Allegro Competition Finals
Allegro Guitar Competition Finals
April 5 & 6, 2025
More information available soon.
David Russell | Scotland/Spain
David Russell
March 8 & 9, 2025
| Dallas: Sat Mar 8, 2025 7:30pm University of Texas at Dallas 900 W Campbell Rd, Richardson, TX 75080
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Fort Worth: Sun Mar 9, 2025 2:30pm Kimbell Art Museum – Renzo Piano Pavilion Auditorium 3333 Camp Bowie Blvd, Fort Worth, TX 76107 |
David Russell
GRAMMY award winner for his CD AIRE LATINO in the category of best instrumental soloist in classical music.
Honorary Doctorate in Music by the University of Arizona in Tucson in 2014.
Inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Guitar Foundation of America in 2018.
Classical guitarist David Russell is world renowned for his superb musicianship and inspired artistry, having earned the highest praise from audiences and critics alike. In recognition of his great talent and his international career, he was named a Fellow of The Royal Academy of Music in London in 1997.
In May 2003 he was bestowed the great honor of being made “adopted son” of Es Migjorn, the town in Minorca where he grew up. Later the town named a street after him, “Avinguda David Russell”.
In November 2003 he was given the Medal of Honor of the Conservatory of the Balearics.
After winning the grammy award, the town of Nigrán in Spain where he resides, gave him the silver medal of the town in an emotional ceremony.
During his studies at the Royal Academy, David Russell won twice the Julian Bream Guitar Prize. Later he won numerous international competitions, including the Andrés Segovia Competition , the José Ramírez Competition and Spain’s prestigious Francisco Tárrega Competition .
David Russell spends his time touring the world, appearing regularly at prestigious halls in main cities, such as New York, London, Tokyo, Los Angeles, Madrid, Toronto or Rome. Concert-goers everywhere are in awe of his musical genius and inspired by his captivating stage presence. His love of his craft resonates through his flawless and seemingly effortless performance. The attention to detail and provocative lyrical phrasing suggest an innate understanding of what each individual composer was working to achieve, bringing to each piece a sense of adventure.
In May 2005 he received a homage from the music conservatory of Vigo, culminating with the opening of the new Auditorium, to which they gave the name “Auditorio David Russell”.
In 2009 David was named honorary member of “Amigos de la Guitarra”, the oldest guitar society in Spain.
A prolific recording artists, his collection includes seventeen CDs with Telarc International.
The New York Times wrote about his performance: “… Mr. Russell made his mastery evident without ever deviating from an approach that places musical values above mere display. It was apparent to the audience throughout the recital that Mr. Russell possesses a talent of extraordinary dimension”.
Upon hearing play in London, Andrés Segovia wrote: “My congratulations on your musicality and guitaristic technique”.
Lukasz Kuropaczewski | Poland
Łukasz Kuropaczewski
February 15 & 16, 2025
| Dallas: Sat Feb 15, 2025 7:30pm St. Monica Catholic Church 9933 Midway Rd, Dallas, TX 75220
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Fort Worth: Sun Feb 16, 2025 2:30pm Kimbell Art Museum – Renzo Piano Pavilion Auditorium 3333 Camp Bowie Blvd, Fort Worth, TX 76107 |
Łukasz Kuropaczewski
Łukasz Kuropaczewski, “an amiable bear of a soloist” as the Washington Post portrayed him after one of his performances with the Baltimore Symphony, “is definitely the new megastar of the classical guitar.” (El Nuevo Dia, Puerto Rico)
Lukasz is in great demand as a recitalist and as soloist with orchestras, and he is invited to perform in numerous venues around the globe each year. Highlights include appearances in London’s Royal Festival Hall, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Warsaw’s National Philharmonic Hall, Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow, Caramoor Music Festival, the Santa Fe Music Festival, Easter Beethoven Festival, Tonhalle Zurich, Heidelberger Fruhling, Schleswig Holstein Musik Festival and New York’s Carnegie Hall.
An avid chamber music collaborator, he performed with the Orion String Quartet, mandolin player Avi Avital, Richard Galliano, Daniel Hope, Stefano Barneschi (concertmaster of Il Giardino Armonico), countertenor Jakub Jozef Orlinski, pianist Alek Debicz or accordionist Maciej Frackiewicz.
