# Favorite concertos for plucked strings instruments like harp, guitar, mandolin etc.



## lupinix (Jan 9, 2014)

Just wondering which you like as I don't know many, but have become really interested nevertheless 

I know the famous Concierto de Aranjuez and some guitar concertos by Giuliani
The harp concertos I know are that of Gliere, Milhaud, Alwynn, Ginastera, (John) Williams and Rautavaara.... I can't really chose between any of them yet though

Im also interested in what other plucked string instruments are used in a concerto


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## senza sordino (Oct 20, 2013)

Concerto for Aranjuez is probably my favorite, my go to guitar concerto. My John Williams CD also couples this with Fantasia para un Gentihombre, which is also very nice.

I once heard on the radio the Concerto for Aranjuez for harp. Interesting, but didn't sound as Spanish. 

I also have a CD of guitar concertos with: Vivaldi, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco and Villa Lobos. Lovely stuff. 

Because the guitar plays more quietly than a violin or piano, this music sounds more like chamber music.


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

François Adrien Boieldieu - Harp Concerto in C:






Elias Parish Alvars - Harp concertos in E flat major, D minor (double concerto with piano), there's also the G minor one. Here's the beautiful slow movement from E flat major concerto:


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## DrKilroy (Sep 29, 2012)

Mozart's Double Concerto for flute and harp is one of my favourites.

Also Stravinsky's Symphony in Three Movements, which is in fact a kind of sinfonia concertante with the middle movement featuring a harp.

Best regards, Dr


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## Guest (Feb 3, 2014)

I haven't heard Alvars. You better not be trollin', Aramis.

Ofc there's Hovhaness, but I know a lot of people take issue with him. He's sorta a nice, easy-listening, grandiose guy, but I certainly feel some things are lacking when I wanna get all serious with music. He has both a harp concerto and 2 nice guitar concertos.

William Mathias' harp concerto is also good fun. Rota's was good but I've only listened to it once.

I don't think I have any guitar concertos besides Rodrigo, Villa-Lobos, and Hovhaness though.

I should mention though, all the really great ones I love were already mentioned in the OP (Gliere, Alwyn, Ginastera, Rautavaara) and Aramis' mention of Boieldieu.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

I second the vote for the Mathias harp concerto. 

Then of course there are the lively Vivaldi guitar and mandolin concertos, though I think of baroque concertos as almost a separate genre, they are so radically different from what the concerto came to be. 

I've always wanted to hear a banjo concerto myself. I'm sure someone has written one somewhere. I like the sounbd of the instrument, I just tend to dislike the Americana genres it is often associated with.


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