# Julian Bream RIP



## RICK RIEKERT (Oct 9, 2017)

The great classical guitarist Julian Bream passed away today at the age of 87.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Roll of Honour


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

RIP. I have lots of CD's, from Dowland to contemporary.


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## Coach G (Apr 22, 2020)

Julian Bream did a really nice album with Peter Pears where they did some songs by Pears' life-partner, Benjamin Britten, as well as by William Walton and some other of Britten's contemporaries. The album ends with a wonderful piece called "Nocturne" for solo guitar by Britten.


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

An absolute genius. Gave me my love for Elizabethan lute music and the classical guitar in general. Weirdly I was just checking the other day to see if I was missing anything of his in my collection. I wasn’t. Very sad to hear this.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Sorry to hear this. He was one of the icon artists of the classical guitar while I was growing up in the 60s & 70s. https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-53777949


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## Animal the Drummer (Nov 14, 2015)

Heard him in concert once. Did a great deal for the instrument, and a friend who knew him said he was a down-to-earth guy with no side to him whatsoever.

Julian Bream RIP.


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

A tremendous musician and a gift to us all. Lived to a ripe old age and what a legacy! I never had the chance to hear him in concert, but his LPs back in the day were on my turntable quite often.


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## flamencosketches (Jan 4, 2019)

Noo!!  Rest in peace to the master. His Baroque Guitar album is a favorite of mine.


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

Ow. I was just listening to one of his albums (Spanish guitar music) the other day. A fine and important musician. Major composers wrote works for him!


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

Animal the Drummer said:


> Heard him in concert once. Did a great deal for the instrument, and a friend who knew him said he was a down-to-earth guy with no side to him whatsoever.
> 
> Julian Bream RIP.


Yeah, I was fortunate enough to have heard him twice in Glasgow. Once in a solo concert and once in the Royal Concert Hall doing Concierto de Aranjuez. Terrific.


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## Kjetil Heggelund (Jan 4, 2016)

I actually cried when I heard the news today. I don't often do that I think. (Last time was when our cat died and Paco de Lucia...) Bream was the guitar hero's guitar hero and he inspired so much of contemporary music. Britten's best piece is for guitar!!!


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## vincula (Jun 23, 2020)

I'm lucky to own many of his records on vinyl. What a great musician he was. He had a long, gifted and fruitful life. He was humble and dedicated. His work will keep breathing life into the music he cherished and loved. Not bad at all!

Listen to this. He jumps up in PASSION!











Regards,

Vincula


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## ClassicalMaestro (Dec 10, 2017)

RIP Julian Bream. I just heard a couple of hours ago and it's a very sad day. He was my favorite guitarist and musician. He became a huge influence. He played with such feeling and heart. A child prodigy playing Piano, Cello, Lute, and of course Classical guitar. He also played Jazz. You will be greatly missed. Maestro


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## Room2201974 (Jan 23, 2018)

How do you learn to play the lute if there are no lute teachers within hundreds of miles? You put Julian Bream on the stereo and you paid attention to his tone. Bream's lute playing and his advocacy for the Elizabethan songwriters/lutenists was a huge inspiration to me. In an era of fretboard wizards he had few peers. Bream doing Dowland was like Karajan doing Brahms. 

I'm truly sad in Bream's passing. He was a unique musician who I highly respected. Thank goodness there are so many recordings.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)




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## senza sordino (Oct 20, 2013)

This is sad news, he was a gifted musician. I have a couple of his albums.


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## caracalla (Feb 19, 2020)

A wonderful musician. Introduced me to lute music, and in that department I don't think he's ever been surpassed.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

I watched the full two hours of My Life In Music. What a wonderful film! And Mr. Bream tells his own story all the way through. He was fortunate to grow up and spend his life in a loving, nurturing community of family, friends and musicians. And I appreciate the way he articulated the stark contrast and brutality of military life. The world has lost a wonderful man and peerless musician.


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## Varick (Apr 30, 2014)

When I worked in classical music mgmt (Shaw Concerts Inc), he was one of the artists we represented. I always enjoyed when he came into the office (which was rare), it gave this young (at the time) musician a rare chance to rub elbows with greatness. I was fortunate enough to hear him play live about 1/2 a dozen times. We was a true master of the craft and a consummate gentleman. RIP

V


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## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)

At the time, when Bream was actively recording, we really needed him as a contrast to Segovia's conservatism. I have the CD _Nocturnal,_ with works by Takemitsu, Britten, Frank Martin, Leo Brouwer, and Lutoslawski. Also,_ Bream plays Bach.

_


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## Guest (Aug 16, 2020)

Kjetil Heggelund said:


> I actually cried when I heard the news today. I don't often do that I think. (Last time was when our cat died and Paco de Lucia...) Bream was the guitar hero's guitar hero and he inspired so much of contemporary music. Britten's best piece is for guitar!!!


Yes, I did that a time or two as well. I know he was old and not in the best of health, but a world without Julian Bream just seems emptier, now. He's the reason I started playing classical guitar in the mid-7os. I had the opportunity to pick him up from the airport, we had lunch (his treat!), and just had a glorious time chatting. He was without a doubt the most charming person I have ever met. I cherish that time together as well as the numerous concerts I attended. No one today plays with his sense of dynamics, tone colors, and phrasing. Some young kids might have more advanced technique these days, but they haven't an ounce of his musicianship and imagination.

"Now cracks a noble heart.-Good night, sweet prince,
And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest!-"


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