Lukasz has inspired many composers to write work for his instrument. He premiered a guitar quintet, “Acequias,” by Marc Neikrug at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, and his “Three Pieces for Guitar” at the Baltimore Museum of Art in Baltimore, Triptych Sonata by K. Meyer at the Caramoor Festival in New York. He has premiered concertos by Angelo Gilardino, Krzysztof Meyer, Mikolaj Gorecki, and Alexandre Tansman. He made the guitar version of Krzysztof Penderecki’s Viola Concerto and premiered it with Sinfonia Varsovia and conductor Maximiano Valdes. In 2022 he premiered a new Concerto by Marc Neikrug in Marseille, France with the Marseilla Opera Orchestra and Lawrence Foster.
Lukasz Kuropaczewski is currently on the faculty of the Kunst University Graz, Austria and Academy of Music in Poznan, Poland, holding a doctorate degree in performance.
Lukasz Kuropaczewski was decorated with the “Meritorius for Polish Culture” medal in recognition of his distinguished cultural contribution, awarded by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage in Poland
He plays Julian Dammann guitar and uses Savarez Alliance Forum Strings.
“Kuropaczewski performed with such passion and technical perfection that the audience could only fall in love with him.”
Nurnberger Zeitung, Germany
Ziggy & Miles Johnston | Australia
Ziggy & Miles Johnston November 16 & 17, 2024
Dallas: Sat Nov 16, 2024 7:30pm St. Monica Catholic Church 9933 Midway Rd, Dallas, TX 75220
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Fort Worth: Sun Nov 17, 2024 2:30pm
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Ziggy & Mile Johnson
“Australian guitarist brothers making history” (The Age), Ziggy and Miles are two of their home country’s finest young musicians forging an international career. Their performances are known for their “deeply considered musicianship, immaculate care and superlative technique” (5MBS). Winners of the 2023 YCA (Young Concert Artists) Susan Wadsworth International Auditions, the brothers have become the first guitar duo and second guitarists to receive this prestigious award in the organisation’s 63-year history.
Ziggy and Miles’ long-awaited new album, Sidekick, featured as one of WQXR’s (New York’s classical music radio station) “Best New Classical Albums of 2023”. Praised by Soundboard Magazine as “[played] with perfect unanimity and admirable virtuosity”, it showcases new works written for the brothers, their own “transfixingly beautiful” (Limelight) arrangement of Debussy’s Clair de Lune, and works that have shaped their musical identity from Spain, Latin America, and Australia. The title track “Sidekick” is a character piece written for the brothers by award winning composer Katie Jenkins that ties this theme together. In Jenkins’ own words, “They make fun of each other but need each other, they compete with one another but are stronger together.”
With over 50 awards between them in guitar competitions and local music Eisteddfods across their home city of Melbourne, Ziggy and Miles proved their artistry as soloists and a duo from a young age. A selection of their early accolades includes major prizes in competitions hosted by the Guitar Foundation of America, the Adelaide International Guitar Festival, and the Melbourne Recital Center. Self-released in 2014, their debut album, Recollections, served as both a tribute to the music that inspired the brothers growing up, and as their first professional milestone to look back upon and ‘recollect’.
Ziggy and Miles are actively involved in community engagement and have a passion for providing education and music to people without access to live performances or high-quality music education. They have collaborated with organisations across Australia and the US including Melbourne Recital Centre, The Juilliard School, and Project: Music Heals Us. One highlight for the brothers was their Music Always tour, partnered with Melbourne Recital Centre. This 2-week 12-concert tour saw the brothers travelling across their home state of Victoria to aged care facilities, community centres, medical facilities, and psychiatric wards. Ziggy and Miles regard this as one of their most emotionally challenging yet rewarding experiences as musicians to date.
Graduates of The Juilliard School, Ziggy and Miles were the first Australians and first guitar duo accepted into the school’s prestigious Artist Diploma program, where they also received the Norman Benzaquen Career Advancement Grant. They studied under Multiple Grammy Winner, Sharon Isbin, who has shaped and inspired their artistic identities. During both their master’s and Artist Diploma at Juilliard, the brothers received distinguished awards to assist their studies from Australian Foundations, including the American Australia Association, Ian Potter Cultural Trust, and Phonographic Performance Company of Australia.
