The two brothers Nick and David Kvaratskhelia come from Georgia and both started learning guitar at the age of six. They gave their debut concert as a guitar duo when they were seven and nine respectively, went on to study in Frankfurt and Weimar, and in 1988, they received first prize at one of the most important competitions for guitar duo (Bubenreuth). What makes this duo so special? The blind understanding, the perfect interaction? Or is it the remarkable technique combined with their broad stylistic horizon, ranging from baroque to avant-garde? It is the sum of all that. And more: These two Georgians emphasize the spiritual content of the music, they have a knack for moving the listener emotionally. This they succeed in perfectly with a repertoire that includes Scarlatti (1685 – 1757), Gragnani (1767 – 1812), Massis (1893 – 1980) and ter Veldhuis (*1951).

Tillmann Reinbeck must be one of Germany’s most promising young classical guitarists. He has a superb education, and has the knack of captivating the listener with technical perfection and dramatic musical design. His CD “Invocación y Danza” brings together the works of four great Spanish composers from the beginning of the 20th century: Isaac Albéniz, Manuel de Falla, Antonio José and Joaquín Rodrigo. The recorded works were written between 1915 and 1920, some of them were originally scored for orchestra. Tillmann Reinbeck’s performance has many facets and is dynamic, the quiet passages are filled with color, clarity and poetry. Reinbeck is also an expert arranger, as can be heard in the works by Albéniz. “Invocación y Danza” is an impressive example of profound musicality, color-filled elegance and great intensity.

The classical guitarist from Heidelberg is one of the outstanding figures in modern guitar music. The 32-year-old, who studied with Alvaro Pierri and Roberto Aussel, has won numerous national and international competitions. He works as a conductor and professor and is on the international circuit, including Latin America, as a chamber musician and a soloist. His love for South American guitar music is also the focus of his debut album. With “… e dois amores,” Christian Wernicke engages in a lively discussion with the rich musical heritage and the cultural identity of the continent. He interprets Brazilian waltzes, fiery sambas and Argentinean tangos with a great deal of style. Whether it be a strictly rational approach or voluble opulence, Christian Wernicke makes the listener part of the inexhaustible rhythmic and harmonic formal language of these guitar worlds, which he presents on his instrument with great zest. This all makes “… e dois amores” a wonderful musical experience – like a summer night under an enchanting star-spangled southern sky.

 

As a young girl, Nathasja van Rosse was already giving concerts. She studied at Rotterdam and Graz, visited master classes with great guitar virtuosos of our time and took part successfully in numerous international competitions.

Ever since her debut CD “Guitar Music Of South America” she is considered one of the leading interpreters of classical guitar music. Her CD “Levantine” represents a new direction in her career, spotlights contemporary composers and interprets several works that were written especially for her. “Levantine” is a wonderful journey through the magic world of modern classical guitar music recorded by a guitarist with a sense of discovery. Neo-romantic arpeggios, ostinatos worthy of a piano, ethnic sonorities, asymmetric rhythms, minimalist and sprightly excursions. All musical roads are open to Nathasja van Rosse.

 

Unusually fine musicality and top virtuosity are what one associates with this classical guitarist from Berlin, who was trained at the conservatories in Weimar and Cologne and took lessons from masters such as David Russel, Manuel Barrueco and Oscar Ghiglia. In addition to her refined playing culture, her elegant tone and highly nuanced performance, this winner of the German Music Council stipendium shows a remarkable sense of independence and extends the boundaries of classical guitar music with her in-depth knowledge of Mediterranean mentality, eastern European musical culture and Latin American joie de vivre. On her third album, she reveals what she considers “music for life”, with a Brazilian choro and modinha, an Argentinean chacarera and a milonga. Nora Buschmann, sure-fingered in her expression, with outstanding sound, filled with elegance and fire, shows why she has won numerous international guitar competitions.

“Suite Orientale” is a conceptual album devoted to the sounds of southeastern Europe. Nora Buschmann (born 1969) has first-hand knowledge of her subject. From 1994 to 1998, she lived in Thessalonica in Greece. Her technique is impeccable and is always put in the service of the music. The repertoire of “Suite Orientale” reflects the eastern Mediterranean mentality and offers up southern joie de vivre as well as introspective melancholy. The guitarist pulls all the stops on her guitar and draws out musical nuances from broken bass chords all the way to clear flageolet notes. “Suite Orientale” is a musical image of the Levant, with oriental daubs, in other words, the ideal repertoire for a sensitive interpreter like Nora Buschmann.

David Tanenbaum is one of the most important performers of contemporary classical guitar music. He has a special liking for recording older music with the guitar. Silvius Leopold Weiss, a contemporary of Bach, was the most important lutenist of the Baroque era. The repertoire on this CD is drawn from the London manuscripts, which were written between 1708 and 1724. Tanenbaum’s recording on the guitar offers complete respect to this wonderful 18th-century music. Once again, the master guitarist from the USA gives proof of his impeccable technique and his ability to produce a perfect interpretation in the service of his repertoire. The result is a CD full of calm and strength, imbued with the power of a by-gone age.

For his debut solo CD “viaje español”, the classical guitarist from Osnabrück has chosen the apt subtitle "four centuries of Spanish guitar music". On it he takes the listener on a fascinating journey filled with the sounds of Spanish guitar music, from the Renaissance to the modern era. From the early days of the great composer Alonso Mudarra he moves on to the heyday with Dionisio Aguado. The journey ends with Joaquin Turina, a custodian of the original flamenco tradition. Martin Hegel successfully completed numerous masterclasses, among others with Manuel Barrueco and David Russel. This laid the basis for his sophisticated playing and cultivated tone and allows him to lend the works of these various composers a remarkable authenticity and fill them with radiant life. With “viaje español” he succeeds in communicating the fascination of classical guitar music to the listener.

Adriana Balboa was born in 1966 in Montevideo/Uruguay. Since 1994, she has lived in Berlin, where she completed her studies at the “Hanns Eisler” School of Music in Berlin. She has since worked as a teacher and an active concert guitarist. Her first CD "Sur" is an album full of passion that creates a grandiose reflection of the mood in the music of the Río De La Plata. Lively joie de vivre, melancholy, and passion come about as close as they can in the music of Latin America. Besides tango arrangements with classical flair, we hear traditional rhythms and folkloristic themes. Adriana Balboa plays with a profound power of expression and creates an image of the emotional world of the people from the Río de la Plata. One of the highlights of the CD is the famous "Cinco Piezas" by Astor Piazzolla, the only works he wrote specifically for the guitar. Other composers represented include Aníbal Troilo, Agustín Barrios, or Jaurés Lamarque-Pons.

Adriana Balboa is the musical poetess from the Rio de la Plata. She overcomes the separation between popular and classical music with interpretations in which joie de vivre, melancholy and passion amalgamate to form a grandiose atmospheric backdrop. The repertoire of “Hommages” consists of dedications by contemporary composers that range from impressionistic hues (Tribute to Keith Jarrett), to imaginative off-the-wall sounds (Hommage à Jimi Hendrix) and a folkloristic elegy from the Andes. In her articulation of these compositions, which are extremely demanding from the technical and interpretational standpoint, Adriana Balboa finds the perfect balance between passion, austerity and poetry. She plays with a great deal of sonorous coloring, dancingly, introspectively, temperamentally and always with the most profound sensitivity. The repertoire of “Hommages” is in the best of hands with Adriana Balboa. She understands how to mold the individual moods and intentions into expressive sounds.