Paul Bizot performs Quatre pièces pour la guitare by Sir Lennox Berkeley (1903–1989). This comes via Siccas Guitars and their YouTube channel (go subscribe). Great performance by Bizot filled with nice motivic delivery, articulation, and orchestration of the guitar soundscape.
Emmanuel Sowicz sent me this note regarding the piece when I posted his performance: “It’s Lennox Berkeley’s still relatively unknown Quatre Pièces, which he wrote for Segovia while in Paris c.1927 (one of the first guitar pieces written by a non-guitarist composer, soon after De Falla’s 1920 Homenaje). As you may guess, seems Segovia didn’t play them. They were found in his archive in 2001 and published by Bèrben soon after…”
You can read an article by Allan Jones on the work. “This article explores the background and implications surrounding the discovery of Lennox Berkeley’s Quatre Pièces pour la Guitare, highlighting its significance for guitarists and scholars. Emphasizing Berkeley’s education in Paris and influences, including his interactions with Nadia Boulanger and jazz, the piece reflects his understanding of the guitar and musical idioms of his time.”
The piece is readily available, edited by Gilardino via Bèrben.
