# Recommend Classical Guitar Albums Please



## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

I'm looking for some good ones, thanks in advance.


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## NoCoPilot (Nov 9, 2020)

Anything by Segovia, Julian Bream or John Williams (the guitarist, not the composer). Also Pepe Romero.


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

NoCoPilot said:


> Anything by Segovia, Julian Bream or John Williams (the guitarist, not the composer). Also Pepe Romero.


Thank you very much, kind sir.


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## NoCoPilot (Nov 9, 2020)

Who's that other one I'm thinking of? Oh yeah, Liona Boyd.


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## Haydn70 (Jan 8, 2017)

Go with John Williams, a superb musician. Andre Previn said something to the effect that no musician he knew of played his respective instrument as well as Williams.

I wouldn't bother with Boyd.


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## Haydn70 (Jan 8, 2017)

And Paul Galbraith...outstanding:


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## Haydn70 (Jan 8, 2017)

Your selection of recordings should be dependent to an extent on which portions of the guitar repertoire you are interested.


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## Haydn70 (Jan 8, 2017)

This album is a classic:


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## NoCoPilot (Nov 9, 2020)

Haydn70 said:


> I wouldn't bother with Boyd.


She's done a lot of crap. You have to be careful.

But John Williams has done a couple of clinkers too.


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## NoCoPilot (Nov 9, 2020)

Haydn70 said:


> And Paul Galbraith...outstanding


What's that, an 8-string guitar? Played in the cello position?


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

The new "star" on the firmament .


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

Baroque probably Hydan.


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## SearsPoncho (Sep 23, 2020)

Rodrigo - Concerto de Arenjuez - John Williams/Barenboim/English Chamber Orchestra
Villa Lobos - Guitar Concerto -John Williams/Barenboim/English Chamber Orchestra

Manuel Barrueco (guitar) - playing Granados' Spanish Dances and Albeniz's Suite Espanola
Eduardo Fernandez is also excellent in this repertoire.

Sergio and Odair Assad - Latin American Music for 2 Guitars - This isn't easy to find these days, but if you can, pick it up. It has the best guitar playing I've ever heard.

Julian Bream - Villa Lobos - Preludes for Guitar

Bach - Pick a Bach album by Segovia or John Williams. Just make sure it has Segovia's transcription of Bach's Chaconne. It's epic.

A few honorable mentions to consider once you finish the previously mentioned works:
Castelnuova-Tedesco's Guitar Concerto - John Williams again 
Rodrigo's Fantasia Para Un Gentilhombre - John Williams

https://www.amazon.com/Rodrigo-Conc...ra+gentilhombre&qid=1615101965&s=music&sr=1-1

Britten - Nocturnal - Julian Bream

There are also many good recordings of the following miniatures:
Sor - Variations on a Theme by Mozart
Tarrega - Recuerdos de la Alhambra
Tarrega - Capricho Arabe
Sor _ Etudes

That's nearly all the essential, basic classical guitar repertoire. I know what I speak of.:lol:


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

This album.









It isn't music written for solo guitar, but I don't know a guitar player who can listen to this without his jaw dropping to the floor.

Here he is with Mussorgsky's _Pictures at an Exhibition_.






In other music, John Williams, Christopher Parkening, and the Romeros can be handily counted upon to deliver the goods.


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

Tomas Marco, Guitar Concerto, _Concierto del Agua_


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## milk (Apr 25, 2018)




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## Jokke (Dec 28, 2013)

Xuefei Yang :guitar:

http://www.xuefeiyang.com/


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## Jokke (Dec 28, 2013)

https://www.discogs.com/Jos%C3%A9-Miguel-Moreno-La-Guitarra-Espa%C3%B1ola-1536-1836/release/3110738






José Miguel Moreno !


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## Animal the Drummer (Nov 14, 2015)

Haydn70 said:


> This album is a classic:


Absolutely this. Some of the best Bach playing I've ever heard on any instrument.