Ziggy and Miles play guitars by Australian luthier Jim Redgate and play Savarez strings. They are managed internationally by Young Concert Artists.
Hao Yang | China
Hao Yang
October 12 & 13, 2024
| Dallas: Sat Oct 12, 2024 7:30pm St. Monica Catholic Church 9933 Midway Rd, Dallas, TX 75220
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Fort Worth: Sun Oct 13, 2024 2:30pm Kimbell Art Museum – Renzo Piano Pavilion Auditorium 3333 Camp Bowie Blvd, Fort Worth, TX 76107 |
Hao Yang
“a technical wizard”—Cleveland Classical
Concert classical guitarist Hao Yang is known for her brilliant performances that are “full of color and character changes accompanied by an assured technique” – Cleveland Classical. Yang has won top prizes in numerous competitions, including the 54th Markneukirchen International Instrumental Competition, the GFA International Youth Competition, and CSU International Guitar Competition. She has appeared as soloist with the Chusachsische Philharmonie in Germany and has been invited to perform solo recitals at the Cleveland, Panama, and Beijing International Guitar Festivals. Yang has performed in major venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Kimmel Center, Miller Theatre, Princeton Sound Kitchen, and Subculture NYC. She holds a BM from the Curtis Institute of Music and is currently pursuing her graduate degree at the Lamont School of Music at University of Denver as recipient of the Newman Fellowship. She is a winner of the 2021 Astral Artists National Competition.Artist’s
Webpage: astralartists.org/artist/hao-yang/
Douglas Lora
Douglas Lora
December 2 & 3, 2023
Dallas: Sat Dec 2, 2023 7:30pm St. Monica Catholic Church 9933 Midway Rd, Dallas, TX 75220
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Fort Worth: Sun Dec 3, 2023 2:30pm
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Douglas Lora
Composer and guitarist Douglas Lora moves with versatility between classical and popular music and has established himself as one of the most prominent artists of his generation. A member of the Brasil Guitar Duo (with Joao Luiz) for more than fifteen years and seven-string guitarist of the choro and samba band Caraivana, Douglas Lora has a full touring schedule worldwide and has collaborated with artists including Paquito d’Rivera, Marco Pereira, Jovino Santos Neto, Ney Rosauro, Marina Piccinini, and many others.
In 2011 he joined his brother, percussionist Alexandre Lora, and mandolin virtuoso, Dudu Maia, to form an ensemble dedicated to Brazilian traditional music, Trio Brasileiro. Lora has performed as a soloist with the Dallas Symphony, Houston Symphony, Dayton Philharmonic, Orquesta Metropolitana of Sao Paolo, and the Orchestra of the Americas.
Critics and audiences around the world have praised his recordings with the Brasil Guitar Duo, and distinguished artists and chamber ensembles have recorded his compositions. Douglas Lora studied composition and classical guitar at Faculdade de Artes Alcantara Machado in Sao Paolo and received a Master’s Degree in Performance from the University of Miami. Lora was a winner of the Concerts Artists Guild Award in 2006 with the Brasil Guitar Duo and has eight recordings and five original film soundtracks to his credit.
Bokyung Byun
Bokyung Byun
Jan 6 & 7, 2024
Dallas: Sat Jan 6, 2024 7:30pm St. Monica Catholic Church 9933 Midway Rd, Dallas, TX 75220
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Fort Worth: Sun Jan 7, 2024 2:30pm
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Bokyung Byun
“Here is a simple fact: with artistry such as Ms. Byun’s, the state-of-the-art of guitar performance has reached a new level.”
-Soundboard Magazine
Praised by Classical Guitar Magazine as “confident and quite extraordinary,” Korean guitarist, Bokyung Byun enjoys a reputation as one of the most sought-after guitarists of her generation. Bokyung holds the distinction of being the first female winner of the prestigious JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Concerto Competition, where Falletta herself described Bokyung’s performance as “stunning, showcasing her gorgeous tone, immaculate technique, and sophisticated musicianship.” Other recent honors include the grand prize at the 2021 Guitar Foundation of America International Concert Artist Competition and a 2023 Avery Fisher Career Grant.
