Henry Kaiser - Requia & Other Improvisations for Guitar Solo - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

The guitar works on this album are by two towering figures of Catalan music - pianist Federico Mompou and cellist Gaspar Cassadó. Both shared a friendship with Andrés Segovia who inspired these pieces. Performed by Italian guitarist Eugenio Della Chiara. Album Tracks 4. Canción de Leonardo 6. Leyenda catalana 16. Suite Compostelana~VI. Muñeira

Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco was one of Italy's most influential and important composers during the 20th century. He was inspired to write for the guitar after meeting Andrés Segovia, and in the years that followed he wrote over one hundred works for the instrument. The Quintet for Guitar and String Quartet, a rare combination, reveals perfect sonority and construction with a serene Iberian mood. The Sonatina for Flute and Guitar contrasts joyfulness with poignant melodies, while the Eclogues are bucolic and lively. Written for Segovia and his wife Paquita Madriguera, the Fantasia for guitar and piano presents an expertly blended texture for this combination of instruments. Guitarist Leonard Becker is the Second Prize winner of the International Hannabach Guitar Competition 2020, held in Augsburg, Germany. He has performed with orchestras including the Pilsen Philharmonic Orchestra, with which he performed Rodrigo Concierto de Aranjuezin 2019. Alongside Louis Vandory, Valerie Steenken, Elisabeth Buchner and Márton Braun he is the founder of the Tedesco-Quintett (guitar and string quartet), which won First Prize at the International Chamber Music Competition 'Gerhard Vogt' in 2019.

Carlo Domeniconi's distinguished career as an internationally renowned guitarist has been paralleled by his prolific output as a composer whose music repeatedly seeks a synthesis between the disparate cultures of East and West. This programme takes us from the evocative Anatolian mystique of 'Koyunbaba,' Domeniconi's best loved work for guitar, through vivid impressions of 'Snow in Istanbul,' the Arabian-influenced 'Taqsim,' and a charming visit to Japan through 'Minyo.' Award-winning soloist Celil Refik Kaya concludes with the 'Don-Quijote-Suite,' Domeniconi's heart-stoppingly expressive distillation of Spain's most famous narrative.