Guitarist Paul Galbraith provides a big sound on his specially made 8-string guitar, and you can hear it on the next Fretworks on Classical 101.
From his 1999 Delos CD, I'll have one of his transcriptions of a piano sonata by Franz Joseph Haydn. Galbraith's guitar is held upright like a cello and has an endpin like a cello that rests on a special resonating box on the floor. This helps create a rich palette of tones by amplifying the sound of his guitar.
Cuban-born guitarist Manuel Barrueco will perform Cuba and Asturias from the Suite Espanola by Isaac Albeniz. This is music originally written for the piano as well, but sounds wonderfully idiomatic on the guitar, so much so that some people assume it was written for the guitar.
Music of French composer Gabriel Faure will be played by flutist Vivian Guzman and guitarist Jeremy Jouve. Their arrangement of the lovely Pavane was originally written in two versions, one for orchestra, and one for orchestra and chorus.
From a great CD of early 19th century guitar concertos from Europe, Pepe Romero will be the soloist with the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields for the Guitar Concerto in A of Ferdinando Carulli. Carulli, who was from Naples, became a big hit in Paris like his contemporary Mauro Giuliani for his virtuosity and colorful playing. This concerto from 1809 is a good example of the kind of music for guitar and orchestra popular at the time.
Spanish guitarist Anabel Montesinos, who won the First Prize at the 2002 International Francisco Tarrega Guitar Competition, will perform a fine selection from her Naxos recital CD, Variations on a Theme of Sor by Miguel Llobet. Llobet was a student of Tarrega, and this set of variations for guitar is based on music by the great early 19th century Spanish guitarist and composer Fernando Sor, who also became popular in Paris as well as in London, Moscow and elsewhere.
Join me for Fretworks for music of the classical guitar Saturday and Wednesday evenings at 7 on Classical 101. Here's Paul Galbraith playing Bach on his 8-string guitar: