Hey! 

Welcome to issue 12/24 of our newsletter.

Today we start with one guitar in our YouTube Find of the Week, then move on to no guitar in the interview, three guitars in the Album of the Week section and finally back to one guitar … with a clarinet. 

However, this issue is not only diverse in terms of numbers, but also in terms of content. Not least because we're going off the beaten track a little in the interview. 

But read for yourselves!

With the sheet music in today's issue, we would first and foremost like to express our gratitude to the artists featured so far.

If you have any suggestions and/or feedback, feel free to send us a reply to this email and get in touch via @tmbm_guitar on Instagram.

Enjoy the journey!

Stefan & Willi  

YOUTUBE FIND OF THE WEEK
with Gaëlle Solal

Our find of the week this time is not our find of the week because we think the piece in itself is so great. It’s a little worn off perhaps …

So why do we recommend it?

Well, it's the find of the week because of a single trick, a cool idea: the idea of adding a music box. We really celebrate that.

Gaëlle Solal is an incredible musician and we should recommend other videos by her, yet we can't help but say here: charming, charming, charming.

Check it out. And many other videos by Gaëlle Solal as well!

SHEET MUSIC

At this point, we would like to take a look back and say a big thank you. To all the artists who have contributed to the sheet music section so far. The pieces couldn't be more different – we really celebrate that.

With their compositions and arrangements, they have presented such a wide range of styles and have shown how everyone can speak their own musical language on our truly versatile instrument. What a great inspiration!

To mark the occasion, we have packed all the pieces into this issue. Have fun looking through them and trying them out :)

If you write or arrange your own pieces, feel free to send us a request with your sheet music and a few words about the piece in response to this newsletter.

ALBUM OF THE WEEK
Salzburg Guitar Trio – III

After the last few weeks of midsummer, the hot weather has gone overnight – at least in Berlin. Now there's nothing better than opening the windows wide and listening to SALZBURG GTR3's debut album while taking in the fresh air. 

The trio has been on our list for a long time and this album is totally one we’d add to your vinyl collection. Simply because the sound is super high fidelity. But the selection of tracks is also classy.

The trio opens its debut LP with the Petite Suite by Claude Debussy. Originally for piano four hands, the guitar version brings a different, softer kind of intimacy.

Music by Albéniz and My Lagan Love (a traditional) then leads to the “Allegretto Grazioso” from Antonín Dvořák's Slavonic Dances, our highlight of the album. Even the opening melody – played by the violins in the orchestral version – sounds beautifully lyrical. Also in the guitar trio. We were really pleased with this great recording, the sound, the synergy.

By the way: Slavonic dances vs. Hungarian dances? Yup. Dvořák's composition is inspired by Brahms's Hungarian Dances in that the two had the same publisher, Fritz Simrock, after Brahms discovered Dvořák and recommended him to Simrock. The allegretto comes to life in a wonderfully light way. A dumka (diminutive of duma/thought), an introverted composition. And what better way to portray this introversion than on the guitar?

We are thrilled. If there's ever a vinyl release, let us know!

KNOW-HOW 
with John Cooper

Not everything in life is music, not everything in life is guitar.

In the course of our life, we make decisions again and again and some decide to do something new beyond music, or have parallel interests. Enthusiasm is simply a great foundation for everything in life. And that's why we've bagged an “out of the guitar box” interview with John Cooper today. We've wanted to do this for a long time and we're glad that he took the time for us. We wanted to know what playing the guitar and craftsmanship have in common. But we learned so much more than that.

Hi John, you have a wide range of interests! From guitar to studying philosophy to becoming a trained carpenter. How did that come about?

The fact that I studied music came about quite naturally. I definitely wanted to make the most of this opportunity and enjoy it. I didn't study philosophy very seriously, but I didn't just want to live in the world of music. At the time, it was tempting to go to the neighboring university and get my head around something else.

After a few years, I realized that I wasn't quite at home in both worlds, and then I heard about the possibility of training as a carpenter, which immediately appealed to me. I had a bit of experience with DIY furniture and I knew that this work could be incredibly fulfilling, but also practical.

What do playing an instrument and craftsmanship have in common?

I would say that playing an instrument, just like working with wood, is a skill that can be developed over many years of practice. Especially when it comes to precision and speed. In the process, you also develop a personal, individual approach, a feeling for dealing with the respective material, which you have to find out for yourself. And on this basis, you can then work artfully in both areas, creatively or interpretatively. 

Both can also make you very happy as a simple hobby.

What role does enthusiasm play in your life, how important is precision to you and what does patience mean to you?

I believe that I look for enthusiasm every day, and fortunately many everyday things can excite me if I just make myself aware of them. Of course, there is also the enthusiasm about big, one-off moments, but the everyday enthusiasm is the one that makes me satisfied, I think.

I don't find precision valuable in itself, but it is often important and necessary as a means to an end. 

Patience is helpful for my well-being and is closely linked to optimism. The more fundamental trust and confidence I have, the easier it is for me to be patient.

Do you still play the guitar from time to time and if so, is there a particular piece that you still like to play?

Rarely. A few months ago, a friend and I played a concert performing a few pieces that we composed together about ten years ago. That was a lot of fun, but it was an exception in recent years.

At home, I occasionally sit down at the piano and practice a bit of Bach.

Imagine you could have one sentence printed on a poster to be put up in huge numbers at all the (classical) music festivals in the world. What sentence would that be?

What are we doing here?

GUITAR AND…Clarinet
Anne Haasch and Jan Doormann play Modinha by Heitor Villa Lobos.

A really beautiful combination in every respect. Watch to the end. When you see those smiling faces, it's an unspoken agreement that something has been achieved and has happened together musically. Anyone who plays a lot of chamber music knows these moments. We had that feeling after just a few notes when we watched the video.

OUTRO

We hope we were able to surprise you a little. It was once again a great pleasure for us to discover so many different artists.

Take care and until next time!


Stefan & Willi

New Classical Guitar is a newsletter by Willi Leinen and Stefan Degel from TMBM. You can find our music and more information about our journey at http://t-m-b-m.com/.

On Spotify, we curate a playlist with our favorite pieces. Feel free to follow our New Classical Guitar Playlist at https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3ZwxJRAsW9Zs2JiS2eLy6a?si=9b2a737f01c043a4 and recommend new additions.