A bevy of orchestras, festivals, workshops, and guitar societies look to Byun for solo performances and masterclasses. In recent seasons, Bokyung has performed as a soloist with orchestras, including the Buffalo Philharmonic, the Utah Symphony, the Brevard Music Center Orchestra, West Los Angeles Symphony, the Aspen Music Festival Orchestra, among others. Her solo recital highlights include performances at St. Louis Classical Guitar, Cleveland Classical Guitar Society, John E. Marlow Guitar Series, Toronto Guitar Weekend, and Guitar Montréal. She was acclaimed for performing “eloquently through a diverse and challenging program,” by Michelle Fratus, president of the board of the Knoxville Guitar Society, and having “confidence, passion, excellent projection and great dynamic contrast” by Heather Morand Clark, president of the Guitar Society of Toronto.
Committed to expanding the role of a 21st-century musician, Byun’s concert program often features contemporary music alongside traditional repertoire. As Byun herself says, “it’s vital and exciting to audiences for concerts to join the new with the old. For guitar music to continue to grow, I believe that new works must actively be cultivated in programming, and it is my hope that audiences leave my performances with new experiences.” This skill at navigating both classic repertoire and fresh work has led her to co-found Sounding Board: The New Music Initiative for Guitarists and Composers. The project focuses on promoting collaborative relationships between composers and performers to create new works for guitar, and its inaugural festival in Besançon, France in 2019 has been praised as “extraordinary, in the strict sense of the word,” by La Presse de Gray in France.
Bokyung’s debut recording in 2020 has been praised by Soundboard Magazine as, “a very beautiful disc…We are treated to extraordinary musicianship, technical assurance, and beauty of sound.” In 2022, American Record Guide chose her Naxos Laurate Series recording as the Critics’ Choice Album, remarking her style as “very reminiscent of Andres Segovia.”
Born in Seoul, Korea, Byun began playing guitar at the age of six. At eleven, she took the stage for her first solo recital, leading to an early start in her teen years performing numerous concert tours around Korea, to enthusiastic response, including millions of views on YouTube. By her teen years, she had gained national attention for first-prize finishes in three renowned competitions: the Korea Guitar Association, the Music Association of Korea, and the Guitar Foundation of America International Youth Competition.
Byun soon moved to the United States, where she briefly studied in Los Angeles before moving to New York City, where she entered The Juilliard School at the age of sixteen. She holds Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from The Juilliard School and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Southern California. Teachers and mentors include Scott Tennant, William Kanengiser, Chen Zhi, Tae-Soo Kim, and Sharon Isbin.
In 2020, Byun co-founded Guitarlab which has provided an innovative online learning platform offering cutting-edge classes designed for young professionals around the world. Byun is currently on the guitar faculty of California State University Fullerton. She is an Augustine Strings artist and plays a guitar by Dieter Mueller (2019). Please visit www.bokyungbyun.com for more information.
Beijing Guitar Duo
Beijing Guitar Duo
Mar 16 & 17, 2024
| Dallas: Sat Mar 16, 2024 7:30pm St. Monica Catholic Church 9933 Midway Rd, Dallas, TX 75220
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Fort Worth: Sun Mar 17, 2024 2:30pm Kimbell Art Museum – Renzo Piano Pavilion Auditorium 3333 Camp Bowie Blvd, Fort Worth, TX 76107 |
Composed of guitarist Meng Su and Yameng Wang, the Beijing Guitar Duo has performed throughout Europe, Asia, and North America. This past season took them to countries such as Germany, Russia, Spain, Portugal, Denmark, Poland, China, Panama, and the United States. The duo has toured extensively with their mentor Manuel Barrueco, appearing in such countries as Germany, Finland, Spain, Russia, as well as the United States.
