’s performance notes are superbly helpful. This is a beautiful piece, hinting at Satie’s Gymnopedie  but with a range of pitch that adds brightness and texture that positively lift the spirit. Just when you’ve relaxed into the Satie lyricism, there’s a change of pace and mood in an invigorating center section that has a real sense of drive and purpose. The music returns to the opening theme and a short coda to finish. The progress through the piece is decorated with harmonics, strummed chords, and notes deliberately ringing on. The various parts are laid out in pitch ranges, and the Guitar One part is adventurous adventurous up the neck, venturing up to fret 16 at times. Guitar Two has a bottom string tuned to � C , but the number of fingered notes on this string is small. The lower parts are a little easier. Much of the writing is in a single voice, so the music is most definitely accessible to players of intermediate standard. I would think that a strong school ensemble would find this piece a rewarding rewarding challenge, and their audience would enjoy the rich sounds. — DH 

A bizarre but wonderful pair of pieces The compositions of Moscow-born Mikhail Sytchev have a very individual voice: slightly acidic, occasionally displaying a touch of odd humor, and sometimes utilizing a tonal harmonic style that is reminiscent of the “wrong-note” music of Prokofiev. Both  Promen menades ades  are substantial oneof these  Pro movement pieces that are quite different from each other.  Promen menade ade in Dm  begins Moderato The  Pro with an unnerving little bass line that is a mixture of staccato and a slippery semitonal short trill, intermingled with sudden accents. This builds into an unusual grouping of chords and then to the opening theme, which lollops along underpinned by some off-kilter harmonic seconds. A major characteristic of this piece is the strangeness of the chords and the unexpectedness of their order. Over the eight pages, several different themes occur, all backed by this relentless, black-humored bass/chord accompaniment. The piece ends unexpectedly. unexpectedly.  Promen menade ade in  Em, Its companion piece,  Pro begins with a rubato idea that zips around the fingerboard before a pause leads to an Allegro Moderato main theme with an opening glissando, and heavily accented notes mixed with sudden rests. After this there is a piu mosso, where the notes and chords fly about in an unhinged manner until the previous tempo returns. The two different speeds swap again, but with many varied musical elements along the way, before a strange trill ending, mixed with a tambora, closes the work. —CD

Two more winners from composing giant Pujol is one of the giants of the contemporary classical guitar world, and so a work from him is always an event, and two is really special.  Lejos de Casa (“Far from Home”) is an E major andante malincolico . Like so many of Pujol’s works, it has a special flow and a depth of feeling that makes it constantly involving. The main theme is beautiful and memorable, and Pujol’s use of just the right string in the right place—often using string-crossing in the manner of a harp— makes it especially interesting to play. The melody and harmonies stretch across the entire fingerboard naturally, taking the player up to fret 14 and down again, and there are several sections that flow seamlessly from one to another, making this a lovely piece that is only moderately difficult to play.  Sonata is a three-movement work that begins with an Allegro (“A Pleno Sol”/“Full Sun”) that moves between three and four beats to the bar with plenty of syncopations and block chords over a repeated bass note. That’s followed by a beautiful Andante (“Final de Jornada”/“End of the Day”) that is contrastingly emotive and full of rocking arpeggios split into three voices. The third-movement Finale is a rollicking Presto in 7/8, a fitting conclusion. Both of these works are well worth playing and are fine examples of Pujol at his very best. —CD

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January 2018 participant

This weeklong all-inclusive tour will allow you  to experience the music and culture of Cuba in a way few have before.

