Hey!

Just one out of twelve etudes that Segovia thought was good, and an open interview invitation that emerged out of that. Also, a man who would answer the question of which stringed instrument he would take to a desert island differently every week, and a debut album from a female guitarist we've been looking forward to for a while.

Plus, Leon Albert doing Leon Albert things in the increasingly popular morning etude routine category. Finally, a little spoiler: The feel-good tune of the week in today's issue probably deserves that designation more than any before it. We hope you enjoy this issue. The next one will be out in early August – time for a little summer break :)

Stefan and Willi

YOUTUBE FIND OF THE WEEK
with Evgeny Beleninov

There are certain things that can stay with us for a lifetime. Be it a good book that you can read several times at different stages of your life, an iconic TV series or a classic movie. And so there are also some pieces of the canon that can be played again and again without ever losing their added value. The work we are talking about here is certainly an intimate companion for many. However, as intimately as Evgeny Beleninov plays it here, it should serve as an incentive for us to take another look at it.

We don't want to say any more at this point, not least because of the familiarity of the Étude No. 1 by Heitor Villa-Lobos interpreted here. Except for our clear recommendation to check it out. Perhaps one or two of you will want to polish up their arpeggio game or have another deep dive into all twelve etudes. Incidentally, it is interesting to note that Segovia, to whom the etudes were dedicated, initially only considered the seventh of the twelve etudes in E major to be useful. Segovia wrote to Ponce in a letter in August 1939:

„After Castelnuovo, I will cite some studies, among the twelve that Villa-Lobos has composed for me. But there is a great unevenness between the two [composers].”

And further in October 1940:

“I do not exaggerate in telling you that the only one that is of any use is the study in E major that you heard me practice there. Among the two from the last batch, there is one, which he himself attempted to play, of lethal boredom. It attempts to imitate Bach and by the third cycle of a descending progression – or regression, therefore – with which the works [sic!] begins, it makes one want to laugh.”

If you would like to find out more about the consolidation of the canon and Segovia's role in it, we recommend this article entitled Heitor Villa-Lobos and the Traces of Coloniality in Andrés Segovia's Guitar Repertoire (where you will also find the quotations and sources).

We hereby extend an invitation for a discursive double interview for our 30th anniversary issue: Anyone who is intensively involved with Segovia's role in the guitar repertoire, please get in touch.

ALBUM OF THE WEEK
with Leonela Alejandro

Our listening recommendation for this week comes from a young guitarist from Puerto Rico, about whom we could go on and on. But we don't have to. Because with her debut album Leonela, she presents herself – at least that's the impression we got – in an extremely approachable, charming and natural way.

It starts with the special selection of pieces. From Tedesco and Takemitsu to Puerto Rican and South American composers, with whom we were not necessarily familiar, to one of THE jazz guitarists. We would have loved to have released such a first album in our mid-twenties. Leonela Alejandros interprets the pieces so light-footedly, clean as a whistle, well thought out and with the perfect dose of energy. Yet another album discovery that is a real treat!

In fact, we are blown away!

Our favorites? “Coco de Alagoas” (Paulo Bellinati) and “Pregunta” (Ernesto Cordero).

MORNING-ROUTINE
A coffee with Leon Albert

Hi Leon, what’s the routine for this week?

Best routine: Reading Keith Richards quotes and having a great time. And ostinatos aka riffs that go beyond repeating notes on open bass strings are always a good challenge.

KNOW-HOW
with Brandon Acker

What happens when you master not just one instrument, but a whole family of instruments – and none of them is relegated to a mere side project? Is there a kind of learning feedback from one to the other?  Brandon Acker is a musician who devotes himself to a variety of stringed instruments with remarkable dedication: lute, baroque guitar, theorbo, guitar, you name it. Via his YouTube channel, Brandon shares this knowledge with a constantly growing community – in a mixture of musical aspiration, clever communication and palpable enthusiasm. For many young musicians, his channel has long been a source of inspiration and a place for discovery, exploration and exchange.

Hi Brandon, you move between modern and historical plucked instruments – how do you handle the differences in string tension, scale length, and setup, especially in terms of articulation and sound conception?
For me, I've always played many instruments. I remember when I was playing in a Rock band as a teenager, I would alternate between guitar, drums, bass and vocals in the same evening. The same is true with guitars and lutes. I spent a lot of time with each instrument understanding how to get the best sound out of it and discovering what its strengths and weaknesses were. Now, I find I can just switch gears and adjust my technique and musical approach depending on whichever musical tool/instrument is in my hands. It's possible I'm in a "master of none" situation but I wouldn't have it any other way. I love being versatile and jumping from one instrument to the next. The world of music is too large for me to confine myself to one tuning, timbre, or musical period.

How has your experience with the theorbo shaped your phrasing on the classical guitar? Is there a kind of feedback loop between the instruments?
Oh yes! Because each instrument occupies its own bandwidth of pitches (tessitura), timbral spectrum, and role in a group, I find playing the other instruments has taught me skills that I never would have learned if I only played classical guitar. For example, I have a deeper understanding of harmony and composition thanks to 10 years of improvising over figured bass in operas and with orchestras. Playing with so many great singers has taught me how to phrase beautifully with the breath and text from the singer. Lastly, sharing a bass-line with so many wonderful cello/gamba players has taught me just how well a bass-line can be shaped and how Baroque music is really conceived from the bass up which is counter to my modern training which focuses on the melody.

You often play in continuo settings. How does your inner sense of sound and musical function shift when you’re playing basso continuo compared to the solo polyphony of Weiss or de Visée?
When playing continuo, I feel more like a jazz guitarist improvising than anything. When reading solo music, one focuses on mainly playing the notes on the page with some improvisation. However, continuo is at least 50% improvisation. I get to choose which instrument I play, whether to play a movement or not, what notes to play, what type of chord to play, and how to fill out negative space with whatever my heart desires. I think more like a composer than someone reading a part. I would recommend that every classical guitarist or lute player spend time playing simple ground basses and improvising with friends. It's taught me more about how music works than all my years of studying music theory textbooks.

If you had to go to a deserted island and could take only one of your instruments. Which one would it be and why?
Oh now that is an impossible choice! My favorite instrument changes almost every week. If I had to choose this week it would be archlute

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?
"To play a wrong note is insignificant; to play without passion is inexcusable." – Beethoven

More about Brandon: https://www.brandonackerguitar.com

FEEL-GOOD TUNE OF THE WEEK
with Pachyman

An upbeat and positive melody! It makes you want to jump out of bed in the morning. Or take a look at the sky in the middle of the day. Stress? Bad news? Put on your headphones, let your hair blow in the wind and jump on the good mood train!

Our feel-good tune of the week!

OUTRO

Thank you for reading! We already have a big list in our notes app with possible discoveries for the next issue. Great discoveries also are to be made in our playlist for the newsletter (link below), because there are so many new and beautiful things that we've found over the last few days, weeks and months.

Be good to each other.

Stay tuned!

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.