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Hao Yang performs Music of Memory by Nicholas Maw (1935-2009). This comes via Guitars International via their YouTube channel with video and recording by Drew Henderson. Absolutely amazing performance by Hao Yang who continues to impress with a shocking combination of technique virtuosity and beautiful musical phrasing. This level of technique mastery along with expressive musicality feels like something very new in the guitar world. You can check out the other videos of Yang on the site where she is equally at home with contrasting repertoire.

You can get the score via Faber where they give this description of the work:

The work’s title, ‘Music of Memory’, refers to the long-term memory of a golden age (and the corresponding hope that it can continue to nourish our own art) represented by the Mendelssohn; the short-term ‘memory’ of an original that lies behind the variation form; and the use of the different kinds of memory-related techniques and materials during the work – ‘guitar sounds’ typical of the instrument and its repertoire, and the ‘memory recalls’ of the coda.

The post Hao Yang Plays Music of Memory by Nicholas Maw first appeared on This is Classical Guitar.

Classical guitarist Sam Desmet performs Concerto pour guitare et petit orchestre, Op. 155 by Jean Absil (1893–1974) with the Casco Phil Orchestra, conducted by Benjamin Haemhouts, in Waregem, Belgium. This is a world-premiere performance bringing Jean Absil’s guitar concerto to the stage for the first time. Recorded live in concert. Video via Desmet’s YouTube (go subscribe).

It’s so great to hear this concerto which coincidentally got released while I record Absil’s little works Pièces caractéristiques, Op.123. Absil’s guitar works are very underplayed considering the excellent quality of the works. I’ve been looking at all the available solo and duo works and was delighted to now hear the concerto. As Desmet mentions, “Composed in 1971, yet never performed during Absil’s lifetime or beyond, the concerto—expressive, modernist, and vividly orchestrated—now appears for the first time in its complete form, accompanied by a full-length video release.” Read more info about the concerto here.

Movements:

• 00:00 Allegro energico
• 04:10 Andante cantabile
• 10:58 Allegro moderato

The post Sam Desmet Plays Concerto pour guitare et petit orchestre, Op. 155 by Absil first appeared on This is Classical Guitar.

Enfantillages Pittoresques by Erik Satie (1866-1925) arranged for classical guitar duo. Originally for solo piano. PDF sheet music for classical guitar duet including a notation edition with left hand fingering in score format. Intermediate level, the lower part is easier. This is a PDF download.

My PDF Sheet Music via Werner Guitar Editions

• Enfantillages Pittoresques by Satie (PDF)

I’m very pleased to present this beautiful little duet arrangement for two classical guitars. The arrangement required almost no alteration whatsoever beyond changing the clefs to treble clef. Big thanks to my good friend and colleague Nicole Payie for joining me in the performance video. 

Erik Satie (1866–1925) was a French composer and pianist known for his eccentric personality and his minimalist, atmospheric works such as the Gymnopédies and Gnossiennes. A precursor to modernism, he influenced later movements including ambient music, surrealism, and the avant-garde. His unconventional ideas and understated musical style left a lasting imprint on 20th-century composers.

The post Enfantillages Pittoresques by Erik Satie first appeared on This is Classical Guitar.