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STAGE

15th Flamenco Festival London | Sadler’s Wells Theatre| February 14–25, 2018

L to R: percussionist Nasrine Rahmani, guitarist Antonia Jiménez, singer Alicia Morales

WOMEN RULE AT LONDON FLAMENCO FEST his year, 2018, we are celebrating the 100th anniversary of women being granted the right to vote in the UK, and the program of the 15th annual Flamenco Festival London reflected this important milestone in its choice of artists. Most notably, we had the opportunity to hear a woman featured on flamenco guitar—Antonia Jiménez—performing in a trio with flamenco singer Alicia Morales and the percussionist Nasrine Rahmani, in a program titled “Entre Primas” (“Among Female Cousins”). Alicia Morales sings with the most alluring and distinctive melismas, and Antonia Jiménez’ playing followed her improvisatory style with harmonic coloring and voicings that were innovative, complex, and most important, musically “right.” Jiménez took risks in the voicing of her chords, never choosing the easy option, but aiming for particular sounds that she wanted, and the risks always paid off. When I asked her about these voicings after the concert, she told me that it is something she had worked on for many years and continues to explore to broaden her expressive palette even further. It came as no surprise that outside of the flamenco influences in her playing, she also is inspired by the jazz guitarist Joe Pass. The flamenco in “Entre Primas” was all traditional, but sometimes with a slight stretching at the boundaries. The Guajira, which is usually a lighthearted piece, was taken at a much slower speed, and Morales almost teased us, as there seemed to be a slight increase in tempo. But just when the Guajira seemed to gather pace, the piece morphed into a Tanguillo, a style that was brought

back into the modern flamenco world by Paco de Lucía—but the idea of the Guajira moving into a Tanguillo is something Jiménez has developed herself. Another notable choice of flamenco style in Jiménez’s program was the Seguiriya Cabal. The Seguiriya is a deep and emotionally moving style; it is satisfyingly inward-looking. The Seguiriya Cabal is quite distinctive in that it has all the elements of the Seguiriya, but with a modulation into the major mode. The Mariana is a flamenco style dating back to the beginning of the 20th century, which has zambra-like elements and gave Morales another opportunity to pour her soul into long-held notes, singing “ ya, li, li, li...”  li...”  The range of palos (flamenco styles) that were presented was pleasingly broad, and also included the more familiar Soleá, Tangos, and Alegría. And then there was a Petenera—something not so often heard because of the superstitions associated with its performance; supposedly it brings bad luck to the performer. Naturally, that superstition didn’t put Antonia Jiménez off at all, particularly as the Petenera has strong roots in El Puerto de Santa María, the coastal city in southern Spain where she was born. Like so many flamenco artists before her, Jiménez moved north to Madrid for the opportunities that city has long provided musicians. She told me she has spent the past 20 years performing regularly in the flamenco venues of Madrid—the tablaos—where guitarists rarely know whom they will be accompanying on a particular evening; but clearly she enjoys the challenge. She also regularly performs as part of the

major flamenco festivals in Spain, and has worked with singers such as Carmén Linares, Montse Cortés, and Juan Pinilla, and dancers including Olga Pericet, Rocío Molina, Manuel Liñan, and Marco Flores. Percussionist Nasrine Rahmani was musically supportive and sensitive, and erred on the side of caution with regard to her volume. We also had the opportunity to appreciate her abilities more fully in her solo. As a trio, Morales, Jiménez, and Rahmani worked closely and intuitively together in Jiménez’s creation “Entre Primas.” It was an intimate, engaging performance, which showed Jiménez to be a strong and important interpreter of flamenco on the guitar, reflecting her respect for and knowledge of the flamenco of the past, and also her ability to incorporate new expressive elements. “Entre Primas” was part of the Flamenco Festival London, which was filled with unforgettable performances celebrating women in flamenco: The incredible dancer known as La Chana, with virtuosic speed and expressiveness in her footwork from a seated position (historically preserved in Peter Sellers’ 1967 film The  Bobo ), performing with dancers El Farru and Antonio Canales; the singer Carmén Linares; Compañía María Pagés presenting “Yo Carmen”; Isabel Bayón Compañía presenting “DjuDju”; and Compañía Rafaela Carrasco offering “Born a Shadow,” celebrating the lives of Teresa de Jesús, María de Zayas, María Calderón, and Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz. They all received heartfelt rapturous applause and standing ovations from audiences that connected deeply with their work. —Thérèse Wassily Saba

