Hey! 

Welcome to issue 15/24 of our newsletter. A special location in the video of the week, special compositions in the album of the week, a special love of travel and curiosity in the interview and a special idea in our “Guitar and…” category.

We wish you a special load of fun reading!

YOUTUBE FIND OF THE WEEK
with Dimitris Soukaras

Omni on Location is a series by the Omni Foundation based in San Francisco, in which guitarists play at special locations around the world (usually in their respective home countries).

This is what Dimitris Soukaras is doing here in Greece. The location is fantastic – the piece spectacular. “Fuoco” (from the Libra Sonatine) by Roland Dyens has long been a classic in the guitar repertoire. A wild ride that accelerates more and more – from the heartbeat-like bendings to the fast arpeggios to the grandiose slap bass finale.

And when the camera accompanies the final notes, you realize how cool it is to see pieces in different spectacular locations, because it visually intensifies the impact here. It should not go unmentioned that it is not just fun to watch. Dimitris' interpretation is also a great pleasure to listen to!

SHEET MUSIC
Jonas Khalil - Seven Minimal Miniatures, No. V

We've let our weakness for minimal music show a few times now. A miniature as the basic idea behind this category – has been working, too ;)

Jonas Khalil has really hit the mark with his 7 Minimal Miniatures, so we are very happy to feature one of his miniatures (no. V – “Vivace”) in this issue. A great piece for in-between, from which you can learn a lot, especially technically. True to the motto: short but spicy.

You can find a recording of it on his album Unikhat, released in 2023. It's really worth checking out the album in full!

ALBUM OF THE WEEK
Marko Topchii

We certainly don't want to neglect interpretational excellence, but you may have noticed that we like to feature composer/performer artists. A concept that wasn’t too unfamiliar to the likes of Sor, Chopin, Bach (you name it) either, right?

Nevertheless, today it is once again time to listen to an album that has an interpretative focus. And what a focus it is. An album with a selection of super exciting pieces and dynamic contrasts.

It is Marko Topchii's latest album, released by Naxos on the occasion of his winning last year's GFA.

To say it straight away: This is not an album with the usual repertoire pieces, except for, maybe, “Un sueño en la floresta” by Barrios. “Hommage à Ravel” from Cinq hommages français by Arnaud Dumond is beautiful and lyrical. In contrast, the three selected “Studi di virtuosità e di trascendenza” by Angelo Gilardino are quite the ride.

The highlight is certainly the sonata “Kharkiv” by Konstantin Bliokh. Side info: Bliokh is Ukrainian, just like Marco.

Highly recommended. Listen to it.

KNOW-HOW 
with Nora Buschmann

Traveling as a basic building block for (artistic) identity? A constantly changing source of inspiration that probably never dries up in a person's life.

Nora Buschmann has tapped into this source and has been carried by it for decades. You could also say with a clear conscience: inspired.

We are delighted that Nora took the time to answer our questions. We don't want to anticipate too much about her personally this time. Because even though the interview could certainly have filled several pages, it paints a very comprehensive picture.

Nevertheless, if we had to describe Nora Buschmann briefly and concisely with four characteristics: philanthropist, networker, driven by curiosity and – an incredible guitarist! We were interested in how life in different places around the world has shaped her. Humanly, artistically, in her teaching work – and also what the role of women is in an international context. 

Read for yourself and be inspired by Nora's view of things!

Hi Nora, you are a traveler in a certain sense and have lived in countries such as Greece, Argentina, Spain and Germany and have always sought contact with the local music scene. As a classically trained guitarist, what has that done to you?

I think traveling changes us, shapes our tastes and broadens our perspective. For musicians in particular, it's almost a kind of necessity. Coming from the GDR, the world we were allowed to travel was too narrow, too limited for me. I always wanted to get to know other cultures and languages. Music is also communication, a universal language. First I learned to “walk,” or dance, in Greek or Argentinian folklore, then I incorporated this into my repertoire and my playing style. My life path has made me a kind of world musician. I have even been described as a musical cultural ambassador.

How do you manage to bridge the gap between classical music and music from the respective countries whose musical culture you have immersed yourself in?

It happens all by itself. When you live in another country and learn a foreign language, encounter other customs, other codes in musical culture, unknown rhythms and playing styles, you absorb them like a child. You have to embrace it with a lot of openness and curiosity. Later, it becomes a part of you and you can incorporate this knowledge into your own playing. It's like a journey of discovery. For example, we can mix the incredible variety of Latin American music styles, which are also influenced by traditions from Europe and Spain, the country of the guitar, with our classical tone and technique. I also succeed in building bridges because I was able to encourage some composers to write for me.

What do you take with you from the cultures you have got to know into your work as a lecturer and teacher?

My aim is to open eyes, ears and hearts, and of course to connect. Music is healing. In today's world, this is also a great opportunity to communicate about and with music, as Daniel Barenboim's West-Eastern Divan Orchestra does, for example. What I can pass on to my students is to show them and set an example that music makes us richer, makes us happier and allows us to understand others better. In Germany, the country of origin of Bach, Beethoven and Brahms, I would like to see such an insight: MAKE MUCH MORE MUSIC!

In issue 9, we discussed the role of women in the classical guitar world and the classical canon. What has been your experience? Are there any differences, internationally?

In Weimar, where I studied from 1984 to 1990, there were Ursula Peters, Monika Rost and other strong role models from the Eastern Bloc. So I grew up with female role models. Nevertheless, in my professional career as a concert performer and professor at festivals and at the conservatory, I was something of an exception. Many festivals such as “Guitarras del mundo” in Argentina, where I have been invited for over 20 years, or also in Greece, the guitar scene is now more modern and increasingly mixed with younger female guitarists than in Germany. I was just invited to a festival in Prague organized by two young women. I would like to see more naturalness and less of these rigid, outdated structures.

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?

WITHOUT MUSIC, LIFE WOULD BE A MISTAKE! (Friedrich Nietzsche)

SUPPORT MUSIC BETTER!

If you would like to get to know Nora Buschmann musically: We can only recommend her current CD De Berlín a Buenos Aires with music by Argentinian composer Carlos Moscardini!

Listen to De Berlín a Buenos Aires:
https://lnkfi.re/norabuschmann

Nora’s Insta and YouTube accounts:
https://www.instagram.com/norabuschmann/
https://www.youtube.com/c/norabuschmann/videos

GUITAR AND…Animation

Capriccio No. 18 from the 24 Capriccios de Goya is always worth listening to anyway and there are many exciting interpretations, for example the one by Zoran Dukić. But what Israeli guitarist Guy Woodcock has done here is a project that we have not often come across before. The return to the image. “The Goya of our Time” is the title of the video. An animated journey through time with a smartphone and Guy can also be seen in the video as the performer!

We won't give any further spoilers. Great idea! Watch it!

OUTRO

We hope we were able to take you on another journey of discovery. Once again it was a special pleasure for us to listen to so much great music!

As always, feedback and suggestions are welcome in reply to this mail!

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.