Month January 2015

Xu Kun Liu Plays Grand Solo by Sor

Xu Kun Liu plays Grand Solo by Fernando Sor (1778-1839). Congratulations to Liu on winning first prize (junior division) at the GFA International Youth Competition 2014 in Fullerton, Californi. You can learn more about Xu Kun Liu (Alan) via the…

Jérôme Ducharme plays Tedesco Op. 71

Canadian guitarist Jérôme Ducharme plays Variations à travers les siècles (Variations through Centuries), Op. 71 (1932) by Italian composer Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895–1968). Nice to hear this early work by Tedesco which I’ve never actually heard before. He wrote this one…

Drew Henderson Plays Capriccio #32 by Legnani

Canadian classical guitarist Drew Henderson plays Capriccio #32 in B-flat minor (Largo) by Luigi Legnani (1790–1877) via his YouTube Channel. Drew makes tons of videos for others but is a spectacular player himself. He’s demoing a guitar here: “Another video with…

Becoming your own teacher | Nina Fourie-Gouws

Classical Guitarist Nina Fourie-Gouws, based out of South Africa, has a new blog (with a great title!), check it out: p i m a DONNA | Classical Guitar Blog. Her first blog post is titled “Becoming your own teacher – Part…

Before & After Finishing: A Sound Comparison

Luthier Douglass Scott explores the sound of his guitars before and after applying French polish (Oil varnish back, sides & neck, French polish on soundboard). Read his notes and listen to samples here. To my ears it might sound a…

Hector Quine Obituary | Telegraph

Saw this nice article in the Telegraph about the passing of Hector Quine. Hector Quine, who has died aged 88, was a classical guitarist who helped to transform public attitudes to the instrument. He combined an understanding of its interpretative possibilities with…

Review: Barnett / Sagework Guitar Support

Barnett Guitar Supports (Now Called Sagework) Buy or learn more via Amazon: Sagework Guitar Support Say goodbye to suction cups or clamps! This guitar support uses magnets to keep your guitar support in place. It is well worth the $96 price…

Tim Beattie plays Allegro BWV 998 by Bach

Canadian classical guitarist Tim Beattie plays Allegro BWV 998 by J.S. Bach (1685-1750). You might remember his name from the Montreal festival and competition, they posted a bio of Tim here. I love how he’s really digging in and his balanced articulation…

Bartolomeo Veneto: Lady Playing Lute

It’s been awhile since I posted any artwork. I originally started this blog as a tumblr and posted random stuff all the time. This is Lady Playing Lute by Bartolomeo Veneto (active 1502 – 1546), an Italian painter who worked…

Irina Kulikova plays Torroba Sonatina

Russian born guitarist, now based in the Netherlands, Irina Kurikova plays plays Sonatina by Spanish composer Federico Moreno Torroba (1891-1982) at the “Altamira Night” concert in Shanghai Oriental Art Center. This is via Altamira Guitars and their YouTube. Super crisp…

Alex Park plays Gigue by Ponce

Alex Park playing the Gigue from Manuel Ponce’s Suite in A Minor. This comes via the great Guitar Salon International and their YouTube Channel. I love how clean and rhythmic this performance is. At first I though his might be a…

Tips on Commissioning Guitar Music by Michael Karmon

This is a guest post by composer Michael Karmon Commissioning a new guitar piece can be a wonderful thing. If you’re a player, you can have a piece tailored to your musical personality and strengths. If you’re a fan of…