TOOLS OF THE TRADE

 LA CAÑADA MODEL 115 A fine new guitar based on an Antonio de Torres classic classic BY ADAM PERLMUTTER

he German luthier Edmund Blöchinger is one of the great living guitar makers, and virtuosos no less esteemed than Pepe and Celin Romero have championed his instruments. If you are among those fortunate enough to acquire one of his instruments—he makes only 10 per year, and his only dealer is Guitar Salon International—you will have paid well into five figures. But if that sum is far beyond your means, a collaboration between Blöchinger and Wolfgang Jellinghaus, who presides over the Milestones of Music guitar workshop in China, has resulted in instruments that are much more affordable: the La Cañada line. Guitars under the La Cañada name include the Model 17, which is based on an 1864 Torres, and the Model 115, inspired by an 1888 Torres. I auditioned the latter and was as impressed by its build-quality as by its handsome voice and easy playability.

 WOOD THAT THAT SINGS SINGS As the name suggests, the La Cañada Model 115 is based on the 115th guitar that Antonio de Torres made during his second epoch—the period, beginning in 1875, when he returned to lutherie after a short retirement. The original No. 115 was first played by the concert guitarist Mathilde Ruiz and then by her widower, Emilio Pujol. Many years later, in 2015, GSI (Guitar Salon International) bought the No. 115 as part of the Russell Cleveland Collection, allowing Blöchinger—who, like any classical luthier, owes a tremendous debt to Torres—to scrutinize and measure the instrument. Of course, I didn’t have the same access as Blöchinger, so I auditioned the Model 115 based on its own merits and not through a comparison to its historical counterpart. Removing the new guitar from its hardshell case—which incidentally had an attractive

suede-like covering that I hadn’t previously seen on an instrument case—I was struck by the instrument’s lightness and finish. Unlike the typical guitar produced in an East Asian workshop, the Model 115 sports a French polish finish, with its unmistakable sheen and feel. The French polish—whose name describes both the procedure for hand-rubbing many coats of shellac and the end result—has been used on furniture and musical instruments for centuries. It’s much more time-consuming to apply than a modern nitrocellulose or polyurethane treatment, but is thought by many to promote a better sound. The instrument, which is the standard modern classical size, has a spruce soundboard. The back and sides are made from granadillo, a tonewood more commonly used for marimbas, but which, due to its ringing tap tone, has also been used by classical luthiers and, more recently, by steelstring guitar makers. (In South America, granadillo is known as la madera que canta, “the wood that sings.”) The granadillo used on the review model has a striking look, with its reddish coloring, swirling grain pattern, and sapwood portions. This wood is complemented by flamed maple binding and a wooden mosaic rosette. On the guitar’s paper label, the model number bears the suffix A. This stands for antique—a cosmetic treatment often seen on electric guitars and sometimes on steel-strings, but practically never on nylon-strings. Though the finish is entirely smooth—it doesn’t bear the nicks and wear that come with age—the soundboard has been tinted to approximate the look of centuries-old wood. Luckily, if the aged look doesn’t suit you, the guitar is also available without this visual effect.

RICHLY VOICED The Model 115 feels great on the fretting

hand. Its neck profile is neither too thick nor too thin, and I find it easy to breeze up and down the neck and to play barre chords for extended periods without experiencing any hand fatigue. The guitar almost seems to play itself. I admit to having a preference for instruments built in North American and European workshops, but I was not in any way disappointed by the sound of the Model 115. The guitar has a warm, deep voice, certainly more robust than expected, and very good note separation and clarity. It feels highly responsive as well, and has a good amount of volume and projection even when played with a light touch. I was transcribing some Brazilian jazz solo guitar pieces when I received the Model 115 for review, and the guitar sounded terrific when I played through some of this work. The bass notes had a certain presence and oomph well-suited to the idiom, without overwhelming melodies and chordal passages in higher registers. The guitar’s richness also worked well for a range of other styles and eras, from a Bach prelude to Enrique Granados’  Spanish  Spanish  Dance No. 4 to an excerpt from Leo Brouwer’s  El Decamerón Decamerón Negro. It also felt quite inspiring to improvise freely on the instrument, both in standard tuning and with the sixth string lowered to D.

THE BOTTOM LINE There once was a time when guitars made in China were considered inferior offerings by far. Now, Now, La Cañada Model 115 is only the t he latest to offer a formidable challenge to this old notion. The guitar feels and sounds just like a good instrument should, and has been French polished to boot. While it would make an outstanding choice for the student player, the Model 115 would also make a reliable companion for the professional CG performer.

LA CAÑADA MODEL 115 BODY Spruce

soundboard; granadillo back and sides; French polish finish NECK Cedro neck; ebony fretboard; 650mm scale length; gold tuners with ebony buttons; gloss finish EXTRAS Pepe Romero hard tension strings; hardshell case PRICE $2,950; $3,250 antiqued Made in China guitarsalon.com

FESTIVALS & COMPETITIONS COMPETITIONS

Valérie Duchâteau will be at Le Temps des Guitares festival in scenic Puy-L’Évêque, France, July 18–21

JUNE 6–9

JUNE 11–16

JUNE 17–22

JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Concerto Competition Buffalo, NY 

Classical Minds International Guitar Festival and Competition Bellaire, Texas

Guitar Festival of J.K. Mertz Bratislava, Slovakia 

Prestigious biennial competition in which young guitarists play guitar concertos and vie for cash and other prizes, including a return engagement with the hosting Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. bpo.org

At Episcopal High School: open under30 guitar competition, composition competition, lessons, theory classes, workshops on composition and technique, guitar orchestra, master classes, student recitals, guitar-building. Musicians include Adam Holzman, Jesus Serrano Huitron, artistic director Valerie Hartzell, Jay Kacherski, Kithara Duo, and Lina Morita.

JUNE 8–10

Cleveland International Classical Guitar Festival Cleveland, Ohio The Cleveland Institute of Music hosts concerts, lectures, master classes, and a luthier’s fair. Performers include host Jason Vieaux (with bandoneoniste Julien Labro), Ricardo Gallén, Duo Melis, Antonis Hatzinikolaou, and Colin Davin with soprano Esteli Gomez. Master classes with all those guitarists plus Petra Poláckova and lutenist Nigel North.

guitarsint.com/guitar_festival

classicalmindsfestival.org JUNE 14–17

New Mexico Classical Guitar Festival Albuquerque, New Mexico At the University of New Mexico: concerts, workshops, master classes, ensembles, vendors, special Youth festival. Artists include Bandini-Chiacchiaretta Bandini-Chiacchiaretta Duo, Matt Palmer, and Michael Chapdelaine.

guitarnewmexico.org

The 43rd edition of this popular international festival features competition, workshops, master classes, and concerts featuring Pavel Steidl, Duo Melis, the Prague Guitar Quartet, Stepán Rak, Petr Saidl & Pavel Kudelásek, Bratislava Guitar Quartet, and more. jkmertz.com/en JUNE 18–23

Guitar Foundation of America International Convention and Competition Louisville, Kentucky At the University of Louisville: This year’s confab includes the usual competitions, plus Ensemble Competition, vendor expo, master classes, lectures, guitar orchestra, and more. Artists include Antigoni Goni, Joaquin Clerch, David Russell, Amadeus Duo, Elena Papandreou, and Trio Tangere. The second annual GFA Guitar Summit, a

sleep-away camp for guitarists ages 11–18, runs from June 17–22. New this year is a “Spotlight Recital” for non-competing guitarist attendees. guitarfoundation.org

domaineforget.com

JUNE 25–JULY 1

JULY 4–9

Boston GuitarFest XIII Boston, Massachusetts

Classical Guitar Retreat Isle of Cumbrae, Scotland

Competitions spanning ages 6–21, plus composition competition; seven-day Youth (6–15) and Academy (16–21) workshop programs; five-day Institute (21+) program; master classes; and concerts. This year’s theme is “The Improvisatory Spirit,” and performers include festival producer Eliot Fisk and Zaira Meneses premiering a doubleconcerto by Robert Beaser; Joaquin Clerch; Peter Watchorn & Grisha Goryachev; Jérôme Mouffe & Friends; and “Celebrating Gene Bertoncini at 80.”