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## Coach G (Apr 22, 2020)

There's lots of great classical guitar music, and since most of the standard recommendations have already been covered or probably will be covered, I'll just mention a few of my personal favorites including a couple that may off the beaten path.









































One of the first guitar albums I ever bought was _Concerto for Classical Guitar and Jazz Piano_ by Claude Bolling and featuring Angel Romero with George Shearing. While most classical crossover comes out as mush this is a seamless blending of jazz and classical and for some reason much more interesting that Bolling's other albums. Staying with the fabulous Romeros are some albums that feature some other guitar concertos by Juaquin Rodrigo apart from the overplayed _Concerto de Arenjuez_, and the _Concerto de Andulez_ for FOUR guitars is a real barn burner. Also included in the above albums are guitar concertos by Villa-Lobos and Casternuovo-Tedesco, two wonderful guitar concertos by two guys with two last names, and speaking of guys with two last names is the transcription of Rimsky-Korsakov's _Scheherazade_ for two guitars by Kazuhito Yamashita played by Yamashita joined by his sister Naoko. And with Scherazade being one of my favorite orchestral spectaculars with many versions in my music collection by Bernstein, Karajan, Ormandy, Mehta, Terkmaninov, and Ozawa; of course I couldn't pass up Yamashita who retains Rimsky's orchestral color even within the confines of just two instruments. Lastly, is Benjamin Britten and the music he composed for his life-partner Peter Pears and guitarist par excellence Julian Bream. While the _Songs from the Chinese_ is the highlight, the 20 minute _Nocturne_ for solo guitar is another tour-de-force.


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

NoCoPilot said:


> Anything by Segovia, Julian Bream or John Williams (the guitarist, not the composer). Also Pepe Romero.


You can't go wrong with anything by these guys. I would add Narciso Yepes and Konrad Ragossnig too.


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## senza sordino (Oct 20, 2013)

My favorite guitar albums. Some of which have already been mentioned.

Bach Lute Suites









Rodrigo Concerto for Aranjuez and Fantasy for a Gentleman









Julian Bream plays Spanish music









Narciso Yepes plays Spanish music









Villa Lobos Preludes, Studies and the Concerto


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## senza sordino (Oct 20, 2013)

Walton Five Bagatelles, Concerti by Arnold and Berkeley









Bach Lute Suite in E, Britten Nocturnal, Castelnuovo-Tedesco Sonata









John Williams greatest hits









Segovia Greatest hits









and a CD I don't own, but I'd like to
Messrs. Harvey and Grey Guitar Concerti


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## consuono (Mar 27, 2020)




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## Kjetil Heggelund (Jan 4, 2016)

I feel like recommending some guitar players too!
more Julian Bream!
David Russell
Pablo Marquez
Zoran Dukic
Marcin Dylla
Lorenzo Micheli
...there are quite a lot of magnificent guitar players in the world right now!


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## consuono (Mar 27, 2020)

A work I'd recommend is Ginastera's Sonata...look up various performances on YT, including a great one (imo) by Marcin Dylla mentioned by the commenter above.

By the way here are a couple more (unusual) suggestions...a couple of acoustic albums by Joe Pass, one of the greatest ever jazz guitarists:


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## NoCoPilot (Nov 9, 2020)

consuono said:


> View attachment 152047


Wow! Is that his real hair, or a Haydn wig?


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## consuono (Mar 27, 2020)

NoCoPilot said:


> Wow! Is that his real hair, or a Haydn wig?


I don't know. Being follically challenged myself, I'd like to have a coif like that. :lol:

Anyway, Käppel's transcription of the Bach E minor Partita is amazing.


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## Andante Largo (Apr 23, 2020)

Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895 - 1968)


Guitar Concertos











Music for Two Guitars


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## Kjetil Heggelund (Jan 4, 2016)

Käppel has real silver hair! Have to add Frank Bungarten and Franz Halasz to my list.


