Classical Guitar Recordings

[Bachtoven]

Yes, when you discover dark, woody sound of spruce/cedar body guitar, you're hooked.

I'm a spruce man myself.  This is my guitar made by Vance Bergeson. (The guitar in my avatar is made by Joshia de Jonge, which I no longer own, but I like the photo!)

It has an elevated fingerboard to facilitate reaching notes above the 12th fret.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

So, my questions and inquiries will probably begin specifically around Spanish Music for guitar, based on my Falla experience.

You may like the albums below.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

I'm a spruce man myself.  This is my guitar made by Vance Bergeson. (The guitar in my avatar is made by Joshia de Jonge, which I no longer own, but I like the photo!)

It has an elevated fingerboard to facilitate reaching notes above the 12th fret.

Gorgeous!

[Brahmsian]

Another one that I just sampled that I think is utterly sublime! 

[Brian]

Another one that I just sampled that I think is utterly sublime! 

If you end up sampling Erato's "Panorama of the Guitar" 25 CD box, the composer-guitarist Leo Brouwer has a CD of his own Scarlatti transcriptions in there. I just listened in the car last week.

[aligreto]

Another one that I just sampled that I think is utterly sublime! 

You will not go far wrong with Yepes playing the guitar.

[aligreto]

I'm a spruce man myself.  This is my guitar made by Vance Bergeson. (The guitar in my avatar is made by Joshia de Jonge, which I no longer own, but I like the photo!)

It has an elevated fingerboard to facilitate reaching notes above the 12th fret.

A very fine looking instrument.

[Bachtoven]

Another one that I just sampled that I think is utterly sublime! 

I was blown away by that recording when it first came out...until I listened with headphones: It's obvious he has over-dubbed some parts. His guitar is centered in the stereo mix, but then some additional parts are more in the right channel. This need not detract from your listening pleasure, but I find it a little dishonest that he doesn't admit it in the liner notes. It's a bit of a controversial recording in the guitar world.

[San Antone]

Some of my early classical guitar records that I still enjoy







But I am also a great fan of Yepes.  His compilation Gutarra Espanola is one of my favorite collections.

I am also a great fan of flamenco puro.  Paco Pena is a classical guitarist who also plays flamenco.

[Brahmsian]

Well....... I seem to be drawn to Pepe Romero.  😎

The wish list is getting bloated. 

[Brahmsian]

If you end up sampling Erato's "Panorama of the Guitar" 25 CD box, the composer-guitarist Leo Brouwer has a CD of his own Scarlatti transcriptions in there. I just listened in the car last week.

OMG Brian! That giant box is so tempting.... Added to the wish list.   

@Brian

And it is at a great price on Presto.

[aligreto]

Well....... I seem to be drawn to Pepe Romero.  😎

The wish list is getting bloated. 

Delighted to read that, on both counts. 

[Bachtoven]

I absolutely love this recording, but it's not for purists! Segovia took a lot of heat for adding bass notes and filling out some chords in his Bach transcriptions. Mearns does that, too, but he adds additional voices--even in the fugue from the 3rd Violin Sonata! He also plays the Chaconne, the first Lute Suite, and a few shorter works. By the way, this is a solo guitar recording: The woman is just for show or a prop! It's available on streaming platforms and as a CD directly from him, which I ordered a few days ago after enjoying it on Qobuz for a while.

[Brian]

OMG Brian! That giant box is so tempting.... Added to the wish list.   

@Brian

And it is at a great price on Presto.

It's a downright bargain and has a great cross-section of repertoire to help you learn what you like. The only drawback is that the sound can be a little rustic (though I like that you can often hear birds chirping in the background).

[JBS]

It's a downright bargain and has a great cross-section of repertoire to help you learn what you like. The only drawback is that the sound can be a little rustic (though I like that you can often hear birds chirping in the background).

I would also recommend the Panorama set.

The recently issued Manuel Barrueco box (Warner 11 CDs) is good for the most part (the CD of symphonic Beatles is okay but if I want to listen to the Beatles, I'll listen to the Beatles playing the Beatles), but should get much lower priority than the Panorama set.

[Brahmsian]

Well, I have whittled it down and made my purchases.  I am really excited! 

[aligreto]

^ Great stuff, Ray. You will have hours days of wonderful entertainment ahead of you. 

[Brahmsian]

^ Great stuff, Ray. You will have hours days of wonderful entertainment ahead of you. 

I know. Once I sampled that Goliath "Panorama" box and the terrific price, I just couldn't pass it up.  I felt it offered a somewhat broad "composer" centric repertoire.

Thank you all for your many recommendations, and this just means some of them didn't make the "first cut".   

[Brahmsian]

As I have the download available and cannot wait for things to "physically arrive"  , I have started listening to this, and it is utterly delightful! 

[Bachtoven]

A few more favorites. Kappel's Bach and Kellner recording is probably my favorite overall. The playing and the sound, especially on the original all-analog LP are phenomenal. I bought the score to his arrangement of the 6th Keyboard Partita but quickly abandoned it--would take a lifetime to master!
The original LP is very hard to find in the US these days:

But it's readily available on CD and streaming with a different cover:


Philip Hii is not far behind with some more mind blowing Bach keyboard transcriptions, including the Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue and the famous Toccata and Fugue in d minor. I learned the latter once and I'm in the process of relearning it. The only aspect I take issue with is the ridiculous speed of the outer two movement of Prelude, Fugue and Allegro. His twice the normal tempos kill the lyrical aspects, but they are impressive from a fingering dexterity perspective.


This duo plays stunning transcriptions of Sonatas no 8, 27, and 14.


Lastly (for now) two hair-raising recordings by Eliot Fisk. Not everyone warms to his "take no prisoners" approach, but it works here. Both works were written for solo violin, but Fisk's arrangements make a strong case for playing them on the guitar. Actually, he worked with Rochberg on his Caprice Variations, which basically turns it into a different work due to all the notes he added.


Note: The Rochberg can be challenging to listen to, not to mention to play!

All of those recordings are available on CDs or streaming platforms.