Matthew McAllister hosts this remote but scenic gathering featuring lessons, workshops, technical classes, and concerts with David Russell, Allan Neave, Uros Baric, Peter Stewart, Aisling Agnew, and, of course, McAllister. cgretreat.com

bostonguitarfest.org JUNE 27–JULY 1

18th New York Guitar Seminar at Mannes New York, New York All-ages concerts, master classes, interactive workshops, ensemble coaching, performance classes, with artists/faculty including João Luiz (premiering a new ensemble piece), Newman & Oltman Guitar Duo, world premiere of Nikita Koshkin’s Suite New  Zealand  (with   (with Matthew Marshall), Yenne Lee, Juan Carlos Laguna, Mariano Aguirre, and more.

mannesguitar.com JUNE 30–JULY 3

East Carolina University Summer Guitar Festival Greenville, North Carolina At ECU’s A.J. Fletcher School of Music: master classes, workshops, lectures, concerts, recitals, and competitions. Faculty includes Jason Vieaux, Judicaël Perroy, Elliot Frank, Jeffrey McFadden, and Andrew Zohn.

ecu.edu/cs-cfac/music/guitar/ workshop.cfm JULY 1–14

Le Domaine Forget Guitar Academy and Competition Saint-Irénée, Québec Two-week program for advanced 16+ guitarists, plus a youth program. Master classes, private lessons, technique and harmony classes, chamber music, concerts. Instructors include Judicaël

Perroy, Perroy, Pepe Romero, Bruce Holzman, Denis Poliquin, Patrick Roux, and Jean Vallières. Also, guitar competition.

JULY 6

New Elizabethan Award Competition London, England The Selection Round for the inaugural New Elizabethan Award—bestowed biennially on the best player in a competition for guitarists and lutenists, performing solo or ensemble music (with other instruments and/or voice) from the two Elizabethan ages (that’s Queen Elizabeth I and the current Queen Elizabeth)—will be held July 6 at the David Josefowitz Recital Hall at the Royal Academy of Music, London.

wcom.org.uk/new-elizabethan-award/ JULY 6–8

Hamilton International Guitar Festival & Competition Hamilton, Ontario, Canada  Concerts, competition, workshops, master classes, vendor showcase, lessons, etc., at the Hamilton Conservatory for the Arts. Teachers and/or performers include Emma Rush, Jorge Caballero, Jeffrey McFadden, Texas Guitar Quartet, Vince McClelland, and more. guitarhamilton.com JULY 8–14

32nd Guitar Festival Mikulov Mikulov, Mikulov, Czech Republic Popular festival in the historic South Moravian city of Mikulov features artists such as Joaquin Clerch, Duo Artis, Yamandu Costa, Lukasz Kuropaczewski, Rolf Lislevand, and more. Master classes, plus courses for both guitar students and guitar teachers, workshops, special lute instruction, and lectures. gfmikulov.com

JULY 11–15

Changsha International Guitar Festival Changsha, China  Open, Youth, and Children competitions; $20,000 in prizes (Open), plus China concert tour for winner. winner. Also, master classes and concerts with artistic director Xuefei Yang, Marco Pereira, Duo Melis, Clive Carroll, Xavier Jara, Alexander-Sergei Ramirez. The set piece this year is a new work by Leo Brouwer! guitarfield.org JULY 13–22

The Volterra Project Volterra, Italy Artistic Director Antigoni Goni’s tenday program for up to 14 students in picturesque Tuscany. Tuscany. Lots of master class instruction by guests Stephen Robinson and Laura Snowden, but also seminars on music physiology, physiology, the business of music, recording, and much more.