The Beijing Guitar Duo’s performances and recordings have impressed the public with “an ability and artistry that exceeds their years.” Their debut CD Maracaípe, received a Latin-GRAMMY nomination for the titled piece, which was dedicated to them by renowned guitarist/composer Sergio Assad. Their second CD, Bach to Tan Dun, has been widely noted for the world-premiere recording of Tan Dun’s Eight Memories in Watercolor, specially arranged for the duo by Manuel Barrueco. A recording in trio, China West, with Maestro Barrueco was released in May 2014.
Meng Su and Yameng Wang were born in the coastal city of Qingdao, China. They came to the partnership with exceptional credentials, including a string of competition awards. Ms. Su’s honors include victories at the Vienna Youth Guitar Competition and the Christopher Parkening Young Guitarist Competition, while Ms. Wang was the youngest guitarist to win the Tokyo International Guitar Competition at the age of 12, and was invited by Radio France to perform at the prestigious Paris International Guitar Art Week at age 14. Both young artists had given solo recitals in China and abroad, and had made solo recordings before they formed the duo.
In addition to concertizing, the members of the duo share a love for teaching which brings them to major conservatories in the world for master classes and to judge competitions. Since 2011 they have been Artists-in-residence for the San Francisco Performances. This four-year residency program brings them to the Bay Area every year for community outreach, performances, and master classes in public schools as well as for the San Francisco Conservatory.
The Beijing Guitar Duo is proudly supported by the Maryland State Art Council’s Touring Artists Grant program since 2014.
MENG SU
Born in the coastal city of Qingdao, in the province of Shandong, China in 1988, Meng Su demonstrated her artistic gifts as an exceptionally talented guitarist from an early age.
Embarking on an exciting guitar career as one of the most outstanding guitarists of her generation, Meng Su began her training in classical guitar with renowned Professor Chen Zhi at the age of nine, where she quickly began attracting attention as a remarkable young talent. Before graduating from the High School of the Central Conservatory of Music of China in 2006, Ms. Su had already won many awards, including the 5th Vienna Youth Guitar Competition, the 48th Tokyo International Guitar Competition, the Christopher Parkening Young Guitarist Competition, and the 2nd Iserlohn International Guitar Competition in Germany.
As a performing artist, she has performed solo, duo, and quartet concerts across the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Austria, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Finland, Croatia, Korea, Japan, and China, in which she has impressed audiences with an ability and artistry that exceeds her years.
Ms. Su performs regularly in chamber music setting, both with orchestras as a soloist, this past season she performed the Concierto de Aranjuez by Joaquin Rodrigo and Osvaldo Golijov’s Ayre for a chamber music ensemble.
Meng Su obtained her Performer’s Certificate and the Graduate Performer’s Diploma from Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, USA, and is currently continuing her studies with guitar virtuoso Manuel Barrueco in the chamber music program.
Ms. Su’s discography includes a live CD and DVD release of a 2005 guitar concert in Korea as well as a release of “Four Angels.”
YAMENG WANG
Born in Qingdao, China in 1981, Yameng Wang fell in love with the classical guitar at a young age and began studying with the leading guitar professor in China, Professor Chen Zhi, when she was 10 years old.
She became the youngest winner of the Tokyo International Guitar Competition at the age of 12. She went on to win second prize in the “Michele Pittaluga” International Guitar Competition in Italy at the age of 13, and at the age of 14 she was invited by Radio France to perform at the Paris International Guitar Art Week and won second prize in La Infanta Doña Cristina International Guitar Competition in Spain. Classical Guitar magazine noted that at the age of 14, she already played like a seasoned professional.
After graduating from the Central Conservatory of Music of China in 2006, Ms. Wang enrolled in the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, Maryland. There, she finished her Masters of Music degree in 2008 and is currently in the Graduate Performance Diploma program, studying with Maestro Manuel Barrueco.
Ms. Wang has given acclaimed recitals across the US, France, Italy, Holland, Germany, Ireland, Finland, Croatia,, Britain, Austria, Spain, Belgium, Switzerland, Poland, Australia, Japan, and Malaysia both as a soloist and in chamber music setting.
Her first album, “Caprice” was recorded when she was 16 years old. “A Very Special Album” was released in 1999, and in 2003 she contributed GHA’s album, “The Best of Classical Guitar.” In 2005 she released “Classic Guitar – Aquarelle, Un Sueño en la Floresta.”