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## Dirge (Apr 10, 2012)

Here's a handful of my favorite recordings of works for Baroque or Classical guitar, plus a lute concerto and a pop instrumental for good measure …

Antonio VIVALDI: (Lute) *Concerto in D major, KV 93* (c. 1731)
:: Julian Bream Consort [RCA '63]





Gaspar SANZ: *"Canarios"* (p. 1674)
:: Julian Bream [RCA '65]





J. S. BACH: *Prelude in C minor, BWV 999* (played in D minor) (c. 1720)
:: Julian Bream [RCA '65]





J. S. BACH: *Fugue in G minor, BWV 1000* (played in A minor) (c. 1723)
:: Julian Bream [RCA '65]





Joaquín RODRIGO: *Concierto de Aranjuez* (1939)
:: Yepes, Argenta/Orquesta Nacional de España [RCA/Ediciones Joaquín Rodrigo '57]





Joaquín RODRIGO: *Invocación y danza* (1961)
:: Pepe Romero [Philips '92]





Mason WILLIAMS: *"Classical Gas"* (1968)
:: Mason Williams [Warner '68]


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## flamencosketches (Jan 4, 2019)

Big fan of Julian Bream’s Baroque Guitar album on RCA Victor. I need to hear more of his work.


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

There are lots of great selections here. Thank you all!


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

I have to mention this one.

I have hundreds of guitar albums in my collection: classical (solo and concertos), jazz (the well-known and the lesser known, from traditional be-bop to way-experimental), and rock (where to my sensibilities Terry Kath of Chicago rules supreme).

But in recent years the guitar album which has gotten the most play on my system is this one:









I don't even shelve it. It sits beside my CD deck, waiting for another spin, which will come soon and often. It's a record I played through several times after my first hearing, and I've recommended it to guitar playing friends. All who have heard this love it. And it may well be my favorite guitar album. Note, I remain a long-time fan of the music of Jobim, which is where this disc is centered. But the opening track alone is worth the price of the disc. Guitarist Bertoncini opens with a stellar performance of Chopin's E minor Prelude which then turns into Jobim's _O Insensatez_. Absolutely awesome, and just the start of this great album on which there are no overdubs -- just one guitarist (with some light percussion from John Arrucci and Jon Bates on selected tracks) playing in a single-take.

A treasure of a disc.


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## Marcos (May 3, 2021)

As an alternative to John Williams playing the Bach lute suites, I recommend Göran Söllscher. He plays an 11 string guitar and the results are stunning, with the extra strings really enabling him to bring out the bass lines. Here he is playing another Bach piece.

Also, the Scarlatti sonatas sound great on guitar, though I guess only about 10% of them are playable on the instrument. Notable performers of these include Julian Bream, Leo Brouwer, David Russell and the Assad brothers.


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## RICK RIEKERT (Oct 9, 2017)

The great Berta Rojas' "Intimate Barrios" CD is a great joy for any guitar aficionado.


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

Marcos said:


> As an alternative to John Williams playing the Bach lute suites, I recommend Göran Söllscher. He plays an 11 string guitar and the results are stunning, with the extra strings really enabling him to bring out the bass lines. Here he is playing another Bach piece.
> 
> Also, the Scarlatti sonatas sound great on guitar, though I guess only about 10% of them are playable on the instrument. Notable performers of these include Julian Bream, Leo Brouwer, David Russell and the Assad brothers.


Agree with all of that. Also, Sollscher's Renaissance album.

Also, the OP asked about Haydn. Paul Galbraith has a Haydn album. It didn't really catch my fancy, but worth checking out. On the other hand I do like Galbraith's transcriptions of Debussy and Ravel.

Finally, if a bagel with cream cheese is my comfort food, "Parkening Plays Bach" is my comfort album. The only problem is that the CD tacks on six tracks by other Baroque composers. To me they upset the flow of the original album.


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## BrahmsWasAGreatMelodist (Jan 13, 2019)

SONNET CLV said:


> I have to mention this one.
> 
> I have hundreds of guitar albums in my collection: classical (solo and concertos), jazz (the well-known and the lesser known, from traditional be-bop to way-experimental), and rock (where to my sensibilities Terry Kath of Chicago rules supreme).
> 
> ...


Woah thanks for the recommendation Sonnet. Right up my alley. Jobim's my favorite songwriter.


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## Andrew Kenneth (Feb 17, 2018)

Georg Friedrich Haas - Quartett für 4 Gitarren - Aleph Gitarrenquartett


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## GucciManeIsTheNewWebern (Jul 29, 2020)

This isn't classical music, but it's a classical guitarist playing extremely inventive and unique compositions on a fretless. Can't recommend this album enough


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