Guitar Selections, Once Upon the Internet

This is my post from this week's Tuesday Blog.

This week's musical share is a series of tracks downloaded mainly off the old MP3.COM between 2001 and 2003. They feature three guitarists.

The English-born guitarist, Tomo Iwakura, began to learn the guitar with Iwao Suzuki when he was 12 years old. After his completion of a faculty of law at "Gakusuin Univaersity" in Tokyo, he studied the guitar with Michael Koch at the "Peter-Cornelius Konservatorium" in Mainz, Germany. Also he took lessons of Narciso Yepes, Julian Bream, A. Pierri and David Russell. He won the first prize and a special prize at "Gakusei Guitar Competition" in Tokyo and is also a prize winner of "Concours International de Guitare" in Ile de Re, France.

The first few selections from today's playlist are from one of his albums titled Recuerdos de la Alhambra: Romantic Spanish Guitar Music, which is available in its entirety on YouTube.

Scott Morris gave his New York recital debut at Carnegie Hall in 1998. He has since appeared as a soloist and chamber musician throughout North America, Central America, Europe and Asia. In 2005 he gave solo concerts in both Beijing and Shanghai to great critical review. A 2008 solo performance in Beijing was given at the famous 1,800-seat National Opera House and broadcast on Chinese Central Television (CCTV). Currently, he is the Supervisor of Guitar Studies at California State University, Dominguez Hills and the CSU Summer Arts Guitar Course Coordinator in Monterey, CA. His selections are from his album Invocation.

Finally, "One of the most reknown and admired Italian guitarists" (Il Fronimo), Flavio Cucchi has given hundreds of recitals in Europe, America, Asia and Australia in addition to participating in radio and TV shows for the some of the biggest world-wide broadcasting corporations (the BBC, RAI, ZDF, Bayerischer Rundfunk, Televisa Mexico, Television Corporation of Singapore, Radio Praga, and others). The fine Sonata concertata by Paganini is a great reminder that the Itaian master was both an excellent guitarist and violinist.

Happy Listening!

Isaac Manuel Francisco ALBÉNIZ Y PASCUAL (1860 – 1909)
Suite española No. 1 (fa majeur) "Granada" op. 47, no. 1
Piezas características, Torre Bermeja, serenata (mi majeur), op. 92, no. 12

Antonio Jiménez MANJÓN (1866 –1919)
Leyenda , WoO

Fernando SOR (c. 1778 –1839)
Fantaisie et variations brillantes, op. 30
Tomo Iwakura

Introduction et variations sur “ Malbrough s`en-va-t-en guerre”, op. 28

Juan Leovigildo BROUWER MEZQUIDA (* 1939)
Alogio de la danza (1964)

Niccolò PAGANINI (1782 – 1840) 
Guitar Sonatas, MS 84
No. 1 in A Major,
No. 2 in A Major
No. 8 in G Major
No. 10 in D Major
Scott Morris

Sonata concertata in A for Violin and Guitar, Op.61 [MS 2]
Flavio Cucchi, guitar
Myra Lin, violin