Program
Prelude, Fugue et Variation, Op.18
CÉSAR FRANCK (1822-1890)
Prélude (Andantino)
Lento (arr. Ophee)
Fugue (Allegretto ma non troppo)
Variation (Andantino)
Petite Suite
CLAUDE DEBUSSY (1862-1918)
En bateau
Cortège (arr. Meng Su)
Menuet
Ballet
Dolly Suite, Op. 56
GABRIEL FAURÉ (1845-1924)
Berceuse
Mi-a-ou (arr. Meng Su)
Le Jardin de Dolly
Kitty-valse
Tendresse
Le pas espagnole
Intermission
Valses poéticos
ENRIQUE GRANADOS (1867-1916)
Vivace molto
Melodico (arr. Duo Gruber-Maklar)
Tempo de vals noble
Tempo de vals lento
Allegro humoristico
Allegretto (elegante)
Quasi ad libitum (sentimental)
Vivo
Presto – Andante – Tempo del primer vals
Bajo la Palmera
ISAAC ALBÉNIZ (1860-1909)
Castilla (arr. M. Llobet)
Tango Suite
ASTOR PIAZZOLLA (1921-1992)
Allegro
Andante
Allegro vivace
Manuel Barrueco
Manuel Barrueco
April 6 & 7, 2024
| Dallas: Sat Apr 6, 2024 7:30pm St. Monica Catholic Church 9933 Midway Rd, Dallas, TX 75220 |
Fort Worth: Sun Apr 7, 2024 2:30pm Kimbell Art Museum – Renzo Piano Pavilion Auditorium 3333 Camp Bowie Blvd, Fort Worth, TX 7610 |
Manuel Barrueco is internationally recognized as one of the most important guitarists of our time. His unique artistry has been continually described as that of a superb instrumentalist and a superior and elegant musician, possessing a seductive sound and uncommon lyrical gifts.
His career has been dedicated to bringing the guitar to the main musical centers of the world. During three decades of concertizing, he has performed across the United Sates from the New World Symphony in Miami to the Seattle Symphony, and from the Hollywood Bowl with the Los Angeles Philharmonic to New York’s Lincoln Center.
He has appeared with such prestigious orchestras as the Philadelphia Orchestra and with the Boston Symphony under the direction of Seiji Ozawa, in the American Premiere of Toru’s Takemitsu’s To the Edge of Dream. In addition, he appears regularly with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and with San Francisco Performances.
His international tours have taken him to some of the most important musical centers in the world. Highlights include the Musikverein in Vienna, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Royal Albert Hall in London, Philharmonie in Berlin, Teatro Real in Madrid, and Palau de la Musica in Barcelona. In Asia he has completed a dozen tours of Japan and made repeated appearances in Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, China, and Hong Kong. Barrueco’s tours of Latin America have included performances in Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama and Puerto Rico.
He has also performed as a guest soloist with other international orchestras, such as the Russian State Symphony, Helsinki Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, NHK Symphony, New Japan Philharmonic, Auckland Symphony in New Zealand, Orquestra Sinfonica do Estado de Sao Paulo (OSESP), in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and the radio symphonies of Munich and Frankfurt.
This coming season 2016-2017 includes solo recitals in the United States, Canada, Germany, Spain, and Italy, an appearance with the Puerto Rico Symphony and conductor Max Valdes, performances with the Cuarteto Casals in the United States, and the Beijing Guitar Duo in the United States and Europe. He will continue being an Artist-in-residence for the University of Alicante, Spain. In the 2017-2018 concert season, Mr. Barrueco will offer two solo tours in Europe (November 2017 and March 2018).
Barrueco’s commitment to contemporary music and to the expansion of the guitar repertoire has led him to collaborations with many distinguished composers such as Steven Stucky, Michael Daugherty, Roberto Sierra, Arvo Pärt, Jonathan Leshnoff, Gabriela Lena Frank, Dmitri Yanov-Yanovsky, and Toru Takemitsu, whose last orchestral work Spectral Canticle was a double concerto written specifically for Manuel Barrueco and violinist Frank Peter Zimmerman.