volterraguitar.org/edition-2018 JULY 18–21

‘Le Temps des Guitares’ International Guitar Festival Puy-l’Évêque, France The third annual guitar event in this gorgeous medieval town (in the heart of a wine region) features Duo BensaCardinot, Stephanie Jones, Valérie Duchâteau, Liat Cohen, Alexandre Bernoud, Les Frères Méduses (Benoit Albert & Randall Avers), Egyptian oud master Joseph Tawadros, and Malian kora virtuoso Ballaké Sissoko.

letempsdesguitares.com JULY 18–22

IGF Guitar Summit London, England Festival and summer school offers concerts, lectures, and master classes from Leo Brouwer, David Russell, Tom Kerstens, Michael Lewin, Chris Stell, Daniela Rossi, and Kevin Cahill.

kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/learning/igfguitar-summit-2018/ JULY 19–20 Sierra Nevada Classical Guitar Festival & Competition Reno, Nevada  At beautiful Trinity Episcopal Church: adult and youth competitions, plus concerts featuring Vasil Chekardzhikov (of the Triada Trio) and Larr y Aynesmith & Friends. cgwest.org

FESTIVALS & COMPETITION COMPETITIONS S

JULY 22–29

International Guitar-Festival Iserlohn Iserlohn, Germany Concerts by LAGQ, Meng Su, Zoran Dukic, Tantalus Quartet, Duo Exaudi, Aniello Desiderio, Luciano Pompilio & Veronica Granatiero, and many more. Also, competition, individual lessons,

group classes and workshops, lectures, guitar orchestra, luthier fair, etc. guitarsymposium.de JULY 28–AUGUST 6

Rotenburg Guitar Week Rotenburg and Ahausen, Germany Individual lessons, chamber groups,

guitar orchestra, concerts, with teachers including Raphaella Smits, Margarita Escarpa, Hans Wilhelm Kaufmann, and Dirk Lemmermann. rotenburger-gitarrenwoche.de JULY 29–AUGUST 4

47th Hermann Hauser International Guitar Seminar  Reisbach, Germany Concerts, master classes, and lectures with Virginia Luque, Lily Afshar, Aliosha De Santis, Dr. Michael Herrmann, Dr. Rainer Eggebrecht. gitarrenseminar.com Eggebrecht. gitarrenseminar.com AUGUST 3–11

Guitar en France Course/Festival Solignac-le Vigen, France Guitar lessons, master classes, orchestral and ensemble practice, workshops, lectures, and more in the historic Chateau de Ligoure. Teachers/concert Teachers/concert artists include Eleftheria Kotzia, Thibaut Garcia, and Rafael Andia. Concerts by those three, plus Orlando di Bello (bandoneon) & Carles Pons Altés (guitar), and Young Artists concert. guitarenfrance.org AUGUST 18–23

27th West Dean International Classical Guitar Festival and Summer School West Dean, West Sussex, England At West Dean College: concerts, technique classes, lectures, master classes, workshops, and lessons. Concert artists and tutors include William Kanengiser, Gary Ryan, Xuefei Yang, festival director Andrew Gough, Modern Guitar Trio, Helen Sanderson, Vickers Bovey Guitar Duo, and more. westdean.org.uk/study/ short-courses/courses/scg08069-westdean-international-classical-guitarfestival-2018 AUGUST 23–28

28th Forum Guitar Wien, Vienna, Austria  Courses, concerts, lectures, master classes, competitions, luthier exhibitions. Concerts at historic Grosser Ehrbar Saal. Performers include Marcin Dylla, Amadeus Duo (Thomas Kirchhoff & Dale Kavanagh), Carlo Marchione, Thomas Offermann, Judicaël Perroy, Alvaro Pierri, Marko Topchii, Topchii, Bandini-Chiacchiaretta Bandini-Chiacchiaretta Duo, more. forum-gitarre.at

CLASSIFIEDS

GUITAR QUARTETS COMPLETE EDITION

GUITAR QUARTETS COMPLETE EDITION Study, play, and perform pieces arranged for four guitars. Includes complete score and four individual guitar parts in both tablature and standard music notation.

 Add to your repertoire repertoire and technique arsenal with this collection of nine classic tunes arranged for guitar quartet, available av ailable as PDF downloads that include standard notation and tab for all four parts, detailed notes on the origin of the songs and some  specifics of the arrangements, plus audio recordings of each.