Manuel Barrueco has appeared on a wide array of television programs including “CBS Sunday Morning”, A&E’s “Breakfast with the Arts”, and “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” on PBS. He was featured in a Lexus car commercial, and his work in music inspired Michael Lawrence’s biographical documentary: “Manuel Barrueco: A Gift and a Life” which has been aired by PBS stations around the United States. Barrueco’s performances have been broadcast by television stations around the world such as NHK in Japan, Bayerische Rundfunk in Germany, and RTVE in Spain.
Barrueco’s recording catalogue includes over a dozen recordings for the EMI label. His recording of Joaquín Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez with conductor and tenor Plácido Domingo and the Philharmonia Orchestra was cited as the best recording of that piece in Classic CD Magazine. His Koch Classics release, Concierto Barroco, with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia and conductor Víctor Pablo Pérez, received a Latin Grammy nomination for “Best Classical Recording.” His early recordings, available on VOX, have become a classic amongst guitar recordings.
In 2007 Manuel Barrueco received a Grammy nomination for the “Best Instrumental Soloist Performance” for his Solo Piazzolla, which was the first recording to be released on the exclusive Manuel Barrueco Collection on Tonar Music. Tango Sensations and Sounds of the Americas came out subsequently in collaboration with the Cuarteto Latinoamericano, the latter received a Latin Grammy Award for “Inca Dances” by Gabriela Lena Frank for “Best Classical Contemporary Composition.” Virtuoso Guitar Duos was released in 2009 and includes the most breathtaking guitar duos from the Spanish and Latin-American repertoire. In 2010 he released a solo recording, Tárrega!, which includes works and arrangements of the Spanish composer Francisco Tárrega and which received a Latin Grammy nomination for “Best Classical Album.” His latest release Chaconne–A Baroque Recital came out in 2012.
This past season he released two recordings: Medea, which includes Barrueco’s arrangement of the ballet by flamenco guitarist/composer Manolo Sanlúcar recorded with the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra and Víctor Pablo Pérez conducting, and China West, a recording of guitar trios in collaboration with his protégés, the Beijing Guitar Duo (Meng Su & Yameng Wang).
Manuel Barrueco began playing the guitar at the age of eight, and he attended the Esteban Salas Conservatory in his native Cuba. He immigrated with his family to the United States in 1967, as political refugees. Later, he completed his advanced studies at the Peabody Conservatory of Music, where he now shares his love for music with a small number of exceptionally gifted young guitarists from all over the world.
In 2011, Manuel Barrueco received the United States Artist Fontanals Fellowship for Artistic Excellence.
Yameng Wang
Yameng Wang
October 15 & 16, 2022
Dallas: Sat Oct 15, 2022 2:30pm Westminster Presbyterian Church 8200 Devonshire Dr, Dallas, TX 75209 |
Fort Worth: Sun Oct 16, 2022 2:30pm |
Yameng Wang will perform music by Bach, Barrios, and Sergio Assad.
Christopher McGuire will perform an opening set with music by Sor, Tárrega, and Torroba.
Yameng Wang
Born in the coastal city of Qingdao, China, Yameng Wang fell in love with the classical guitar at a young age and began studying with the renowned guitar teacher, Chen Zhi, at the Central Conservatory in Beijing. At the age of 12, she surpassed contenders nearly three times her age by achieving the winning title of the Tokyo International Guitar Competition, becoming the youngest champion in its history. At the age of 14, the distinguished Classical Guitar Magazine praised her for already playing like a seasoned professional.
Yameng Wang moved to the States in 2006 to pursue graduate degrees at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, Maryland. Encouraged by their professor, legendary guitarist Manuel Barrueco, she formed the widely acclaimed Beijing Guitar Duo with her longtime friend and classmate Meng Su. The duo made their international debut at Carnegie Hall in 2010. Their debut album “Maracaípe” received a Latin Grammy nomination for the titled piece, which was dedicated to the duo by prominent guitarist/composer Sergio Assad.
Being noted as “one of the most successful Chinese classical guitarists in the world” by China Daily, Yameng Wang continues to captivate audiences around the world with her stunning artistry and virtuosity. This season she will perform in Europe, Asia, and the U.S. with the duo and as a soloist.