With audio recordings for each guitar part and the complete score.

 Availa  A vailable ble at:  store.ClassicalGuitarMagazine.com

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THE BACK PAGE

he 20th century brought myriad fresh opportunities for the growth and development of the classical guitar, driven by the musicians and instrument makers who were attracted to it. Two important figures in the guitar world in Vienna during this period were Karl Scheit (1909–1993) and the child prodigy Luise Walker (1910–1998). Both Scheit and Walker taught at the Vienna Musikhochschule, which is today known as the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst (MdW). On a recent short visit to Vienna, I was pleased The Karl Scheit to meet with the widow of Karl Scheit, Luise Archive in Vienna Schreiber-Scheit—who was a voice teacher is now available at the Vienna Musikhochschule—and with to everyone Austrian guitarist and teacher Stefan Hackl, to learn of the developments in the Karl BY THÉRÈSE WASSILY SABA Scheit Archive. Hackl was the first to access the archive and, since 2015, he has been working on cataloging it and making it available for research online. Karl Scheit is a name that is familiar to many players through his editions of guitar music, including over 150 works in his  Musik für Gitarre  series for Universal Editions and his guitar chamber-music series for Doblinger. He was a guitarist, lutenist, arranger, and teacher. Initially studying violin at the Conservatorium of Linz, Austria, he then studied guitar with Jakob Ortner at the Musikakademie in Vienna, as did Luise Walker, and later they both taught for many years. One of Scheit’s most famous students was Konrad Ragossnig (1932–2018). During his life, Scheit collected everything he could related to the guitar. His widow, Luise Scheit, donated the main part of his collection to the MdW in 2005. The bequest contained a large amount of music—such as early printed editions of unpublished manuscripts—along with specialist books and magazines, sound recordings, and documents. Today, the Karl Scheit Archive serves as a center of guitar research for students and teachers at the MdW, as well as for researchers from outside. Top: Karl Scheit and Luise Walker Stefan Hackl discovered and pubBelow: Some of Karl Scheit’s instruments lished some of the unknown works, such

at his home (STEFAN HACKL PHOTO)

as  Air varié de l’Opera de Bellini   (Editions Orphee) and  Solo on Don Giovanni  (Doblinger) by Giulio Regondi; two concertinos by Ivan Padovec; and song arrangements by Fernando Sor (Editions Chanterelle), all of which have had great international resonance. Since 2015, Hackl has been responsible for the archive and is working on a new catalog of the literally thousands of items, and creating online access to that database and to searchable PDFs of early guitar magazines, documents, and more. Networking with related online platforms, such as the International Guitar Research Archives (IGRA) and the Digital Guitar Archive (DGA), the Karl Scheit Archive intends to make the data available to a broad number of scholars working on guitar history. As a performer, Scheit made a number of recordings, both solo and with orchestra. In the performance of early music, he was one of the pioneers of historical performance practice. He and his wife performed with Eduard Melkus and Gustav Leonhardt in the early music ensemble Schola Antiqua. Scheit owned about 60 instruments, and not only guitars and lutes. Some of his collection of modern guitars—by Hauser, Fleta, Bouchet, Ramírez—were sold; the revenue from their sale was used to finance the Karl Scheit Competition, which was held just four times: in 1998, 2002, 2006, and 2010. The most important historic instruments, such as the lutes by Tieffenbrucker and Alban, and the guitars by Panormo and Stoss, are in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. Hackl has been involved in research throughout his career, collaborating with Erik Pierre Hofmann and Pascal Mougin on  Stauffer & Co.—The Viennese Guitar of the 19th Century ; and more recently he published Guitaromanie—Kleines Panopti-  kum der Gitarre von Allix bis Zappa ( Guitar Guitar  Mania—A Small Panopticon of the Guitar from Allix to Zappa ). An inventory for the Karl Scheit Archive can be found at: gitarre-archiv.at/ verzeichnisse/scheit-archiv.

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